I did one of these at the “end” of 2014, and another one in 2015. So maybe it’s time for this year’s.
Ok, by the numbers, racing/training hours:
| Activity | Last Year | This Year |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 296:50:30 | 296:00:58 |
| Paddling | 197:39:19 | 223:17:07 |
| Cycling | 80:14:04 | 33:15:14 |
| Erging | 18:02 | 39:02:54 |
Not much change in the total hours, but a decrease in cycling and balancing increase in erging and paddling. I think if there was a way to compare it month by month there would be a lot more hours in the early season, and a lot fewer later – especially since October was mostly a wash out because of my carpal tunnel surgery. I think last year I cycled more than paddled in the fall after the racing season was over.
I’d stated in last year’s summary that I’d planned to do more muscle strength and speed work. I think I did more intervals, but I don’t think I did any appreciable muscle strength work. I need to work on that for next year.
I went to most of the races I put in my 2015 Racing Calendar. I didn’t make it to Ride The Bull, and I skipped Black River because I’d been told the river was shallow and rocky and didn’t seem like it was going to be fun. I did the Old Forge race the day before. I had some good times, some disappointments. My biggest thrill of the year was going to BC and Oregon for the Canadians and the Gorge – although I had strained something and couldn’t manage to do two runs a day like I’d planned. My biggest disappointment was the Seneca Monster, which turned out to be a weedy mess. Obviously, the big story of the year was my near death experience when I lost my Thunderbolt.
I used my V10 Sport for nearly everything this year. I paddled the V12 mostly as a way to build up my balance skills and balance muscles, but I never managed to paddle it in waves or in any races. I’m ok with that, I guess. I’d been leery of risking the V10 Sport in the Round The Mountain race because of the fragility of the “Ultra” layup, but I didn’t drop it or hit any rocks, so it was fine. And after losing my Thunderbolt, it’s not like I had a choice. I also got frustrated out west with how slow I am compared to most of the other people there. I have to keep telling myself that most of them paddle on waves a hell of a lot more than I do. Maybe someday I’ll be as good as some of them.
Next year I won’t be going to the Canadians or the Gorge, unfortunately. It’s Vicki and my twentieth anniversary and I’m super stoked that we’re going to do a European River Cruise as our big vacation. And with the timing of the cruise we’re looking at, we’ll probably miss the TC Surfski Immersion weekend as well. So I guess I’ll have to find waves nearer home.