In preparation for my Project Athena Keys To Recovery adventure, I decided to get a jumpstart on my paddling training. We are going to travel 100 miles over 30 days from Key Largo to Key West. We will bike and kayak each day. The kayak portion of the trip is approximately 28 miles.
Yesterday, I completed a "Learn to Kayak" class with REI's outdoor school. Man oh Man was it fun! I had an absolute blast. Surprisingly, I was a bit more nervous than I expected to be after getting into the water. I felt very weebly wobbly and just knew I'd capsize into the water before the class ended. Thankfully, I did not capsize and after about 15 minutes in the water, I felt good about navigating my little 'boat' on the water. The scenery in the cover area of Stone Mountain park was absolutely beautiful. It makes me wonder if my next great adventure should be camping ;-) .. anyway, I digress -- back to kayaking.
I loved our instructors and had great company. My friend and fellow survivor, Nina, went with me. Another friend, Brandie, joined us. Each of us had a great experience. In fact, Nina and I are planning our next tour with REI outdoor school. I love having an adventurous soul to share in these experiences. Did I mention that both Nina and Brandie are also on my SIMPLY THE BREAST Atlanta 2 day team. We'll walk 30 miles together in October. Brandie will join us on Sunday for the final 10 miles. I'm so grateful to God for allowing me to meet the people who make this journey even more memorable.
I have to get ARM ready for this task. One of the muscle areas where I feel I've lost the most mass is my arms. Nina and I have also signed up to take group rowing classes.I am hopeful this will help me build cardio and strength.
I am ahead of the curve on training for Keys to Recovery.
Tri Training .... well, ummm 'er ..... gotta get it going on the bike for sure. I feel much better about Open Water Swimming. I had my first OWS with NOMSA3 last week. It felt great to not feel total anxiety the entire swim. I had a smidgeon of anxiety before and upon entire but quickly relaxed.
The challenge will be training for it - the triathlons - the 2 day - all at the same time. There are areas in my tri training that I feel I've progressed and areas where I've regressed. But, I will work hard to get at least race and finish line ready. I'm not trying to podium. My goal is to finish and finish strong.
I am super glad that I have an opportunity to have competing plans on the calendar. It means that I'm doing ok with my motto and goal to #keepitmoving.
Life is a gift. Be thankful to God for every minute of every hour of every day!
Hugs & love, CC