Another week has gone by and my block of heavy training is continuing. I got a bit sick in the middle of the week and had to miss some sessions but with the help of a lot of sleep and some of Kay’s Lemon Honey drinks I came right! I am up to date with my Uni work so thats all good.
I have also started training in a raft with Luuka, Bubba and Alana. It is hard work but quite a bit of fun. We are aiming to go to the Rafting World Championships which will be held in the Netherlands in July just after the Slalom World Cups.
Today it was the last day of the Wairoa flowing before winter kicks in. Johann and I did sprints down it in our creek boats as practice for an Extreme Race we will be attending at the start of June in the USA! On Tuesday all the senior’s and some of the top Juniors will be heading to Mangahau for a training camp this weekend.

Training Training Training!

I have been back in the falls for over a week now and right back into training hard! After the Nationals I had a lot of things to think about and in need of improvement. I am trying to really focus on my technical sessions and keep up a fair bit of gym and aerobic fitness. I have started skipping and juggling for concentration purposes!
The other day I did a trip down the whole Kaituna river along with Ryan Lukus, Burnt Sommers, Bevan C and Phil Mac. It was really good to get back out on the river again! I didn't feel so smooth, but it was good. We found a hut halfway down too!
I am heading out mountainbiking today and then will cruise back to the falls for a white water tech. It was good to catch up with my sister Izzy on the weekend, she came down and came riding with me and my flatmate Jamie. Its our last week living here in Okawa Bay, but I will be in the Falls till the end of May.

2010 Canoe Slalom National Championships

After about 2000km of driving in Chris Wood’s Nissan Nirvara we finally made it to the inner depths of the Kawerau gorge that connects Queenstown and Cromwell. Thanks to the Dawson’s friends we have come to rest in luxury accommodation that lies in the midst of a vineyard, just opposite the ‘Dog Leg’ riverrun section of the Kawerau gorge. Leading up to the racing we did a few riverruns down 'Dogleg' and the 'Roaring Meg' which were pretty fun warm ups. Then on the Saturday we had the Pre Nationals Race. For me I performed best in my first run which is not usual for me. I put down a 119+4sec of penalties. Luuka Jones did a 118+2sec of penalties. Mike Dawson won the Mens K1 and Shaun Travers put down a fast time to take out the C1M. To be honest my run didn't feel super fast but I was on line and used the water well. I just needed to lift my arm to enable myself to execute more vertical strokes that would inevitably pull me faster down the course.
NATIONALS SUNDAY: I felt reasonably relaxed for my lead up into the National Championships race. The river was up by about 100cumecs due to the heavy rainfall the night before. Unfortunately I didn't quite perform in my first run touching 3 gates(6sec of penalties) and having to recirc for one of the gates. This gave me a time of 106+6 which I was not happy with. I tried to focus more for my 2nd run which was 3secs faster and clean. However not so smooth in some places. I could feel where I lost the time but all in all it wasn't too bad. Luuka Jones stomped the course with a fast and clean finish of 96secs, congrats to her for a good performance. My C1 was a total disaster, I lost my edges a bit and had a few rolls. I managed to have a clean 2nd run which meant I kept the Open NZL Woman/Man title ahead of Ella Nicholas and Mike Dawson! It was a battle against the boils that I had faced but well worth the fight!
Mike Dawson won the Mens, Shaun Travers took out the C1 once again and Roy Bailey and Pete Simpson showed off there mega Southern Man talent in the Mens C2 class! I should also mention a awesome performance put down by Jess Bailey, only 14years old from Wanaka. Jess put down a fast run of 109+2 placing 3rd women overall after Luuka and myself, showing great potential for the future!
I will put some pics up soon!
I am back in Otaki now, time for some rehab!