http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140 CKUK | the latest entries from Alex's Blog's blog post http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/img/rss/rss_icon.gif http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140 88 31 en-gb Copyright 2005-2010 Warners Group Publications plc. All Rights Reserved. Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:13:50 GMT 5 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=1069 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=1069 Ad and I have been paddling most mornings and all-in-all, it's gone very well. Due to reasons beyond our control we have got back into the Discovery as the K1's we have been paddling have not been Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:13:49 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=1025 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=1025 In the last couple of weeks Adam and I have been paddling twice a week with improved results every time. Last monday we purposley stayed out longer, my reasoning being that the more paddle time he Wed, 8 Sep 2010 14:04:52 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=974 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=974 Ok, post DW has been interesting. Since we climbed out of the disco at Westminster Jamie and I have not paddled together. The reason for this has been that Jamie sustained an injury during the race Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:07:26 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=806 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=806 This is a stupidly long post so please either; a) Get a cup of tea and read, or b) Do something else :-) Pre Race Since the Waterside D, Jamie and I had not paddled at all as Jamie’s shoulder Wed, 7 Apr 2010 23:10:57 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=802 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=802 24hrs 43mins. First 10 hours very hard work (fell in twice; just me!) Night section was fantastic. Tidal section, quite simply the longest and the hardest thing I have ever had to dig into my Sun, 4 Apr 2010 17:26:09 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=788 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=788 It was a very early start with the alarm going off at 3.55am but I had already been awake for 20 minutes, my nervous energy kicking in. I had been on a diet of day nurse and night nurse for the Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:29:03 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=784 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=784 I am standing outside a million pound mansion at 11.30 at night and it's pitch black with the temperature rapidly dropping while Jamie is talking through the locked front door to the house owner; Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:14:57 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=777 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=777 Quite a bit to blog about for a change, but not much time, so here's the abridged version. Equipment We will be using the Discovery at the Waterside D this weekend and during the DW because all Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:52:03 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=766 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=766 No paddling. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch, since a week on Thursday. :-( Half term week, aka Paddle Camp was going to be our springboard to four weeks of peak paddle training to get us as prepared as Tue, 2 Mar 2010 21:14:29 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=747 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=747 Wednesday was a beautiful day. For the first time that I can remember in a long time I could not see a cloud in the sky and there was even a feeling of warmth from the sun. It was a perfect day for a Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:36:09 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=744 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=744 Today's paddle was about three things. Trying out a new boat, portaging practice and sussing out how Jamie's shoulder is. All in all, today was a good paddle day. Up until now we have been Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:41:18 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=742 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=742 So half term has come at last and this is meant to be the week where we get some serious paddling miles in the bank. Needless to say if you have been reading this regularly (not sure that anyone is, Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:08:42 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=736 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=736 In a nutshell, that sums up our paddle this morning. The plan was to go on past Shepperton and head up to the next lock before turning back, which should have given us a paddle in the region of three Sun, 7 Feb 2010 20:53:53 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=730 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=730 Two paddles in a week; things must be getting serious. ;-) Another paddle in the dark, this time doing some intervals and portaging practice. This was a session that Jamie and I had planned a month Fri, 5 Feb 2010 11:55:45 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=729 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=729 Finally, after another week and a half of waiting we got back out onto the river for a training session. Last Wednesday, after a swim at Hampton I took the short drive down to Sunbury to look at the Wed, 3 Feb 2010 11:52:18 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=720 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=720 Bah!! :-( Once again, we're sat around waiting for the water levels to drop. It's not that we don't think we could go out and stay upright but more a case of actually achieving any useful Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:00:11 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=716 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=716 So Saturday morning at stupid o' clock saw me going out for my first solo paddle, with the idea of continuing to practice and improve my boat handling and steering skills in a K1. I made the decision Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:50:00 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=708 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=708 Jamie and I have decided that we need to get some more paddle time, so we have begun the process of independently training in K1's. Last night we went out together to do our first K1 session, just so Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:36:12 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=703 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=703 Since Jamie and I have been paddling last July, one of the things that we have been really grateful for has been how mild the weather has generally been, right up to the middle of December. We have Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:56:45 GMT http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=698 http://www.canoekayak.co.uk/blogs/blogShow.asp?blog=140&post=698 We have not paddled for a whole month but it has not been through want of trying! After our very hairy paddle at the beginning of December Jamie caught man flu for a week or so and had a work Wed, 6 Jan 2010 11:57:32 GMT