My December in NZ has not exactly gone according to plan.

I arrived in December (10 weeks before the Coast to Coast, C2C) for two reasons:

(1) to compete in the Waimak Classic 70 km kayak race (the same section that we paddle in C2C)

(2) ) to have time to train on the C2C course (which I didn’t do last year).

24 days after landing in NZ I hadn’t done either. The Waimak Classic was cancelled due to high water levels and I’d been sick for two weeks, sitting at home and resting.

Michelle, my acupuncturist, gave me a little note with the following on it:

Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know

Perhaps what I needed to know was how to find a better balance between training and rest – yin and yang (as well as the importance of wearing a germ mask on my next international flight…)

But things are getting back on track. This week I had a couple of long training sessions and my lungs are OK. More importantly, I have recovered well from these sessions. Michelle has been tremendous, helping to coax my lungs back to health, filling my body with the energy it needs for my endurance life, and acting as a support driver for the long Waimakariri paddle today.

I paddled the Waimak with Sam Manson (who finished 9th in last year’s race, beating me by over 20 minutes). I didn’t know Sam then, but I met him in China in September. Here he is (far left) with his teammates at the Wu Long Race.

I didn’t take the GoPro on the paddle today, but here are a few shots from the start

What was the result from the day’s paddle?

Answer → All systems go. I finished with (1) lots of fatigue and (2) a post exercise high – two of my favorite things ☺

This was the 9th time I’ve paddled this river in the last 3 years and every time I feel lucky (like a kid on Christmas morning). I also learn (or re-learn) things every time I paddle here, such as …

… seek the darker water (it goes faster).

… take the longer way around (it goes faster)

… keep the cadence high, especially when the wind is trying to beat you back

… use your legs to push push push into every rotation.

… Lean forward to keep your balance

… Focus, focus, focus — no daydreaming! As soon as you start to zone out, you miss a crucial turn or find yourself in the slow water looking over at the fast water thinking “why aren’t I over there?”

I had one near miss today and almost ended up like this guy ….

Why?

After 90 minutes the volume of the river doubles (due to a tributary), which causes the speed to increase dramatically. This means that small obstacles that you could easily maneuver around in the first 90 minutes, come at you much faster in the next 90 minutes. I found myself going through a rapid side-ways (not recommended!) when I mis-timed one of my maneuvers. It was a good reminder of the power of the river.

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Scott….

PS I baked some paleo chocolate chip cookies for some friends around here. They were a hit.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go yourself …

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Source: The Food Lovers Kitchen)

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 1 tsp Salt

• 3 cup Blanched Almond Flour

• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

• 1/2 cup Coconut Oil, Organic, unrefined

• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup, Grade B

• 2 whole Eggs, Pastured

• 1 1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

*(250 ml in a cup)

Process

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. (190 C)

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.

3. In a small mixing bowl beat eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.

5. Melt coconut oil, pour into batter, and continue to blend until combined.

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop balls of cookie dough, about a tablespoon in size.

8. Bake for 15 minutes.

9. Let cool and serve with coconut milk.