Well, it has been 4 weeks since my family break up at Hamilton Island and it was time to provide an update to what has been happening in preparation for CCWC Macau 2010. During the week in the sun up at Hamilton Island I wasn’t sitting idle as I knew I had to keep relatively in shape for this up and coming campaign. As with the nature of being sun drenched and surrounded by water (both in the blue yonder and pools), swimming and playing around with the kids was a given. I also managed to get out for a couple of steep trail runs on the island with the first one of around 6kms and a climb of 252m up to Passage Peak. Brilliant views from up top and I managed to pump out 30 push-ups on a rocky platform. The second run I had on the island was another trail run down to Coral Cove. I covered over 5km with a climb out of the cove of over 200m. Again, there were more spectacular scenery and views on the trail.
As a complete contrast in weather, we arrived back to a drenched Sydney in pouring rain. I had the plan to attend training that night but it was cancelled and a pool session was called. Unfortunately, I hadn’t read my emails before hand to pack swimming gear if the weather was feral as I basically got home from the airport and went straight to training. Not all was lost as Heidi was happy to see me home and watched the XXXX Queensland Maroons take out State of Origin I over NSW Blues. Go Queenslander!
Friday evening there was no training scheduled as we celebrated Azza’s 40th birthday at Oscars Pyrmont. As a dress up party we had to come as what you would like to grow up to be. I got drawn into joining 3 others in dressing up as the Ninja Turtles. This I imagine was hilarious to see as we made an instant impact as we walked from the parked car all the way to Oscars and coming through the doors. A great night had by all.
The weekend arrived and the weather improved as opposed to the forecast and sand dune running at Kurnell was in order. Heidi and kids came along to check out the dunes and the kids had a ball running up the dunes and playing in the sand. The session was tough as envisaged with 5 laps of a set course followed by 5 sprints up a dune in teams. Lunch afterwards was in order and we headed to Cronulla.
I had 2 water sessions back to get reacquainted before the weekend water time trial. First session was a distance session which I was glad to have to put some paddling mileage in followed by a power session on the Wednesday evening. I wasn’t overly concern about the water time trials as I knew I was cardio fit from adventure racing and mountain biking and could endure the distance without any troubles. My only concern was that I lacked physical strength up top after being away from DB for 2 years.
A 4:30am wakeup call was harsh for the 5am roll call. But nevertheless, MVU and I headed down to Bank St to join the rest of the squad loading up 2 x 20 man boat and a 10 man boat to take over to the trial area of Black Wattle Bay. It was a cold morning to boot and staying warm was a challenge as we needed to be ready to roll when called upon. All in all, I was happy with my effort as this course was a different to the ones I have trialled on as it was longer. However, the distance did not phase me as my enduro form kicked in well but lack the strength to provide me more grunt. Up against Keifa I had a relatively good start and we were pretty neck and neck all the way until the last 20-30m where Keifa’s strength started to pull away from me. In the end he only pipped me by 2 seconds. I’m pretty chuffed about this considering the lack of water time I had to prepare for this. Everyone piled into the café at Channel Ten for breakfast afterwards and headed off for sand dune training afterwards. This session I could not make as I was back on kids duty as Heidi was doing her weekend shift. The kids had a ball with the sleepover at Mark and Ingrid’s place and a big thank you goes out to Ingrid for looking after the kids while MVU and I was doing the water time trial and for allowing us to stay over while Heidi was doing her on call shift. All packed ready to go home, the kids and I walked to the tram stop and caught a tram ride to Central Station. After finding the right platform at Central we caught a train to Strathfield where we need to catch a bus home for the final part of the journey. The trip home was smooth and the kids enjoyed the experience. I rewarded them with some play time on the play equipment at the local park.
With the water time trial out of the way it was time to focus on putting in the hard work for the next 8 weeks before we leave. Ryan’s (coach) well layed out plan looks right on the money with minor adjustments to suit the squad fitness levels. Monday evening encompasses distance (4km) training on the water on both sides. Wednesday water sessions focus on power with milk crates used for resistance work. Friday sessions could entail any component of workout ranging from power/distance sessions to swimming. I have had hit the pool a couple of times for a recovery swim session of 1km. Each time (Ian Thorpe Aquatic and Sydney Aquatic centres) the kids have came along for swim watched over by Heidi while I punched out the laps. A quick change over and it’s Heidi’s turn to churn up the lanes while I keep an eye on the squids.
As each week passes, my paddling fitness level has definitely increased along with my paddling strength. Accompanied by the tweaked stroke technique, the new rating level imposed by Ryan for this squad is immense and challenging. City Dragons needed the step up in level in order to compete against the world’s best crews.
Stay tuned for the next update which will come before we leave for Macau.
This is the last post before we fly out for Macau on Monday 26th July and I thought it was an opportunity to provide an update on how we are faring for the championships. We are in the throes of finalising preparations with only a race practice session left on Friday and a Bikram Yoga session on Saturday.
Since I last updated over 4 weeks ago, the squad have endured a lot in that short space of time in terms of fitness, heath, celebrations and indecisions. Albeit, things are looking good for City Dragons after last Sunday’s practice races with Pacific Dragons on Black Wattle Bay. There have been plenty of members that’s been sick or still recovering from various forms of flu or colds among the sleepless nights many had by all during the World Cup of Football. In the midst, we celebrated Azza’s change in life, firstly with his 40th do and a buck’s party following his announcement that he’ll wed Ines. On top of that, the now newly weds are expecting their first! Congrats to Azza and Ines on this momentous occasion.
Cross training has been influential as part of this campaign as everyone will get stale from just dragon boat paddling. To break up the monotony, we have ventured out on kayaks on Sydney Harbour, hit the sand dunes of Kurnell, recovery swim sessions and to acclimatise to Macau’s conditions Bikram Yoga.
The DB water sessions have been broken up into distance and power sessions and some sessions have been brutal in terms of what Ryan have set out for us. Bravo to him for sticking to the training plan and not deterred by external factors. The last couple of weeks entailed the obligatory power sessions and the building up of races for all distances. The last weekend before flying out we did some bench marking by having a race session against Pacific Dragons. All distances were cover in the form of 500m, 200m and 2000m. The form suggest that City Dragons were on track with their training regime.
No comments:
Post a Comment