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!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
State Marathon Series - Wyong
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.
"...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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Training Program
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
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
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.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Back into running again
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.
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.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Another great paddling session
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.
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.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sydney International Regatta Centre
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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.
Friday, July 17, 2009
A Winner's Creed
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
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
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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!!!!
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!!!!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Maybe tomorrow..
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.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The best excuse ever!
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A sad, tiring couple of days
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.
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.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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.
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.
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