Step away from the cookie jar.

The holidays are over. Get back to it.

So says our head coach. No BS, no sugar coating, just plain and simple - leave the leftover cookies alone (or better yet, give them away) and get back to serious. Have you seen the new planet fitness commercial by the way - it's a hoot and a half. Basically there's this humongous meathead checking out the gym and all he says is "I lift things up and put them down"... hilarious (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FGZvFZdVbk). Would be even funnier were it not for the fact that thru my head all that's going around is "I'm a dragon boater. I have to train." Hee.

Second fit test is in 10 days. It's a big deal.

Foot is healing well...I figured out I can row one-legged.. and now I can do it two-legged... sort of ... it's not pretty, and it's not efficient, but it works. Well I say not efficient.. but I am getting better times than I was last year, so this year's training is obviously working. (Yes A, it's WORKING!) And this week I also discovered that I can do the elliptical with the boot on.. go figure! Hooray for a little variety because I am mighty sick of the erg.

G is struggling a bit with some sort of bony growth under her finger on her palm, getting that checked out very soon. (What is going on? We're twins so we both have to have bony growth issues?? Sheesh!) But it's not preventing her from making big gains either.. we are definitely keeping each other motivated and on track. Well most of the time. Apparently I can't say "focus" with a French accent while she is doing the  bench press. That is not helpful I'm told.

This weightlifting thing works.. G can now lift ME!! 

We spent New Year's together (weird huh?) ... what possessed us to attend a party at a local hotel i have no idea, but it was lame with a capital L. Dinner was served at 7:30 sharp, under bright lights, without any music. Crazy right? The bands came on at 8:30.. they were ok, but definitely not what we were looking for. We were seriously among the youngest there. So we left the mix of sparkly tops and carpenter jeans, ball caps and construction boots (and even teva sandals, yes, without socks!) and hightailed it downtown. There we found a great table in a great restaurant noshed and drank to our hearts' content, kissed our sweeties at the stroke of midnight and welcomed 2012 (the year of Hong Kong!) into our lives.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Make every day count!

Year 2, Week 12

Wow. This means there are only 26 weeks of training and preparation left until we hit the waters of Hong Kong. G and I had planned on getting together for a Christmas Day workout yesterday, but, life and holidays being what they are... it didn't happen. Not that we just sat home idling and eating mind you!! We didn't. G ran and I had a near-normal 40-minute workout on the rowing machine for the first time since my surgery! Very exciting :)

26 weeks to worlds, but less than 3 weeks to the next fit test. Preparations for that are going well, but progress is not as fast as either of us would like. Still, we have to take care not to overdo it... no matter how much we want to push it and improve, we have to take care not to hurt ourselves.

This week's schedule: gym together today; individual workouts tomorrow; pool paddling and gym on weds; circuit on thurs; more weights on fri; and a new year's present ... a couple of sessions with A, our personal trainer extraordinaire, who's coming to ring in 2012 with us this coming weekend. Yay!

OK off to do some chinups then.

Happy Boxing Day everyone!

The day of the half-roster

Hong Kong on the Horizon

Coach M has announced half the roster for Hong Kong... the rest will be set on January 16th, the day that rosters need to be submitted to the IDBF (I think anyway). Team reaction was a mixed bag, but overall I think it's been very positive. Those who have been confirmed have nonetheless been struck with the humble-slash-fear stick... at the next fit test (January 14) these 10 better perform even better than at the first one and show that our coaches do actually know what they're doing (they do). The rest of the crew has a fire lit under their respective tushies and are absolutely killing it in training over these next few weeks to make sure they are their leanest, strongest, fittest, and best possible selves and crewmates.

Practices are looking amazing. The whoosh whoosh of the paddles in the pool could literally make me cry it sounds so good. (And no, it's not the meds talking.. i ditched the narcotics day two of being home!) Goosebump moments all around. I managed to paddle the whole practice 3 days after surgery.. the boot served me well (tho it got a bit nasty sweaty in there, ewww) and then Coach A put me through my paces in the weight room, since I couldn't partake in the killer circuit Coach P had put together for the rest of the crew. I'm glad he rode me as hard as he did, cuz G and the other beasts looked half-dead when P was finished with them!

G and I have not missed a beat in the gym either - but are pushing each other harder than ever. It's a bit odd looking with me in my cast (do you have any IDEA how hard it is to stay put on the decline bench when you can only hang on by one leg???!!) but we're both thrilled to bits I don't have to sit out. That would suck eggs for the both of us. I'm having to be super creative with cardio since i can't do any running, biking or elliptical-ing.. but we discovered that one-legged rowing IS possible.

Other than that we are excitedly shopping for OC-1 canoes. Like little kids were are playing with the design tool at www.huki.com (try it, it's super cool!) and dreaming of getting our very own boats. The kids will have to eat Ramen noodles for a while and forego most of their Christmas presents but I'm sure they'll be totally cool with it ;-)

Countdown to the end of the year...

A good friend reminded me today that things have been awfully quiet around here. I blinked and a whole month went by.. how did that happen? Cuz SO MUCH has happened.

First, we figured out that the trials were not for an IDBF world championship competition, but for an ICF (International Canoe Federation) event. We're still a bit confused by how it all relates, but have come to the conclusion that there is no way we can do Hong Kong in July and then Italy in September, plus tryouts and training camps and everything else in between. So we're sticking to the IDBF circuit... phew!

Second... what happened second? Oh yeah, that Christmas present from G? Well, it involved dressing up and public humiliation. Of course. But it was all for a good cause :) We ran in the first ever Burlington Santa Run.. a 5K through Burlington in a full Santa suit (beard and all... or you risked being DQ'd) with 1199 other similarly attired human beings.. a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I wonder how many children who previously thought there was only one Santa (hey, make a small typo and you get "Satan"... hmmm) were traumatized by the sight of MILLIONS of red-suited ho-ho-ho-ers..?

Third we had our first fit test of the season. It was tough and I don't really wanna talk about it. Suffice it to say that we are going to be working our butts off this month in preparation for the next one in early January.

Fourth... ah yes, fourth... I had surgery on my foot yesterday. Note to self.. next time I let G take me anywhere that involves me getting undressed and drugged up - make sure she leaves her phone in the car. As she picks me up at 6am, she asks if my underwear is clean and sans holes. Oui oui... nice looking, clean underpants and bra. Just in case. Cuz you never know who is going to see you in it.

First, they give G a tracking number for me. She decides I need to have my mugshot taken.  

I'm stripped naked, in a gown that i can't close, and all the nurses (coached by my friend Pam who works on this floor) are threatening me with a series of enemas. The bag they give me for my clothes is of clear plastic.. i neatly fold all my apparel (A! You'd have been proud!) and place it inside, with my pretty bright red bra on top. G about has a heart attack.

"Could you please fold that up and tuck it BETWEEN your clothes?"

"Why?"
"I'm not carrying that THING around the hospital. How embarrassing."
I of course am beside myself at this point, and thinking thank goodness there is a rubber pad under my naked butt should I accidentally pee myself with laughing.

"I'm not folding it up! My memory foam cups are gonna get squished."
"Just fold one under and into the other and tuck it in. I'm serious."

"Oh ok fine. But first..."

This photo apparently started a good rumor that I'm in here for a boob job.  HA.

The nurses took my vitals, and removed all my jewelry. That was a bit of a production. Enough said.

In pre-op, the doctor marks which foot gets the knife... 

There's another photo of me with cap and also a video.. but I think I'll keep those to myself for a bit longer. Apparently by the time I was done the ward was under the impression I was a dancer, I was professing my love to all, crying like a baby and generally extremely loopy. Good times.

Everything went well, my foot got all bandaged up, I got some free pants (scrubs are so hot right now!), G bundled me into the car and off we went home. First though, I made her stop at the tattoo shop so I could get my jewelry back on :) (Ears people, ears!!) 

So here I am, on the couch, bored as all $%^! and looking forward to next practice. Doc says if I can do it in my cast, I can do it. So paddling and weights on Saturday - here I come! Two days of rest is enough right?

Team USA tryout dates are out!!

We're about crapping ourselves with excitement. (Classy right?) And trying to figure out which trials to present ourselves at. Of course getting a little practice in an OC-1 would help (those donations would really REALLY be helpful right now! Can I sell you some chocolate? How about a website? Or a funny looking cat?)

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

We have to get through the November 26 fit test first!

And congrats to our Coach M who kicked butt in a half-marathon on Saturday. 1:50! Who knew the man could even run? But at that speed? Makes our times look lame now.. but love having a new goal to beat!
Speaking of running and goals... got an early Christmas present from G. But I'm not allowed to tell you about it yet.

A second team for Hong Kong!?!!!

The excited words that are escaping my mouth are not really appropriate for publication... but imagine me jumping up and down in my living room and I'm sure you can imagine what I'm yelling. G and I have been invited to paddle on a 40+ mixed team in Hong Kong! When we were first asked we were like "holy crap" (yes i edited) and held our breath a bit because there was an attached caveat. Since this team didn't paddle at the national championships and thus earn a berth for Hong Kong in the usual way, it would be vying for a wild card draw for the remaining open spot. We wouldn't know until November 4th.

Well, it's November 4th and GUESS WHAT?!! We got the spot. Holy freakin' glittery shizzles!! So now we can be excited. And freaked out. And .... really? Two teams? Hey wait a minute! does that mean double the workouts now? LOL. Ok.. on that note... off to the gym!

Tomorrow we travel north for our first indoor paddle and circuit - the rest of the team started last week, but since it was G's birthday party weekend the two of us begged off and stayed state-side. Speaking of which - what an AMAZING night that was. G looked radiant in her sparkly shmarkly sequin dress, and didn't get off the dance floor all night. In fact, I think she danced and sang and yelled so much she lost her voice completely (and lost 2lbs in the process. hee!). And so many of our Montreal family came to celebrate with us.. it was absolutely BRILLIANT. My girl knows how to throw a party for sure.. but our teammates know how to PARTY.

I'll have to steal some pics off facebook and plonk them here :)