Diary of a middle aged kayaker

Ivrea – European Masters Games Slalom

The European Masters Games has been my main competitive focus since the World Masters Games in Auckland in 2017. Ivrea Canoa Club hosted a friendly yet professionally run slalom, welcoming over 70 competitors from across Europe, the US and Australia. I was delighted to come away with two gold medals, individually in the K1 55+ [...]

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We stand on the shoulders of giants

I was working with a young slalom paddler the other day and I mentioned the name Bill Endicott. “Bill who?” he replied. I was momentarily shocked, but then it dawned on me that there must be a whole generation of paddlers who aren’t familiar with Bill’s massive contribution to the sport. Just as Isaac Newton [...]

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Is it worth doing dry land training for kayaking?

I’ve just spent two and a half weeks on holiday with my family, relaxing in the sun in Sardinia. This was the longest time I’ve spent off the water for well over a year, and a stark contrast to the previous few months when I was able to put in a solid training block that [...]

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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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What does a coach do?

Over the last few months I’ve been training pretty regularly, paddling three or four times a week on top of daily circuit and cardio training.  My core training has been twice weekly coached sessions at Lee Valley. I’ve found it really useful to have the feedback and focus that comes from working with a coach. [...]

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