I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!

Our awesome gym, I just did a spin class for the first time and it was AMAZING!!!! Recomended for anyone who likes to burn baby burn!

When we first talked about having a training camp here I was thinking it seams quite extreme to do it on the other side of the world but it is totally worth it. It's so motivational being in a warm climate and being constantly surrounded by a healthy fit nation who always seem positive and happy.

The kayak club are a 25 min drive away so to be on the water for 6am it does mean waking up at 4.45am but we have done it just about every morning so just feels normal at the moment.

Northern Beaches Kayak club are based on the beautiful Narrowbean Lake which is huge. The club train 9 times a week and is mainly kids between 8 and 18 which is really perfect for us as the coach is the best technical coach in NSW and technique is what we seem to be lacking! But this coach Christine or Duffy as the kids call her is a no nonsense woman. If your a minute late, the squad are gone, if you miss a training session, your out of a crew boat, if you fall in you have to swim to the bank and yesterday I fell in . . . in the middle of the lake! The shore looked miles away and slowly the other paddlers and Duffy in her wash making speed boat were out of sight.

I was left stranded thinking there was no need to find that 50m pool today. Antonia kindly came back for me and at first I told her she shouldn't have as it looks bad if we both don't stick with the group, but she pointed out it was our first time in the speedy K1's they had lent us and she was also worried about how far I had to swim. So she suggested she toe me and my water filled kayak but that didn't work, I tried straddling it like on a surf board but it was too full of water so I swam and swam, I could see the shore in the distance but it didn't seem to get any closer then I had a panic attack and suddenly thought I would get leaches all over me then Cockodile Dundee crept into my head, Antonia realised I was being completely irrational and reminded me leaches don't like salt water (as the lake runs into the sea) and Crocodiles are only way up the North coast so I got a grip and carried on swimming. Then I spotted this beautiful Pelican that was standing in the middle of the lake! No it wasn't Jesus reincarnated it was a very shallow part, so I swam there and thanked nice Mr Pelican and he said "any time mate" and flew off! Ok Ant paddled over first and he fled! So I got back into my boat and paddled back to the club.

Sunny Sydney

We arrived in a hot sunny Sydney about 5 hours ago and despite feeling like I am on deaths door through lack of sleep we have already found a huge free-weights gym and have our first paddle with Northern Beaches Canoe Club at 6am tomorrow morning! I am sooooooooo happy. It is gloriously hot and everyone one we speak to sounds pleased to see us, maybe that's just the accent. Off for a nap now, Antonia is insisting we go to the gym tonight, the hour of core we did in Tokyo airport wasn't really sufficient!

Warm weather training!

OFF TO AUSTRALIA WUHOO!!!

Around Christmas time Antonia and I were talking about having a training camp in Oz to give us extra inspiration to continue training hard up until sprint season. As many know half our family live out there so we were hoping accommodation wouldn't be a problem! At first it was just a 'far out' idea but then after an especially windy, wet and freezing outing on Bristol Docs we thought we just have to make this trip happen. So we made all the necessary arrangements and tomorrow we are off to Sunny Sydney (apparently it's a bit wet at the moment but at least it's not cold!!) We have found a canoe club who train every day, a free weights gym and the superb accommodation we are staying at has a 50m pool at the end of the road!

I will be writing again as soon as we have sussed the place out but for now I have to track down where our lovely new Bracca IV paddles have got to!

p.s. We went to watch Debra Searle do a talk at Bristol University and I can't help but quote her as she is the most inspirational person I know.

Opportunities happen when you put your self out side your comfort zone. I love that because now when ever I don't want to do something I will change that feeling instantly by realising what great things will come from it!

Rowing is so last year darling! Our first kayak race!

Antonia and I had our first marathon experience this Sunday. It was the first of the waterside series Great Bedwyn to Newbury 13 1⁄2 miles including 21 portages. We weren’t sure what to expect apart from a lot of pain but as soon as my coach Andy said we ought to do it I was very up for it actually more up for it than I thought I ever would be, it was the thought of finally competing again thrilled me. Apart from the trials in Notts and the friendly Endeavour race both our last proper races with lots of other crews was Henley Royal Regatta in a much loved rowing boat!

We got to the start on time, the atmosphere was so much more relaxed than a rowing head race, which was nice in a way as it took the pressure off what we were about to do. It didn’t help that we boated the wrong way around and the marshal said it would be a long race if we were to do it back wards! We just made out we were going for a long warm up paddle in the other direction!!! Which he didn’t buy!

We started with 3 other crews and went off hard then settled into a good rhythm but 2 mins into the race we had the first portage. This is a skill in it’s self as you can loose a lot of time hauling your self out and in of the boat. To get the fastest portage you have to do everything in sink, from grabbing hold of the side, getting out the same way and running as fast as your partner to the other side of the lock gates and putting the same foot in the boat before your bums hit the seat and then pushing off the side. We were very bad at this having no experience but got better even though in the last hour I questioned whether my arms would lift my body weight out of the boat any more.

It was such a good experience and to race with all those people around was a huge buzz plus we over took loads of crews. This sport is mainly dominated my men so a lot of the crews we overtook were men and judging by the subtle remarks they made to one another found it demoralizing.

We finished the course in 2hrs22mins coming 9th out of 28 other women’s K2’s and also beat 29 other senior K2 men which we were very pleased with as we have only been paddling now for 7 months.

We also were spotted by Worcester Canoe club coach who has asked us to train with them at the weekends to make a k4 to race in the Summer which will be fantastic!

The canoe community is pretty small so it was good to finally meet a few of them. I can’t wait until the Summer now bring on the racing!

New coach, new gym, new fantastic year!

I was in a Glastonbury café last week and on the back of the menu were my stars for the year, (not that I believe in any of that stuff) but it said Gemini’s are about to have an incredible year and so far they have proved right!

Antonia and I have a new weights and conditioning coach who has been such an inspiration to us. Pip the former England woman’s rugby player as taken us under her wing and has set us a pure power and sprints focused programme. We have already undergone 2 bleep tests and cleans are becoming second nature.

We also have to say a MASSIVE thank you to the TRAIN STATION GYM in Glastonbury who have kindly given us free access to their superb free weights and cardio equipment. The staff are extremely helpful, friendly and knowledgeable and I would recommend it to anyone. We haven’t been to any of the classes yet but they sound very motivational!

Although we had set up a good gym in the cider cellar it was starting to get slightly monotonous. We have to do a lot of our training with just each other so to have a gym and train with other people has given a massive boost to our moral.

Slalom Paddling!

Two weekends ago my sister and I were invited to Nottingham to stay with a very good friend known to many as Aggressor and to also train with the Fast Track girls we left at the end of August.

I my self was very apprehensive about it although I knew it was an opportunity we couldn't miss as it would show where we are compared to the girls still on the programme.

After seeing the word time trial on the duel carriage way on the drive up and automatically finding myself driving as fast as I could to win of course, I realised that I was in a good, focused mind frame and if I got a speeding ticket I would never be able to borrow my mums car ever again! (don't panic mum nothing has come through yet!)

Saturday morning we got up early and walked to Holm Pierrepont and met the girls, they were so pleased to see us both it was quite overwhelming. It felt very strange, like a day in the life of the Summer but so much has happened since then. We met Mark our old coach, got out our previous boats we initially learnt in and pushed off the landing stage. Our racing boats we now own are far more unstable than the boats we started in so it felt good to know our stability has improved.

We were doing 500 metre sprints and just the feeling to be back training with a bunch of people who are so focused and driven was exhilarating (like being in a committed rowing crew) and to get that intense coaching made me really miss what we had in the Summer. Antonia and I weren't last out of the four who still remain which in my mind is a big achievement. However we have a lot of work to do by the sprint season which starts in April but now knowing where we stand and have a good set up at home our only limitations are our selves.

It is a lot harder doing it with out the kind of structure and input they have, but we have to remind ourselves that we also have a lot of support and must focus on what we do have not what we don't. If you can get through the hardship and stick at it, you will come out on the other side a far stronger person with far more motive to keep going especially after you have invested so much in it.

After some kayak erg work with one to one coaching we then hit the water again for the last session. We boated on one of the smaller lakes beside the main racing lake and paddled onto the river Trent to do a steady state piece. On our way back onto the lake I was in a slight trance, feeling quite tired. The next thing I know the water is actually pulling me into the lake and thought for a split second 'oh my gosh they have turned the rapids on' Nope I was heading for the Slalom lake and even with frantic back paddling it was too late and was swallowed into the first rapid. I capsized and had to get myself out of my spray deck under water which I have never done in flat water let alone in a waterfall type situation. My boat and my paddle went flying out the other end and I came up spluttering and choking to find a group of worried kids paddling towards me. I manged to grab hold of the side when the instructor taking the Children's slalom lesson pulled me out. I thought straight away how will I live this down! The slalom kids paddled over with my boat (in one piece thank god!) and my paddle. Antonia came running over the bridge after seeing the whole thing from a safe distance to see thankfully, I was OK. Mark my coach had disappeared which he later told me was so embarrassed at what I had done pretended to disown me!

Antonia asked how I missed the big sign above the bridge saying SLALOM CANOE COURSE, HELMETS AND LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES! Yes I still don't know how I didn't see that either, again so focused I was oblivious to anything around me!!

That night we went to the classy stores of Asda to get things for dinner and one of the Canoe guys who I didn't know happened to be working in the Pharmacy and said "are you the girl who took a sprint kayak down the slalom course?" word gets around fast.

A lot learnt and much banter had, I just hope we get invited back after making such a lasting impression??

Choose Your Attitude!

I’m sorry Petumbukan Frangipani (what a lovely unusual name you have!) that I haven’t written for a while but I didn’t want to write again until I had something positive to talk about and today I feel like I have climbed a foot hill of a mountain which feels like an amazing accomplishment.

Last week Antonia and I decided to go for an especially long paddle on the Huntspil, it was a lovely fresh Autumn day with the sun high and the sky was blue as ever. We set off to kayak the whole stretch of the Huntspil and back. On the way we greeted by a friendly fisherman who told us to ‘get off the river’ so we kind of just ignored him and paddled on. The Huntspil is very straight and as it was such a clear day we could see the end from miles away. After 2 days had gone past we finally got there . . . ok 1.5 hours. We turned our boats around reasonably easily in the 2pmh winds so we were now in a head wind which is easier to paddle in. I felt quite confident and said to Ant ‘we will fly back now it feels so stable’ then a few well spirited strokes later and I fell in. It was FREEZING, another friendly fisherman packed up his stuff and moved a few metres down as I clearly must had disturbed the fish (sorry Mr fisherman, don’t you mind me, I only could die of hypothermia!)

I quickly climbed on my boat and paddled to the side but the banks were so high I couldn’t get out so ended up paddling (lying on the boat) for quite away then spent a good 20 mins getting back into the boat. By this time the sun was going down, we quickly paddled on but I was getting cold and colder so we stopped and Antonia gave me her dry top (see mum we do love each other!). We paddled further but with the sun down I didn’t last long until I felt so stiff with coldness I couldn’t paddle any further. That sounds very weak of me but I’m not one for giving up and I just thought if I fall in now, we are still so far away from the car I might just die on the river bank (a bit dramatic but that’s how I felt at the time) so we both got out our boats in a random field.

It was now very dimpsy dark and as soon as a got out I felt dizzy (I think I had a major sugar low) so Ant said we had to run and leave our boats. So we did, through fields, over hedges, dodging an evil looking bull then crossing the M5 in our lycra in the dark. We eventually got back to the car got changed and drove to the nearest garage to get vital food supplies - food always comes first something we both feel strongly about so no arguments there! Then of course we had to find the boats which meant taking Granny’s car for a little off road adventure (sorry Granny). We couldn’t find the boats – I had visions of a cow fancying a quick paddle (still delirious from the cold) Antonia thought they had rolled in the water! No we were just looking in the wrong place but as it was pitch black and we only had the light from my glowing heart rate monitor so it was very hard to see. They were still in one piece so we loaded them up and went home.

My next outing in the K1 I actually felt slightly more stable which is the first signs of a considerable improvement I have had ever since we got them. Then this morning we had a usual early morning session in the gym and my weights went up. So finally all the ground work we have been putting in since we left Nottingham is finally paying off.

I just read the most inspirational book by Debra Searle which has really helped me: The Journey, How to achieve against the odds. One thing that especially stood out was when you wake up in the morning you have to make a decision. What attitude am I going to choose. You can either choose to battle through the day and feel sorry for your self or you can choose to be positive and optimistic, what ever the day has in store for you, this makes you far more in control of the situation/training session, choosing to fight it instead of it fighting you if you know what I mean. So quote of the day ‘choose your attitude’.

p.s. Sorry Uncle David I didn’t get to the hedges in time and Mum got the hedge trimmer out and cut through the lead! No more hedge trimmer, I better get the old secateurs out!