Greenland Week Competition Done!

The Greenland Week Competition was a blast! Thank you to Kayak Academy for putting on the event. They put a lot of hard work into it, and it shows their dedication to kayaking. The competition was a wonderful way to honor traditional kayak hunting cultures. After the competition, a lot of people told me they were inspired to train for next year.

My hard training paid off with first place finishes in the ropes, harpoon throw, rolling, and overall winner, as well as second in the race.

Here is the link to my photo journal.

Training is Done!

With harpoon throwing practice and a lap around Newport Bay today, my training is done. All that is left is the competition. I'm all packed and ready to start the long two-day drive tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to meeting and hanging out with a bunch of other people who like Greenland style kayaking.

Shorter Bike Ride

I planned a 2-hour bike ride this morning before going to work, but it took me 30 minutes to get out of bed, so the bike ride was only 1.5 hours.

Survived Last Ropes Workout

This afternoon I finished my last ropes workout before the ropes competition on Friday, November 5th. It was a great workout, but I'm just glad I finished it without injuring myself. Over the years I have strained my back a couple times doing the ropes, and I was hoping it wouldn't happen again just before the competition. Nothing should injure me now except for something stupid.

Felt Good and Stretched

Despite a high effort paddling lap around the bay yesterday, I couldn't feel it at all today. This evening I stretched.

Well Recovered for Lap Around Bay

My lighter workout on the ropes yesterday was just what I needed for recovery. It's so easy to over train on the ropes, because it's so strenuous. Today I felt great. I paddled a lap around Newport Bay and felt strong. Afterwards, I relaxed by paddling slow and looking at the pink sky at sunset.

Light on the Ropes

I took it easy on the ropes after work, because I felt I needed some recovery. I slowly went through my routine and skipped the more strenuous moves. I think I was able to balance getting a workout and recovering at the same time.

Hands Tired

This evening I stretched. My hands are feeling tired from the ropes and paddling, so I'll probably take it easy on the ropes tomorrow. At age 46 I find that recovery becomes more important.

No Rolling Practice

The runoff from rain kept me from rolling practice today. I won't have a chance to practice rolls again before the competition, so that means I'll be competing after practicing rolls only twice in the three months before the competition. Despite the rain, I did throw the harpoon and paddle a fast lap around Newport Bay, both of which went well.

Ropes

Without timing myself, I did my ropes routine with zero mistakes.