Diary of a middle aged kayaker

Slalom update – process or outcome?

I wrote about the challenge of goal setting in my last blog post. Having a clear outcome goal increases motivation, but can also be tricky because outcome goals are uncontrollable and take our focus into the future, and being future focused during a competition tends to increase anxiety. This is a very personal challenge for [...]

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Ageing and exercise

I spent a couple of days last week being a member of the “worried well.” During a routine check up, my doctor became concerned at my low resting heart rate and sent me off for an ECG and blood tests.  She thought it might be a sign of an underlying heart problem, despite my protestations [...]

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The slalom season begins

Most of my recent paddling has been in a slalom boat, training at Lee Valley.  GB Canoeing has started twice weekly training sessions as part of its Olympic Legacy programme, and although this is targeted at young paddlers I’ve been able to join in.  As Paul Ratcliffe said, it’s about creating a healthy slalom ecosystem [...]

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The force of habit

The weather in Britain has been cold and wet for a couple of weeks, and the only people not grumbling are paddlers who have appreciated the first Thames weir season for some 15 months.  I’ve managed three sessions at Hurley and one at Marsh weir. Last Sunday I was paddling and talking with Tim Ward, [...]

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Beginner’s mind

After kayaking for more than 35 years I don’t know whether to feel embarrassed or pleased that I’m still learning about paddling.  Zen Buddhism has the principle of ‘beginner’s mind’; which emphasises the importance of staying open to new experience and not letting arrogance or preconceptions get in the way.  So I guess on balance [...]

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