Thoughtful Thursday ... one day late.

First I want to Congratulate all my team mates who have raced so far at the Games. Everyone has put there best on the line and kept things interesting. Results and pictures are constantly being updated on the Canoe Kayak Canada facebook page and at the Canadian Olympic Committe website, www.olympic.ca .  

Now I know, it hasn't even been two weeks and I am already a day late. But in my defence I wrote a post yesterday and when I went to upload it the internet cut out and I lost it to the world wide web. I am taking it as a sign. Originally I was not going to post anything about a recent injury I suffered. I racked my brain to think of a good post for yesterdays blog and if I am being honest, it really was not that good. So, the blog you are reading is not the blog I thought of on Thursday. It is a more honest blog about real thoughts that I have had this week.


On Saturday I was warming up to paddle and my back, that has caused me some trouble over the last couple of years, was back to its old tricks. Everytime I would take a stroke there was a sharp pain that made me feel like I was injuring myself. Over the years I have dealt with pain. Pain in my shoulders, pain in my hips, cuts from boats and who knows what else, but this pain was different. It was like a part of my spine was tearing away from the rest. It sounded silly when it came out of my mouth but it was the best way I could describe it.
So, I did not do the workout. I told my coach, the team massage therapist and the team physio what I was feeling and we got to work. We tried to treat the pain and hoped that it would improve. The pain did not subside. If anything it got worse. I went from just having pain to also having my leg give out at random. Sunday came and went and the pain did not get any better. Sitting on a couch was painful and it started to occur to me that if I could not sit on something comfortable and soft how on earth could I sit on the seat in my boat?
I told myself,"Stop thinking like that." I didn't want to get worked up over nothing ...
Tuesday came and as I bent down and tried to get in my boat I knew that I was not at 100%. Heck if I was being honest with myself I don't think I was even at 75%. But, I wanted to be okay more than anything. So I went for a loop. I tried to take good strokes and after 4 or 5 strokes I was in so much pain that I felt like I was going to vomit.
So here was the predicament( or my thoughts): The Pan American Games are an Olympic qualifying event. I was selected to represent Canada and compete to qualify the K-1 200m spot. But, I am hurt. If I race down am I doing myself more harm? If I race down am I really helping my team? There was an internal debate between what I wanted and what I knew was right ...
When I was really honest with myself I knew my friend and team mate, Emilie, could and SHOULD do it. As hard as it was that was the decision that was right. I know deep down that passing up an opportunity now will allow for more opportunities in the future. Not that, that made the decision any easier.

Tuesday was a tough day. What do I do now? was all I kept thinking. My team mates were all very thoughtful. Everyone had kind, positive words of encouragement. They were all willing to help me or give me a hug and not a single person made me question my decision.
I felt like I was letting my team, myself and even my friends and family down. But, those exact people were quick to tell me, that was not the case.

Sport is a wonderful thing. I have been reminded of it quite a few times this season. It brings people together. Sport is obviously a competition where people look to succeed but along the way a lot more happens. I am not competing this week but I was definitely a recipient of the "more" part of sport.

Training Tuesday

Lets face it we are all busy and often it seems like there isn't time to go to the gym. On the rare days where you do find an hour of free time do you feel like going to the gym? I get it, life is busy and it can be exhausting.
Often my family and friends will ask me to write them a program for the gym, or for running, so that they have an organized plan when they get there (I, personally, find that having a program keeps me on track and more accountable).
This, and many other factors, got me thinking. There has to be an easier way to help people get more exercise ... without having to go to the gym every time.
So, here is my idea. It is inspired by my, always on the go, momma. And before you laugh it off give it a try.
" The Bathroom Circuit"
The idea is that you can do all of the below exercises on your bathroom floor before you jump in the shower or the bath tub.
The reasoning is that most of us shower or bathe pretty close to every single day ... so why not give ourselves an extra 20 or 30 minutes and get a bit more benefit out of it??

Here is a list of exercises that you can do 3 times a week ... mixed in with your other activities.
*The internet in Mexico is too slow to get pictures and upload them so if you do not know an exercise you can google image the name and hopefully find an explanation(Sorry :s) 

Push Ups
Glute Bridge
Leg Lowering
Lunges
Bicycles
One Arm/One Leg Raises(On all fours)
Deep Squats
Crunches(2 seconds up, 3 seconds down)

The number of sets you do as well as the number of repetitions you do depends on the amount of activity you have done. 3 sets of 10 reps is probably a good place to start.
 *If it is too easy; do more reps or sets. If it is too hard; take rest or lower the number of sets.

If you do this consistently from week to week it is good to challenge yourself, increase the reps or the number f sets. You can also switch up the exercises for ones you know :)

Now, I know I said that this is the bathroom circuit buuuuttt its just meant to show you that you can exercise anywhere. Pick somewhere you are comfortable and make it YOUR time.

"Thought"ful Thursday

Well today has certainly been full of thoughts(like most days). It is another beautiful day in Colorado. I woke up with the sun shining in a cloudless sky. It has been a "bit" windy since we arrived and there is a LOT of open water that has had some big waves and white caps. But, there is a small bay where we have managed to get all the work, we need to, done.
But back to the things I have been thinking about ...

I have been very thankful for all the people who help and support me. This past weekend the Prairie Summit shop held a run with proceeds going towards helping me buy a new boat.

 There were over 100 people who came out for the event!! Thanks to each and every person who organized, volunteered and walk, ran or relayed :D

 Even my littlest sister Kansys was out for the event ... she was tired out after the 5km walk.

I have also been thinking a lot about the Pan American Games. I mean we are here, in Fort Collins, Colorado, training at altitude so that we can be at our best next week when we race in Guzman City. But, I have been trying to think less about my own racing and it has been really easy because the Canadian team, that is competing now, has been doing very well. Team Canada has won over 30 medals and you can check them out by following this link ... Just click on the Gaudalajara 2011 section www.olympic.ca

                                                                  Mike Ridewood/COC
                                                                  GO CANADA GO !! 
Now don't be too concerned, I have been thinking about more than just these two items but if I shared everything at once why would you come back?
So check back for training Tuesday ...

As some of you may already know ... these lovely glasses are on sale. Any one of YOU can get your hands on a pair for $5. When you consider getting a pair please consider all that you are doing; 1. Supporting Me, a girl following her dream 2. Your eye sight, they have UV protection(no one likes getting wrinkles or hurting your retinas) and 3. They are stylish, all of the cool kids will be wearing them. 

Hopefully these glasses will also help bring more people to the website and it would be great for people to have a reason to keep checking back. But, what do I write??
My friend Una has a blog, www.thelittleredpaperclip.blogspot.com, she recently inspired me to structure my blog a little bit more.
Since I have spent the last 12 years learning about the importance of goal setting and follow through. I have decided to approach this in the same way, my coaches will be so proud ;)
My goal is to write 2 blogs a week. You can check in for "Training Tuesdays" and "Thoughtful Thursdays". They leave us a multitude of topics to tackle but they will also keep me on task. So here is to the letter T and to some more frequent blogging. 

3 things you might not know about but I think are worth knowing about.

I love October, it is a great month for many reasons. But here are 3 reasons and things to check out that I think can make October even better, especially for those of you in Saskatchewan.

#1 For $5 you can get your hands on a limited edition pair of Kia Byers sunglasses. There are 350 pairs ... will you be one of the few owners? Thanks to Devon Schollar the master mind of this "project"!!

#2 The Prairie Summit Shop is holding it's 1st Annual 'Prairie Summit Run-it!' event at Buffalo Pound. 25 dollars from each entry fee is going to help me purchase a new kayak. The total money raised from this event will be matched by the prairie summit shop :)

There will be 3 event options:
-5km Trail Run
-15km Trail Run
-15km Trail Run Relay - 3 participants required

Registration is through www.active.com and the entry fee is $40 per person, $40 per relay member.

There is also PRIZES FOR ALL!!!!! All participants will receive a North Face technical T-shirt and water bottle in their race package. There will also be lots of awesome door prizes and place prizes!     So join the fun and enjoy a great day of racing ... whether you are a professional or a beginner runner, everyone is welcome!

Last but certainly not least ...
#3 The Pan American Games !!!

Marie_Christine Schmidt and I at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio after winning the K-2 500 meter event!

 This multi-sport event has 46 sports competing from 42 countries across North and South America. It is held every four years and happens the year before the Olympic Games. Canadian athletes will put on there red and white uniforms and play, or race, for the top of the podium. Numerous sports will also be looking to qualify there country a spot at the Olympic Games.
Something else really exciting; the CBC has committed to show over "50 hours of coverage through CBC-TV, Radio Canada and CBCsports.ca." So get ready to see more than 300 of Canada's best working and pushing as hard as they can! 
You can read more about the coverage CBC will providing at:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2011/09/29/spf-panam-coverage.html#ixzz1ZeXXvfKh.  

 

So here is to a great October !!!!