Marathon Trials 2014

Just finished marathon tryouts this past weekend. We missed the first trials in Oklahoma this year because of our Euro-trip. But got special permission to do a second trials during our brief time at home between trips. I had a solid run, keeping just under a 12k/h pace with 6 short laps and lots of portages. It was a great day for all of my teammates as well. We're all excited about the hopes of representing team USA at Marathon World Champs in America this year (Oklahoma City, end of September)! It'll be cool to do a world champs in our home country. 

Local News!

Look for us on local News (Northern Goergia) this weekend as we talk about nationals! 

Nationals

Just finished a week of National Championships back in Georgia. It was very nice to have my club hosting. We got that 'home court' advantage. With some of our top American women off racing at World Championships, I had some top finishes in my Nationals races. I'm very happy with all of my K1/singles races (distances: 200m, 500m, 5000m) where I placed 1st or 2nd in all of them. As well as my K4 race where my teammates and I took 1st again. Fun week, great too see old friends from around the country! Nationals is always about the team (versus National Team Trials in April which always feels more like independent races). It was great to come back from Europe and see so many young faces competing on our team for the first time. Love that development program.

Romanian Training Camp

Hi guys,

I’m still training away in Romania. Since World cups, we’ve spent the past 6 weeks in a grueling training camp. We did a 4 week long “cycle” of hard training: 12 paddle, 6 lifts, and 3 runs - a week (Sundays off). Then took a long 3 day weekend complete off. Now we’re back half way through our 2^nd training cycle. The first cycle took a lot out of me. Most days, I felt like I was on top of the world and fought hard, pushing till I had no more to give. This cycle, I keep grinding away everyday but with less of that spark I saw in the first training cycle.

They say you improve the most when you’re struggling and tired. So this feels like the time to keep powering along as hard as I can through paddles/lifts/runs. I’ve been learning how to find my 2^nd winds, 3^rd winds, 4^th, 5^th. I learn how to push when I thought I had nothing left. I learn how to bounce out of soreness and tiredness. I think that’s where improvement comes fastest: pushing when you’re down. It’s all about keeping a positive mental outlook and finding that “fight.”

We have another 2 weeks of training here in Romania. We’re at probably my favorite place to train: Lake Snagov which is the site of the Romanain canoe/kayak home base. Nothing to do here but eat/sleep/train. Life is so simple and focused. Then I get a week back home with my family in Maine. Hallelujah. After that, it’s preparations for National Champs (end of July), and then PanAmerican champs (beginning of September). What a summer!

Happy 4^th of July, America!

 World Cup 3 - Szeged, Hungary

 World Cup 3 - Szeged, Hungary

 World Cup 3 - Szeged, Hungary

World Cup 3 - Szeged, Hungary

Road trip back to Romania

Race Course - Pitesti, Romania

Sunset - Pitesti, Romania

 Snagov, Romania

Snagov, Romania

Erg Training in Timisoara, Romania

Eurotrip 2014 Begins

Hi guys,

More great training around the world. We left for Europe two weeks ago. Last week I competed in my first World event: World Cup #2 - Racice, Czech Republic. Now that I'm just starting to compete at the world level, the main thing for me to focus on is: EXPERIENCE. Race an many races as possible, learn all I can, watch, take it in, grow, become faster. My coach signed me up for all the K1 distances: 1000m, 500m, 200m. It's a lot for one regatta, and no one at the top does that many races. But I might as well get the most out of my accreditation.

And it was a really awesome weekend. It's impossible not to go into your first world event without a few nerves. But I shook most of those off in my first race: the 500m heats. Then, continued with various other heats, semis, and finals throughout the weekend. Such an experience.

This weekend I'm very excited to race in World Cup #3 - Szeged, Hungary. I feel like I have a world of experience after just last weekend. I'll go into this regatta with a better understanding of what to expect from the races and myself. I'm looking forward to it!

After that, I will continue to train in Europe this summer with a bunch of my teammates. We'll road trip around to various races and training venues, some in altitude, in the hopes of becoming bigger Beasts On The Water.

Alex