Gold medals are awarded in the summer, but they’re earned in the winter.
-Kyle Hamilton, Canadian Olympic Gold Medallist Rower
Over the last six weeks I’ve been attempting to get back into paddling shape. I’ve had really good motivation and have been on the water nearly every day which is quite the change from all the indoor gym training of the previous twelve months. I’m not back to full speed yet but it’s coming back quicker than I had expected. As it continues to get colder and darker it’s harder to stay motivated to be on the water, so I’ll shift some time into the gym and try to make every workout count. There’s a long way to go, but I’m feeling healthy, strong and motivated.
Last Sunday we had our first dragon boat practice of the season as the first step as we build towards next summer’s World Championships in Tampa Florida. We had a big group out and it was great to see some people I haven’t seen since we raced in Prague in August 2009. The paddling itself wasn’t as painful as expected, but I did make the mistake of not stretching afterwards and paid the price the next day.
A film crew from Fantastic Festivals of the World that airs on the Discovery Channel was on hand to get some footage as a follow up to the story they started when we were racing in Hong Kong. Once I have air time details I’ll make another post.
