Austria Bound...

Well next week is what most of this year has been building up to! This Saturday we will be packing up and leaving for Oetz Austria for the Adidas Sickline. I'm both excited and anxious to get there, hit the water and get into my groove! We're picking up a couple of boats in Munich on the way and planning to arrive Sunday afternoon giving me 3 and half days of practice.

For this last week of training I've added more flat water sprints as a little boost! Next week I'll start my 2 Beet-it shots a day for the week. I've recently discovered the power and importance of visualization for kayaking and other sports, so I have been practicing this over the last few weeks. At the moment fitness wise I feel great and feel that I have done what I can mentally and physically. Now I just need to put it all into the race!

Stay tuned and posted to my facebook and twitter for updates and pictures! Fingers crossed everyone!

A sunny Sunday at the Pyranha Fest!

Yesterday we headed to the Pyranha Fest for the day as a last whitewater warm up for Sickline and a chance to take part in the Boater X race. We had a fantastic day, it was warm and the sun was shining! My wife and I just purchased a fancy camera so she was on photo duty and took some amazing shots!

In the afternoon was the boater X race from below Ski Jump to NRA bridge. As usual it was pretty brutal with lots of paddles flying everywhere and crashing into each other, great fun! I got through to the Semi's but unfortunately got pushed too far right when trying to reach an obstacle which put me out of the race, maybe next time! Was a great day all round. It also showed me what I need to work on for next week!

Getting sooo close!

It's now 10 days until I pack up the car and head to Austria for the Sickline. This year has been flying by as so much training and focus has gone into this event. I've been specifically training for the event since April and in May I won the Tryweryn festival which was a big boost and gave me confidence that I was headed in the right direction.

I've again stepped up the training for the last couple of weeks with longer sprints and heavier weights. I've also now started taking the Beet-it shots daily for the next two weeks and during the week of the event I'll be taking two daily. I'm feeling really good and feel that I have put on a bit more bulk and muscle since returning from the states.

This weekend I'll be heading to the Pyranha fest at the Tryweryn for the Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll be able to compete but it'll be good training never the less. I'd like to get stuck into a couple of races though!

Hoping these next weeks go fast and I feel this good next Saturday!

Astaxanthine, the cure for aches!

I'd never really considered looking for something to help prevent the general aches and pains from training/ exercise, I just get on with it! But whilst in the States my mother in law showed me a supplement called Astaxanthine, which is an epic antioxidant with many health benefits. Needless to say I had never heard of it! 

Because we were due to hike mount Katahdin in a couple of days she suggested we take 2 a day in the days leading up to the hike as apparently the supplement helps prevent aching muscles after strenuous activity. I didn't see any harm in giving it ago although I wasn't too convinced that it would make a difference. 

The hike was a long day, taking 11 and a half hours. We were knackered and sore climbing into the truck to drive back to camp, knowing that in the morning we had to go whitewater rafting! Going to bed that night I was sure that I'd wake up and have to roll out of bad and limp to breakfast. 

But that didn't happen, I woke up and although my muscles were a little tight, I was in no pain at all! I could have gone for a run then and there! Whether this was a coincidence or not I'm pretty convinced that this stuff works and I highly recommend it. Tammy was kind enough to give me the rest to take home and I plan on taking them throughout my training leading up to and during the event. 

I've also started drinking Beet-it's normal juice everyday. This is because of it's general amazing health benefits and I figured it couldn't hurt having a little of that nitrate in my system when not using the concentrated shots. It's great finding these natural supplements that really make a difference to your training and general well being! 

How not to raft the Penobscot, ME....

Whilst on holiday we decided it'd be a good idea to raft the Penobscot river. Having never been rafting before I was pretty excited to be trying something new and experiencing rapids in a different way. After just 5 minutes of being in the raft we flipped in the first fall, awesome! After regrouping we spent the day floating down many awesome rapids, all different grades and super exciting.

The company supplied an awesome BBQ lunch by the river and we had a really good time. If your ever in Maine I highly recommend it! Luckily I had a Gopro on my head throughout the day so we got some funny shots which you can view by following the link below, enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/73690308

The final preparation

Before arriving home from our trip to America I knew that once home I only had about 3 and a half weeks to train before heading out to the Sickline, holy crap! Before the holiday I became lighter than I wanted to be, which was ok because I anticipated some weight gain in the States. Becoming buffer became a little more important yesterday when I was informed that the LL Remix I was borrowing for the race had in fact been given to another athlete, bummer. Fortunately my friend from Munich also has an LL Stomper 90.

This boat is a cross between the Jefe and the Remix so I'm confident of it's ability to race, I'am however a little light for it. I've been told that iconic paddlers such as Tao Berman who was in no way a heavy guy, but a very fast racer, used to use a large Nomad. I'm not concerned at all and the plan is to beef up my arms and torso as much as I can in 3 weeks. My dad has a Jefe Grande so I will borrow that to get used to the extra volume!

So my training has a changed a little, but not much! I'm now dropping down to two runs a week, so I can maintain my cardio but not burn too much muscle. I'm now doing longer and more intense weight sessions targeting a lot more muscles. I am doing paddle sprints at least 4 times a week and I'm putting more focus on my abs and core. So my legs are getting a rest and my torso and arms are getting a beating.

Packing will begin shortly and I'll buy food throughout the month. We are planning a budget trip so we will be camping, could be cold.... Just a little bit looking forward to this one!

An epic American Adventure!

I'm always super stoked to return to the States as I'm lucky enough to have the best family in law on the planet! I headed out there with my wife and parents and just had the best time ever. But two weeks wasn't enough.

We packed so much into our time there that I don't think we really sat down! The first few days we spent shopping, swimming, catching lobsters on a boat and having a lobster party and visiting relatives. Then for a long weekend we headed North to where Jessica's parents camp where we chilled, hiked Katahdin, whitewater rafted, picked blueberries, kayaked, fished and much more! It was my first time rafting so we was great to enjoy the high volume whitewater in something other than a kayak, got a bunch of Gopro footage so a video will be online soon!

Once home again we spent the last few days outlet shopping, celebrating birthdays and site seeing. After some sad goodbyes we had a great flight home and a couple of days off to re-adjust! Throughout the holiday I managed to run most days, but didn't lift as much as I would've wanted. We just didn't have time! But with the 11 hour hike and rafting in the middle I had a descent amount of exercise. I put on a healthy amount of weight which I'm glad about as I can now put time in to using it!

Awesome times! 3ish weeks left till we head to the Sickline. So training has changed a little and increased, more on that soon, stay tuned!!