Winter is a tiny bit dreaded in the slalom world. On the one hand, you have a nice solid block of time to immerse yourself in training, Christmas breaks it up nicely in the middle, and it feels like the start of something new. There are hopes and dreams of the end of winter training where you magically gain super canoeing powers never seen before, and thoughts of the oncoming season with confidence and happiness. Selection is the prize at the end of this journey! It is a time when you can get into a routine, focus on university/work/whatever you do when you are not canoeing. There are fewer eight hour drives to the next race venue, to perform your best in two separate runs. There are Christmas parties, you get to go shopping, nice long training camps (I got a new boat which is THE most exciting part). You feel like a proper athlete, getting up early for the gym, eating healthy, comparing programs with other athletes. What's not to like? You are a canoeist, braving the cold, making the gains...
On the other hand (The one that's assumed 'the claw' position all canoeists know about. The one where getting zips and buttons done up in the changing rooms is the most infuriating struggle known to man). Of course, the weather this year started out nice and easy, lulling me into a false sense of security. Ha, I thought. I must have gotten pretty tough the last few years, I don't even need a winter cag. Speed skins for the rest of winter it is!
On the other hand (The one that's assumed 'the claw' position all canoeists know about. The one where getting zips and buttons done up in the changing rooms is the most infuriating struggle known to man). Of course, the weather this year started out nice and easy, lulling me into a false sense of security. Ha, I thought. I must have gotten pretty tough the last few years, I don't even need a winter cag. Speed skins for the rest of winter it is!
...until the first proper frost. Which timed itself nicely to coincide with the start of our heavy block of training that lasts until the end of January. The bone- deep, raw cold that comes with winter training. It invades everything, hanging up kit becomes an issue, buoyancy aids and boat bags freeze solid, and we're not even in the coldest part of winter! There is an endless mental battle with wanting to put on neoprene mitts, or braving the cold for a better grip on your paddle. I mean who likes doing sprints with pogies on? It gets even better. Winter is the season of... DOMS. Seven land based sessions a week, most of which are strength and conditioning, the rest of which are running and swimming, exercises muscles that I forget about over the summer. Getting to the end of sessions is an achievement. Everything becomes about recovery, and eating, and recovery. Foam rollers are every athlete's best friend and worst enemy. And what's more, when you're finally able to finish that fourth set of fifteen pull ups without stopping, and can drop the bar onto your shoulders after the last rep without shattering your neck vertebrae - they make it HEAVIER. There are MORE. You train harder, and rest more, and get more sore, and rest again.
And it is totally, utterly, addictive. Its the best feeling in the world. It isn't suffering. The exact definition is 'pain, distress, hardship.' Well, pain comes with everything. Whether its the gym, or your eyebrows, or going for a weekly run, exercise just makes you sore, its a given. Distress; maybe when you are trying to decide which lecture least needs your attention so that you can go and spend an extra hour in bed. Hardship; of course, in the modern sense of the word. Like exercise, nothing incredible comes from not having to do a little bit extra, having to put yourself under some strain. But hardship also indicates a lack of something. Winter training, ANY kind of training, is a 'gain'. I don't do it to suffer, or to feel more like an athlete. Not for any reason other than I just really, really like it. There is no lack - except occasionally a social life, which is in the terms and conditions every athlete is subjected to. Winter training is just a new way of pushing yourself, and it's awesome.
And it is totally, utterly, addictive. Its the best feeling in the world. It isn't suffering. The exact definition is 'pain, distress, hardship.' Well, pain comes with everything. Whether its the gym, or your eyebrows, or going for a weekly run, exercise just makes you sore, its a given. Distress; maybe when you are trying to decide which lecture least needs your attention so that you can go and spend an extra hour in bed. Hardship; of course, in the modern sense of the word. Like exercise, nothing incredible comes from not having to do a little bit extra, having to put yourself under some strain. But hardship also indicates a lack of something. Winter training, ANY kind of training, is a 'gain'. I don't do it to suffer, or to feel more like an athlete. Not for any reason other than I just really, really like it. There is no lack - except occasionally a social life, which is in the terms and conditions every athlete is subjected to. Winter training is just a new way of pushing yourself, and it's awesome.
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