London Boat Show 2009
Well the first event of 2009 for me is the London Boat Show. This means we are about half way through the “off” season with the UK Qualifiers starting at the end of March. I still have a lot of land based training to do before I get back on the water training and racing. In fact apart from the Inlands the last time I did a race for more than one consecutive day was August!!!
You will have to watch this space to see which Olympic class I shall be campaigning for 2012 but with the final decision on the Olympic events not until mid June I may hold off my decision a while to make sure it is the right one. After all it is four years of my life (and maybe my final Olympic campaign) we are talking about.
The land based training is certainly paying off and despite avoiding all the exercises which compress the spine (like shoulder press, squats etc.) I have had a steady weight gain and I have already reached my target weight of 67kgs. Unfortunately I think some of this weight gain may be due to the excesses of Christmas and New Year but most of it has gone in the right place!
My spine is now feeling far more mobile and my daily use of the mobiliser has really helped. The great thing is I can fold it in half and take it to major regattas with me. Although I would definitely not call it relaxing to use, it does help my body stay more relaxed if that makes sense!
Although the left side of my body does seem quite tight (most noticeably the back) with the occasional cramping or electrical sensation in my left arm there is nothing that is going to affect my performance with the issues mainly being sensory rather than performance.
After all most people will have one side of their body a bit stronger than the other, I am just very slightly more extreme and I am doing my best to resolve this but as with all injuries it takes time, and having got the all clear from hospital in November (from the initial injury which occurred in early 2006). This fitted in ideally with the end of the sailing season meaning I can concentrate on my conditioning without being tempted to get on the water until the weather improves somewhat!
One of my achievements whilst I was injured was the completion of my first book, Be Your Own Sailing Coach. After all if you can not sail, why not think about it! I am going to the London Boat Show in Excel where I’m doing three book signing sessions on the Kelvin Hughes stand all day on Friday January 16th. Book signings are always great fun and it always amazes me the range of people who read my book!
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