Those were the Trials that were....

Its almost exactly a week since I got back from Team Trials on the Nantahala.  Its a long time since I've been down there, but I'm glad I did go this year.  My motivation since getting back from Tasmania has been severely lacking.  This is due, in part, to the fact that I am not racing internationally this year, at least in wildwater.  So putting myself through the wringer, getting up early in awful weather to train, and cutting all kinds of tasty things from my diet has become more difficult.  Add to that some weather issues (4 feet of snow blocked parking anywhere near a training site for a few weeks) and a back/neck injury and I'm a fat boater again with waning physical fitness.  So, my trip to the Nantahala was supposed to help me regain my enthusiasm for racing now that the weather is getting better and I'm dealing with my back issues.

For those of you who have raced on the Nantahala the idea of going there to gain motivation may seem a  bit nonsensical.  But, it kind of worked.  It was nice to hang out with racers again, and it made me think about my training regimen carefully, so that I will (hopefully) be in good form for Team Trials/Nationals on the Skigat in early November.  My results in the sprint were about as good as I could have expected.  I was about 5% back from Peter Lutter in a non-technical sprint that was about 70-80 seconds long.  If the race had been longer I think I would have been quite a bit further back, but I felt fast and my boat control wasn't horrible (but it could be quite a bit better).  The Classic was significantly worse, reflecting a lack of fitness, as well as the fact that a 13 minute race on a shallow course doesn't suit a short armed fat balding guy (the lack of hair doesn't seem to make that much difference).  I was over 8% back, which ended up as over a minute back from a resurgent JP Bevilaqua, and behind Tom Wier.  I figured Tom would beat me, but I still didn't like it.  So now I know how much work I have to do.  Hopefully it will get done.

Team Trials Build Up

Well, I'm sitting here in a motel in Bryson City, North Carolina the night before US Team Trials, with selection for the World Championships in Sort on the line.  Which is all well and good, except a summer of grant writing will preclude me from going to the Worlds, so selection is not really a concern.  A good performance is not really on the cards after a back/neck screwup left me unable to even sit in front of my computer at my desk a few weeks ago.  So, why am I here?  Well, I'm hoping to have some fun and gain some motivation that will help set me up for a spring and summer of training and racing at a domestic level, and a good performance at National Champs out west, especially if they are selection for the pre-Worlds in 2011.
The downside of having fun is that the race is on the Nantahala.  Its shallow, flat with a whole bunch of shoals, and it completely featureless so you have no idea where you really are at any given time.  Being fat (yep, I'm a fat bastard again) really doesn't help on this course as the bottom drag is awful. However, the non-technical nature of the "whitewater" kind of suits me just now with so little time on the rough this year so far, and my Corvette is good for the river.  I just got the boat weighed and was pleasantly surprised at how light it was (just over the limit with airbags) - shame about my fat gut. 
I'm traveling with Stacy Gricks, a newbie in her wavehopper who is regretting not bring her glass boat.  Kurt "Gigantor" Smithgall and Colby "Motivationless" Zebel are also here, hanging out in our hotel room just now before they head to the mountains somewhere to sleep out in the cold and wet (by choice).

I have no idea how I'm going to go tomorrow in the sprint, but hopefully I can feel good and get in a few nice runs.  I hope to write more after the race tomorrow.

A Toke of the Hickon

I know I've been pretty bad about keeping this blog updated over the winter - it sucked to try to get some motivation back after Tasmania, and work kicked my ass and my motivation for a long time, untl I finally kicked back a bit.  My training has been "poor" and that is being enthusiastic about it.  But things might be turning around a bit.  Last weekend Colby Zebel and I headed to Tohickon Creek, just north of Philadelphia, for a few wildwater runs.  And it was fun.  In fact, it was really fun.  My last few times on the tohickon have been with a group of folks, including some teenage girls who like to whine (maybe they have improved by now, who knows?).  These runs were not fun.  But removed from any responsibility, with the exception that I still had the responsibility for motivating Colby past his hangover, car sickness and "food digestion" to actually get on the river, it was all good.  We (and by we, I mean I did it once, Colby did it every other time) biked the shuttle on single speed bike that can be politely referred to as "sketchy", but it was all good, even with a single speed on a pretty reasonable hill.  I had forgotten how good the Tohickon, site of the 2001 US Team Trials, was - it is narrow, fast and ledgy, so you need to know where you are going - it would make a perfect World Cup course.  The lines often need to be inch perfect to avoid hits (mine weren't) and there are a LOT of playboaters who tend to peel on to a wav just in front of you as you enter a ledge.  This time the playfolks seemed to be a better than normal, and moved out of my wave most of the time.  I responded by only shouting "MOVE!" as I saw someone peeling in front of me, rather than the typical "GET THE F**K OUT OF MY WAY YOU F**KING RETARD SHORTBOATER".  Maybe I am mellowing in my old age, but it seemed to work a little better.  Maybe we can actually all get along.  I guess I'll see this coming weekend when I go to US Team Trials on the Nantahala.