Training is going well so far this week in Oakville/Mississauga. Today was a mixed bag weather wise, this morning a cold front blew in and brought pretty heavy rains. We suffered a bit on the water but managed to get some good sprint pieces in. I ducked out a bit early when I started to get some chills, the last thing I want is to invite back the flu I fought of last week. By this afternoon the weather had cleared up and the 16 Mile Creek was calm, all be it a bit swollen from the morning rain. I went for a light spin and just tried to feel sharp and strong. We are heading to Welland tomorrow to do some course work on the great regatta course they have there. Should be a blast!
Yesterday Kyle and I did a c-2 session on the Credit River in Mississauga. It was a a high volume, high intensity session. It was a great work out, the conditions were not perfect but we were able to work through the waves, wind and whole mess of other boats on the water to have a great practice. It always feels good to over come a bit of a challenge and pull out a good session.
Here is a shot of me and Tamas Sr. after the session.
(of note is the old school authentic Honved paddle that Tamas brought from Hungary in 1986, and was one of the Buday boys first paddles in Canada.)
After a bout of the spring flu this week, I am feeling much better and ready for another week of training. Kyle and I had a good, solid session at Mississauga on Saturday morning. To my great joy our canoe teams fearless leader, Tamas Buday Sr., was down at Missy for our practice. It was so great to see Daddy-O back at it coaching, fixing boats and energizing everyone around him. Tamas came out in the motor boat with us and we got to get his input on C-2. More of the Buday clan surfaced at Missy after our session; Attila, Carrie and Charlie were down at the club. It was great to see them all and Attila notified me that on his first round of golf of the year, on Friday with Kyle, he shot an 88. Ati is still the king of the canoe golfers. (apologies to Aruss)
This week should be exciting, with some very intense pre-race workouts on tap and the excitement building as the racing season approaches.
The goals for this week are to:Be positive
Feel strong 
Have Fun
After a whirl-wind stay at home I was back on the road today.
I finished my scholastic year with a pair of exams on Monday and Tuesday. I was happy with the way things went this year with school and am pumped to finish my degree (hopefully) next year. I also got to spend a day with my Mom on Sunday. She was racing in the Raisin River Long Distance Canoe Race in her trusty downriver racing k-1, and I got to cheer her on and help her through out the 20 km course. It was a beautiful Ontario spring day and I was very impressed with the whole event. I was even more impressed with my mom who trucked through the downriver course, complete with rapids and a big portage in just over 2 hrs, which got her 4th place out of all the kayaks racing. (First Female!) Way to go Mom.
Today I cruised down the 401 with Jamie to Oakville/Mississauga/Burlington where I will be training for the next week. I am pumped to get some solid sessions in with Kyle and to get ramped up for trials which are now two weeks and change away.
I will be staying at my home in the GTA, the Oldershaw residence. Here is a shot of my riunion with the Oldershaw I haven't seen in too long....HALI!!!!!!
Live from the Orlando Airport.
And that is that, another Florida under our teams collective belts. As usual the time in the sunny south has flown by and it is now time to reset at home in a bit cooler weather and get ready to race.
Florida this year was a bit of a wild ride. As a team we got used to the changes that a new quadrennial will bring, enjoyed great times with our international friends and pulled together as teammates and friends to deal with a tragic loss. The feeling I take away most from the camp as a whole is a sense of cohesiveness and team spirit that I sense was at an all time high. Tough times do bring out the best in great people, but more than that I think that the once-in-a-life time opportunity to race a World Championship at home has started to sink in for all of us.
The build towards medals on Lake Banook has begun.
I am very positive with the way the camp has gone personally. Kyle and I had a great last couple of practices this week. The canal finally cleared up a bit and we were able to use the calm water to start bringing up the speed and sprint a little bit. It feels great to ramp up the stroke rate and get that racing feeling.
As I said the camp flew by, and I am sure I will be waking up a little groggy in Sherbrooke after CCA before I know it. But if there is one thing I will do this year it will be to try and enjoy everyday and every moment. That is the biggest lesson I learned this year in Florida, and I don't think I am alone.
On to Ottawa.
As we wind down our camp in Florida, Kyle and I have begun to try and get back to the faster race speed in C-2. The biggest challenge when the speed and high intensities come back into the session's is to keep the strokes long and connected. My focus during this transition to faster speeds is to think of moving the boat more each stroke, instead of keying off the speed itself.
After some sore muscles and tired bodies slowed us down a bit last week, Kyle and I are both back in form and ready to get a last couple strong C-2 practices in before we head back home this weekend.
Here is some video from the end of last week. Points of interest include, our sweet new V3 Nelo C-2, the babes on a dock in the background and the fast 'idle speed' of our coach boat.
