New paddling discipline for me - learning surfkayaking

 There is not just one type of paddling - or one type of kayak. 

If you consider bicycling, there is road, track, downhill, cross-country and general mountain biking. And within these are a range of bicycles with different gears, brakes, frames, geometry, handlebars, suspension, forks, price tag...

It is the same in paddling with flatwater, whitewater, touring, racing, surfski, canoe polo, marathons, sprints, slalom and every variation imaginable within these and a range of kayaks for preference, stability and performance within each discipline.

For me, paddling began with paddling whatever was provided at events or that I could get my hands on for adventure racing. Later it was more K2 (Accord) with a dash of K1 and sometimes other models. And then it was learning whitewater on another brand of plastic kayaks, then an Epic V7 surfski and then our Vagabond Kayaks. My personal fitness/touring kayak is the Marimba model (longest and fastest in our range), I learned the basic skills in whitewater on the Usutu sit-on-top and I have my own Pungwe whitewater creek kayak. I also have a Design Kayaks sit-in touring kayak, the Endless.

I don't have a very good sea constitution so I generally avoid anything that has me bobbing on swell. Thankfully, anti-nausea tablets work well and so, a few weeks ago, I hit the surf to learn to catch waves and surf 'em on our Vagabond Dumbi surfkayak. I'd only ever paddled the prototype on a wild and awful day at the sea (it wasn't pretty).

My first session surfkayaking, at Vic Bay here in George, saw me swimming quite a bit as I struggled to find the right balance and body positioning. Sea waves are not as strong as an equivalent-sized river wave and they move slower. I see a wave coming towards me and expect to be slammed by it, but instead the nose of the Dumbi punches through easily and I maintain course. 

In catching waves to surf them, I am learning about timing and also just how hard and fast I need to paddle - not as hard or fast as I expected.

Waves that look like 'baby waves' from the beach feel a lot bigger when they're higher than your head height. Fortunately, they don't hit very hard.

Session 2, a week later, went better with less swims and better control. I needed to work on my body positioning (how much to lean back or forward at different stages of the 'surfing cycle') and paddle strokes.

Session 3, on Sunday, was the best yet. Tide was out and waves were low. I stuck to the baby waves to really get my sea legs and a good feel for this discipline. Only a few swims and lots of surfing. A sure progression. Importantly, I felt a lot more relaxed too.

Before hitting the sea on Sunday, I did a stint on the local dam to try to roll the Dumbi as I had never tried before. As luck would have it, I rolled it on my first attempt but then struggled later with only a few successful rolls out of numerous. I'll need to do some work here so that rolling becomes reliable and second-nature. Right now, I don't even think about rolling in the sea because there is so much else I'm focusing on. But with a bit of work and improvement in technique, I should nail it. I can feel my stiff intercostal muscles from this session.

Being on the up in the skills stakes feels good and I'm looking forward to the next session.

46 Days of...

 My annual pre-birthday challenge is fast approaching. As it will be my 46th birthday, the challenge has to start 46 days before my birthday. This makes Day 1 on 4 May 2022. 

This challenge has always been about running. Back when I started this, for my 35th birthday, my running had not been as consistent with only 2-3 sessions a week compared to the 5-7 that had been my norm. This challenge, that saw me doing at least 4 or 5km a day, served to remind me how easy it really can be to get out for 30 minutes. 

This served me well for a few years and each year this challenge got me back on the straight and narrow, refocusing my attention on the importance of me.

Since I've had Rusty - 5 years now, getting out hasn't been an issue because I get such joy from taking her out and being out with her. Rosy has been in my life for 2.5 years now, living with me for just over a year, and she has added to this. Getting out is never a problem when pairs of brown eyes stare into your soul to ask you to take them out on the trails.

Last year's challenge didn't feel like a challenge and so I need to change things around a bit.

This year it will be

46 Days of YOGA

I love yoga, especially ashtanga and vinyasa flows. There have been periods of my life that have included regular yoga sessions and I've always found that it serves me well. I just haven't been good at making time and space for yoga for way too long. I miss it and need it.

There are excellent classes available online and there is a teacher, Lesley Fightmaster, whose videos I discovered a few years ago, that I really enjoy. 

So, this will be a fitting challenge because it is something I have not been doing and really should be doing. The challenge will force me to commit. I'll aim for at least 30 minutes per day for the 46 days in the lead up to - and on - my birthday.

First chiropractor visit, first parkrun

19-months after waking up on a Sunday morning with a swollen right knee, I'm still not 100%. Sure, I'm out on my feet every day, I can go hiking, walk the dogs and I can trot along the trails. But I can't run. Like properly run. A good, sweat-inducing run. Well, I can physically run, but if I do, I can expect inflammation.

In August 2020, I went to the physio the day after waking up with an inflammed knee. No structural problems found. It got worse, triggered, as I discovered six-week later, by my new trail shoes, which I'd been wearing casually and that left me limping and sore. 

In early October 2020, I saw an orthopedic surgeon (I was taking my mom there for her post-hip operation check-up). I had x-rays, he checked me out and proclaimed that there was no structural issue.

In mid-October 2020, I saw our local GP, who removed 5ml of fluid from my knee, did an ultrasound to check the soft tissue and confirmed no structural issue.

I then saw a biokineticist (twice) and the physio. 

Then I moved from Parys to George.

I couldn't do any of the exercises given to me by the bio - too painful. Instead, I walked daily - initially only 1-2km and later further, wearing my old road shoes. And daily stretching.

In February 2021, I started with a local biokineticist. She tested my knee and confirmed no structural problems. I then started on a programme to activate glutes, balance left and right (I'd been favouring one side for months), and achieve the correct relationship between muscle groups - like quads and hammies (my quads were too strong). The first three months were the most intensive and then I checked-in every few weeks. 

I remember August-September 2021 being pretty good as I was doing quite a bit of mileage in scouting and preparing for my Checkpoint Challenge event for World Orienteering Day. But then something set me back.

We're now in April 2022 and I'm so tired of not actually knowing what the problem is and why I keep having inflammation flare-ups. I've got low-grade inflammation regularly. I'm not in any pain and my mobility is not compromised, but I know it is not right.

I toyed with the idea of going to a chiro for some time because I haven't had a proper check and assessment since October 2020. I've suspected that the issue is still muscle/tendon/ligament and not bone/cartilage but I've had no plan or way forward out of this, and I've been terrified of doing too much for fear of long-term damage of any sort. 

"Chiropractors are trained to diagnose, treat, manage and prevent disorders of the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, and muscles), as well as the effects these disorders can have on the nervous system and general health."

Sounds like what I was in need of,

On Friday afternoon, I had my first session ever with a chiropractor. His assessments confirmed that there was no structural problem with my knee - meniscus great, patellar tracking spot on, and joint mobility all normal.

He did find a discrepancy in leg length related to tight right glute and sacroilliac joint and right shoulder sitting a bit higher than left. He sorted this out

In June 2020, I slammed my right big toe into a rock. Head-on collision. I don't recall it giving me any worry until after the knee started and I've suspected it to be a factor. Videos of me on the treadmill at the bio show good form and no problems with foot landing or toe off, but of course this can be part of the problem. X-rays in October 2020 showed joint inflammation and signs of osteoarthritis, which the orthopod confirmed could be as a result of the impact. It has messed with my toe mobility - I can't lift it much. This can affect the toe-off when running and walking.

The chiro worked on my big toe joint, getting more mobility into the joint. This made a big difference.

All in all, a good experience. I'll see him again on Wednesday when he'll check how the SI joint is doing, work on toe mobility and check in on the knee.

Since the George parkrun got going again in October 2021, I've been volunteering - most of the time on barcode scanning. Until this morning, I had yet to run a parkrun since pre-lockdown. 

The house I moved to at the end of January is 1.5km from parkrun, so I've been running to and from parkrun every Saturday. I've been thinking of running early, before the start, and then doing my volunteer duty, but I just have not had the confidence to do so. When a clock is ticking my brain switches into another gear. 

I did think that today would be the day... It was raining early so I figured I'd just do my normal jog to the start, which I did. Just after the start, I began packing up the start items when I was told that only one barcode scanner was needed, another guy was in place, so I could slot in with handing out tokens or collecting tokens. I was picking up dog water bowls when I thought - well, maybe I should run!

I knew it wouldn't take me long so I told the team that I was going to run and that I'd hop into a role when I got back. Off I went. This was maybe three minutes after the start with a trail of walkers leading up to the gate.

I know the trails of the route very well as I'm on these at least once or twice a week. It would be muddy and there are lots of tree roots on the one stretch. I enjoyed passing all the walkers and catching the slower runners, moving steadily up the field. I had two little walkies on hills, and ran the rest. I ran easily and comfortably, focusing on footfalls and posture and form.

My finish time of 32:32 means that my real time was likely just a sub-30, which on this course is rewarding for me for a first running. I'm not unfit - I walk, hike, swim and paddle with odd jogs - but I'm not up to scratch with running at all. Women's winning finish times on this course are not often under 24 minutes and this summer have mostly been over 25.

This was my first parkrun run since 14 March 2020. I have now done 105 parkruns and I've volunteered 127 times (72 of these as Run Director). 

I'm itching. Itching to run hard and fast. I've been really contained these past 19 months. I started running as a teen and I've hardly let up in almost 30 years - until now. My frustration has been tempered by enough other activities and a crazy work schedule. I haven't really had the capacity to deal with my knee situation because I haven't known what it is. This has been eating away at me and has had a big psychological impact.

My knee journey is not over. The knee is the symptom probably of transference from my toe. While slamming it into a rock was the start, the new trail shoes were the trigger that set off this whole situation. Bio helped, keeping active helps. 

I'm hoping that we're now going to find a long-term fix - one that will see me back to the activity that I love most.

Rusty's 5th adopt-versary

 Five years ago, on 24 March 2017, my life changed when Rusty came home with me. 

I still cannot get enough of just hanging out with my dog. 

Rusty was about 5 to 6 years old at the time (so 10 to 11 years now). She has been with me through four house moves and one provincial move. I had the pleasure of being with her all day, every day until July last year when I began working from the factory office. She spends most days with granny Liz and dogs Rosy and Bella. Sometimes I take her in to work because I just really miss being with her.

She started going to dog school just over a year ago. This amazing girl got 98% in her first 'exam' and is the oldest dog in the advanced class. She is super smart. She loves doing go-around the cones and is really good at going through hoops. She gets excited like a puppy when we do these. She is progressing with nosework. Rusty has amazing focus on me and she is excellent at down stays where she grins at me across the distance.

Almost every evening we hit the trails. She has spondylosis in her lower vertebra so we keep distance and difficulty within reason these days. She is incredible at recognising and leading on routes traversed only once even if from the other direction and weeks later. She loves being out. She also loves swimming and is a doggy paddle champ - she prefers to be in the water with me. She also loves being on my kayak.

Rusty is the July pin-up girl in the 2022 Border Collie Rescue calendar. I'll probably go April, May, June, July and then stay on July for the rest of the year.

Rusty is funny, sweet and smart. She loves hanging out with me as much as I love being with her. Rusty is my first dog ever - and did I get lucky with this one! 

I didn't rescue her; she rescued me and continues to be the light in my life.