Friday run

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

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

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

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

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

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

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