Chin ups and Eggs

I'm really happy that despite getting to an age that some folk have inadvertently fallen into a rut of familiarity, I'm still leaning skills, having adventures and experiencing new things.

One of the things I'm most excited about on my journey of being a team GB para canoeist  is the fact that I can now ........ do chin ups. Note the deliberate plural here :-)

This may not be a skill high up on many of your wish lists, but I've been trying unsuccessfully to do one for years.  In fact I can remember being turned away from the local gym club aged 10, despite being able to do passable headstand, because I failed the strength (ie chin up) test .

Me doing chin ups (ie more than 1!)

As a cyclist, chin ups were about as likely to happen - and as relevant - as me jumping over the moon, but when I started kayaking everyone said I had to be able to do chin ups - It's a kinda right of passage - something to do with getting strong arms, backs and shoulders I suppose.

In fact chin ups are so much of a way of life for kayakers that most of them can jump onto a bar and pop out hundreds while still chatting about their weekend. Many tie massive weights around their waists- (big enough to make my knees buckle)  and then they still manage several?!? Kayakers have even been known to do chin-ups for fun at parties...

Adding weights, like its not difficult enough!

Another new experience for me is eating eggs.  Now bear with me, egg eating may seem random and unrelated to my chin up success, but I wonder ?..... When I started on the journey changing from an endurance to a sprint athlete I had to get bigger and stronger. In order to achieve this my diet had to incorporate more protein - "Eat eggs" everyone said. This was going to be a massive challenge to manage because eggs make me feel sick- I've never been able to eat eggs, think about eggs or even sit next to someone eating eggs without feeling really nauseous. 

Yes! I can now eat eggs :-)

However, continuing the theme of 'embracing new experiences' I figured if I could become European champion in less than a year of kayaking then I could also conquer egg eating.

It's taken me 18 months of trying and I'm not sure which was harder, chin ups or egg eating but I'm happy to report that I can now do both.

I hasten to add that I can't do many of either (and never at the same time;-) ) nor do I particularly enjoy doing them and I definitely, categorically won't be doing either at parties !!

Looking forward to Easter!


 Is it sad that coming up to Easter the thing I'm looking forward to most of all, even more than my Easter egg, is the arrival of my new mattress?

The healthiest Easter Egg I could find:-)

  It's funny to reflect, but one of the hardest things to get to grips with on the GB program is just how much sleep I am supposed to have.  Not just time in bed, but 8 hours of quality sleep... Sleep is where your body repairs and recovers. Good sleep means you can train hard day after day. After years of choosing my own bedtime it's like being a child again - being sent to bed earlier than I want ... and I havn't even been naughty!!

 As an adult choosing my own bedtime has been one of life's simple pleasures and with my busy schedule, sleeping less than 5 hours a night has been commonplace. 

Even when I was training for 24 hour mountain bike racing I would frequently only go to sleep when I was so tired that I couldn't think straight, I would then choose to leap out of bed early the next morning.  My coach even put in 3am training sessions to help me get used to functioning when every cell in my body wanted to sleep.  She also used to tell me I needed recovery time, but I'm not convinced I ever really got it.....


Ragged at the end of a training session :-(

 All that has changed. Just as a child and a teenager need sleep to grow I am building up so much new power that I need more and more sleep to help my muscles recover and get stronger. As much as I hate to admit it, the research supporting the theory that quality sleep is a crucial for fast recovery is right.  If I want to get stronger and faster I simply have to get more sleep.  One of my strangest training goals for this season has been the search for a new mattress to replace the old one which is uncomfortable.

 Mattress buying is the strangest thing. Lying down with your partner on a bed in the middle of a busy shop feels a bit naughty - or am I the only one who thinks this? 


And there are so many mattresses out there that are all so different... As a physio, and someone with a history of 2 serious back injuries I am incredibly particular about what I sleep on and I felt much like goldilocks finding something wrong with every mattress I found. In true female shopping style I dragged Simon to loads of shops without giving in to his exasperated pleas "this is just like the last one" doh! no it's not!! 


Finally, after much research as well as the field testing of lying down, turning over and head shaking (me) eye rolling (Simon) we (I) now know we have found the perfect mattress :-)


Mammoth claim to make mattresses that are loved by athletes and "Olympians".

 They came up in my research and I don't usually do hype, so they were just one of many I tried out.  I have to say that as soon as I lay on one I smiled - "Just right", said Goldilocks".  Simon was away at the time, but as soon as he got back I found an excuse to drag him into a shop.  Within moments of lying down he was gently snoring (he says it was jet lag having just flown in from Thailand, but I recon it was the uber comfy mattress)


 I will be open with you - I am immensely grateful to the fantastic folk at Mammoth who have been incredibly supportive and I can't thank them enough!
 This mattress will definitely help with my training!

 So it's Easter coming up.  I will have an Easter egg, (and won't tell my coaches just how big it is), but they will be pleased to hear my new mattress is coming - because sleeping properly for 8 hours is going to be the easiest gain ever in my training.

You know its too windy to paddle when...

The 2014 season has arrived! This weekend was GB Paracanoe assessment and I am relieved to have secured my place on the squad.

This first event succeeded in blowing away the cobwebs - both literally and figuratively with the customary Nottingham uber head wind.

who sunk the jetty?

Fortunately challenging weather was nothing new because the entire winter training weather has been testing... Too much water made finding training venues challenging (who would have thought you couldn't train in a boat because of too much water). The winter has also been consistently windy, causing a few 'hilarious' training sessions. 

My coach Griff is known for his wise words, and at the last session he commented that "if it's too windy to carry the boat from the car to the lake then it's probably too windy to paddle".  In spirit with this helpful observation here is my own "its too windy to paddle when" list - please feel free to add your own;-)

You know it's too windy to paddle when...

- The birds have given up flying and are walking south instead

- Waves on a usually flat lake are braking over the jetty.  Oh, in fact, where is the jetty?

- You Paddle full pelt into the headwind and just stay still

- Dog owners appear to be flying 4 legged kites as owners struggle to keep them on the ground

- Your hair, despite being firmly tied back, escapes and blows sideways/forwards making it look like you have a 'comb over'

- You can hear voices carried on the wind across the lake but the people are too far away to actually see

- You struggle to get out of your car because you can't open your car door

- You find a sphincter you never realise you had whilst clenching really hard to try and keep yourself upright in the boat

- Your "sprint kayak" has the sudden desire to be a Malibu surf board and takes off down the lake on the crest of a wave with you hanging on in surprise

- The wind sock is gradually being reduced to shreds of cloth as the training session goes on

- You begin to wonder if there is a water equivalent of the yellow brick road and if in fact you might not be in Kansas anymore...

comb over

So that summarises the winter training season and did we stay in the cafe drinking hot chocolate? oh no!! But at least we were prepared for the Nottingham assessment day. Bring on the 2014 season!

The Dorney Kitchen- ace for post training refuelling

Anyone missing the sunshine ?

Sivota Greece

Sea kayaking in the Ionian sea

One of the greatest challenges last season was getting the “being a  

mum” balance right.  I was determined that the kids shouldn’t miss out,  

including going on holiday, but with my main event being at the end of  

Summer meant I missed out on any family holiday time with them.

Then, with the Worlds over and October half term looming I decided I  

really needed a break.  Having spent a year of full on kayaking I was  

definitely due a change of scenery.  But winter training had already  

started and I didn’t want to slope off.  I spent countless hours  

researching options for places I could train that were also options  

the kids would enjoy.  With a teenage daughter who liked her social  

life and a teenage son who wanted sport, I was really  

struggling.  Looking back on it I don’t know why it took me so long to  

find the solution.  We had been on Neilson holidays before.  But back  

then when I was a normal person (well, ish), I was a mountain biker, and  

really didn’t like the sea that much.  Almost in desperation I looked  

at the Neilson website and noticed they had a specialist kayak centre  

– how perfect is that!

For those of you who haven’t done Neilson, the combination of a beach  

resort specializing in sports, with kids clubs for different age  

groups, has become a family favorite.

A bit of late summer sunshine, the promise of flat, warm sea,

kayaks, a gym for my training, teenage activity clubs and an all  

inclusive buffet to allow for my serious protein habit - all bases  

were covered.

fun boat

I’m used to travelling with my bike, but I felt a prize idiot trying  

to convince the airport vigilantes that my paddles were perfectly safe  

to take as hand luggage. That feeling continued as I turned up at the  

hotel. The other ladies arrived clutching a handbag and a large floppy  

hat - not a seven-foot carbon Kevlar pole.

I was really excited to get to the beach to check out the kayaks.  

Hmmm... lots of plastic fun boats, sea kayaks and stumpy boats for  

white water... not a sprint kayak in sight. I couldn't wait to branch  

out!

cave exploration

For the previous 12 months I had been focusing on going as fast as  

possible in a straight line. Here in Sivota I had signed up for my 1  

star paddle sport award. Having jumped in at the deep end of elite  

kayaking I had missed all the basic stuff, and here I actually got to  

learn basic boat skills including safe capsizing and deep water  

rescue. Now capsizing was something I had done before, but never on  

purpose. To do it deliberately was daunting. Falling in at home  

usually involved the 'swim of shame' in freezing water to the bank, or  

getting a wedgie while being pulled into the rescue boat. Falling into  

the warm Ionian Sea in contrast was actually quite pleasurable :-)

capsize

In fact the entire “holiday” was immensely pleasurable. I had thought  

that continuing my training would be difficult but I didn’t have any  

trouble at all. The gym had an epic view over the bay and mountains,  

and I was able to spend hours on and in the sea practicing my boat  

skills.  Going in a straight line in a boat designed to be  

maneuverable actually helped me work through my technique.  Recovery  

was also sorted as I could pile my plate ridiculously high at the  

buffet (to the incredulity of the ladies with designer bags and floppy  

hats) with freshly grilled fish, meat and veg. Mmmm.

not a shabby place to paddle;-)

It wasn't all about training though. Without the need to travel for  

training there was plenty of time to relax with the kids, on the beach  

or by the pool. 

relaxing on the beach

chilling with my daughter

The kids got really into the water sports and my  

daughter took full advantage of the powerful engine (me) as we  

explored the local islands and caves in the double kayaks.

Where else could you get thumbs up from a GB para-canoeist in  

training, a teenage daughter who doesn't like exercise but wants a  

full social scene, and a teenage son who wants to have a go at  

windsurfing, Stand up paddle-boarding, waterskiing, mountain biking,  

Tennis, volleyball…?

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