We started to put our race together this morning. It was all about starts. Valerie & I are now stroke partners (eek!) so we are trying to figure out how to work together. It's not hard - we recognized each other's strengths & weaknesses pretty quickly. Valerie likes to speed up the rate while I don't hinge forward far enough. As long as we keep each other in check, we're pretty good together, I think.
The first 6 strokes are all about finding that heavy water and pulling the paddle toward you. You've got to get that boat moving off the start. We did a half, 3/4, full, full, full, full. I'm used to doing half, half, 3/4, 3/4, full, full so this was new. I liked it better, though. We worked a lot on body positioning - making sure that we didn't pull back past 5 degrees and hinging forward enough to get a full reach (strokes 3 onward) without side collapse. Strokes 4, 5 and 6 should be used to transition into the next series, which are the "up" strokes. They should be at full extension and full rotatation with complete hinging - but should be a bit shorter than regular strokes. This will allow for the water to start moving past the boat a bit quicker. We're trying to remember to get a great, strong catch. Stroke 4 should be at full reach & rotation but ending at mid-thigh. Stroke 5 should be similar, but ending just in front of mid-thigh. Stroke 6 should end at the knee as will all subsequent up strokes. We did a lot of work on the first 6 during this session.
We quickly got the boats out of the water and headed for the gym, where Usana (a Pure Fitness instructor) taught a yoga class. I've never done yoga before, so it was a new experience for me. I didn't particularly like it as we were doing it, but it sure felt good afterward. My muscles needed to be stretched. I'm not terribly skilled at this yoga business - I have definitely added it to my "to do" list.
Then the girls gave me a ride back down to the marina where 5 of us did an Open Forum session with Andrea. I thought I was doing a session at the gym so I hadn't put sunscreen on that morning - and I ended up getting my first (and only) sunburn of the week. Oh well, it wasn't bad and it didn't last more than a day. Elly asked about safety in the boat, minimum number of paddlers, etc. and it was a good reminder for me. Andrea won't take a group out without 14 paddlers, which is certainly different than what my teams have done. The last time I went out with the Drunk'n Dragons, I was the 10th - and last - person. I asked Andrea for some suggestions on how to get my junior boat to understand the power required for racing. I don't think they will really get it until they've raced (naturally), but I'd like to find a way to get them closer before race day. I think I will try the catch drills and shorter interval drills - calling 80, 90, 100 in 10 or 15 stroke intervals instead of 30 second or 1 minute intervals. We'll see what happens.
Then we got the afternoon off!! I went shopping - took the bus to the Scottsdale Fashion Square. We went through Old Town Scottsdale, which looks quite trendy. On the corner of Scottsdale Rd & Camelback Rd (just in front of the mall) there were some skinheads holding banners saying "White Pride Worldwide."
I felt very offended by this. I was also quite surprised by how many people were honking in support as they passed by. It bothered me, more than anything else I saw or experienced on this trip. I crossed the street on the other side and backtracked when I was a comfortable distance away. When I left the mall, they were still there - and so were the police. They were just sitting back and watching, but were clearly prepared to jump in if necessary. I've noticed that there's a big police presence in Tempe & Scottsdale, which makes me feel quite safe.
I had 3 goals at the mall. I wanted to shop at Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Lucy (similar to Lululemon but a bit less yoga and a bit more casual/functional.) It didn't take me long to find all 3 stores and it took even less time for me to spend a truckload of money. I got some great stuff, though, and it felt awesome to be shopping at the regular stores and having the regular clothes fit me! I didn't bother shopping in the rest of the mall, because I'd already spent enough money and I'm not a huge shopper.
While walking back down Scottsdale Road, a huge wind picked up and I experienced the closest thing to a sandstorm I've ever seen. I can only imagine what might happen in the open desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment