This is insane!

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

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

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.

Paddling, chatting, swimming, paddling

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

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.

I can fall in all on my own!

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.

Wednesday Sprints

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.

1 lap time trial (kind of)

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.

A great paddle

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.

I love it

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

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

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.

Heartbroken

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.

I'm so excited!!!!

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.

The mind was willing, but the shoulder wasn't

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

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

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.

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

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 1 Race Report

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

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. :)