busy bee
 
I have been a real busy bee, pretty much since Nationals.
 
I left, right after awards to drive back to Ottawa finish building my boat at the iTomCo “factory” (Tom’s garage) and hurry back to Charlotte for school.  The boat, was well worth the wait; I added volume from the knees to behind the seat but then took volume away from the last two feet of stern the result is a boat that turns a little better and has more pop.  I should thank Eric who waited (drinking Tim’s coffee and eating donuts) patiently for me for a week to finish building the boat.  I had dragged him to our nationals and then wouldn’t take him home to DC till I was done building. Thanks dude.
 
My September was a real whirlwind.  I restarted my math degree at UNCC, I’m taking vector calculus, advanced stats and probability, analysis (proving all the stuff you assume in calculus), and to round out my semester an accelerated freshman english class and a world history class.  Returning to school as been more rewarding and more engaging then I thought it would be.  I was also concerned about taking 3 upper-level math courses after so much time away from the books but I’m happy to report that nearly through all my mid-terms, I’m busy but doing well.
 
September also marked my first Cape Cod wedding and first trip to Boston.  Pictured above is me on the MIT campus.  Its incredibly wonderful to not have to fly with a boat but after the 3 days of only running I was ready for some whitewater.  I also walked around the Harvard campus, mainly looking for a t-shirt and hoping to gain some knowledge through osmosis.  In their science building they have the Harvard Mark II, just sitting there!  Most universities I have been in have pictures of the cell and posters of Einstein on the wall - not at Harvard.  At Harvard they have the second computer ever built, in between the coffee shop and the sleeping Asian kid with oversized nike high-tops (some things are still the same).      
 
I also traveled at the last minute to Wisp Maryland to compete in the US Open this was both a good idea and a total mistake.  I have, in-spite of my busy schedule, been training hard and making good mainly technical gains.  I was not however, anything close to race ready: mentally, physically or technically.  Of course this is the fall, the time you are supposed to be building so I’m not concerned but I raced real bad and that never feels good.  I’m not sure this is going to work but I will try to post a link to me:  081003_davisn_2.MPG and Peter Kauzer 081003_kauzer_2.MPG.  I would normally just put videos like this in my video section but my little 5 year old apple is on its last legs these days and can’t handle that kind of load.  
 
Moving forward I will need to be very aware of doing what I need to so I can perform.  Last year, pre-Olympic trials paddling was my soul focus and I could use what I’m going to call a flexible shot-gun approach. I was doing enough training that I could “get away” with perhaps not doing what a physiologist would always want me to.  Mainly because my volume was so high and I spent so much time thinking about it, I think, it “worked” (I use the term “worked” loosely).  
 
This year will be different, first I know that I can be properly fast now.  The first time it happened was in the Australian Open qualifier, with a broken seat and nothing to loose I put down internationally competitive stuff.  The second time, was on the third day of Olympic trials with a 4 second deficit to recover and more pressure then I have ever seen in my kayak.  So... what now.  Well, I’m working on a long-term plan that will raise me to a level where I can produce this type of paddling on a consistent basis.  Because school will “pinch” my time I will need to be more systematic in my training in the upcoming year; using a little more science without disrespecting the gains that an artistic approach got me this year, I hope to make the next jump.    
Thursday, October 9, 2008