Journey towards the 2009 World Masters Games

Paddling is going great

2009-08-22T11:33:00.003+10:00

Well, I've been following the program and my paddling is improving noticably. I've been doing all sorts of interesting stuff like using sandbags, doing hard intervals with short recovery, lactate tolerance sessions, long easy sessions, recovery sessions, sprints, starts, etc. All of it is heart-rate based, which is fantastic because I don't have to think about whether I'm training hard enough or not. I just program the session into the Forerunner and away I go.

I'm loving following a program because I'm not undermining myself all the time..."Have I gone far enough", "Have I gone hard enough" etc. I don't have to think about it, I just get out there and do it...no cheating.

There was one particularly great session. I won't go into detail, but it involved doing short intervals at a very high heart rate, with short recoveries in between. I was really nervous beforehand because I knew it was going to hurt...bigtime. After chatting to a few paddling buddies I convinced a few to come along and paddle with me for motivation. It ended up being Anton (in his Flyer), Mark (in his Van Dusan, with an resistance tube on the front), and Jack and Jen in their double. Of course I was the only one doing the specific program (because it was based on my individual heart rate), but they all paddled along with me (or in the near vicinity).

I felt good right from the first interval. I was "in the zone" and loving pushing myself. It went great. It was also really nice having the others there too. It actually ended up being much more enjoyable a session than I thought. Now, don't get me wrong, it was hard and it definately hurt. But I was feeling so good, that it hurt in a good way...if that makes sense.

Anway, my balance is improving, my sprinting is improving, my fitness is improving and I'm loving my paddling and my program. It's all good!

State Marathon Series - Wyong

2009-08-07T20:45:00.002+10:00

My wonderful husband Chris sacrificed his Soccer game so I could do the State Marathon Series race at Wyong last Sunday (2nd August). I went to bed the night before soooo looking forward to it. I could talk and write about this race forever, but I'll restrain myself and just publish a copy of the email I sent to Lyle after the race...

"...With lots of peer pressure and against my better judgement I was convinced to do the 20km, not the 15km like I had planned. Should have trusted my instincts. Anyway, I basically spent the whole race practicing my balance and just dealing with everyone's wash that came past. I think there was about 5 minutes where I could relax and could actually get into some kind of rhythm, but the rest of the race was highly frustrating and to be honest I don't think I would have even considered doing Div 6 if I'd known that they were going to change it at the last minute. Anyway, I did my best under the circumstances and am really happy with how I handed the start and the wash. But at the 14km mark my poor stabilisers were so fatigued I just "lost the plot", and capsized. I called it quits after the 3rd lap as I realised I had reached my limits of balance for the day. Pretty disappointing really! It's the first DNF of my whole life and whole sporting career, so I'm pretty down on myself for it. But it was the right decision under the circumstances and it was a great learning experience. Fitness wise I could have easily handled the distance, but my balance still has a long way to go. Really, 3 weeks ago I wouldn't have handled the conditions anywhere near as well as I did, so I guess I have improved lots."

Lyle quickly replied to my email and as he has already done on several occassions had "just the right words" to say. He really has a knack for knowing what to say, and putting things in perspective. I felt so much better afterwards.

Hook, line and sinker

2009-08-07T20:29:00.003+10:00

On the Saturday before the club race (Sat 25 July), Chris had to work, but I was determined to do my program as planned. There wasn't anyone available to train with me in the afternoon so I headed off on my own. I had preprogrammed the forerunner, so all I had to do was follow the beeps and instructions. I found the workout very easy, and actually had to keep easing off to keep within the heart rate range.

There was a minor incident with a motorboat that came speeding past (in the no-wash zone), but I managed to get to shore before the waves got me. If I hadn't I would have been swimming for sure! The rest of the paddle went really well. It was getting dark on my return trip and as I paddled past the boat ramp and was almost finished my cool down, I saw Anton standing on the pontoon. He has come down to see how my new toy (forerunner) was going. I commented that I had a few minutes to go and would soon be back. I paddled a couple of hundred metres towards the bridge and then headed back.

Just as I was nearing the put-in/take-out spot (literally gliding in), I felt a vibration across my heart rate monitor band. I thought..."this things' clever, it even vibrates to let me know when I'm finished". That thought didn't last long as I felt an intense tugging in my arm and looked down to see a fish hook stuck into it! The vibration had been the fishing line and hook dragging across my chest and then embedding itself in my shirt and arm. Now that's balance practice. I quickly dug my paddle into the bottom of the river and tried to work out what to do next. I couldn't back paddle, because I couldn't move my left arm. I couldn't snap it off, becuase my right hand was holding the paddle, which was keeping me balance (and stopping me from falling in and probably doing some serious damage).

Thank goodness Anton was there, because he took off his shoes, waded into the water and snapped off the line. Luckily it hadn't gone in past the barb, it was just kinda hanging there. And luckily I've just had a tetanus injection! What an adventure...life is never dull around me!!!!

But it also reminds me of why it's not a great idea to paddle in the dark. I've never had a problem with the line that this residence normally has out, but in the dark, I failed to see it, and obviously paddled too close.

Club Race...finally

2009-08-07T20:25:00.001+10:00

Due to a late change to Chris's soccer game time I managed to finally do a club race on 26th July. Here's a brief rundown of what went down...

I've never raced in my K1 before and have never had to deal with a lot of other kayaks wash. So my main aim was to go hard and stay in. I had hoped to beat 1:10 (hr:min). But they gave me a handicap 2 minutes quicker than that. On the trip out, I was paddling really well. Heart rate around 190 and speed around 10 - 10.4km/h (which is good for me). I had to deal with a bit of wash, but coped well. About a third of the way back the pack caught me and threw off an absolute heap of wash. Anyway, I basically had horrible wash the whole way back and just couldn't get my rhythm or put much effort in. My speed dropped to around 9.5km/hr (which is dissapointing), but I did manage to stay in (which I am VERY happy about). My time was 1:09, which I'm disappointed in. I did beat the 1:10, but I have previously done 1:07 in the Van Dusan, and 1:05 in the Struer (with a lot of wash riding). However, my time for the lap out was great. If I could have kept my speed up the whole way back (which fitnesswise I could have), I would have done around 1:06. So, it was great for my confidence in my balance, but highlights the fact I've got a long way to go.

Paddling update

2009-08-07T20:16:00.000+10:00

Soooo much to update. I'll do the kayaking update seperately as there have been a few interesting incidents. But basically, my paddling has been going really well. I am absolutely loving the program Lyle's set, and look forward to each session. The sessions have been going fantastic and I'm really enjoying my paddling. I LOVE the forerunner!

Running update

2009-08-07T19:59:00.003+10:00

Well, it's been a huge couple of weeks, hence the lack of updates recently. I won't bore you with the details and I can't remember many sessions in much detail, so here is a general update...
Last week I did a couple of normal runs (around 20 min jogging with warm up and cool down added). I'm loving the Forerunner. I've also been trying out some of Lyle's running training ideas (that he kindly supplied to give me some ideas to mix up my cross training). One of these included some stair/hill running intervals. I went to the local beach and whilst mum watched the boys running around I did 3 lots of shuffling up the stairs and recovering on the way down, then repeated it but shuffling up the steep ramp and recovering on the way down. Gee it was hard. It took me about 90 seconds to get to the top each time and the legs were truly burning. But it was great to do something different. I'll definately try it again.

I also went down to the local footy field and let the boys play in the middle whilst I did intervals around the edge. Each lap was about 700m, and I did 1 lap easy, 1 hard, 1 easy, 1 hard, 1 easy...with all jogging. I found it hard and it makes me realise how unfit I still am. I was a bit dissapointed with that one.

This week, I did another 20 min jog on Monday and due to parent-teacher night, couldn't do anything on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I also had a procedure done at the specialists yesterday (won't go into details, but it's for "chick stuff"), and had a fair bit of pain from this yesterday. Pain killers weren't really helping too much and I was very thankful when Chris got home as I went to bed for the rest of the afternoon/night. This morning I woke up feeling much better and decided to ease into a run. I only did 10 minutes because I could feel that I was stirring it up, and the pain was returning.

I'm getting disappointed in my lack of progress running at the moment. I still feel slow and unfit, and I really need to increase the intensity and length of my runs now.

Training Program

2009-07-22T19:30:00.003+10:00

Well, I've been thinking about it for a while, and finally got off my butt to do something about it. A few weeks ago I approached Lyle Mead from Winning Ways Kayak Coaching, to see if he would consider writing a training program for me. I filled him in on my history and the very limited amount of time I could devote to training. However, he didn't hesitate to take me on board. Now, most coaches wouldn't even bother helping someone like me. After all, I can only do 2 on-water sessions a week. Most coaches wouldn't even think it would be worth their (and my) time. But Lyle was immediately willing to work with me (even with the limited time I have available), has taken this challenge on board and I consider myself very lucky that he would do this for me.
For the last week there has been numerous emails and phone calls back and forth between Lyle and me, trying to work out the best way to approach my challenging situation. Each reply and question has been answered by him very quickly, with honesty, thoughtfulness and good humour. I must say I've been very impressed all the way through. And within days of me deciding to get him to go ahead and write a program, it arrived in my email inbox today. Now that's fast!
I've just taken a look through the program and it's awesome! It's exactly what I was after, and I can't wait to get stuck into it. This is soooo exciting.

Here's a link to Lyle's website. It's really cool, and there's so much excellent information and so many great services he can offer. It's definately worth checking out.

http://www.winningwayskayakcoaching.com.au/

Running with the Forerunner

2009-07-22T18:59:00.000+10:00

Now that's a rude awakening! First of all, this Forerunner is amazing! It is so easy to use and does so many amazing things. But it's a reality check. No more kidding myself that I'm running faster or further than I really am. My legs were still sore and fatigued from Monday's start back into running, but I was so excited to be trying out the new toy, that I didn't even really notice. I had a great (if slow) jog, and played around on the computer with all the graphs and data afterwards. UNREAL!!!

Garmin Forerunner 305 - my very early birthday present

2009-07-22T15:26:00.002+10:00

It's arrived!!!! I only ordered it yesterday at 3:30pm (from GPS-R-Us)and it arrived from Queensland before 10am today. Now that's service! My birthday isn't until 8th September, but I convinced Chris and Mum to let me have it now so I can get the most out of it before the Masters. They were more than happy to do this...I'm sooooo lucky and thankful!

It is UNREAL!!!!! I"m so excited. I've spent the morning reading through the manual and installing the computer software. I can't wait to try it out on my run tonight.

Check it out...https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=349#featureTab

Back into running again

2009-07-20T20:20:00.000+10:00

Well, after the last crappy month, I started back running tonight. Connor can't ride his bike at the moment (because of an injured tooth...long story), and the boys are too heavy to push together in the double pram now. So as soon as Chris got home from work tonight I drove to the lake and went for a run.

It was sunset and it was beautiful across the lake. I felt better than I thought, and as it got darker there were some spooky noises starting and I increased my speed further. It was completely dark by the time I neared the finish and I was starting to become a little nervous, so I finished off running pretty quickly. I ended up doing 19:50 min which is pretty close to my best time. Pretty good for my first run back.

Another great paddling session

2009-07-19T11:49:00.000+10:00

It was just me and Anton this morning, and damn it was cold. We started off heading towards the lake with the hope that by the time we got to the part where the sun normally blinds us for ages, it would have risen higher in the sky and wouldn't be such a problem. It worked.

Anton had the idea of doing some increased efforts, so we played around with different speeds and heart rates . It seems I can paddle comfortably at 170bpm, at my 'natural' paddling speed and effort. And we increased it to around 190pbm for a while.

I had a bit of trouble with my neck and back...not pain, but they were very tight and fatigued, probably after my great paddle yesterday. But a quick stop and a few stretches seemed to alleviate it. Paddling back down towards the bridge, my neck and shoulders felt really tight and fatigued again, so I stopped again to stretch, and again it worked. Cool!

I decided that I wanted to do an effort/time trial from the bridge back to the boat ramp. So as I neared the start I said to Anton "I want to do an effort...what's the time?" He said 44min and we were off. I eased into it, but gradually increased my speed until I was going as fast as I could (without falling in). I pushed it even harder for the last 400m and knew I was going fast. I felt strong and knew I was going to beat my last time. As we got to the boat ramp, I felt sick and had nothing left and said to Anton, "What time did we do?" to which he replied "It's 52min 20 sec". I was initially dissapointed because I thought we'd gone over the 8 min, but quickly realised that he'd just looked at the minutes at the start and not the seconds. So basically we could have done any time from 7:19 to 8:20. He didn't realise that I meant to time me. My fault really, I should have been more specific in my instructions. Damn!

I thought I could work it out on my heart rate monitor, by looking at the time my heart rate increased and then slowed again...but my watch had run out of memory and hadn't recorded it. Double Damn! I reckon I did a personal best (under 7:50), and the odds are that I did, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

Anway, we finished off and did a heap of sprints and starts. Anton beat me in every one, but I got better each time and by the end was going great. I'm really happy with how I'm paddling the K1 at the moment. So all in all, it was an excellent training session and I achieved a lot.

Sydney International Regatta Centre

2009-07-18T20:53:00.001+10:00

I have always wanted to paddle at the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith. Initially I planned to do the sprint races there today, but after seeing my Physio about an ongoing neck problem (that I finally got around to doing something about), I decided that I probably wasn't ready physically for it.

So after some dicussion with Chris, I decided to get up and leave mega-early (5am) to get down to Penrith by 7am, with the plan to train for an hour or so before the sprints started and then hang around to watch them.

I got there just before 7am and couldn't resist taking a photo of the view up the competition course. Unreal! The sun was just rising, there was still mist over the water. Beautiful!.

I quickly got onto the water on the warm-up lake and paddled up to the competition course. I paddled moderately hard for the full length of the course (2km) and then turned around, paddled back up to the start and did it again. Then I paddled back around to the warm up lake and finished near the pontoon closest to my car. All up, I did about 11km.

It was fantastic. I paddled in the gutter lanes which are bordered by a shallow rocky wall. So I was only a couple of metres away from the edge (and possible re-entry spots) the whole time. This enabled me to relax and have a really good, confident paddle. At one point there was a sign saying "Swimming training lane", but I figured that if anyone told me I shouldn't be paddling there, I would just tell them that I had a high chance of swimming anyway, heheheheh!

Because of the design, I was never paddling looking into the sun for very long, the water was as smooth as glass, and it was great to paddle in a straight line for so long. The facilities were great too. Toilets, showers, boat wash down facilities. In the warm up lake there are pontoons every 100m or so, and at each of these is a pressurised hose to wash down your craft. Soooo cool. I absolutely loved it, had a great paddle, and can't wait to do it again.

After my session I stayed around and watched the sprint races. There wasn't a very big turnout, but there were some excellent paddlers there. Actually, there was a huge range of craft, and paddling abilities. It was exciting to watch and has now given me the confidence to do the next races. I'll definately be there.

So, all in all, it was definatlly worth the trip down, and I look forward to paddling there again.

A Winner's Creed

2009-07-17T14:59:00.002+10:00

I bought this card when I was in my late teens to early 20's, so it's been around for a while. I haven't seen it for years but came across it the other day.

A Winner's Creed

If you think you are beaten,
you are;
If you think you dare not,
you don't;
If you'd like to win, but think
you can't
it's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost;
For out in the world we find
success begins with a person's will
It's all in the state of mind.

Lif'e's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster hand;
But sooner or later
The person who wins
Is the one who thinks "I can".

Author Unknown

This is insane!

2009-07-14T21:15:00.003+10:00

I'm sick of the darkness from preventing me from training, so I had a bright (not) idea....I would use a head lamp and try to paddle in the dark. Now I have trouble paddling the Mirage in the dark, and really struggled last time I tried to paddle a K1 at dusk, but I thought that if I could get some light on the water it would help.

One main problem is my balance. Without the water, trees and other objects as visual clues, I find it extremely difficult to balance in the K1 (more so than usual LOL). The other problem is that I don't have grip finders on my paddle and I also find it difficult to keep the proper position of the blade in the water. I figured that the light from a head lamp could help with both these things.

I figured that I'd better have someone with me for safety reasons, and I convinced Anton to come along. As we were standing in the cold darkness we both agreed that "This is insane". Anyway, we paddled about a km up the river and headed back to the boat ramp. My headlamp was as good as useless, but I thought I could play around with it and maybe improve it. But after a few more attempts at paddling it was now pitch black and I was struggling too much to continue. Bummer! I think if we could have started even 15 minutes earlier I would have had enough light to do a decent paddle. I have not given up yet...maybe a light taped right at the bow would be better, I'll keep trying a few more ideas over the next few weeks.

I convinced Anton to keep paddling off into the dark. In his Flyer, stability wasn't a problem and I reasoned with him that 2km was not worth the effort, so he may as well do some more. So off he went, with me taking some photo's just to show how insane he was.

Sick of being sick..and a paddle at Penrith

2009-07-11T14:07:00.000+10:00

Well, it's one thing after another at the moment. After beating my first cold, then feeling decent again after the food poisoning, now I have another head cold. I'm sick of being sick! Nothing serious, but enough to make jogging a silly idea, and enough so that I'm just tired, irritable and not quite up to training.

Anyway, I've been down in Sydney since Wednesday and had wanted to go for a paddle at the Regatta Centre. Unfortunately there was this huge rowing event on there all week, and it was off limits for training. So, even with the head cold still lurking, I decided to do a paddle at the river. I did a bit of a warm up, measured a 200m course with my GPS, and then did some sprints.

For most of them I felt great for the first 50m, good for the next 50m, getting pretty tired for the next 50m, and nothing left for the last 50m. I guess I need to do a lot more training (especially intervals and sprint training). My times were around the 1min mark which is ok I guess. I would have liked to go faster though.

And unfortunately training won't be possible tomorrow either. Hopefully I can get some more regular training happening in the school holidays....YES!!! I'm on Holidays!!!!

3 of us for a Sunday paddle

2009-07-05T16:33:00.001+10:00

It was me (K1), Graham (TK1) and Anton (Horizon Flyer) for an early morning paddle today. We met up at 7:30am and it was great to see Graham paddling with us again...though I now joke that he is my "bad luck charm" as everytime he paddles with me I fall in (eventhough he's normally no-where near me and has never had anything at all to do with me falling in)....still, everytime he's paddled with me lately I HAVE fallen in.

Anway, Anton had his latest purchase with him...a beautiful Horizon Flyer. Lovely paint job, great looking kayak, and I spent a while admiring it. Then we were on the water paddling our usual lap. I deliberately eased off a bit today as I was still a bit weak from the food poisoning episode. But as we reached the lake I realised that we were still doing a pretty reasonable pace. Graham is definately getting faster as he kept up easily today, and it still amazes me how Anton can keep up with K1's no matter what craft he is paddling...he's a machine.

We got back to the boat ramp and had some time to spare, so we decided to do some sprints. Anton beat me in all of them today, and definately paddles sprints better in the flyer. I think I beat Graham in most of the sprints and I was very happy with how confident I felt, and how well I paddled as well. I'm starting to really enjoy sprints now.

Maybe tomorrow..

2009-07-04T16:02:00.002+10:00

Well, we had Nanna's funeral yesterday. It was lovely...well as lovely as funerals can be. Chris worked today, as we needed the extra money after him having yesterday off. Unfortunately it has turned out to be a full day and he will be getting home around 4:30pm. I wouldn't be able to get on the river before dark. Oh well....maybe tomorrow.

The best excuse ever!

2009-07-01T15:47:00.000+10:00

I knew Chris was going to be home early today, so earlier in the week I had planned that I would paddle sprints with the guys this afternoon....but.....something happened....

The SMS message I sent to Anton later in the day read... "Was going to go today but arm is very sore after tetanus inection I had to have this morning. I stabbed my thumb cleaning dog poo off Connor's shoe with a wooden skewer. Ouch". Instantly he called me, laughing his head off saying "That has to be the best excuse ever".

What had happened was that last night Connor had somehow gotten dog poo on his shoe. So I had the bright idea of using a wooden skewer (like you use to make kebabs), to clean it out of the deep groves. It worked great...until it slipped and kebabbed by thumb. Pretty deep too. Damn it hurt. A couple of hours later it was very sore, swollen, red and hot. Not looking good. I googled tetanus and discovered that it was at high risk for it...and of course couldn't remember my last injection. So off I went to the Doctors this morning and got jabbed in the arm. It felt fine for a couple of hours, but started getting progressively sorer, and now I can't lift my hand above my shoulder. And looking at my thumb, I probably couldn't grip a paddle anyway.
So there you have it. Turning out to be a crap week.

A sad, tiring couple of days

2009-06-30T20:41:00.000+10:00

I didn't feel like going to work on Monday, but I did....had a crap, hard day, wished I hadn't gone.....felt exhausted....cleaned the house, got dinner for everyone, bathed the boys, Chris came home, we watched a bit of TV, and went to bed.

Today was a bit better. But way too physically and emotionally tired to do any training. I missed it...felt like going...but it just didn't happen.

Paddling, chatting, swimming, paddling

2009-06-28T15:18:00.000+10:00

I was still feeling pretty down this morning. Still didn't really feel like paddling, but was hoping for a repeat of yesterday afternoon - that I would feel better for doing it.

It was a pleasant surprise to be joined by Mark and Graham as well as Anton (who I had arranged the paddle with). It was nice to paddle as a group. We headed off to the bridge, and I felt really good in the K1. Then up to the lake, around the second marker and back again, and I was feeling great in the K1. I was relaxed and felt the most balanced in it that I have ever felt. We were doing a decent pace, chatting and I was really enjoying myself. I was mostly paddling with Mark, with Anton and Graham just behind us. We got back to the boat ramp and Mark convinced us to go to the bridge again.

Because I had stopped for a drink (with Anton kindly retrieving it from the car so I didn't have to stuff around getting my skirt off and on again), Mark and Graham were a few minutes ahead of us (just within view), and I was paddling with Anton. We were just going around the last bend before the bridge, I was still feeling really good in the K1 and before I knew it...there was a wobble....a few attempted braces....and the point of no return...with a shout from me to Anton of "I'm in"...then splash.

Damn that water is cold. Unfortunately I was a little way from shore and it took a couple of minutes to swim there. I was commenting on the coldness of it, and how it was hard to swim with the skirt on, to which Anton replied "You might want to get a move on...You've got about 6 minutes before you get hypothermia". I found this funny and had a bit of a laugh.

Well, a quick empty out, re-entry, and paddle back to the boat ramp again. I have no idea why I fell in. The others came up with several explanations ranging from the odd current around the bend, wind gusts etc. But I would take none of these. My explanation was that I'm still crap at it. I was tired, and that's probably why I fell in.

I had a quick rest whilst Anton and Mark did a 50 metre sprint. I was keen to do another sprint with them...as I had already fallen in, what was it going to matter if I fell in again. So I headed up the river to the start. I honestly couldn't have cared less if I fell in again. I was 10 metres from shore, and already wet....so maybe that's why I didn't! I called the start, had a great start, Mark got ahead pretty quickly, but I paddled great and just held off Anton. When I was paddling, I didn't feel anything like falling in. I felt so good. This was great for my confidence.

So after washing down the kayaks, getting dry and dressed, my summary of the morning was that it was a great paddle. I thoroughly enjoyed it...swim and all. Funny how that can be.

Rest in Peace Nanna

2009-06-27T20:00:00.000+10:00

Just over 10 months ago, (24th August o8), I went for a jog at the lake on a Saturday morning and took the children to the park afterwards. It was there that I got THE phone call. My father had passed away - tragically, suddenly and very unexpectedly.

This morning, on a much sunnier Saturday morning I had gone for a jog at the lake, let the children play in the park and was driving home when I got THE phone call. The message was to call my sister when I got home...which I did a couple of minutes later....my Nanna had passed away. I am so sad for the loss of such a dear grandmother who we were all so close to. Rest in Peace Nanna - so many wonderful memories.

I had planned to go for a paddle this afternoon with Anton. I just didn't feel like doing anything anymore. Chris said I should go as it would make me feel better. I was doubtful. However, I reluctantly put the K1 on the roof and drove to the river. I still didn't want to be there. I just didn't feel like paddling.

However, once on the river and chatting to Anton I started to feel a little better. It was a nice, cruisy paddle and on the way back to the boat ramp I was feeling much better. It was getting dark, but we did the extra half lap to make it 11km. And Chris was right. It was the right decision and I'm glad I went.

Food Poisoning (aka: where's the bucket?)

2009-06-25T20:07:00.003+10:00

Well, after a great paddle on Sunday morning, I have only just fully resurfaced now. The severe stomach cramps started Sunday morning at 11:30 am and by 12:30pm Chris was having to pull the car over whilst the boys called out "What's mummy doing? Why did she get out of the car? Oooooohhhh she's doing Ickies" etc. A quick trip home and it just went downhill from there. I lay in the same position in the bed for almost 6 hours (other than getting up to chuck) because I was too scared to move, and the pain was too bad if I did. And after that 6 hours of intense pain and regular chucking, it finally started to ease off slightly. I went to sleep and woke up the next morning around 9am. I think I got out of bed by around 4pm (other than loo trips), briefly had a drink and went back to bed for the rest of the night again. Tuesday was better and I got up a bit more and by Tuesday night I started eating again. Wendesday, back to work (bad decision - felt yuk), but now on Thursday I'm feeling pretty normal again. Even went for a 10 minute slow shuffle this morning.

Now, I've had so many bouts of gastro and food poisoning...that I know it was definately food poisoning. Without risking defaming certain companies (and acompanying law suits) I'll just say that we put it down to a spinich and fetta muffin. It tasted funny at the time, but then they usually do don't they? Anyway, in retrospect (which is always a wonderful thing) I think the fetta was off.

Ok, well hopefully I can finally get back on track now. Fast way to lose weight though. LOL!

I can fall in all on my own!

2009-06-21T19:41:00.001+10:00

Nooooo, I don't need powerboats, wind, chop, or even Anton's wash to fall in....I can do it all on my own.

Everyone one else was doing something else this morning and I just felt like doing a nice easy paddle on my own anyway. After a week of feeling like crap, I just wanted a cruisy, no pressure, no timing, just enjoy paddling along session today.

The weather was magic. It was cold, but not terrible, mildly sunny, no wind, and not a ripple on the water in sight. It looked like glass. I wanted to do 1.5 laps today. I haven't done more than 1 lap (8km) in any 1 stretch in the new K1, so I thought I'd just try it today (since I was going easy).

I started off heading to the bridge, just cruising, feeling good. No worries. No sign of "my mate" (the guy in the yellow boat who seems magnetically to make me fall in). I continued up towards the lake, all good, feeling relaxed and trying a few technique things out. When I reached the lake it was flawless. Not a ripple in sight, it was glass. I've only ever seen it like that a couple of times. I headed out around the second marker and headed back towards the boat ramp. Still feeling good and playing around with steering and technique. Came across a couple of other paddlers, simply a nod of the head. All good still.

Only 1 km to go until the boat ramp...hmmm..I wonder what time I'll do it in, since it feels so easy....lets look down and check my watch, 45:30...split second later...$hit that water's cold, wow my skirt came off without a problem, damn it's hard swimming with it still on.

No-one to blame but me and my beginners balance, (and stupidity for looking down and twisting my arm to see my watch). Well a quick empty out, and relaunch and I was on my way. It was a useful lesson though...
1. My spray skirt comes off easily, without any dramas. This was something I was curious about and had hoped would happen (to avoid unpleasant upside-down time trying to get one off)
2. My thermals were really quite warm when wet - once paddling again, my legs actually felt warmer than when they were dry, and my upper body was fine until the wind picked up.
3. Don't try anything fancy like looking at my watch until my balance it better.

I continued past the ramp, down to the bridge and back without any further dramas, and was very happy to have done the extra distance. I wasn't upset with falling in, and overall it was a great paddle.

It also occured to me that since no-one saw me fall in, then I didn't have to tell anyone. But I'm not like that. I figure that the more people that hear about this stuff, the better they will feel about themselves and their learning curve. I hope there is a paddler out there somewhere who reads this and thinks..."Cool, I'm doing alright afterall". The more people I hear about that fall in , the less worried it makes me.

Watching the State series and getting re-inspired.

2009-06-20T20:00:00.000+10:00

Since Chris didn't have to work afterall this morning, he had the lovely idea of travelling down to Windsor to watch the State Marathon Series race. I had originally said I wanted to go down their to race, but with being sick all week this was not an option. I also wanted to talk to a coach down their and put some ideas to them about some long-distance coaching (ie coaching me from afar). It also gave us the opportunity to watch my nephew play soccer (and you were awesome Rowan), and go out to dinner for his birthday afterwards.

Watching the race was great. I saw Jen and chatted to her, whilst Mick and Jack were racing. There were other club members there but I had a hard time working out who was who. Anyway, I got talking to a few spectators and kayakers who have now convinced me to maybe turn up to one of the sprint series races. One girl I talked to is just learning K's as well and she's going to give race:2 a go, so I think I might to. Apparently there will be all kinds of paddlers there, of all different abilities, so maybe I wouldn't make a huge fool of myself.

Anyway, it started to rain, and the boys were getting restless so we headed off before the finish. But it was a great day, finishing with a great dinner out with family. Oh yeh!

Catch-up post

2009-06-19T19:55:00.003+10:00

Well, life and sickness have gotten the better of me over the last 2 weeks and instead of doing individual posts I'm taking the short cut (easy way out) and just doing a catch-up post.

Running
Was going fantastic. I really feel good running now and on Thursday (last week, not yesterday) I booked the boys into the kids creche at a local gym (due to the weather) and ran 40 minutes on the treadmill. I felt soooo good. And of course...then got sick. So the next run I did was today and was a 10 minute shuffle pushing the double pram. Hopefully I'll get back to the level I was at fairly quickly. How frustrating!

Kayaking
Has been going ok, but am still not improving much in the balance department. It's a bit disappointing really as I improved much quicker in the Van Dusen. But I guess that's the difference between being on the water 4 times a week instead of my 2 which is the most I can do at the moment. I just need more time on the water I guess, which is basically impossible at the moment due to short daylight hours and Chris's work and Soccer. That's just the way it is.

Anyway, I had a few really good paddles and I haven't fallen out since the last time I blogged it. I did a lap time-trial in 48:30 which I was a bit disappointed in because I thought I would go a fair bit faster than that (I had been hoping for 47 min), but again lack of time on the water is probably at fault there too.
I also had an interesting session with Mark and Anton last Saturday. I felt wheezy as soon as I woke up and just had that feeling that I was coming down with something. I felt wheezy and short of breath the whole session and the boys even commented that I wasn't talking. When I feel this way, I just can't talk or I end up having a full-blown asthma attack. Normally I'm alright as long as I don't talk or get my heart rate up too high. Anyway, I really struggled and at the end the boys had a mini-race and of course the wash that Anton's TK1 put up resulted in me shouting some rude words their way. When we got back I had a huge whinge and "took the piss outta him". Really fellas I WAS only joking...you'll know when I'm REALLY mad!!! :)
And...no surprises throughout the day I felt worse and worse, and by the time I woke up Sunday morning I knew that I shouldn't go training. I was soooo pi$$ed off. I really wanted to train, but knew that it would have been a very bad call.
The rest of the week I was sick and miserable, and totally unable to train. Not training makes me mad now. It was sooo frustrating. Anyway...I'll ease back into it this weekend and will hopefully be back on track.

Treetops Adventure Park
Well the photos below are from our time at Treetops adventure park. We went there to check it out and Connor loved it and wanted to give it a try, so we booked him in for the following weekend. I can't believe they have a high ropes course for 3-10years. It was fantastic. He looked so cute all harnessed up, and after a hesitant start, he was doing the course with ease. It was sooo high up for a 4 year old, but he was amazing. The reason I've included it in this blog, is because it represents part of my philosophy on parenthood and raising children. I think it is unreal to be able to provide such a wonderful opportunity to children. To get them outdoors, doing physical activity, and gaining a love for challenges. It was so good for his self-esteem and at one point he cried out in joy..."I'm doing it!!!! I'm doing it!!!!". Maybe I need to learn a lesson from him. Next time I'm scared of falling out of the K1, I just have to do my best and so what if I fail. Sometimes, just giving things a go, is the hardest part.

2009-06-13T18:45:00.001+10:00

Beautiful boys in the pram

2009-06-06T11:10:00.002+10:00

This morning I attempted to go for another run with the boys in the double pram. After some stern words on Thursday and this morning I think I frightened them into good behaviour. They have missed out on going to the park afterwards for a couple of times in a row now (due to their behaviour), so I thought I'd give them another go.
They were beautiful. They were such good boys. If Clayton started doing the wrong thing, Connor would tell him to stop it because he was being naughty and wouldn't get to go to the park etc. They sang, and talked, and played games and kept their hand off each other. They said hello to people we passed. I was sooooo proud of them.
I ran the usual bridge to end of path and back, felt good and thoroughly enjoyed it. And the boys got to go to the park again.

Naughty boys in the pram

2009-06-04T10:52:00.000+10:00

Well most of my run this morning was spent refereeing the 2 boys. They were yelling at each other, hitting each other, pulling heads, throwing items and anything else you can imagine. That's the only problem with the double pram...that they sit right next to each other within easy reach. I was fuming and boy did they know they were in trouble.
I somehow managed to do the usual bridge to end of path and back run, but did not enjoy it at all. In fact I hated it.

Wednesday Sprints

2009-06-03T21:00:00.000+10:00

My wonderful husband Chris worked right through today (without any breaks) so he could get home in time for me to go to Wednesday night sprints. I was feeling good. I got there a little bit late and everyone was already off doing a warm-up, so Anton and I headed off to do a shortened warm up on our own.
We missed the first sprint, but got there for the rest. I went in the first group with the others a few seconds behind. Overall I was really happy with how I went. I managed to put in a bit of effort without losing my balance, and was generally coping well...other than at the start calling out "I can't stop, don't make me wait too long, lets go...etc". Anyway, it was getting dark quick, and it was starting to affect my balance a bit. By the time we did the group start for 500m I was feeling pretty nervous. I managed ok until everyone came past me and I had their wash. I did ok at first, but had to slow down and hang back becuase I was just going to fall in otherwise.
By the last sprint which was another group start at 250m I lasted about 50m, then called out "I'm out", and headed across the river until most of the wash was gone. I can only just cope with it in good light, but at dusk there was no hope. Pretty disappointing really.
It's really only at dusk that I have the problem. Years ago I had laser vision correction which has been wonderful. One of the best decisions I've made. The only problem I have is with my night vision at dusk. It's still heaps better than it was before the surgery and driving and everything else at dusk is great, but paddling is difficult. I did notice it last year when training for the Hawkesbury Classic. I even found it difficult paddling the Mirage at dusk and in the dark. But with practice I got more confident. I guess I'll just have to practice in the Stealth at dusk and in the dark too. Hopefully I'll get more confident in this too.

The boys are getting heavy!

2009-06-01T20:46:00.000+10:00

I did my run this afternoon with mum - from the bridge to the end of the path and back. I pushed the boys in the double pram and wow are they getting heavy. It's quite hard now pushing them and I feel every incline. Mum was also running quicker than she has been over the last few weeks, so I think I was feeling it more because of that. I really can't run fast pushing them because of only having 1 hand on the pram, having to keep swapping hands, and basically not being able to run normally. The system I've got worked out works well, but I think I'm at the top of my speed limit now.
Anyway, at the end of it we'd done a pretty fast run, and I was happy with the effort I put in.

1 lap time trial (kind of)

2009-05-31T13:07:00.001+10:00

After a debacle with lost car keys, and thinking that I was going to have to miss the session, they were eventually found and I headed to the river. I thought that everyone would be well on their way by now and I had resigned myself to paddling on my own again, but when I got there Anton and Mark were still there. Thanks guys.
This morning I woke up in the mood to do a hard paddle (much to Anton's horror - I think he might have wished that he hadn't waited for me after all). Anyway, I put it to the guys "Hey guys... I'm in the mood for a hard paddle today...I want to see how fast I can go in this thing", to which Anton looked in horror and Mark looked intrigued. The reply from Anton was "really?" and from Mark "Oh yeh". I think I surprised them.
Anyway, we headed to the bridge first and then back up towards the lake. I was going hard (maybe 25km pace) but Mark (in his Rocket) and Anton (in his TK1) were keeping up easily (though they may argue that point. Anyway, Mark was just toying with us - he could have dropped us easily if he had wanted to, but Anton was pushing it but keeping up without any dramas really. By the time we got the point it was 31min. I was pleasantly surprised as I thought I wasn't paddling that well. The last part towards the lake had been pretty nasty for me...the wind and chop had picked up and some nasty gusts had hit us. I was very happy that I stayed upright. But there was no way I was going to go out in the lake and around the markers so we pulled into the beach, turned around and headed back. Anton left before us and jumped on a boats wash. ]
Mark and I headed off together and I was all over the place. We had a tiny bit of wash from the boat (and rebound wash of the sides) but this was enough to make me unbalanced. Seriously - I was all over the shop. There were some very close calls, but I did make it back without falling in (just). Our time back was 12:30 min. So for the 7.5km (short lap) we did it in 43:30min. Adding another 3 minutes on (according to our average) if we had gone out to the second marker would have given us a 46:30 min 8km lap. I was pleasantly suprised again. The fastest I've ever done the full lap is 47:10 in the Van Dusen. Cooool.
When we got back we were just getting off the water and it bucketed down. Mark and I sheltered under our car boots whilst waiting for Anton to come back...he had decided to paddle a bit further. We got soaked putting out kayaks back on the car...but I didn't care. I had a great paddle and I'm glad I decided to go hard.

Finally losing weight again

2009-05-31T06:36:00.001+10:00

After months of going between 77 - 78.5kg, I decided to make a few changes with my eating plan. I've basically been doing "The biggest loser club program" using meal replacements (and lots of healthy food). I love this program - it fits in well with my lifestyle and I'm rarely hungry. Since I just couldn't break through the plateau I decided to change my target calorie amount (down to 1500cal) and the weight has started coming off again. The plan is to stick with the program (2 drinks plus food) until I get to 68kg and then gradually cut back to 1 drink (breakfast) plus food. I think I'll always keep having the drinks for breakfast (or make my own liquid breakfast) because I love doing this and it works great for me in the morning.

Anyway, I've lost over 1kg this week and took the following measurements this morning...

Weight: 76.4kg
Fat: 29.4%
Water: 48.8%
Muscle: 30.4%

To compare with my progress since starting this blog...

Measurement, Before, 6, 7-9, 10, Today (wk21), Total
Weight kg, 82, 77.3, 77.8, 76.8, 76.4, -5.6kg
Fat %, 31.6, 30.0, 30.2, 29.7, 29.4, -2.2%
Water %, 47.2, 48.4, 48.4, 48.6, 48.8, +1.6%
Muscle %, 29.4, 30.2, 30.1, 30.3, 30.4, +1.0%

Time trial and trying my new skirt

2009-05-30T19:38:00.004+10:00

Chris had to work this morning so unfortunately that meant that I couldn't paddle (maybe in 10 years time I will be able to leave the boys on their own.....then again make that never). Anyway he was meant to be home by early afternoon, but he ended up having to work back (grrrr, the poor thing ended up working pretty much a full day) and got home pretty late. I called Anton and said that I'd be at the river around 4pm, but due to other circumstances he couldn't paddle then so I was on my own.

I thought...ok then I'll do a warm-up to the bridge and then try and do a time trial from the bridge back to the boat ramp. Remember that I fell in last time I tried this. I figured it would probably be best doing this on my own anyway, and the river conditions were perfect for it. Calm water with a bit of outflow (going with me). I was mentally up for it, and very keen to see how I would go.

The warm up went well. I felt good and my balance felt ok. In the meantime Anton had ridden down and met me at the bridge. I said to him..."Do you reckon you could beat me back to the boat ramp" figuring that he could definately ride there in under 8 minutes. I had my watch on me anyway, and at 4:13:40 pm I headed off from a rolling start. I started off at a moderate pace and fell into a nice rhythm. As usual, every time I tried to go harder I started to lose my balance, but I was going pretty hard anyway. About half way through I heard Anton call out from the road, and I lost my concentration and balance a bit, but managed to get back on track. The last 400m were a bit 'all over the place', but I finished the 1.5km at 4:21:27. As soon as I worked out that my time was 7:47 I was stoked! The fastest I'd previously done was 8:07 in the club K1 and I think 7:57 in the Van Dusen K1. So it confirmed my thoughts...I can paddle the Sladecraft quicker than the Van Dusen. Now I'm not saying that the Sladecraft IS quicker than the Van Dusen...just that I can paddle it quicker, and therefor it's a quicker kayak for me. I can't wait to see what I can do in it with some decent training and with better balance.

By now it was dusk, and I decided to spend the rest of the session trying out my new sprayskirt. I'd stumbled across it on ebay and geartrade. For only $45 I figured that I wasn't going to find a K1 sprayskirt for anywhere near that price and so the remainder of my spendable "Ruddy Money" went on that. It arrived a couple of days ago, and looked awesome so I was keen to try it out. My only concern was if I fell in, that I would be stuck dangling around upside down under the water trying to remove myself (and skirt) from the kayak. But as soon as I had it on, I could see that it would pop off easily (probably before my body hit the water). So I went for a short paddle and it was great. My legs were dry and 'toasty', and the water just beaded off it. I actually delberately threw heaps of water on it, and it still just beaded off. Cooooool!!! And I didn't fall in.

It was getting dark by now, so I called it quits (after Anton had taken some photos with his mobile phone). He reckons that I should say that the blurry one is because I was going so fast...yep, I'll go with that!
So eventhough it was a short session, it was very effective and productive.

The dream - lyrics

2009-05-30T12:56:00.002+10:00

The song that I've got first on my playlist at the moment is called "The dream" by Irene Cara. There's a bit of background to it...A friend once lent me a tape (yes old casette tape) that was produced for one of the Olympics, and another with other motivational songs on it. I can't remember which tape this song was on, but I've always liked it and think it's relevant to most athletes. Anyway, it's always had an effect on me. So here are the lyrics...

I’ve been chasing dreams for so long
Just one step behind and then they’re gone
Illusions of love would come and go
I guess you have to hurt before you grow
And everybody knows
Never let go of the, never let go of the dream

I always seem to lose what I thought was mine
And many times I tried to leave it behind
Deep inside, hope was still alive
Deep inside, dreams will never die
That is why we’re movin’ closer to the truth

It’s really great for me to be here
I’ve won over the pain and the fear
It’s been so very hard through the years
Been looking through a rainbow of tears
And still I never really let go of the dream

Sometimes I saw my life just falling apart
And all the rejection tearing at my heart
Deep inside, hope was still alive
Deep inside, dreams will never die
If you try there’ll be so much more for you

It’s really great for me to be here
I’ve won over the pain and the fear
It’s been so very hard through the years
Been looking through a rainbow of tears
And still I never really let go of the dream

We can all be free, we hold the key
If we can see what we wanna be
Life’s never easy, you get no guarantees
Why not give your all and see what you can find?

World Masters Games...Here I come.

2009-05-29T16:10:00.003+10:00

I've done it. I completed and paid for my entry this morning. It feels great to finally have made that step. Hopefully I'll win one of those 'Skins' prizes for entering before the end of May. Yeh, right. Anyway, after a lot of grovelling to Mick, I've convinced him to do the sprints with me as well. I really wanted to do them, but wasn't really keen on doing them on my own. Now that I've convinced him to do the K2 sprints with me I'm so excited about that too. So my events are...
Womens 35+ Marathon K1
Mixed 35+ Marathon K2 (with Mick)
Mixed 35+ Sprint K2 200m
Mixed 35+ Sprint K2 500m
Mixed 35+ Sprint K2 1000m

Heavy schedule, but it should be sooooo much fun!

Finally, another jog

2009-05-29T16:00:00.001+10:00

After several plans to do another jog this week, and several things happening to prevent me, I finally got out this morning to do one. I pushed both boys in the double pram and wow - are they getting heavy to push. It's so much harder running and pushing a pram with over 30kg in it. Not to mention the constant referreeing and negotiating (and occassional yelling) that I have to do as well. Anyway, I ran to the end of the path and back, and felt pretty good. I'll have to start running further with the double pram now that I can do this distance ok.

A monday aftenoon jog.

2009-05-29T15:49:00.001+10:00

After much deliberation and discussion, Mum and I decided to go out for a jog this afternoon. I pushed Clayton in the pram and Connor rode his bike. My legs still felt fatigued after my longer run on the weekend, and the going was slow, but I felt generally ok. We jogged to the end of the path and half-way back, and then walked the rest. Mum can't run too much at the moment due to an injury. We then watched the boys playing in the park afterwards for a while. All in all...a pleasant run, and I'm glad we made ourselves go.

A great paddle

2009-05-24T15:31:00.003+10:00

Chris's soccer was on, then it was off, then it was on but at a different time and place, then it was off, then it was on at the original time and venue, and then no-one seemed to know...
So I arranged to meet Anton at 7:30am for a quick paddle to get back in time for Chris's possible game of Soccer. It was windy, but not as bad as yesterday. I was very nervous in the K1 and was so confident about staying upright that I wore my wetsuit top! Anton was in his TK1.
We started by heading to the bridge and I was feeling pretty good, when on the return trip....who should we see.....but "Oh no, it's that f**king idiot again", as I called out to Anton. It was the guy in the boat who was responsible for me falling out last week. Goody, goody I thought...now he'll have a hat-trick". I immediately started to feel tippy and had to do some brace strokes, but maybe he heard me (whoops) or maybe he actually had a brain in his head today, but he stopped his boat and waited until we were past until he headed off again. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!!!!
Anyway, we continued up to the lake, briefly saw Greg outside his house, and it was getting progressively windier and choppier up towards the top. However I still felt pretty good. I turned around at the beach at the point (no way I was tackling the markers in that weather) and we headed back. We came across a few other boats going in the opposite direction, but their minimal wash wasn't a problem. We got back to the boat ramp without any dramas and I was extremely pleased that I hadn't fallen out.
I went to the car to check my mobile phone and there was a message from Chris saying that Soccer was on in the afternoon and I didn't have to rush home now. Woo Hoo. So Anton convinced me to do a couple of sprints with him. We headed up just past the 200m mark and did a couple of moderate paced efforts. I found I couldn't pt too much effort because the kayak started to bob, and I felt too unstable. This got better as we did a few more. I decided to try a couple of sprints where I stayed behind Anton practiced dealing with wash. I managed better than I thought. On the final one I practiced wash-riding and again coped better than I though.
All in all a great paddle. It was a huge confidence booster and I can't wait to get out in the K1 again.

Running again

2009-05-23T15:55:00.000+10:00

Since I missed my paddle this morning due to the weather (and my wussiness, hehehe), Chris kindly offered for me to go for a run this afternoon. I said we could all go together, but he said that he would look after the boys so I could have a break and enjoy a run on my own. What a man!!!
So I drove to the lake and with MP3 player in hand started doing my usual warm-up walk, when I suddenly had the desire to turn around and go the other direction for today. I normally don't go the other way because even though the path is excellent, it is windy (as in curves around too much) and it's a pain trying to run with the pram whilst turning corners all the time. However on my own it was lovely. The music was pumping, I felt great and decided at the turn around time..to just keep running a bit further. I had planned to run 10 minutes and turn around for a 20 minute total run. But I decided to turn around after 15 minutes and did a 30 minute run. I felt great the whole way and could have run further.
Now, I know this distance isn't anything special, but for me it was. I haven't run 30 minutes since before state when I got injured. So this was my longest run in a while. I now feel like I'm running properly again.

Windy weather

2009-05-23T15:23:00.000+10:00

A group paddle was arranged for this morning, but I woke up this morning to 45+km/hr winds and pouring rain. I draw the line at 35km/hr winds in a K1. Of course after calling Anton, 15 minutes later the rain had eased, but the wind continued all day. I was so disappointed and kept thinking that I should have gone, but the decision had been made.
I hadn't yet done my blog for today, but Anton was just hanging out to comment, so he did it on the previous blog. However, I love it (and my reply) so I decided for today's blog to just copy it from there. I think it tells the story well...

anton said...
Saturday, 23rd may 2009
ITS RAINING AND WINDY HERE. NO WAY I'M GOING PADDLING IN THAT _ _ _ _!!!!
I checked its spelt "WUSS". Well the rest of us turned up for the saturday early morning paddle.
Geoff (mirage), Michael (mirage), Darren (flash), Jack n Jen (double) and myself (tk1).
Really nice relaxing 8km paddle with the two mirages setting the pace. A couple of spots of rain (nothing serious), and a really nice breeze to assist our trip back to the boat ramp. JnJ and Darren even went out around the third marker, I turned at the second, didn't feel like swimming (that water's really getting cold).
We also passed another bloke in a mirage 580 and Greg and a young wippersnapper in a k1 doing a bit of training. Really was a good paddle, shame you weren't there!!!!!!!!
On a serious side though I will admit that it probably would have been an extremely difficult paddle for anyone (except Mark) in a k1.
Just to top off this stirring comment I told Paul the runner that you didn't paddle this morning because of the weather and he said quote "tell her, real athletes get out there in any weather".
lol c ya

May 23, 2009 5:30 PM
Tigerkyra said...
Yes, fair comment. But in my defence, it's not actually the weather that's the problem..it's how the shoulder goes in the wind (and swimming) that's the problem. The rain doesn't bother me at all (and I probably would have been wet from swimming anyway), but to aggravate my shoulder in that wind...now I'm not that stupid. :) I did however go running in that weather...so I guess I'm still an athlete huh!

Howdy partner

2009-05-20T19:37:00.000+10:00

On my way driving to school this morning I was excited to see Mick's car parked on the side of the road (where he waits with his children for the school bus). I pulled over, jumped out and got his medal out of my glovebox to give to him finally. It was his silver medal from the TK2 race we did together at State.
After a brief chat he asked me if I would like to paddle with him in a K2 at the World Masters Games. ABSOLUTELY!!! This was a great surprise as I thought he was going to paddle with another male. But this will be unreal. We paddle so well together, and I'm so excited at the prospect of paddling in a K2. This is looking fantastic!!!!
So at least 2 of my entries are sorted now. My 2 marathon races...My 35-39yr single K1, and now a 35-39yr mixed K2. Sweet. Now I just have to work out if I'm definately going to do sprints as well, in what, and if doubles with who (as a definate). Still plenty of time.

Tuesday's run

2009-05-19T19:32:00.000+10:00

I felt a bit off last night and was still not quite right this afternoon, but decided to go for a short run anyway. Mum came along too and I pushed Clayton in the pram and Connor rode his bike. We ran up to the end of the path, and powerwalked back. The run ended up being about 12 min and that was enough for me today.

I love it

2009-05-17T16:51:00.000+10:00

Well there's no doubt about my new K1. I love it. This morning a group of us went for a paddle along the river again. Me in the Sladecraft Stealth K1, Anton in his Mustang K1, Mark in his Rocket and Graham in his TK1.
I warned everyone..."He who gives me wash..their name will be mud in my blog" to which Mark just gave an evil laugh. I have to say though, the guys were wonderful today. They were very considerate and made it as easy as possible for me by staying clear of me. Thankyou!!!!

I headed off to the lake first with the others behind me. I was too petrified to turn around and look where they were and was just hoping that they were following me. I was almost up at the lake before I heard Mark's voice behind me and stopped at the turnaround spot to see that the others weren't far behind. I couldn't believe that Anton had kept up in his K1, as we were going a decent pace. He's paddling it so well now. We're all going to have no hope when he's got it down pat.
The paddle back was uneventful, and back at the boat ramp, Mark and Anton switched kayaks and we headed down towards the bridge.

I wanted to do an effort from the bridge back to the boat ramp, to see what kind of time I could do in the K1. I knew my times in the Club, Van Dusen, and Struer K1's and wanted to see how I compared in the new one at this early stage. I was all motivated to give it a good shot and off I went. The others let me go ahead of them (again being very considerate), and I was feeling good at the first bend in the river. Then who should I see....but the guy in the boat from yesterday (who saw me fall out). And guess what he did....took off and gave us a heap of wash. What a goose. He only had to wait 10 seconds and we would have been past him, but Nooooooo. Anway, I managed the wash from the boat, but the rebound wash from the edges got me first go. In I went. Damn that water is getting cold. It took me ages to get back in. The bank was really muddy and I fell back in at one stage trying to get my paddle. Finally I was back in and paddled back to the boat ramp with muddy feet slipping all over the foot plate. I was most annoyed that I had now run out of time to do the time trial. But also that this idiot didn't have enough sense to wait 10 seconds until we were past him. I know it's not his fault I fell in...it's my fault and part of the learning process. But still...considering he saw me fall in yesterday and knew that I was in a tippy kayak and likely to fall in...you think he would have had some consideration.
Anyway, I love the K1 and can't wait to paddle it again.

My own K1

2009-05-16T17:55:00.004+10:00

Oh yeh! As soon as I hopped into the K1 today it felt 'right'. It was a tight fit, but no tighter than the club K1, and it felt very comfortable.

I met Carole down at the boat ramp at 7am and had managed to fit both the Mirage and the K1 on the roof racks. After some fiddling around moving the Mirage foot rest back into Carole's position, we were soon off heading up towards the lake. Damn that K1 is fast. I just had to put my paddle in the water and it was effortlessly gliding through the water. I was just doing some balance drills and poor Carole was doing 3 strokes to my 1 just to keep up. So we paddled up to the lake doing a fast speed for her, and a very slow speed for me. Great balance practice and it let me get a good feel for the K1.

I was nervous turning around at the point because it was quite windy and a bit choppy by then, but managed it unscathed. We paddled back and saw Greg outside his house to which I called out "I'll have her, she's beautiful". We headed down towards the bridge and I felt nice and relaxed paddling...then I heard a boat coming up behind us. Silly me started feeling nervous, turned around to look and "man that water's cold!" In I went, and after a quick swim to shore, empty out, we were on our way again.

We did the rest of the paddle without any dramas and I just LOVED the feel of the K1. At one point I said to Carole..."This looks much better than a ring sitting in a drawer" (because I have sold my 1st marriage's engagment ring to buy it). She agreed and said "Definately, but the ring wouldn't have made you wet!" Indeed.

Well, I am excited and relieved to now have my very own K1. I went over to Greg's house this afternoon and paid him the money, so the Sladecraft "Stealth" K1 is officially mine. Yipee!!!!!

Maybe not heartbroken...there's hope

2009-05-15T21:10:00.002+10:00

I went to pick up the club K1 from Greg's house today (just getting a few repairs done before I give it back). On the phone last night he said he had 2 jobs he wanted me to look at. I was curious. Well, when I got there today he showed me the Sladecraft K1 I had tried (and not fit in). He has widened the cockpit by 40mm and said I could give it another try. WOO HOOOO!!!!

It's now a similar width to a cleaver X at the top of the cockpit, so I'm very hopeful that it will be good. He's put a new seat in, and a new seat plate. It's looking good! So I can't wait to try it out tomorrow. Here's hoping that this time tomorrow I'll be doing a blog entry saying that I loved it and I'm buying it. Not getting my hopes up or anything...yeh right.

Running summary

2009-05-14T14:18:00.003+10:00

I've been slowly building my running up again. I've been slack though and haven't been putting in every run session in this blog (which I really should do). I've done a couple of runs down to the beach, which reminds me of how lucky I am to be living where I am. I've also done some down at the usual lake path pushing both boys in the pram (which is getting to be hard work now they are getting bigger). I've done a few 20min runs, and now a couple of 25 min runs. I've also got a new pair of my running shoes (Brooks Addiction 8) which feel lovely.

Today I ran down at the Soccer park again. I walked the boys down in the double pram, put them in the middle with 2 soccer balls, plastic golf clubs, and plastic golf balls, and I ran around the perimeter. I did one lap with my GPS so I could work out how far 1 lap is, and it's 480m. I ended up doing 7.5 laps in 25 minutes, and kicked the balls around with the boys afterwards. A very enjoyable way to do a run. Though I definately find it harder running on the grass than on my usual paved path.

Saturday at Davistown

2009-05-09T13:49:00.000+10:00

What a beautiful morning for a paddle. The sun was shining and the prediction was for only 13km/hr winds. Sweet! I told Jack and Anton that I'd meet them at the put in place at 7am on the water(the usual). Well, my little alarm clocks woke up late. At 6:20am I rolled over and asked Chris what the time was and quickly got dressed, put the Mirage on the roof and drove off to Davistown. I made it there by 7am, but then had a mad panic trying to get myself ready so I didn't hold everyone up too much. I HATE being late!
Anyway, there was a surprisingly large group of us there. Me in my Mirage 580, Anton is his Mirage 580, Jack and Jen in their double, Craig Dodd in his TK1, another 2 guys from the club in a TK2, another guy in a K1, and his teenage daughter on a surf ski. So 9 paddlers in 7 craft. It was fantastic to be paddling with such a large group.
Soon into the paddle though I was struggling to keep up in my Mirage. Absolutely lovely kayak, but definately a cruise ship, not a speed machine. Jack kindly let me hop on the wash of their double and then it was much nicer paddling. I stayed on their wash almost the whole paddle. Thank goodness, because I know I couldn't have done the pace otherwise. So a huge thankyou to Jack and Jen for that one!

There was a strong ingoing tide and it was surprisingly choppy out in the middle of Brisbane Water. With such low winds predicted I was very surprised at the nasty short, sharp waves. I was glad I was in the Mirage and am amazed that the TK2 and K1 guys handled it ok.

All up it was a great 13km paddle. Everyone hung around afterwards for Jack and Jen's renowned hot drinks. But being Mother's Day weekend, I had to rush off for family arrangement

Wednesday Sprints

2009-05-06T21:03:00.000+10:00

Jack came up with the idea of Wednesday afternoon sprints. Oh yeh, count me in...was my quick reply when I first heard of it. I've been looking to mix up my training a bit and this sounded ideal. So the go was to meet at 4:30 to start on the river.

Since I was now K-less (due to the club K1 getting repairs), Jack brought down his Flash for me to do it in. He really is so generous. He doesn't hesitate to offer to loan his equipment or help, and I really do appreciate it very much.

Anton was a wus/woose (is that how you spell it Anton?) and decided at the last minute that he wasn't going to join us. Sorry...couldn't resist!So it was me in the Fash, Jack in the Struer K1 and Michael Carpenter on a Surf Ski. Now who do you think was going to be the slowest huh?

We paddled to the bridge and back as a warm-up and then paddled up to the 200m start. Jack had previously done his research and with GPS accuracy had measured out different distances and knew the starting landmarks. Jen was all set up back at the boat ramp (finish) with the stop watch, and with a yell from Jack of "Ready, Go" we were off for our first sprint. I felt ok, but found it hard dealing with the wash of the other 2 kayaks most of the way. They were a fair bit quicker than me. Anyway, after we crossed the finish and found out our times (which were surprisingly pretty good), Jack worked out the handicap times and we slowly paddled back up to the start again. We repeated all this for another 200m, 200m, 250m, and 500m. Even with the handicap start, I still came last each time. This didn't bother me, as we were all just trying to paddle the best we could. But I did notice that I was fatiguing a lot quicker than I had hoped for. So I guess this means that this is exactly the type of training that I need to do (especially if I want to get into some sprint racing).

Thanks again Jack, for yet another well thought out, well planned, well organised and well-executed event. I look forward to doing it again.

A family jog

2009-05-06T13:15:00.000+10:00

Since Chris didn't have any work on today he decided to join me for my usual Wednesday run. We dropped Connor off at Preschool and drove stright to the lake. I pushed Clayton in the single pram and we walked to the double bridge, ran to the end of the path and back, and walked from the double bridge back to the car again. I felt good but we were running faster than I normally do and by the end of it was pretty stuffed. It was nice to have Chris come along too and a lovely way to start the day.

Heartbroken

2009-05-05T20:28:00.000+10:00

I picked up the Sladecraft K1 on Sunday night and was lucky enough that I could try it out this afternoon. It sure looked skinny, but beautiful with it's blue sparkly deck. I couldn't wait to paddle it again and was anticipating loving it and buying it this week.

Apprently Liz told Jack that she had cracked the sides just sitting in it (which struck me as odd because she is lean). I wasn't worried about it. Well, it took me and Anton about an hour to get the seating arrangement right (just fiddling around etc). I did fit in it, but whilst sitting there realised that the cracks Liz was talking about opened up every time pressure was put against the sides, even just by merely sitting in it. I was now worried. I didn't want to risk doing further damage to it (by cracking it further). Anton had a sit in it and unbelievably it was even worse for him. He wasn't game to paddle it for fear of doing more damage too.
I had another sit in it and eventhough my hips were touching the sides it wasn't too uncomfortable so I decided to go for a short paddle to try it out.

Anton had his K1 so we both nervously made our way up towards the lake. After a little while my hips started feeling better and I was feeling optimistic. But it didn't take long to be VERY uncomfortable again. I was almost at the lake when I decided to turn around and head back because I just HAD to get out of it. It was getting pretty painful. Well, with a maximum width of 37cm I guess my hips are always going to be too tight a fit in it. I reckon I could lose as much weight as I like and my bone structure is still going to be too big for it.

I was heartbroken. I really had my hopes up on this one. The feel of it through the water was just beautiful and it handled so well. I loved paddling it, but just knew I wouldn't be comfortable sitting it in. Such a shame.

Jack met us back at the boat ramp and had a sit in it. His hips didn't touch the sides at all - he fit in perfectly. I had a quick try of Anton's Mustang K1, and it's a tippy little bugger. I found it had an odd feel to it. It felt nice when up and running, but if my balance was off slightly I had the odd sensation that it would be very hard to recover from and I would be swimming before I knew it. Luckily that didn't happen though (as the water was chilly and the air temperature had certainly dropped by now).

Anyway, I dropped it straight back to Greg's house. For someone who can comfortable fit in it I think it would be a wonderful K1 to paddle. However I'm definatley heart broken and back to the drawing board...continuing my search to buy a K1.

Glad to see someone else doing what I do.

2009-05-02T17:41:00.002+10:00

I was just checking out the Paddle NSW website and came across this picture from the last State 10 race at Berry. It's nice to see other experienced paddlers falling in....I mean, it's not nice for them, and it's not nice that they fell in, but it makes all of us who have fallen in (and still do) feel a little better about it. If you know what I mean.

A nice relaxing paddle

2009-05-02T17:22:00.002+10:00

I saw that the forcast was good for this morning so I asked Carole if she would like to go for a paddle again. She was very keen and so we arranged to meet at 7am at the boat ramp. Anton, Jack and Jen, and Colin and Ann Rae were there too. Colin and Ann wanted to try a few different double craft so Jack brought them along. Most of the paddle was done with Jack and Jen in the Supersonic, Colin and Ann in the Macquarie double, Anton in his TK1, Carole in my Mirage 580 and me in Jack's Flash. "Jumpin Jack's Flash, it's a gas, gas, gas." Sorry...couldn't help myself.

We paddled up to the lake with a nice relaxed pace. The weather was beautiful. The 2 double craft went off ahead and it was me, Carole and Anton paddling together for most of it. Towards the end Anton headed off with the doubles and Carole and I paddled to the bridge and back together. It was so nice just to paddle easy and have a nice chat.

At the end Colin and Ann tried the Supersonic, and then Anton and I had a go in the Supersonic. We got it moving pretty quick. It felt very nice and something I would definately paddle again. I reckon it would be a great kayak to do the Hawkesbury Classic in. I was in the front and I enjoyed that too (as I am normally in the back when I paddle with Mick).

After all the kayaks were put back on our roofs we headed back to J&J's place for a lovely cup of hot milo with honey. Oh yeh, this is the life!!!!!

Running is starting to feel good again

2009-05-01T15:05:00.002+10:00

After yesterdays failed attempt at a proper run, I headed out early with the boys this morning. The weather was beautiful, though it is getting decidedly crisp/chilly of a morning here now.

I did my usual warm up walk, and decided to run to the end of the path and back. It's been a while since I've done this, especially with both boys in the double pram, but I felt really good. I'm finally feeling good running again. It took me about 21:30 (min:sec) from the double bridge to the end and back, and I'm happy with that.

The rain strikes again

2009-04-30T14:51:00.000+10:00

As I worked yesterday and couldn't paddle in the afternoon, I was going to go for my run when Chris got home last night. Well he got home at 5:30 and be darned it was already dark. What the *&%$ is going on there. How can it be already dark at 5:30pm? I think this winter is really going to frustrate me and play havoc with my training!!!
Anyway the plan was to get up this morning, feed the boys breakie and go for a nice early morning run down at the lake. Of course it started raining just as we were about to get in the car. Now this used to never worry me, as I like running in the rain and I just put a wet weather cover over the boys, but Connor is getting so tall now that he barely fits in the pram anymore and the rain cover hits him in the head now.
So I decided to go to the shops (which I was going to do afterwards), and hoped that on the way home the weather would be better and I'd get my run in. The thought had even occurred to me to go to the gym there and put the boys in the creche, but that would have turned out a bit expensive. Anyway after the shops the weather had cleared and I drove to the lake. It was looking a bit ominous as I started my warm-up walk, but I thought I'd be able to get back before it rained again. I was wrong. After a 5 min walk and 5 minutes into my run it started raining again. I turned around and ran back to the car (the boys thought the rain was fun and called out wheeeeeeeeeee, wheeeeeeeee the whole way back). Oh well at least I got a 10 minute run in.

I'm so excited!!!!

2009-04-27T10:01:00.003+10:00

Well, last week I made the decision to sell my engagement ring from my first marriage so that I can buy a K1 of my own. Basically it came down to the fact that I'd rather have my own K1 to paddle than have a ring (albeit a very beautiful one) sitting in my drawer doing nothing. I now have an incredibly engagment and wedding ring from my husband Chris and that's the one that means something to me.

To be honest it's been doing my head in a bit, trying to work out how much I could sell it for and what kind of K1 to get. I really wanted to have another try of Greg Slade's (Sladecraft) slimline K1. I had a very brief paddle of it a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. Now there's no way I'll get enough for the ring to pay for a new Sladecraft K1, so I thought I'd ask Greg if he'd consider selling me the plug kayak (the one I tried). He's keen and I'm going to get it this weekend to have a better paddle in to see if I like it over greater distances. I'm soooooo excited. If all goes well and I still like it, then I'll buy it and I'll finally have a K1 of my own again.

A great morning run

2009-04-27T09:49:00.003+10:00

The anti-inflamatories have worked well on my shoulder but it was still too sore to push the pram for my run. So I decided to walk down to the soccer park and let the boys play there whilst I ran around the fields. It's a great place to do this. The grounds are fully fenced and there are 2 soccer fields side by side with short even grass to run on.

I put the boys in between the 2 fields and they each had their own soccer ball, plastic golf club and plastic golf ball to play with whilst I ran around the perimiter. It was fantastic. They both played beautifully in the middle and I could see and talk to them the whole time. I ran for 20 minutes which turned out to be about 6 laps and the boys had a wonderful time and got some exercise too. Great plan! I'll definately be doing that again.

The run felt good, eventhough it's definately harder running on grass. The jump up to 20 minutes went really well and I'm starting to feel good running again.

The mind was willing, but the shoulder wasn't

2009-04-26T17:17:00.003+10:00

I guess 3 days in a row was being a little bit unrealistic. I was so excited to go for another paddle this morning. 3 days in a row...coool I thought. It was me (in Marks Van Dusen), Mark (in Anton's Mustang K1), Anton in his TK1 and JJ in their double.

I started off feeling great. It felt relatively easy and I felt remarkably comfortable in the Van Dusen. About half way back up the river heading towards the lake I started to feel my shoulder aching and I noticed that I had dropped my right arm a bit. I tried a few different technique tricks to see if I could make it feel a bit better but it was just getting worse. Eventhough I had coped well with the other's wash earlier, it was just getting frustrating now and I was really struggling. Up at the lake I pulled in and got Mark to help me do a few stretches that Buzz (physio) had showed me as a trick to make it feel better. It seemed to work, but a couple of hundred metres into it, it started to get sore again. Very pi$$ed off.

Everytime I copped a bit of wash it would flare up because it was so fatigued and just couldn't help stabilise anymore. I ended up doing the last 1km with it tucked in so close to my body that I was just not paddling properly at all. Soooo frustrating. I'm sure everyone who paddled with me today would say what a bad mood I was in....so sorry guys. I promise not to whinge so much in future. I was not good company today.

I'm just a bit disheartened that it flared up so easily. I really don't want to have the surgery done, but I think it will have to be done eventually. Then again, it coped really well with the Hawkesbury Classic and with backing up at State 2 days in a row. So I don't know what the problem was today. I guess I haven't paddled 3 days in a row for quite a while now, so it probably wasn't the distance, it was just too fatigued doing 3 days in a row to function properly. I'll have to build up to it a bit slower next time.

A HARD paddle

2009-04-25T19:06:00.000+10:00

It was arranged for me, Anton, and JJ (Jack and Jen) to meet up at 3pm for a paddle. JJ had paddled 14km this morning so I figured we'd be pretty safe. I was wrong. Jack is just an Energiser bunny!
It was a hard paddle. My heart rate was up around 180-195 the whole way. I was pushing it and doing it hard. Occassionally I'd get on a wash and have a brief breather, but by the time we turned around the lake markers I was struggling. We must have been going pretty quick because Anton hardly talked at all (for him).

However, when we turned around the marker and headed back, something wonderful happened and I got "in the zone". It was amazing. I just felt great. Still working really hard, but feeling great at the same time. My heart rate was even higher than on the way up, but I felt better! No-one talked at all on the way back and I know Anton was doing it tough too. I was stuffed and feeling a bit light-headed at the end, but I was satisfied with the effort I put in.

Back in the club K1

2009-04-24T20:00:00.000+10:00

As much as I appreciate the opportunity to borrow the club K1.... I hate paddling it. It's 16.5kg, and feels like a slug. Anyway, Anton and I met up at short notice and went for a quick paddle. We only had limited daylight, so we went a pretty solid pace. Paddling past Jack and Jen's place we saw them out by the river and we went over for a quick chat.

We then kept heading up to the lake and after turning around the 2nd marker I stopped in awe...it was an amazing sunset. Looking back towards the river it just looked beautiful. I wish I could have taken a photo.

We made it back to the cars just as it was starting to get pretty dark and then whilst putting everything away I got eaten by mosquitos. Gee they love me.

A good run

2009-04-23T16:51:00.000+10:00

First thing this morning I headed out to the lake with the 2 boys for a run. Connor wanted to sit in the pram today so I had the 2 boys in the double pram. They were both dressed in their Superman outfits (their choice) and we got lots of cute comments from other people.

I felt good straight away. I decided to just go slow (pushing over 30kg whilst running is hard enough), and I felt good the whole way. I feel ready to go for a bit longer next time.

Just not 'meant' to do a run

2009-04-22T16:39:00.001+10:00

The World Masters Games information seminar last night was good. It was mostly stuff I knew anyway, but Jack & Jen, Dave, Leah, Craig & Marg Dodd were there too and it was great to catch up with them and hear their rundown of the Aussies (Australian Marathon Championships).

I had hoped to do a run this morning and the plan was to take Connor to preschool and go straight to the lake with Clayton for my run. Just as we got there it started to pour. Of course I didn't have my rain cover with me (it was fine when I left), so eventhough the rain wouldn't have bothered me (I actually like running in the rain), I didn't want to do that to Clay.

So I decided to go for a drive down to Woy Woy as I had to visit a shop there and thought that maybe I could go for a run somewhere different. As we drove there the weather cleared up and I was looking forward to running. Again, about 5 minutes before we got there it bucketted down again. Even after visiting a couple of shops I had to go to, it was still pouring.

I was driving home, resigned to not doing my run, when the weather cleared up remarkable and even became warm. Beauty...it was only 11am and I still had time to do a run at the lake before Clay's nap. I turned around to check on him in the back seat and he was sound asleep. I tickled hjs feet, but he was well and truly out to it. I guess I was just not meant to do a run today.

Catch-up post

2009-04-21T15:15:00.002+10:00

Ok, yeh,yeh, I know I've been slack with the blog. I've been so busy (and not at home) that I've let it slide. Anyway, the thought of doing several posts to catch up was not appealing, so I've decided to do one post to cover the last 2 weeks.

Saturday 4th April
With a very kindly borrowed Flash from Jack (for me), Carol in my Mirage, Jack and Jen in a borrowed Supersonic, Anton in his own Mirage, and briefly Mal in a K1, we headed off from Davistown to paddle in Brisbane Waters. As it was a day before the end of Daylight Savings, our 5:30am wake up was in the dark and 7am on the water start was at sunrise. It was beautiful. As this was Carol's first paddle in 15 years we did a cruisy pace and it was lovely just enjoying the scenery, until the storm came across. The last half hour was tough, but all in all it was a lovely paddle.

Running
I've been very slowly getting back into running again after my back injury. I've done a couple of 10-15 minute runs (with 5 min warm-up and cool-down). It still feels very hard and I'm hanging out to start feeling like I did before the injury. It's such a bummer to go back to feeling like this again and having to work my way up again.

Kayaking at Penrith
Whilst staying down in Sydney I took the Van Dusen to my old training home at Penrith. I was too nervous to go too far up the river (due to a lack of re-entry points), but I felt MUCH better. There were some other paddlers there too, and they commented that I looked VERY comfortable, so that was reassuring.

Australian Canoe Polo Championships
Whilst still down in Sydney I went along to have a look at the Australian Canoe Polo Championships at the Whitewater Centre at Penrith. It was soooo interesting. I've always wanted to see a game of that level. The paddlers are incredible. They are so talented, versatile and skilled. It is a brutal game and it just blows me away how good these guys were.

Kayaking back on the Central Coast
I met up with Mark late one afternoon/night for a quick paddle and to give him back his Van Dusen (he needed it for a race). I paddled the VD and he paddled the club K1 and as soon as we started I felt like I was so unfit. He was having no trouble keeping up with me and I was puffing the whole way. However, when we met up with Greg up at the lake and he paddled back with us, he was finding it challenging to keep up with us in his TK1, so that made me feel better. Once back at the put-in spot (and in the dark) I asked Mark about how fast he thought we were going. His comment was that he was "having a go". Thank goodness...I thought I was just paddling really bad.

Saturday 18th April
Went for a paddle with Anton in the afternoon. I'd been having stomach cramps (and other gut related issues) since Friday and was feeling a bit nauseous, but thought I'd be alright. Bad move. I felt really crap the whole way. Paddling the club K1 was NOT fun and I felt so slow. Luckily (for me) Anton was unwell too, so we both felt like crap together. We ended up paddling alright, but it didn't feel alright.

Today
So after a couple of days recovering from whatever I had, I'm now feeling like I can start training again this week. Tonight is the information session for the World Masters Games and I'm looking forward to this. I'm sure I'll know most of it, but it's nice to go along and maybe respark the motivation.

Ok...now I'm all back and up to date. Look forward to more regular blog entries now. :)

Back into running

2009-04-02T22:44:00.000+11:00

After several weeks of not running due to my injured back, I finally headed out for a slow short jog this morning. I pushed Clayton in the pram and Connor rode his bike. The plan was to do 10 minutes and I was amazed at how quickly I had lost my running fitness. I felt ok, but was glad I didn't have to go any longer. I'll have to slowly increase my time/distance again over a couple of weeks. It's soooo frustrating to feel like this again, after I was going so well.

Swimming with the Van Dusan and getting chased by a man with a fish

2009-04-02T20:59:00.005+11:00

Jack and Jen joined me for an early morning paddle on Sunday morning. They were trying out a Sladecraft Supersonic and this was my first session back in the Van Dusan after paddling the Struer for a few weeks and at State. Wow...how quickly you lose the feel for a tippy K1. I was all over the place. I think the problem was that I was trying to do the same good technique that I used in the Struer (more rotation, straighter arms, more length at the catch, higher top hand), and in the Van Dusan my balance wasn't quite good enough to do it.

It was all quite funny really, with Jack calling out every km or so "Ahhh, Jen...what are you doing?" as they were trying to get used to the tippier double, and me calling out Aaaarrrghhhh, and $hit etc every couple of hundred metres as I had to do a brace stroke or lost my technique. Anyway, up near the lake a boat came past us (same direction) and the tiny ripples were enough to land me in the drink. De-ja-vue from State. So it looks like I'm back to swimming in the Van Dusan again. I guess it'll take me a few weeks to get back to the level I was at before I switched to the Struer. But it will be worth it...if I can master the Van Dusan by World Masters I will fly in it!

After the usual re-entry (which I'm getting rather good at now), I felt slow and asked Jack what speed he thought we were doing. With his reply of 10.5-11km/hr I felt much better. Seems I'm paddling better than I thought after all.

We headed back to the boat ramp and Greg Slade paddled from his house and met us there. I had to leave to go to another children's Birthday Party, and Anton and Greg were joining Jack and Jen to head back out into the lake. As Greg and I were standing knee deep at the waters edge he noticed a large fish "doing a handstand" in the water near us. It didn't look too well, and with a huge bite already out of it Greg set about catching it. What a sight...with Greg running through the water holding and using his paddle like a spear taking occasional whacks and scoops at the fish. After a while and with a shout of "I've got it" he brought it over on his paddle to show us. My comment was "eeeuuuuwwwww,yuk" and so for the next minute he chased after me with the fish on the paddle. I ran to grab my paddle and used it to defend myself with Greg pretending to throw the fish at me. Sooooo funny.

The fish was then returned to the water and Jack and Jen, Anton and Greg headed off towards the lake.

State Marathon Championships: Day 2

2009-04-02T15:09:00.001+11:00

State Marathon Championships 09: Day 2 Race Report

2009-03-27T13:39:00.001+11:00

After ensuring that I reloaded up on carbs and had an early night to bed, I woke up feeling excited about racing in the TK2 with Mick. I felt refreshed and ready to go. I knew it was going to be fun and couldn't wait to have a good hit out against Dave and Leah, Craig and Liz, and Mark and David (all from the Central Coast Canoe Club) and Liz Van Reece and John McIntosh also in a TK2. I expected some serious racing and tactics, and thought that Mick and I would do well together again.

This was only the 2nd time Mick and I had ever paddled in a kayak together and just like last time we clicked straight away. Our warm-up went really well and I was feeling confident. At the start we all lined up together and the mood was great. Off we went and Dave and Leah took off. The 3 remaining crews soon settled into positions with Mick and I taking the lead and the other 2 crews wash-riding us.

With Dave and Leah in Dave's new TK2 their turns were amazing and they gained on us each time. Occassionally we would get within reach, but would lose too much ground on the turns again. I think we were paddling about the same speed, but they increased their distance on us with each turn. We dropped back to try and wash ride one of the other kayaks, but everytime we did this the other kayaks would slow down and Dave and Leah would get even further ahead. I think that if we had all worked together a bit better we would have been able to catch them, but as it turned out most of the race was spent with the other 2 kayaks wash riding us, and as hard as we tried we could not catch up to Dave and Leah on our own.

Towards the end of the second lap (half-way into the race), a speedboat came past and the other 2 crews (Craig and Liz, Mark and Dave) didn't stay with us through it, so Mick and I took the opportunity and made a move. Within about 30 seconds we had made enough of a lead and got them off our washride and we just kept getting further in front of them from that point on. By the end of the 3rd lap we had a significant lead on them and knew they couldn't catch us. So in retrospect I think that they didn't take over the lead place and let us wash-ride them because they were probably struggling to keep up with us as it was.

Now that we were well and truly on our own we again busted our butts to try and catch Dave and Leah, but every metre we made up we lost again on the next turn. Half way through the last lap we realised we couldn't catch them and eased off a bit. The others were way behind us, it was amazing how much distance we had made on them in just over a lap, and we finished a strong second to win the silver medal. Dave and Leah did 1:47:41, we finished only 50 seconds behind in 1:48:31, Mark and Dave finished almost 2 minutes behind us in 1:50:17 and Craig and Liz in 1:50:39.

Considering we were hoping to do 1:50:00 Mick and I were stoked with our time. And considering it was only our 2nd time paddling together I think we did amazingly well. Throughout the race, without even speaking I could feel what Mick was trying to do...increase rate, increase pressure, surge, ease off. He didn't have to say anything, I could just tell by the feel of it. Our timing was great and I really think we paddle well together. I hope we get the opportunity to do it again, because I think with experience we could be very good.

State Marathon Championships 09: Day 1

2009-03-26T09:02:00.001+11:00

State Marathon Championships: Day 1 Race Report

2009-03-21T16:44:00.000+11:00

Singles events were on this morning and I started off at 10:04am in the Open Womens K1 (me and only 1 other competitor) with the Under 23 Womens K1 (Elizabeth Dodd from our club and 1 other competitor) starting with us as well. A pretty disappointing turn up for all events I must say.

I aimed to start conservatively and was slow off the start (better to stay upright and lose a couple of metres). Straight away the 2 elite women bolted and that was pretty much the last Lizz and I saw of them the whole race (other than turns of course). They were just too superior and it was pretty much what I expected to happen. So it was me and Lizz paddling fairly close together for the race. I was feeling good and by the end of the first lap I had caught up to Liz (after my slow start) and we went into the portage together. By the end of the portage she had gained a lot of distance on me, but I caught her back up by the end of the second lap. The second portage was the same, but she gained even more distance and I couldn't catch her. However on the 3rd portage she didn't do so well and we left the beach together. I decided to wash ride her (technically I wasn't meant to but everyone else was doing the same thing) and the first part of the 4th lap was spent with me wash riding her, and some guy wash riding me. I started to feel really good and strong and had planned to let her rest behind me after the turn around and then after the last portage to let it be every man/woman for themselves, but 200 metres from the turn disaster struck...

The whole race we were cursed by speed boats and water skiers. They were very inconsiderate and even sped up when they got near us. I can't believe that they were allowed on the river - it was really quite dangerous. I had coped with all this wash extremely well, but this time we had 2 boats come past from behind us who sped up when then reached us. It created 2 lots of enormous following wash. I coped with the first lot well as I had time to turn towards the bank a bit, but at one point the cockpit was even in the water. I had never paddled on wash so big! The second lot was the end of me. I was still paddling in the direction of the wash but the waves just turned the kayak and spun it sideways and flipped me over. I have no idea how Liz didn't fall in - much better skill I suppose. But then again I think it was just bad luck for me.

I was pretty pi$$ed off. I swam for shore and soon discovered that eventhough it was shallow water the mud/silt was knee deep. I had no hope of getting back in on my own. Every time I managed to brace my paddle on a rock and get a leg in, the other leg would sink in the mud and I would tip back over. I tried in vain for a while and then finally a safety boat saw me and came over. After several amusing attempts for them to help me (which included them drifting 30 metres down the river with my paddle), they finally managed to help me get back in. In all, it was at least 15 minutes spent until I was back in the K1. Soooooo frustrating. I really had only 2 options. To end my race there and then with a DNF (which really wasn't an option for me) or to keep going. So I kept going. I was so far behind by now it was embarrassing, but I came in for the last portage and everyone was cheering me and encouraging me, so off I went on my final lap and paddled hard till the end.

It was so frustrating to paddle so hard and well for so long, to have it end like that so close to the finish. I always knew that I wouldn't win - that wasn't the issue - I had wanted to paddle well and see what kind of time I could do for the distance. And when Liz and I were so close it turned into a race between us (eventhough we were in different classes) and I had hoped to finish close to her or even beat her. Oh well. At least I can look at her time and have a vague idea as to what time I would have done.

So I got a silver medal in a time of 2:46:08 (hr:min:sec) for 25km with 4 portages. Liz did 2:38:30, which I know I could have done without the capsize. I think she probably eased off a bit when she saw I'd disappeared and would have gone faster than that if I'd still been on her tail.

But, all in all I'm happy with how I paddled and coped with most of the wash and conditions. My portages were slow, but for my first time I think I did well. So other than the capsize I'm pleased with my race.

Last paddle before I race

2009-03-18T20:41:00.000+11:00

The Struer is all fixed and Jack, Mick and myself headed out for a short easy paddle this afternoon. Jack has been very busy at his place and within a week has put in stairs and carpet to make a beautiful little access point to the river. Nice!!!!

Today I tried using my drink system and it took a while to get used to as it throws the balance off a bit, but after a while I didn't even notice it was there and was able to drink from it without too much trouble. First objective achieved.

Mick (who had already done some paddling) left us back at the boat ramp and Jack and I continued up the river. For the rest of the paddle he helped me out with wash riding techniques and race tactics. The whole time he was getting me to try different things and challenging me by speeding up, slowing down, changing direction etc. It was unreal! He has so much knowledge and experience and it's great to be able to learn some tricks. I've learnt so much by paddling with the guys in the last month. Second objective achieved.

After we finished the lap I was feeling great and definately ready to race. My back was no problem, my technique felt much better, the drink system was comfortable and effective, and I'm excited about racing. So I called it quits whilst I felt so good.

Once off the river back at Jack and Jen's place whilst washing down boats and getting organised for the weekend, Jen came out and handed me a lovely hot mug of Milo....now that's service! I think I'll be paddling from your place a bit more often in future Jack and Jen. :)

Weekly Measurements 10

2009-03-15T08:31:00.003+11:00

I haven't published my weekly measurements for a couple of weeks due to the fact that they hadn't changed. My weight even went up 500g which was frustrating because I was following the plan well. This week I was starting to get a bit (well maybe a lot) disheartened with the weight loss and FINALLY I have lost some weight again. I was soooo happy to step on the scales this morning and see some results.

Sometimes you tend to look at how far you have to go and it just seems so far away (like having another 10+kg to lose). But I think you need to focus on how far you've come (like losing over 7kg since my Dad died, and over 5kg since I started this blog)

Measurement, Before, 6, 7-9, 10
Weight kg, 82, 77.3, 77.8, 76.8
Fat %, 31.6, 30.0, 30.2, 29.7
Water %, 47.2, 48.4, 48.4, 48.6
Muscle %, 29.4, 30.2, 30.1, 30.3
Axillary cm, 100, 98.5, 98.5, 99
Waist cm, 91.5, 88, 88, 88
Naval cm, 105.5, 100, 100, 100
Hips cm, 107, 102.5, 103, 103
R.Thigh cm, 56, 49.5, 49.5, 49

Not the Struer!

2009-03-14T13:48:00.001+11:00

Anton and I met up this morning for an easy paddle. My physio has given me strict instructions to NOT "do anything silly over the weekend", and Anton is racing tomorrow so we planned a short easy session.

My back felt good and I focused on technique trying to improve rotation and reach, and stop 'unwinding' before the catch. I even went for the third marker out in the lake, which I have never done before in a K1 and after the first 8.5km lap was feeling really good, so we decided to go for a second lap.

By the time we got up to the lake on the second lap my back was aching a fair bit, so I hopped out and gave it a quick stretch and then finished the second lap. 17km all up and I feel as comfortable in the Struer now as if it was a TK1.

We called it a day and went about washing down the kayaks. I had the Struer carefully placed on the cradles and was wiping it down when it started to tip. I quickly grabbed it to stop it falling and heard a horrible crack. I couldn't believe it. It had cracked where a previous repair had been done (the combing had come away). Not the Struer!!! I felt sick. I had been so careful with it - as I always am when looking after someone elses things - seriously I am obsessive compulsive when I borrow things. I was devestated.

When Jack and Jen arrived to look at it I just called out "I'm Soooooooo sorry Jack", but Jack just came over and gave me a hug and told me it was ok. Thanks Jack, I really needed that hug!

He said it wasn't a big deal and he would just redo the repair. What a relief (though I still feel so bad that it happened).

Feeling good again

2009-03-12T20:10:00.005+11:00

My wonderful and supportive husband Chris let me go to bed to rest as soon as he got home yesterday. So from 4:30pm onwards I spent the afternoon/evening in bed dozing, reading and watching TV (not at the same time). It was heaven and very much needed. I had a great night sleep and woke up this morning feeling heaps better. It was just what I needed.

My afternoon paddle also went well. My focus was on technique and mainly getting my top hand a bit higher, tilting my pelvis forward (sticking bum out), and sitting more upright (not hunched) by tilting from the hips. It worked well and I felt good.

Anton and I paddled briefly with Mick and Jack who had already completed their 10+ km, and we came across a beautiful Sea Eagle up in a tree. We stopped paddling to get a better look and ended up only about 5-10 metres away from it. It was amazing.

With Mick leaving us at the pontoon and Jack turning around at the powerlines Anton and I headed up to the lake and back. I feel so good and confident in the Struer now and it was great to be able to focus a bit more on technique.

Still no running

2009-03-11T15:18:00.002+11:00

My back is getting a lot better thanks to several physio appointments and resting it. Running is still off the cards and that is very frustrating. I am missing it badly.

I've also been sufferring from a bit of vertigo (which I get from time to time) the last few days. I'm feeling a bit of a sore throat coming on and am generally feeling run down so I've decided to give kayaking a miss today and just stay home and rest. I hate it now when I can't train, but I think it's the right decision for today. Hopefully I'll beat it quicker. Yeah, yeah I know...the violins are playing. But this is normal for me...I often get mildly sick about 1-2 weeks out from a competition and I know by the weekend I'll be feeling fine.

A decision's been made

2009-03-09T15:06:00.000+11:00

A decision has been made and I've finally entered the State Marathon Championships in the Open K1 and Open Mixed TK2. I've also decided that I'll race in the Struer for the K1 race. Considering that it is a 5km lap course (5 laps for K1 race and 4 laps for TK2) there's going to be a lot of boat wash and messy water. I am very confident in the Struer and won't feel nervous in rougher conditions, wash riding or when jostling for positions (like on Sunday). I'm just not quite ready in the Van Dusan yet. I can't wait until I can paddle the Van Dusan as well as the Struer because I will fly. But in the meantime I am looking forward to racing (instead of feeling a bit nervous about it) and can't wait until we get up to Forster.

For everyone (Jack, Mark and Anton) who have kindly offered for me to borrow their kayaks I am more grateful than you'll ever know. Your generosity, sharing of knowledge and support mean a lot to me and I wouldn't be paddling anywhere near as good as I am without it.

Club race

2009-03-08T21:18:00.000+11:00

The race is 11.35km. My start time was 9:23am (based on my last race time of 1:07). I started with another guy in a K1 and soon after we were on our way he started talking to me. I'm sorry but when I race in a single, I'm normally not in the mood to talk. So I sped up to get in front and he quickly hopped on my wash for the whole trip up.

At the turn around I nearly crashed into a few people due to my inexperience, but it turned out ok. I think I must have had at least 4 people riding my wash by that point. Anyway, after the turnaround I hopped on their wash and it was messy but great. I still struggle riding the rear wash and have trouble staying on it, so I switched to riding the side wash of a double Mirage. Now that was a nice wash.

There was by now a heap of people in this pack and we were passing many others. This was tricky, trying to stay on the wash where there was often little or no passing room. It was so hectic and messy, but I managed it and didn't fall in. Now there's the difference between the Struer and the Van Dusan. I would have been swimming for sure in the Van Dusan.

About 1.5km before the end I was struggling to get back on anyone's wash after a rather messy passing, and someone behind me called out and let me tuck in front of them on Mick's wash. I don't know who it was but THANKYOU! I managed to stay on Mick's wash until the end and finished in a time of 1:05:10 (hr:min:sec). I had nothing left. I gave it everything. My average heart rate was 191bpm and a maximum of 202. But I'm absolutely stoked with the time. Imagine how fast I could go in the Van Dusan when I can paddle it as well as the Struer. Hopefully that's where I'll be by the Worlds.

A mixed paddle

2009-03-07T19:37:00.000+11:00

Another physio treatment down, and my back is slowly starting to get better. I still haven't decided what kayak (category) I'm going to paddle at State so I asked Anton if I could try his TK1 today. Chris got home from work early today so with 38 minutes notice Anton met me at the usual place. Thank goodness he's so flexible with training times.

The TK1 obviously felt slower and heavier than the Van Dusan, but it was a very comfortable boat to paddle. The speeds we were doing were good (considering I was actually going easy today), but the thought of racing 20km in it was starting to look a bit daunting. We passed by Jack and Jen's place, had a very quick chat and continued up the river. Just as we were about to turn around at the first marker we looked around and Jack was behind us. He'd made a quick decision, had hopped in his Struer K1 and caught us up.

He offered for me to paddle the Struer back and so I gave it a try. NICE KAYAK!!!! It felt so stable, but much faster than the club K1. Not as fast as the Van Dusan, but I was able to do much better technique in it (due to better balance) and ended up going faster than I can in the Van Dusan (just because I could paddle it better). Cruising speed was 10km/hr, comfortable was 10.2-10.6km/hr, and riding on Jack's wash we got up to 12.4km/hr. Cool. That's the other thing...I was actually able to wash ride in it. It's the first K1 I've been able to do this properly in.

Since Jack has kindly offered for me to paddle it at State, I'm very tempted. The Van Dusan is a much quicker kayak, but I go quicker in the Struer because I can paddle it better and just haven't had long enough in the Van Dusan to be able to paddle it to my best ability.

So I'm going to race it at the club race tomorrow and see what kind of time I can do. I'm really looking forward to it. Jack thinks I could do 1:04 (hr:min), but I don't think I'll go that fast. I would like to beat my time in the Van Dusan from last race, and if I could do 1:06 I would be VERY happy.

Afterwards we went back to Jack and Jen's place and had a cup of Milo (yum), looked at some photos and had a good chat. Their place on the river is great. It was a lovely afternoon and I really enjoyed it. It's so nice to be making such lovely friends.

I said an EASY paddle - damn it!

2009-03-05T20:08:00.003+11:00

Yeh, yeh, don't worry Anton I'm not going to bag you out too much.
Anyway, I saw the Physio today and he thinks that I've aggravated a couple of joints and ligaments and also have a heap of resulting muscle spasm. I'm under instructions to rest it (only easy paddling), apply heat and do some gentle stretches and to see him again tomorrow.

So, this arvo I sent Anton a message that I wanted to do an easy, short paddle. 'OK' was the reply I got. 'OK' my ar$e! As soon as we started paddling he went fast (for a Mirage) and then when we met up with Mick and Jack he took off on Jack's wash and sped for the lake...leaving me some horrid wash to contend with and no hope of keeping up (whilst doing an easy paddle anyway). I somehow managed to turn around at the lake without falling in but almost crashing into Mick (it was the choppiest I've turned around in yet), and we headed back. This time it was Anton and Mick paddling in front and again leaving me some horrid wash to contend with the whole way back. Now normally this would have been great practice for me, but today everytime I had to brace or use my back to stabilise it was horribly painful. So in the end I dropped back with Jack and just took it easy to the boat ramp.

Mick, Jack and Jen (who had been paddling on her own) finished, and Anton and I then headed to do a bridge lap to finish. The pace slowed down (to what I was meant to be doing all along) and Anton was nice to me again. I think this was only because he was scared what I was going to write in this blog (didn't help did it - heheheheh). By now my back was really sore and I was regretting paddling. I don't want to risk hurting it more and not being able to compete to my best at State. I can put up with a fair bit of pain, but this was not fun today. Hopefully now I'm home some heat, stretching and anti-inflamatories will make it feel better.

And Anton, I'm only kidding...I don't blame you. It was not yours or anyone elses fault. The only person who is responsible for how I paddle is myself. It was my decision to try to keep up, I could have always just dropped right back and paddled on my own. It was my own stupidity trying to push myself too much. If I was a bit cranky it was just because I was in pain - I wasn't cranky at you.

Ow, ow, ow and a short paddle

2009-03-04T21:43:00.000+11:00

Today my SIJ is even worse. Every step hurts, and it particularly hurts to get up from any position. By the time I got home from work it was hurting constantly. I couldn't get comfortable in any position - sitting, lying on my back, tummy, side. But whilst playing with the boys it started to feel a bit better (or maybe that was just the anti-inflamatories working) so I decided I would try a paddle. I wanted to see how it felt paddling so I could give some feedback to the physio tomorrow.

Once seated in the K1 it was just a dull ache, so Anton and I just did a slowish paddle. Mark had put a hose on the front of the K1 (for resistance training) and I managed a bridge lap with it, but I didn't want to push my back too hard, so I did the rest of the 8km lap without it and just going at a comfortable pace. Anton had no trouble keeping up with me today. I was glad to finish after 1 lap.

How utterly frustrating. My training was going so well - both paddling and running and it absolutely sucks to have this problem. I'll go see a physio as early as I can tomorrow and hopefully it will get better quickly. It's just torture not to be able to train properly. I miss it already!

Ow, ow, ow

2009-03-03T21:38:00.000+11:00

Yesterday after my run I forgot to stretch. I usually do it straight away, but we had to get home quickly and once home I forgot all about it. Well this morning I woke up and ow, ow, ow. My Left Sacro-illiac Joint (SIJ) is very sore. Actually my whole left side of my lower back is sore. It got worse throughout the day and hurts to walk, sit, move - just about everything hurts it. Damn!

Monday's run

2009-03-02T21:34:00.000+11:00

I ran on my own this afternoon as Mum's hip was still sore and she walked instead. I started off as usual, but by the half-way turnaround realised that I must have been going a bit faster than usual. I couldn't know for sure as I left my watch at home, but the rest of the run felt fast (for me). I pushed it a bit more than usual because I was feeling good and would love to have known what time I did.

No weight loss for 2 weeks!

2009-03-01T16:55:00.000+11:00

Yes I am pi$$ed off that I have not lost any weight for 2 weeks...hence the lack of weekly measurement updates. In fact I have put on 500g....really frustrating after working so hard. Yes I know I should do the body fat, muscle and cm measurements because they'll probably show something more inspiring, but I was just so NOT in the mood after stepping on the scales. I'm just going to have to follow the program EXACTLY as I'm meant to...Duh. I guess I have been doing little cheats, ie a lollie or 2 after dinner. Nothing huge, but it is obviously making a difference. Ok, so I'll make sure I'm super good this week and hopefully I'll have something better to report on next week

A great paddling session

2009-02-28T16:40:00.000+11:00

Or as I threatened Mark I would label it....
"A paddle with Anton the Second"
As Mark put it he "gave Anton a run for his money today". Mark met me at the usual place early this morning and had already told me he was only going to go easy as a warm up for tomorrow's race. My response was "yeah right - no way". We did the 8km lap together at a comfortable pace (with Mark talking constantly - hence the title) and I was surprised when I looked at my watch to see that we did it in 49:50 (min:sec). That's the first time I've broken 50 minutes. Just goes to show how much faster the Van Dusan is (and how much better I'm getting at paddling it).

After the first lap Mark had to go, and I had no luck convincing Anton to come down and keep me company for the second lap. So I paddled the second lap on my own. Mark set me the target of 48 minutes which he said I "should be able to do easily without someone jabbering in my ear" and so I used the opportunity of paddling on my own to see what time I could do at a solid pace. I felt so good the whole session and I did the second lap at about 20km race pace...solid and puffing but not full on. I was again pleasantly surpised to see that I did it in 47:12 (min:sec). I had hoped to beat 48 min and was very happy with the time and how good I felt.

I didn't even have any thought of falling in. I feel pretty comfortable in the Van Dusan now. I still wouldn't want to be out in any decent chop mind you, but considering I've only been paddling it for just over a week, I am stoked at how comfortable I feel and how well I'm paddling it already. Yes Mark...you were right.

A solitary paddle

2009-02-26T20:23:00.000+11:00

Mark couldn't make it and Anton couldn't either, so I ended up paddling on my own today. I felt yuk even before I started and not much better once I had. The last 3 days have been so busy and draining I think I was just absolutely exhausted. Anyway I paddled to the bridge and back and had a chat with Mick, Jack and Jen when I got back (they were just getting off the river after their paddle). I really didn't feel up to continuing but I forced myself to head up to the lake. About half way up I started feeling a little better. I was just bludging but my balance felt good. And by the time I finished I was tempted to bug Anton again and try to get him to come down and keep me company for another lap. However, I decided to call it quits whilst I was still feeling good (and hadn't fallen in). Eventhough physically I was stuffed today, I felt good in the Van Dusan. I felt comfortable and wasn't concerned about balance. I probably felt about as good as I did a few weeks ago in the club K1. Heaps better than I thought I would by now anyway.

Changed plans and a run down in Sydney 2

2009-02-26T15:15:00.000+11:00

Due to various reasons I ended up staying down in Sydney (at Mum's place) last night. I couldn't do my Wednesday night paddle, but I took the double pram with me so I could still do my Thursday morning run. Mum's hip was still a bit sore so she pushed the boys in the pram whilst I ran. We did Mum's usual loop around the park (with paved track), and this time I did 2 laps. It's pretty hilly so a lot harder than my usual flat run at the lake. Anyway, I felt good and ran for 30 minutes (the first time I've run continuously for 30 min in about 5 months) and I did around 5km. Very happy with that.

A hot fast run with Mum

2009-02-23T20:05:00.000+11:00

We went a bit earlier today because we thought the weather had cooled down. We were wrong. Anyway, we did the usual path and road run and it was hard the whole way. Mum was seriously moving (she's a little machine), and it was all I could do just to keep up. We did the run in 24:59 (min:sec) which is a personal best for us. A great sense of achievement to do that time in hot weather.

Woo Hoo!

2009-02-22T15:00:00.000+11:00

I was brave and followed through with my decision to race in the Van Dusan today. I had resigned myself to falling in and just wanted to do the race for experience. In the meantime Mark had been talking me up and telling everyone that I was going to blitz the field. No pressure. I was handicapped according to my last race (time of 1hr12min) and was due to start at 9:18am. The start went well and I felt good almost straight away. I got into a rhythm early and was only a couple of hundred metres into it when this 'mantra' came into my head. "Right here, right now" which I kept chanting over in my head (along with "Get Shakey" a song that Clayton now likes and has a good beat to paddle with, and I couldn't get out of my head).

Anyway, the "Right here, right now" stood for concentrating only on myself. Everything else is out of my control. Boats may come, wind may come, but I'll just deal with that when it happens. It's useless trying to predict (and worry) about what may or may not happen, it's best to just focus on MY paddling right here and right now. When I paddle and particularly race I tend to think about too many other things - like what other paddlers are doing, if anyone is coming up behind me, if I'll come across some wash from other kayaks or boats, if it will be windy and choppy at the turn around point, etc. For the whole race I just focused on myself and didn't worry (or think) about anthing or anyone else. I was so "In the Zone". It was hard to maintain for the whole 11km, but I did it. Of course other thoughts popped in, like "I might actually win this", but I tried to stop them as best I could.

I did win (by about 2 minutes) so Mark was right. I finished in 1:07 (hr:min) with an average speed of 10.15km/hr which I was very happy with, but I was most happy about the fact that I stayed upright the whole way. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I'm so glad I had the guts to give it a go. And now I'm even tempted to race a K1 at state. We'll see.

Conductive Cassie

2009-02-21T20:05:00.003+11:00

Ah thunderstorms. Gotta love them. I met Anton down the river at around 2:30pm and after fiddling around with the new seat in the Van Dusen we were on our way. There was distant thunder and warnings of sever electrical storms but I thought we'd probably get our paddle done in time. Not even 300m into it I went for a swim. Not sure why. I was trying the new lower seat that Greg Slade had made up for me and maybe because it was snugger in the hips I was throwing myself off balance more...I don't know, because I was actually feeling more stable and pretty good up until that point. Anyway today I seemed to keep off-balancing towards the left and I need to work out why.

The rest of the paddle was going well and by the time we reached the bridge the thunder was getting closer. I wanted to do an effort back to the boat ramp to compare with my time in the club K1. I felt pretty good most of the way (with a few braces now and then), and we did it in 8min exactly. We were paddling against the flow and I was pretty happy with my time.

By the time we got back, the thunder was overhead and after long deliberations (and one very loud crack of thunder) we opted to finish the session. Thunderstorms are the one weather condition I won't paddle in. My logic is that I may miss a training session and that can always be made up, but if there is a lightning strike then there's no second chances. My family (and my own life) is too important to me to risk it. But Anton shared some interesting bits of information relating to thunderstorms and paddling. The first was that if you place yourself (ie. him) in between the trees on the bank and the other paddler (ie. me) then the chances are that the lighting will hit either the trees or the other paddler. NICE. And then he tells me that when I went in for the swim that he was thinking that I'd be nice and conductive now. So, what...that would make me Conductive Cassie!!!! Lovely! (I know you're only joking Anton)

Sure enough when the kayaks were washed down and secured on our roofs, it had passed over and I felt pretty $hitty (with myself) that we had stopped. But, you never know. This time is worked out that way, but it only takes once for it to all turn bad. When I got back home Chris said that they had thunder and lightning and heavy rain, so it really was the right decision after all.

Now - for tomorrow's club race. I've decided to do it in the Van Dusen according to Mark's advice (I had to put that in so I can blame someone if it all goes wrong). I'm resigned to the idea that I might fall in, but it will be a good learning experience for me. I figure I can either play it safe and race the club K1 or really challenge myself and paddle the Van Dusen. I may regret it, but I'll give it a go. But for now, I'll take bets on what time I'll do and how many times I'll fall in. My guess is 1:10 with only 1 swim to 1:30 with 4 swims. Somewhere in there I think.

Friday run

2009-02-20T10:32:00.002+11:00

I ended up down the lake a bit later than usual and it was warming up quickly. I was pushing Clayton in the pram and Connor was riding his bike so I decided to do just the path run today (I don't want Connor to start getting tired of riding again). Anyway - I felt crap. Even when walking for the warm up I just didn't feel right. But I persisted anyway, and eventhough I planned a short walk at the halfway turnaround point, when I got there I just kept running. Connor rides like a demon now (he's so quick and rides so well), and we did the run in 21:15 (min:sec). So considering I was pushing the pram I ended up doing a pretty quick run after all. Sometimes you just have to push through it I guess.

A bit of paddling and a bit of swimming

2009-02-19T20:12:00.005+11:00

Today it was myself (in the Van Dusen), Anton (in his Mirage) and Jack and Jen (in the double) paddling together. I felt a lot better in the Van Dusen today. For the first half of the paddle I felt a lot more confident and comfortable in it. I was bracing a lot less and managed to get into a rhythm for most of it. I was even coping alright with a few boats that came past. Then, just as we were nearing the lake Jack said something about a big fish and silly me turned to look. Well the pictures tell the rest of that story. In I went and we decided some photos would make the blog more interesting and personal.

Anyway I went around the first marker and was on the way back when another boat came past with some bigger wash. I turned into it but didn't quite have enough room and nearly ended up hitting Anton with me yelling out "Don't stop, keep going, keep going" with lots of laughter mixed in. And a few seconds later just as I breathed with that near miss I looked up and Jack and Jen in the double were veering right and I was veering left . More calls by me of "$hit, $hit, don't stop, don't stop, keep going, $hit, $hit" followed by me crashing into them once and nearly again. I can't believe I stayed upright and was laughing so much for the next few minutes that I nearly fell in several times. It was soooo funny, I'm laughing now just picturing it all again!

Well I was getting pretty balance fatigued by this stage and had coped with some pretty impressive challenges. The last kilometer I was losing it a bit and was all over the place and I was looking forward to getting back. Soon we rounded the corner and I saw the ramp. Well Anton, not satisfied with me falling in only once (even with photos of it) decided he'd help me in again. In all fairness my steering is still pretty dodgy in the Van Dusen, but his calls of " What are you doing Cass, you're gunna put me into that branch aren't you" resulted in me looking at the offending branch, trying unsuccessfully to steer away and falling in with cries of "Anton you bastard". Only joking Anton - I won't hold it against you (for too long). So after another re-entry we were then back home. Jack had his beautiful Struer K1 there for me to have a go of. It was so comfortable and easy to paddle. Stability was no problem and it felt really nice to paddle. And Jack has even offered to lend it to me to race in at Forster (State Championships). Now this is a $7000 kayak we're talking about. So thankyou Jack, it's a very generous and much appreciated offer.

More paddling than swimming

2009-02-18T20:53:00.000+11:00

Tonights session in Mark's Van Dusen went better than I expected....I did more paddling than swimming. I started off well and did the bridge lap including a couple of efforts without falling in. Mind you I was all over the place and at least a third of my strokes were probably brace strokes, but I stayed upright. I have always loved Van Dusens. The glide they get is amazing.
We continued up towards the lake and did some more efforts. I was able to get into a bit of a rhythm sometimes and had brief moments where I felt good. As we were about half way up and doing an effort I decided I was bit hot and wanted to go for a swim. So after swimming to shore and emptying the kayak out, I hopped back in and kept going. About 5 minutes later and close to the lake I fell in again. I had some fairly big chunks of grass wedged between by hip and the side of the kayak, that were sticking up right into my arm pit (from my previous re-entry). I was complaining about them and Mark asked me where they were (thanks Mark), so stupid me looked down and over, and then down and over I went.
By this stage Greg Slade had seen us paddling past his house and had hopped in his Kayak and met us as I was getting back in. Mark said I could head back to the boat ramp and him and Greg would catch up. Well, this part of the paddle went really well. I got into a nice rhythm for most of it and was doing less and less bracing strokes. I paddled the whole way back feeling pretty good. Mark and Greg were chatting and only caught me back at the ramp.
When we got back, Jack and Jen had obviously seen us paddling past their house and rode down to the ramp to meet us. We all had a great chat about kayaking stuff and I saw that Greg was paddling one of his makes of K1 (Sladecraft) and I was chatting to him about it. He offered for me to try it. I thought that since I was already wet I might as well try. So in I hopped and off I paddled. NICE CRAFT! It's a slimline and probably tipper than the Van Dusen but with a lower seat it felt more stable. I loved it. It had a beautiful feel to it and handled nicely. This is one kayak I would love to paddle more in.

Looking forward to swimming (oops I mean paddling) tonight

2009-02-18T14:39:00.002+11:00

Tonight is my first proper training session with Mark. So this will be my first time really swimming with the Van Dusen. Hopefully it's more paddling than swimming. I know that I'll probably fall in a some stage. I never get embarrased, it's just a pain in the a$$ having to swim back to shore, empty the kayak out, and start again, just to repeat the whole thing over again. Anyway, despite the jokes, I am actually looking forward to the session and am feeling pretty positive about it.
I also forgot to mention last week that Anton generously offered to lend me his TK1 to race in at the State Marathon Championships. So if I chose to race in that category I've got a kayak lined up for that aswell. He is a legend, and I really appreciated it. I'm always very thankful when someone lets me borrow or even try their equipment (whatever that may be).

I need the running for my head

2009-02-16T19:35:00.000+11:00

As Mum and I were on our return lap running along the lake, I said "I need the running for my head". Eventhough the Monday run's are perhaps the hardest for me to get motivated for (due to a hard day at work), mentally I really need them (due to a hard day at work).
We did the path and road lap in about 22 min and my average heart rate was 163bpm though it felt a lot harder than that. We both felt like it was hard today but we always feel better afterwards.

A wet group paddle

2009-02-15T17:24:00.000+11:00

I had thought that it was only going to be myself, Anton and Mark paddling this morning, especially in such miserable weather. What a lovely surprise is was to turn up at the put in spot to find Jack and Jen already there, with Mark, Ernie, and Anton arriving shortly afterwards. I always love paddling with a group. I paddled the club K1, Mark paddled his Van Dusen K1, Ernie and Anton paddled their respective Mirage 580's, and Jack and Jen paddled a double.
Most of us decided that we didn't need spray skirts but wore our wet weather gear 'just in case'. It was only sprinkling as we started, but not even 500m into it, it bucked down. Oh well - wrong decision. We headed to the bridge first and then up to the lake. It was pouring and windy at the point and I was not game enough to head out to the markers on the lake. Unbelievably Mark, Jack and Jen did and came back unscathed. Anyone who can paddle a K1 (and not fall in) in those conditions is amazing in my books.
We headed back and did a bit extra to make it 8km. I felt a bit wheezy the whole paddle (I'm battling a mild cold) and didn't feel flash, but we did the 8km in just over 50min. That's the fastest I've done yet.
The paddle was full of learning experiences. It was such a lovely group of people, and everyone was sharing their knowledge and experience with me on everything from wash riding to race tactics. Mark and Jack especially gave me so much information. I learnt so much - what a wealth of knowledge they have! We did some sprints and practiced wash riding and paddling through wash. It was a great paddle, with great company.
At the end I had a very short go in Mark's Van Dusen K1. This is my third attempt at it and first without falling in. Sooooooo tippy. Mark has generously offered to lend it to me to race in (for the State Marathon Championships) and to train in for the next month. What a legend. Though I don't think there's any way I will be ready to race in it in a months time. But if I can train in it, then racing in a more stable K1 will be easy. So the plan is to have a go in it this Wednesday and if I can paddle it well enough to do some decent training, then I'll persist for the month. But if I can't stay in it for the intervals and decent efforts, then there's no point in training in it for the moment. I need to be able to paddle it well enough to improve my fitness (not just to learn to balance).

Weekly Measurements 6

2009-02-15T16:24:00.004+11:00

Very happy with the measurements this week. A loss of 1.4kg and 0.4% fat, with a gain of 0.3% muscle. Now thats more like it! So far in 6 weeks I've lost a total of 4.7kg and 1.6% fat and put on 0.8% muscle.

Measurement, Before, Week 1,2,3,4 and 5, 6
Weight kg, 82, 80.5, 79.7, 79.6, 78.7, 77.3
Fat %, 31.6, 31.2, 30.9, 30.6, 30.4, 30.0
Water %, 47.2, 47.4, 47.6, 47.8, 48.0, 48.4
Muscle %, 29.4, 29.6, 29.7, 29.8, 29.9, 30.2
Axillary cm, 100, 100, 99, 99, 98.5, 98.5
Waist cm, 91.5, 91, 90, 89.5, 88, 88
Naval cm, 105.5, 104, 104, 102, 100, 100
Hips cm, 107, 106.5, 104.5, 104, 104, 102.5
R.Thigh cm, 56, 53, 52, 51, 50.5, 49.5

A wet paddle

2009-02-14T18:52:00.001+11:00

Not becuase of the rain, but because I was paddling with Anton - Heheheheheh. Just joking Anton. I always have a dig at him because he throws so much water off his paddle (no you can't blame it on the type of paddle you have Anton). Anyway, it was raining and I still wanted to train so he came along as well. By the time we met there it was raining pretty heavily so we put on our wet weather kit. For me it was cossie, tights, spray jacket, and Anton kindly lent me a spray skirt (which matched my kayak nicely). I think anyone who saw us thought we were nuts, but I was loving the paddle. We did the bridge lap and it was nice and calm with moderate rain, but then as we headed up towards the lake it started to bucket down. And for the last 1km before the lake the wind and chop picked up and it was pretty horrible. It's probably the worst weather I've ever paddled in. The K1's nose was going under the waves at each dip, but at least it was head on. I found a sheltered spot to turn around and we headed back, this time with the wind and waves behind us. We would have been flying, it was pretty cool. We took some photos when we were done and we look like drowned rats. The photos are a bit blurry because I couldn't stop the rain from getting on the lens. So sorry Anton, these were the best I got. I still have to look at the GPS data to see what our distance and speed was but I'm guessing around 7km with an average speed of 9.8km/hr.

A wet jog and a bit of philosophy

2009-02-14T11:18:00.005+11:00

I knew the weather was going to be miserable today by the forcast of heavy rain and 40km/hr winds. Early this morning it was pouring and gusty, but I still told the boys we were going for a run and that Connor would have to sit in the pram today as it was too wet to ride his bike. I got us all dressed and ready (boys in warm trackies and me in sports tights and Chris's wet weather golf vest) and waited for a break in the weather. As soon as it was only a drizzle I drove us all to the lake. I set the boys up in the Mountain Buggy Double Pram with the rain cover on and I headed off along the lake. It was drizzling the whole way to the end of the path, but on the way back it was barely spitting. It was actually an enjoyable run. The boys were dry and toasty in the pram, and I was dry and toasty in Chris's golf top. The heart rate monitor didn't pick up my heart rate properly today, so no measurements there, but I completed the path run in 21:31 (min:sec) which is great for pushing the double pram. It's really quite a good workout pushing 30kg in the pram with the rain cover acting as a nice wind break.

It got me thinking though, at what point does it become unreasonable/stupid to keep training. For some people just the look of rain is enough to call a session off. Others train in absolutely horrendous weather. I try to find middle ground. I think that you could pretty much come up with an excuse to miss any session (too hot, cold, wet, windy, sunny, tired, hungry, thirsty, etc). I also think it's silly to jeapordise your health by taking it too far and training in weather that will likely make you end up sick. For some people it seems to be a measure of how tough/serious/dedicated/focused a person is. Sometimes it's something to brag about and almost becomes a competition. I'm interested to hear others thoughts on this, and at what point they decide to call a session off.

Followers

2009-02-14T09:28:00.002+11:00

Hi to everyone who visits my blog. I've now included a follower section on my sidebar, and would love for you to add yourselves to this list. I really enjoy seeing who is reading my blog, and this would also help me see who you are and maybe read your blog too. The follower gadget is on the right sidebar down the bottom (underneath the weightloss pictures slideshow link).

A flat and disappointing paddle

2009-02-12T20:13:00.003+11:00

After switching my paddle session from yesterday to today I was disappointed this morning when the weather was so crap. It was raining all morning. Don't get me wrong - I was going unless there was a thunderstorm, but it's always nicer paddling when it's not raining.
Anway, by the afternoon the rain stopped and the wind picked up and I arranged to meet Anton there at 4:45pm. I got there a bit early and Jack and Mick had just come back from a bridge lap. They convinced me to paddle up towards the lake with them (with much protesting by me...that Anton was going to kill me), and after about 1km I turned around and headed back to meet up with Anton. This part of the paddle felt good, but when Anton and I started heading up towards the lake together I felt a bit flat.
We met up with Jack and Mick, and paddled up to the lake and back with them. When we got back our time and my heart rate was good, but I just felt 'off the mark' today. I convinced Anton to let me practice wash riding him, and this was great. I've never wash ridden in a K1 before and I did better than expected. All up I paddled about 8km.
I'm just disappointed with how I felt today. Maybe it was knowing I had such a short time to paddle as I had to get back home in time for Chris to go to Soccer training. Maybe it was the lack of sleep last night due to Connor's all night long night terrors. Excuses, excuses! I was certainly looking forward to the sessions, but it just didn't click tonight. Oh well, I guess I can't expect every session to be great. I think maybe I was a bit disheartened after reading about the State Marathon Championships. I found out that the Open Womens K1 is 25km and has 4 portages. Now there's no way I'll be up to that standard in the K1 in 5 weeks. I also discovered that I won't be able to race in the Vet 35 category because it is the age you were on 1st January 2009. Usually in vet categories you can race in the category for the year you turn that age, which means I could race in V35, but appartently not for this event. This is a bummer because I was hoping to race in V35. So I think I'll race in the Open TK1 event now because there is no way that in 5 weeks I'd be able to stay upright in a K1 for 25km with 4 portages. Give me another month and maybe I could. So probably it's just that my heart wasn't in it today. I guess I'm just a bit disheartened at the moment. So disappointing after paddling so well on the weekend.

Wednesday's run with music

2009-02-11T13:18:00.000+11:00

I was meant to be doing a paddle with Anton this afternoon, but I got a casual day's work at the last minute. Since it looks like I might be picking up the casual work on Wednesdays, I'll have to come up with a contingency plan for my training schedule. Anyway, I decided to go for a run instead. It was too late to paddle, and a run only takes an hour all up so I could be back in time to help put the boys to bed. So as soon as Mum headed home, I drove to the lake and did the longer (path and road) run and back. I felt great - the fittest I've felt in a long time. I'm really enjoying my running again. I also had the MP3 player on and the music always gives me an extra lift. My music of choice is dance/techno (anything with good bass). I think this comes from my teenage and early 20's Aerobic Instructing days, and working in a gym until I was 28yrs. Anyway, I love it when the bass is pumping and it can really improve my mood. Total time was 25:17 (min:sec), with an average heart rate of 168bpm. Lovin it!

Shuffle, jog, run?

2009-02-10T20:08:00.002+11:00

It was the same story this Monday as last. I didn't feel like going out for a run, but somehow when Chris got home I got the motivation and Mum and I headed out to the lake. The cooler change in weather was lovely. I felt good straight away. It just felt much easier. We went to the end of the path and end of the road, and back, so an extra distance of about 1km. It was the first time since early December that I've done that whole distance without walking. I felt really great. So now I think I can call it running instead of shuffling or jogging. Nothing fast mind you, but it feels good enough to call it a run. Total time was 25:30 (min:sec) and average heart rate of 165bpm.