cold weather workouts

If I ever decide to quit this sport, I need to make that decision on the river. Not back in home in the flat, dry midwest. I forget too easily. Before every time-consuming, expensive trip I wonder if this should really be a priority. With family, work, and everything else on my plate, can I really afford to be traveling across the country to get in my boat? The hours I spend training in Missouri are rewarding and satisfying, but they certainly aren't exhilarating.

For the past year, I have been waiting for one ultimate "ah ha" moment where my commitment to the sport would solidify. I think I've finally accepted that this will not happen. Instead, I will continue to have this realization over and over again each time I put on whitewater, and during the days and weeks between sessions I must constantly weigh my dedication against doubt. Delayed gratification, I believe it's called.

And learning to do that may just be the most important thing this sport will teach me.

Glacier Breaker and the USNWC

photo by Michele Baskin

This past weekend was the Glacier Breaker race on the Nantahala, traditionally the first race of the year. It was not as cold as the name had me thinking -- sun and temps in the 50's cut the shock of the famously chilly water.

The top slalom paddlers from the east coast were there. Ben Fraker, Tad Dennis, and Jeff Larmier -- the top three US canoes -- were all racing. I have never been on the same course as such high-level paddlers before. While their times were much much faster than mine, watching their runs on the same course was incredibly educational. Even though I never made all of the gates (tight offsets!) I was happy with my runs over all. The second one even had two combat rolls, one in gate 8 above nanty falls, and one in gate 12 below the falls. Colleen Hickey was the only other C1W there, and she beat me by a large margin. Colleen's paddling is looking great and I hear she will be making an appearance at the MWA championships!

Sunday I drove into Charlotte to train. The day was productive, and showed me that I have improved since my time there over the christmas holidays. I did loose the skin off of 4 knuckles, hanging onto a deep low brace below the M-wave. I was proud I hung onto it and recovered! I made all my rolls and I am starting to build the confidence I need to paddle on that water. It still scares the pants off me.

The next race on the Nantahala is the US Open, March 22-23: http://www.nrcrhinos.com/
Team Trails will be held at the Charlotte course, April 25-27: http://web.mac.com/slalom2008/Slalom/Welcome.html

Thanks again to everyone for their support.

San Marcos Olympic Qualifier

3 days in Texas + 3 Missouri Girls = serious fun!

Yesterday was the San Marcos Olympic qualifier. Di and JoJo were wonderful enough to join me on my trip south. After getting the Big Red Van out of the snow and ice in Ironton, we drove all night through Texarkana towards Dallas. We arrived in San Marcos early Friday afternoon with enough time for everyone to get on the water. Di and JoJo explored upriver while I jumped right on the slalom course.

Saturday was rainy and "cold." All the locals were complaining about the temps in the upper 50's. The water temp was a constant 72 degrees, which made steam rise dramatically up from the whitewater. JoJo and Di went on a long paddle (7+ miles) with some Texas friends, while I trained all day in the rain with friends from Colorado and Charlotte. Big storms came through -- went sent them on to Missouri to fill up the Saint Francis.

The course featured a drop with a sizable hole below it. As a righty C1, I was comfortable getting in the hole and ferrying across on my onside, but getting into the hole on my offside (bracing on the cross) freaked my out! My goal for the weekend was to get though that hole on my cross. The first few times I dropped in from river left I immediately got flipped. With some great advice and encouragement (thanks, Chris) I nailed the move a few times.

JoJo in the hole:

Sunday was warm and sunny. I came in 3rd in the C1 class in the race. I still felt slow and sloppy compared to where I want to be, but I am improving each time. Next weekend is Glacier Breaker on the Nantahala, which promises to be a much colder race. The 72 degree water was awesome. It's much easier to push myself when flipping feels like taking a bath!

Thanks so much to Di and Jo for coming with me! They both had their own reasons for going to Texas, but the trip was so much more fun with three.

under construction

You may have noticed my webpage looks, um, a little out of wack. That's because I am working on an overhaul -- I am going to move from www.blogger.com to start publishing my own feed. This will give me more flexibility to post pictures, video, and other content on my site.

So expect more soon. I have been learning a lot about webpages over the past few weeks, and I still have more to learn a few more bugs to work out before I am ready to switch everything over.

For a recent website overhaul that looks fantastic, visit the new www.missouriwhitewater.org!!!!

Yes, this is a canoe!

Although most people who paddle the 39-gallon Skip are sitting on their butts, this boat converts easily into a C1 if you install a pedestal instead of a seat. Just like my race boat, I am on my knees and using a single-bladed paddle.

This tiny playboat feels radically different compared to any other canoe I have ever been in! The short, low-volume ends mean I can really throw the boat around. Right now I don't have much control, so in the pool I was playing, flipping end over end with my bow or stern pointing up towards the ceiling and almost always landing upside down. It was easy to roll up, but at least half the time I would propel myself past the balance point and flip over to the other side. Fun stuff.

Another Skip was my first true love as a kayak. I borrowed it from a friend, and I swam out of it repeatedly on my first few river runs. I was quickly drawn to canoes and long, sleek slalom boats -- but the funny, little playboat remained a favorite. My family called it "tiggerfish" because it clearly liked to bounce around (not to mention the bright orange color). I sent it back to my friend once I was able to buy a boat of my own (the EZ). Now, a year later, I discovered another friend had a Skip that wasn't seeing much use. Except this time the hull was set up as a canoe! Excellent! I promised to give it some love an return it better outfitted than it was before, and drove back to St. Louis with it on my roof.

I think this boat will be great for my training. I rarely have access to much whitewater, so a boat this small will test my balance in other ways. Goofing around and learning tricks will teach me rotation and power. And being upside down so often will hopefully lock in my roll as a immediate, reflexive response.

This is going to be fun!