What's up what's up?

Greetings and salutations!

Happy Tuesday! It's raining and cold here in the capital, but it's been a great day, and week, so far. Training has been going really well, and I've written and likely passed three exams, with one more to go. I also got my marks back from the papers I wrote when I was in Florida and was very happy with the results. Thanks to Delaire for going to such great heights (18th floor Dunton tower) to hand them in. One more exam this week, and then I'll probably head home to Burloak for my last few weeks of training before trials.

I've been feeling really good on the water since I've been home, and am getting excited for the racing season to get going. The water is still really low here in Ottawa, but we have been getting by just fine, in fact it is probaby the best transition from Florida to colder weather training that I have ever made. There is a good group here to paddle with who work hard, but I think what has made the biggest difference is that we all have positive attitudes about training, even if it isn't in perfect conditions. Getting back from the paradise of Florida and having to train in cold, shallow water with a current can be tough, but you have to make the best of it, and since you can't control the water, all you can do is control your attitude towards it. Constantly complaining about the weather or the water isn't going to help at all. All it does is make you, and those around you, think negatively and have more bad practices. If you approach training with a positive attitude, you will almost always get a better workout. The way I look at it is this: Training in bad conditions will only make you better in the long run, IF you don't use it as an excuse to skip practices or quit workouts. Basically, it will toughen you up. Think how nice it will feel to race on the Welland canal after training in a shallow, freezing cold bay with a constant side wind. Pretty nice. I've been around the world and seen some of the places where the best paddlers come from, and they are often pretty sketchy. Constant current, giant barges, cruise ships, huge wavy lakes, tiny creeks, and man eating hippos are just some of the obstacles that world class paddlers deal with every day. You can get a good workout almost anywhere, you just have to have the right attitude going into it. If you tell yourself the conditions are crappy and you're going to have a bad workout, then you will.

Another reason I'm feeling better on the water is because I'm back in my old boat with a more comfortable setup. I never really setup my footrest and grip tape as well as I should have in Florida, and I realize now that it was a mistake. Being comfortable and balanced in your boat allows you to paddle better technically, especially when you hit some waves or rough water. All you young paddlers out there, make sure your block is secured and your footrest is comfortable, and you have some good grip tape so you don't slip. I'll be sure to set up my new Vanquish III properly when I get back to Burloak, and look forward to the difference that I know it will make. Being more comfortable, I've been able to really work on my technique, and I feel that it's almost back to 100%. I feel really strong at the catch, reaching far forward with my body relaxed, and then stabbing the water and feeling the connection through my whole body. That connection goes through to my block and my front foot, allowing me to push the boat forward with my legs through the stroke. This creates a nice glide, and I can again relax my body while the boat continues to move forward. That's my little technical talk for the day, sorry if it bored any non-canoers.

Off the water training has been going well too, weights have been pretty heavy to maintain our strength before we start focusing more on racing, and Gab and I did a nice trail run that led to some serious soakers... On that run we saw a section of dock further up the river from where we lived, so we went back to get it later. We used a bunch of big dried up logs on the side of the river to make a raft for the dock to float on, and naturally Gab decided to float it down the river to our house. He had a makeshift paddle, and it was a nice calm, relatively warm day, so we didn't think it would be a problem. I returned to the house, knowing that he was going to have a pretty long float home. I was making dinner when we started to hear tons of sirens going off. "Something really big must be going on" somebody exclaimed... You'll have to wait for Gab's next post to get the full story, but let's just say it was a pretty exciting journey down the river for him.

Alright, time for a nap, and then back to the club for another paddle. Hopefully it's nice and cold and windy so I can get an edge on my competitors! Thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water!

I'm back baby!
In case you didn't get the memo, Florida is out and Ottawa is the new cool place to be. Some people will tell you that Florida is still "da bomb diggity", but they don't know what they're talking about. One kilometre loops in cold, shallow, currenty water is where it's at, hands down. So is wearing a life jacket, safety first!
Yesterday morning was my last paddle at the Pines for the year, and it was one of my best. I started by doing a nice long steady, with Diana on my wash making me go hard, and since we went early it was clear water the whole time, very nice! When I got back to the bridge I saw Ge doing some 1000 m testing, and she asked if I wanted to do the last one with her, so I said why not? and took her challenge. It was a good hard pace and I felt good the whole way, and posted a time somewhere between 3:30 and 4:30, pretty good! Then it was time to head home! I didn't really have time to say bye to many people, but I'll see them all pretty soon anyway. The flight home was problem free. I had a connection through Washington, and I'm happy to say that it was much warmer in our Nation's capital than in theirs. Perhaps it's global warming, or maybe just a nice welcome home, but whatever it was, I dig it. I walked out of the airport comofortably in shorts and a t-shirt, and was immediately greeted by Gab driving his luxury vehicle, the Chevy Cobalt. We had dinner and then I had to get to work studying for my exams, which had been a little neglected in Florida. I also set a goal for myself to be in bed and falling asleep before 11 until National Team Trials in May. I've been a little tired recently and I think part of it is because my sleeping pattern isn't as regular as it should be. Day one of my mission is complete, and tonight looks like it will be a success as well.
It was nice to get back to the Rideau Club today and do some weights as well as get out for a short paddle. The water isn't perfect, but I was glad I could get out and not miss a day on the water. Gab and I will probably bring our boats back to our house tomorrow, as the water here looks to be a little better than down at the club.
I also had my first exam today and it went fairly well. I missed the last 5 classes so I didn't ace it, but I was happy with how I did. It was one of the classes I really enjoyed this semester. Tomorrow I have another exam. It is one of the classes I really did NOT enjoy this semester, so we'll see how that goes. Alright, it's time to do some more studying before my new curfew. Thanks for reading and keep your paddle in the water.

Greetings to all,

Time has flown by down here in Florida and suddenly I'm just a few days from going home. It has been a great camp so far, and I've been improving a lot from week to week. I started a little behind this year but I've managed to catch up fairly well, and while I'm not quite where I need to be yet, I'm confident that everything is on the right track and I'll be ready to race in May.

The first few weeks of camp were frustrating, as I felt that I was paddling ok but my arms kept getting really tired, and I was having trouble finishing even easy workouts. I kept thinking that it was just my fitness that wasn't what it should be, but a few things happened and I realized that it was more than just that. First, I had a talk with Mathieu Goubel, C1 entry for France, friend and training partner. It was after a couple of beers (more for him than me), so it was a bit over the top, but what it came down to was that even if I wasn't in great shape, I still had to push myself and try to win pieces every workout. He talked about how when he trained, he just wanted to beat me, or whoever he was with, every piece. He is one of the real work horses of our sport, and also probably the biggest canoer in the field. I know that just blindly going hard every piece isn't everyone's style, but I respect his work ethic and attitude a lot. I decided that I needed to attack practices more and get it out of my head that I was out of shape.

The second thing I did to start going faster on the water was modify my technique a little bit. I felt really powerful and connected, and could move the boat fast for short pieces, but maintaining speed was next to impossible. I remember I made the change on a thursday, and the results were immediate. The morning was a C4 workout, with me, Richard Dalton, Antoine Meunier and fellow C4Cer Mortman (check the picture on his blog). It was a good practice, and we really connected well. Rich was stroking, and I really felt that following his rhythm helped me a lot. I've always looked at Rich's technique to help my with my own, and while I don't try to copy him exactly, just thinking about certain things he does helps me a lot. It's always important to look at other successful paddlers techniques and think about how they are moving the boat, even if they are your competition. For me, growing up watching video of the best paddlers was essential to my development and I encourage all young athletes to do the same. That afternoon I had a great practice in C1, and felt really good technically and didn't get nearly as tired. Training since then has been a lot better, and I feel that I'm paddling technically well and I am lasting way longer in workouts.

So while at first I thought that it was the physical aspect of paddling that was slowing me down, it turned out that it was more the mental and technical side of it that needed to be fixed. These three things are the three most important components of paddling, and they are often interconnected, and you have to think about all of them if you want to improve. We've had requests for video of technique, so below is a video of me paddling in C1 a few weeks ago. It's not perfect but it's getting better each day. That's all for now, thanks for reading, and keep your paddle in the water.