Eurotrip!

Europe has been incredible!

As one might guess of course.

Michael and I have been in Europe for the passed week now. We spent our first week of training in La Seu D'Urgell which is a small town north of Barcelona and just south of the Andorra border.

It's a great course and a great town filled with friendly people, and of course, good paddling.

The training was good as Michael and I have been keen to push hard the whole time we are here.

As the race approached we lowered the volume of our workload but not the intensity.

The race was tough for both of us. I had a horrendous second qualifying run but managed a decent first run.

Moving into the semi final I had a new edge of nervousness added to my mental game. I obviously knew that finals was out of the question as Spain, France, and Slovenia had some of their best paddlers there. It did not ease my mind though as I approached the start gate.

Running through the course the top section was smooth, on line, and everything was going as planned. Coming into gate 12, a tricky upstream, I took a little too much inside edge and ended up sliding low into the up. Upon the exit of gate 12 I had a rough line through 13, making me a little shaky for 14 and of course, ended up getting a 50 second penalty on gate 14.

The rest of the course was solid but it made me sad that I had the penalty in 14.

That's racing though :)

Not too much of anything to report other then that. I am back in Foix though! After 3 years the town hasn't changed one little bit and I love it.

We race here tomorrow and wednesday, then move onto Pau for the last of the Pyrenees cups.

I'll try and keep this up to date with my travels

Hope all is well at home!

A

Buenos Dias!

Here we are on another adventure, in another country. Team Canada and all our gear have arrived safely in Union De Tula. The weather is great, the people are friendly, and the course is fun!
All in all, I couldn't be more pumped about the season to come.
I'm feeling pretty solid on the water, despite the side effects from six months of hard work leading up to this. My elbows are getting used to paddling again, but my lats sure aren't too pleased with me.

The race isn't for another week or so, which leaves us approximately seven days of training left. It's plenty of time to get to know the river and understand her workings.
The only real downside to this place is that it's about a half an hour drive to the course everyday. Which I guess I am used to. With the kan being about a 40 minute drive it isn't much of a change for me.

The team is all high spirited, and amped to be back on the water. Paddling with such a high energy group makes life easy. We are really feeding off each other on the water and I think it's really contributing to everyones good performance.

I am still a little nervous with what will come in May for team trials but right now my hopes are high. With some elbow grease, and some butt kickin', I think I'll make out alright.

Homework has been pretty easy for me so far. I haven't ran into too many problems, but I am extremely lucky. A couple people are a little stressed with their workload, but since kayakers are super awesome, I am sure they will make out just fine.

Anyway, I hope home isn't too cold :)


A

Adventure Time

Here I go, I'm off on another adventure!

The racing season is finally upon us. With the first race in just a short 15 days, I am starting to overflow with excitement. Packing last night until midnight was making me way to exuberant which actually turned out to not be very good for my packing situation.

I forgot a couple of little things that are necessities but would have been nice to have. Oh well! I have a life jacket, paddle, and a helmet. What more does a paddler need?

I'm stuck in the Edmonton International Airport for another two hours before I start on my five hour journey to Peurto Vallarta where I get to spend a day and a half of relaxing on the beach, recharging my batteries. 

I am missing some school, but don't fret! I have all my assignments pegged out and should get it all done before I get back to Calgary.

Back to the adventure part

I am headed to a small town around four hours south-east of Peurto Vallarta, Union De Tula. Some of the Canadian team is headed down to race in the Pan-American Championships. Other countries attending are Brazil, Mexico, USA, and a few other South American countries. With great weather, and great people; it should turn into a good trip.

Hope all is well

A

This is for Aftin

I am so horrible at keeping up with this thing. 

I truly do love writing but I do find it difficult to sit down and write. With everything going on in my life....HAHA just kidding. More like, the lack there of.

Life is amazing right now. I seriously wonder if I did something amazing in a previous life to deserve what I have.

I am surrounded with amazing friends, a great coach, and wonderful team mates. Never mind my family.

My first race of the season is coming up and I am really quite excited to get back into race mode.

Haley and I managed to sneak out to the Kananaskis today for a session and Chris Mctaggart joined us as well. Which turned into a good time. Chris handed out some pointers which really helped keep my head in the game for the whole session. 

I think one of the reasons it was such a great session was I felt an immediate change in my fitness levels and overall comfort in the boat. 

I can't imagine a more positive space for me to be in at the moment. It seems like things are only going uphill with improvements which is a nice change. It is of course a constant battle to perform better and push harder each and every session. If it was easy though, everyone would do it.

Back to the first race though

I am eager to see what kind of gains I have truly made in comparison to everyone else in the Kayak field. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway I am suffering from severe writers block. I basically have only been training and going to my two classes. So it's all been pretty chill.

I hope everyone is holdin' up as good as I am!

A

Comin' Home

It's back to the grind for me, and I honestly couldn't be more excited. Spending time away from life is always nice but there is always a reason why I crave to come back for it. For not being OCD, I love structure. I love having a schedule and knowing where I'm going to be and when. Living in the moment is great but training is way better. I have new goals for the new year and I am excited to get them started.
I also need to be on the lookout for sponsorship! I gotta start digging deep so I can follow through with some plans for the summer.
Hopefully if all plays out, Michael Tayler and I will be in Spain/France for 2 and a half weeks before team trials in Minden. I also have Mexico for three weeks in February/March for the Pan American Championships.

This has been a very eye opening trip for me on a personal level and I am really excited about this new found energy I have.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great holiday!

Happy New Year :)


A