I Paddle like a Girl, and I'm FAST!

Thank you USACK for nominating me as Athlete of the Week!

Over the last seven weeks I have been training under Guy Wilding in Honolulu, HI and I must say that I have never been this fit in my life.  I am throwing down personal best times on a weekly basis!  Coming here was what I truly wanted to do all along, but it was not an easy decision to make.  We had to raise enough funds to get here and rely on the constant support of our family and community to keep us afloat.  Things have turned out to be great and we are discovering daily just how many people believe in us.  It truly is a blessing.  


If you are at all familiar with USACK I am sure you have hear what has been going on over the last few months.  With all the drama and politic, I urge all the athletes to keep their heads on straight.  We are here to paddle.  We did not start this sport to make money or become famous; we do it because we love it.  This is something my fiance Morgan reminds me of on a daily basis.  He is a wonderful example of someone in love with the sport.  Trials are in three weeks and its time to buckle down and make these next two weeks of training count.  


I must admit that I am writing this mostly for myself, to remind me to keep my eyes on the prize.  I am so encouraged when people comment on posts or send me messages letting me know how much they believe in me.  We say it all the time, but we could not do it without the support of our family, friends, sponsors and community.  

Speaking of which, I am thoroughly enjoying my new Kula sunglasses from Maui Jim!  

You need a pair!     

Since we are always missing home, I am going to go make some biscuits for a little taste of the South.  (Not exactly athlete food, but we all cheat)  I will post a pic of how they turn out!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

- Henry David Thoreau

The Pros and Cons of Commercial Gyms

 Here is my pros and cons list for the typical commercial gym, and also a little ranting.

PROS

• You can basically find one anywhere
• Towel Service (because no one likes a sweaty butt print)
• The lady who sports the thong leotard, you can't help but smile!

CONS

• Bench Press Crews (aka the three dudes who swarm the bench press for a minimum of one hour)- only pro is getting a laugh when they rock up in matching outfits
• Easy Listening Music- no one wants to max out to Jack Johnson's "Banana Pancakes"
• Having to wait for a guy to finish eating his Snickers while he sits on a vital piece of equipment and then he doesn't put his weights back
• Where's the squat rack? And the weight belt?
• Useless pieces of cardio equipment
• Personal trainers who just don't have a clue
• People who practice Judo while walking down the hallway 
• "GGGGRRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!"" Dude stop grunting,  I'm squatting more than you...

We all do it!  Circling the gym for 10 minutes trying to find the closest parking spot even though those 30 extra yards would only add to our workout.

Have any others?  Leave a comment

I'm off to pump some iron and work on my guns ;)

Happy St. Patty's Week!

This week has been pretty fun!  It was recovery week so we had a little more time to rest, but as usual we filled it with activities and got pretty tired.  Last night we went out for St. Patrick's day and the festival took up an entire block.  I had never seen so many people!

Yesterday I went on my very first surfski run.  (They call it a run, but its a paddle)  The waves were big and it was super windy.  Luckily Morgan had the patience to take me out in the double ski and I had a blast.  There were a couple scary moments but I think I will be going out on the ski very soon.  Also, Morgan had a great article in Access North Georgia this week.  It was written by Morgan Lee, and it really shines a light on whats going on with USACK.  Here is the link!

I am missing everyone at home, and I just found out that my Mom is going to coming to trials!  I am so excited!  I only wish I got to see everyone :(

Tomorrow is time trial day with one 500m and one 200m!  I am looking forward to lining up next to the other girls for my first "race" of the season.  Team Trials and World Cups are going to be here sooner than we think!  

Here is a little video from my time trial on Wednesday 

You know its hard week when...

So its hard week and that means killer workouts and pushing  the limits.  I just got halfway through my workout and laid down a personal best!  I have now been in Hawaii for a month and the improvements are incredible.  I have to thank Guy Wilding for always believing in me and reminding me to never settle for less than my best.   Also, my amazing fiance Morgan has been my inspiration through it all.  He has worked with me one-on-one during practices to help perfect my technique.

Yesterday we went to visit Pearl Harbor, it was incredible.  The video they showed before we went to the Arizona really filled you in on what happened and presented it all tastefully.  I thought it was amazing that we could still see massive amounts of oil leaking from the ship.  Here is a picture of me and Morgan at the memorial.

    

Trials are closer than we think, so now is the time to get some serious fundraising done!  I have emailed over ten media outlets and hopefully someone will want to run a big story on us.  As always, I am so thankful to have such a loving and supportive family, I could not do it without them!

Food

I have found that everything revolves around food...I am sitting at a starbucks and it amazes me how happy people get just by sipping on the 500+ calories contained within a venti white chocolate mocha.  So I have set out on a quest to find a website that combines food and fitness...here is what I found! 

http://www.howsweeteats.com/

Guaranteed to make your mouth water and make you wanna hit the gym, it provides sinfully delicious pictures and recipes, along with great workout routines.  StumbleUpon is revolutionizing the way I surf the web!

 

Epic week!

So this week I made some serious gains.  We spoke with a life coach last week and her advice really helped me out..  I used a new Epic full footboard and broke it the first session I used it!  haha but I still made progress and I am looking forward to trials this year.  Hawaii has been amazing with sunshine almost everyday!  We did have one night with a storm that knocked out the power, but other than that things are going great.  Hopefully we will get to visit Pearl Harbor some time soon and I would love to go on a dinner cruise or see a luau.  I am finally starting to figure out how to drive here, as it seems that everything moves much slower here traffic wise.  The "Bomb" as we call our new car is holding up and getting us around so that is all we can ask for.  Missing everyone in Georgia and keeping Grandpa Vic in my prayers as he broke his hip this week. 

As always we are looking for more sponsorship and we can use all the help we can get!

Morgan House and Emily Vinson's Olympic Dream

Morgan House and Emily Vinson's Olympic Dream