ramping up

Training has ramped up this week with increased volume and some massive intensity ie 50x30s on/30s off, and some long weight room sessions (upwards of 2hrs). It went well for 1.5days before my intercostal muscles decided enough was enough and gave out. So I am currently sitting on the side lines pulling my hair out because I want to train at full speed like everyone else. I have finally learned that its better to take 3 days off or low volume/intensity now then have it effect weeks to months of training by pushing through. Knowing this doesn't make it any easier for us competitive types to comply with that bit of wisdom ....aaahhhh. But I have to remember its not just me that's affected by my injury its my canoeing partner as well so I have to play it smart or we both loose.
I am writing this after 2 attempted training sessions and work so it my be incoherent.
cheers
K

Testing week

Testing week, produces an oxymoron of emotions, you dread it but at the same time your completely stoked about the whole thing. Starting on Tuesday morning we had 2km time trials, and in the afternoon max strength testing on bench pull, bench press, and weighted pull ups. On Wednesday we had a double session in the morning and the afternoon off. To day we had a K4 workout in the morning then endurance strength testing in the afternoon. This consisted of lifting 60% of your body weight for 90sec and going for max number of reps. I was really happy with my results all week showing substantial improvement since I was last tested in mid November. and by substantial I mean I could do twice as many bench rows in 90sec and 5 more pull ups(19), plus added 20lbs to my max for bench press and 10lbs to my weighted pull ups (3 with 45lbs).
cheers
K

WInd & Waves and lots of Rain

Monday morning broke with the conditions from hell, blustery with driving rain and cool temps. The lake had whitecaps but it looked manageable if you went across the main bay over to the east bay. Everyone threw on their spray skirts and cold gear and headed over with out incident. The work out was 8x6min @ level 2 with 20sec pickups at the 3min mark. I felt great, smooth in the water, stable and fast despite the conditions. I even managed to surf some of the waves during the pieces it was sooo much fun. By the end of the workout I have to admit I was feeling cocky the workout had gone well and the waves posed no problem and were actually fun! This is when my instincts and common sense left me. The wind had picked up alot making large white capped waves on the main bay, everyone except yours truly headed up wind and were going to tack across the bay. I decided that I could handle the waves and would go straight across to the dock, this meant I would be broadsided the entire way, undaunted by this thought I took off across the bay. I had little problem with the balance however the wind and waves were making it impossible for me to stir using the rudder forcing me to brace and paddle on one side in order to steer. With 200m to go I was battered with a strong gust of wind pushing me into an even worse angle with the waves I braced to stir but my blade was caught by the waves and I flipped over. I righted the boat as quickly as I could but lots of water had already poured in, I managed to turn the boat so I was no longer broadside to the waves, the boat paddle and I were tossed around as I watched for the coach to come get me. Waves were causing problems for the motor boat as well and it seemed like forever before he could get near to me. "leave the boat and paddle, just get on board, I'll pick them up." I was beginning to get nervous with the weather so I did as he said and swam over to the boat and climbed in. The back end of my boat was underwater at this point and we couldn't maneuver the motor boat to a good angle to reach it, time went into slow motion, waves crashing, wind blow, rain driving, the motor boat being tossed around and my boat sinking. By some miracle Nathan was able to grab the stern of the boat as the whole thing disappeared under the water from there he slowly brought it up, meanwhile no one was at the controls of the launch. "Can you drive the launch in while I get your boat up?" there really was little choice in the matter if we tried to switch we would have lost the boat. I fumbled around with the controls I had know idea what to do. Nathan was yelling through the wind trying to explain, it took a minute and then I figured it out. we were bounced around fairly good as I tried to head us into the dock, once we were closer to shore Nathan was able to empty most of the water from my boat and get it up onto the launch, at this point we needed to change places. I tried to move around the boat at the same time as Nathan this proved to be a bad idea when he knocked the boat trying to get over it the action knocked me out of the launch, I smacked my face against the boat but barely noticed I had to get to shore. Nathan couldn't help he had one hand on the boat and the other trying to control the launch so both wouldn't end up smacking into the dock and other boats.
Everything ended up well the boat was fine and so was I except a bruise on my face unfortunately my paddle is M.I.A but there is still hope I will find it.
I realized from this experience that it is better to use caution against the elements then just relying on skill because stuff can happen very quickly.

Happy V Day

Well this is the end of recovery week. I cant say I am sad to see it go either, I am really eager to get back to training hard for a while. The week was spent getting all those necessary things done like laundry, work, and boat maintenance. I was able to make a new full foot board for my kayak and rig up a new strap it should be great and I cant wait til Monday to try it!
V-day was spent relaxing then off to downtown San Diego for my friends B-day party at the airport lounge. It was a lot of fun but I realized I really need to learn spanish because all my friends there were from Mexico or Peru !
cheers
K

Resting and working

The rest week is progressing as normal, meaning the fatigue from the other weeks has set in and people are fighting off colds etc... The rest week or unload week as some call it always produces these symptoms. People feel worse then the tough weeks but after its over the body will reward you by assimilating all the training from the previous cycle and then letting you move to the next level.
This week has been really tough for me I am fighting off an ear infection, struggling with low blood pressure all while training and starting a new job at night working in a cafe. I shouldn't complain because the sports med staff has been taking great care of me and I am sure by next week I will be in tip top shape.
Today the morning practice went well, I did 10x 2'/2' in the K2 with Maggie Hogan and it felt OK for our first time in a boat together. I really think the team boat work will really help me with technique and power also they're a lot of fun!
til next time
K

Rest Week

This week is a rest week, only 2 workouts a day with decreased intensity across the board. Since I have only been out here for a week I don't quit feel ready for a rest week. I want to keep pushing it. However I was assured that it would be a wise choice for me to take it easy. For example I wanted to run instead of stationary bike, the trainer almost laughed at me and said I would highly recommend you just spin and take it really easy this week.
Today was another windy rainy day with a cold chill to the air so not the best training conditions but we worked through it with the knowledge of a hot shower and breakfast once we where done.
cheers
K

Off to the OC

The rain was coming down heavy as the women's kayak team left the training center and headed off to the Newport Beach area in the OC for a surfski, outrigger and kayak race. As we headed north on the 805 patches of sun poked through the clouds, shortly a small section of a rainbow was spotted within another minute or so the full rainbow emerged. The appropriate leprechaun jokes were made and we briefly considered calling the coach to tell him we would not be racing and were heading off to chase rainbows instead.
Later on the 805 I was roused from a nap or rather my brief attempt to go back to bed by Emily asking me to hand her the "to go" box with the directions written on top. The scenery had changed significantly from when I had dosed off, tall snow covered peaks were in the distance to my right and the ocean to my left. Signs for Porches, BMW, Mercedes and other high end cars were also visible from the highway and it was evident that we were entering a very wealthy area, everything was pristine.
It was still chilly and raining with the occasional glimpse of sun when we arrived at the Newport aquatic club. Katie Hagler and myself were going to race together in a K2, which i thought would be fun but i was also a bit nervous it had been 2months since I had been in a team boat and i wasn't sure how my balance would be.
When Katie and I got down to the start the water was squirrelly and moving fast, it didn't take long to figure out the times were going to be quick!
The race started with out a hitch we were posting 1km times were under 3.20m and even down to 3.05 at one point. My forearms were the first to go making it difficult to keep a good stroke going which therefore affected our balance, but we held it together making it through to the end.
We both have had better races but all in all I think it was ok I learned a lot today which was important. By making sure I take one thing out of every workout or race I will keep up my sharp learning curve!

Race

Tomorrow the team is heading to Newport Beach to race and promote USACK. It should be a fun event, the girls are all going to due the 8km short course in K2's and the boys in K1. I have never been to this part of CA and look forward to being able to see more of the state.
Today was awesome, as usual I started the day at 6.10am with a small cup of Java and a few pages of my book. Then headed off to the training center for a speed workout, the wind was blowing and it was raining making it even harder, but we stayed focused and toughed it out. Your not always going to get perfect conditions on race day so it makes days like this even more important. After the morning practice I cashed in on a double massage session =1hr in sports med! By this point in the week my shoulders, neck and back had turned into a giant knot and were completely locked up, the therapist worked his magic turning me into a new women. I walked around the rest of the day with a grin on my face flying from one task and workout to another with renewed energy.
I am now staring blankly at my computer screen so I think that's a sign to call it a night.
cheers
K

long day

Wow long day, gone from 6:15am -9:30pm! Right now I am so happy to be crawling into bed, paddle 4x(10x30s/30s rest), run 4mi, lift endurance circuit, paddle with the boys and eat wash. All in all a good day done on under 3 cups of coffee!

wonderful weather

The weather in San Diego, CA is perfect not just some of the time but every day! 50degrees at 6am, warming to a clear sunny 74-80 then back down to 50ish when the sun goes down. All you want to do is be outside every minute of the day, this is good since that is essentially what I am supposed to be doing with canoe/kayak training. I am sure I will eventually miss the seasons but for now it ROCKS.
This morning we hammered out a session of 10x750m that shut my body completely down after only 1. Unfortunately there are going to be days when your body will not go fast no matter how much you want it to. Today was one of them for me, it felt like being in one of those dreams with quick sand your trying to run but you go now where. Suffering through them builds lots of character though. I know that days like this are all part of the process of getting faster and adjusting my body to the training load. You check the workout off as complete then move on, a day or a week of bad workouts does not make or break a season unless you let it get you mentally.

7x2kms

Coach brought the motor up next to us as we lined up for our next 2km piece."Your times are to slow pick it up, your barely moving". "Put some power behind the stroke on the next piece". "go in 30sec". Everyone surged forward building up speed then dropping back to pace, I jumped onto the wash of the fastest girl and held on for dear life, I had to stay focused otherwise I would drop back or feel the exhaustion and start to give up. We all came through at the 500m, 1000 and 1500m at a great clip, and I could hear Coach start yelling great job, good power,excellent stroke rate, pushing the envelope that's what I like to see. Wow 4 down, 3 to go!
The last few days we have been really focusing on technique, its so important to involve the whole body fluidly in the stroke in order to produce the most wattage. I have so many thing to think about in terms of my mechanics that i can only concentrate on 1 or 2 effectively per session.
After the morning session we ran and in the afternoon we lifted and swam. My swimming skills are entirely lacking and some rib injuries make it even more difficult for me to do any type of workout, this is incredibly frustrating each time i get in the water, but i am learning that its ok to take things slow so you don't get injured (it only took 23yrs to figure out)!
The pool is actually really cool though, its out side and looks like it was taken out of a James Bond movie. There are columns, arches and cast iron fences, water cascades down portions of the walls and into small channels and if you climb up to the next tear of the building there is a hot tub sooo cool even to a none swimmer.

3 workouts to bed...

Sipping my coffee I stood looking out of the boathouse, a warm breeze was whipping up the lake and the soft morning sun was starting to hit the mountains. I couldn't help but think that there was no better way to start a morning then this. Within minutes the peaceful morning turned into a whirlwind as the rest of the girls arrived. Amidst the chatter of 9 girls ages 20-30, boats and paddles were readied for practice and the appropriate attire determined for the morning temps. 20min later we were on the water. I was rearing to go with it being my first full day of practice as a resident of the OTC .... 2 on the water workouts, a weights session and 12.5hrs later I have finished the day and keeled over onto my bed where I intend on remaining until tomorrow mornings practice at 7am.

Official

Kaitlyn McElroy..............Participants signature: Kaitlyn McElroy. Flipping through a few more pages my eyes kept honing in on those key words PARTICIPANTS SIGNATURE. By the time I finished with the paperwork my signature was illegible but it was official I was now an off site resident of the Olympic training center!
Sundays are the down days at the USOTC most people have the day off from training and use it for important things such as homework, housework and sun bathing. Even though its our off day I decided to go for a brief 40min jog after I moved my gear/clothing into about 4 or 5 lockers in the boat house. I thought it was necessary in order to keep working out the kinks I had accumulated during my drive.
Now I am going to go and do something I never do WATCH FOOTBALL...hey afterall its a new start for me I may as well try something new.