Getting Stung

After over a week on the course here in Charlotte I am definitely tired but feel good on the water. This has been an intense week of training with course acclimation, getting used to the new boat and also trying to get in a good fitness block.

 

I have been very surprised by the new boat, I have been testing the Sting for a couple of weeks now and it has added a dimension of flexibility to my paddling that I think was missing in the 350. While both are great boats, I am beginning to settle into the Sting and I am starting to find the subtleties that make this boat quite quick.  I was a little concerned that I might be a little bit too heavy for the boat on a river as big as the course in Charlotte but so far it has proven to be responsive and easy to change direction while still on top of the water. I am looking forward to testing the new wider version in the next few weeks but right now I am sold on the regular sting.

 

My plan is to take the weekend away from the boat and re charge the batteries and come back to the river on Monday with a clear race focus and race taper in mind. I am looking forward to giving my body a chance to bounce back after the pounding it has endured the past month, physical blocks seem hard to come by in this years schedule and I really tried to maximize this last one before the season really gets started.

Charlotte

Another flight, another hotel room and another bed. The joy of being a slalom kayak racer.

 

Right now I am in Charlotte North Carolina preparing for our team selection event. This year we are partnering with the Americans to have a duel event here on the new state of the art US Whitewater Center. I had the chance to come down and train on the course in December so I was prepared for what to expect and after only a couple of days I am starting to feel comfortable on the water. The course here is a challenging one with some whitewater that can be considered fairly big. This makes paddling here a challenge and learning the tricks of the river a must. I will make good use of the next two weeks to prepare and learn the river while still maintaining my fitness for the upcoming world cup in Europe. It will be interesting to see who has the goods come race day.

 

The format of the event is three day’s of racing with each day’s race counting for individual points that accumulate. The three athletes with the most points at the end of the weekend in each class will be nominated to the team. There is a second hurdle however that each athlete must clear and that is a percentage off of the fastest Canadian paddler on each day. The stress will be thick and the racing fast and furious. The added twist to this years team selection event is that it will begin the selection process for the team that will represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

 

Let the racing begin!