Gail Force WInds Rock Praha

Well Ladies and Gentlemen,

The title doesn't lie. Prague has been hit with one of the most wicked storms this century. With wind gusts reaching nearly 60km/h, it has made training significantly hard for everyone but me. Because I have logged so many training hours in Valleyfield, QC (a city notorious for its' wind) it makes the current conditions here in Prague feel like I am at home once again.

Anyways, the week of training came to an end today. The course has been set for the Qualifiers tomorrow. The demo boaters and forerunners did a great job showing us all the lines...now, it is time to race.

On a lighter note, the Canadian tradition of shaving the rookies heads took place earlier this week. I have added a few photos of the guys. Normally, there is always some hesitation when it comes to chopping your hair off, but these kids were so eager I swear they would have probably done it themselves if we didn't take the initiative the other night. Fortunately, the fun is not over yet. There are still two more rookies, Daniel and Thomas Purcell, who will get the same treatment at the World Championships in September. So kids, if you are reading this, enjoy the next couple of months having hair.

Word.

Hit Series Slalom Competition - Solkan, Slovenia

All I have to say, Awesome.

Although I was just outside of the money, finishing 4th, the experience was great. Racing under massive flood lights in front of a sold out crowd on a Friday night made me feel like I was playing in the show (NHL), or was Smash (from the hit TV Drama, Friday Night Lights) playing for the Panthers in the small town of Dillion, Texas. Needless to say, it was incredibly exciting and will be on Slovenian TV in the near future.

Our journey to Solkan began on Wednesday of last week. The 5.5 hour travel through the Austrian and Slovenian alps was long, but again very beautiful. When we arrived in Solkan we were treated to +30C temperatures, sunny skies and cool, refreshing turquoise water. With some Slovakians and the 2004 Olympic Champion, Benoit Peschier camping at the course, we decided to follow suit. We pulled out or boat bags, made some pillows out of clothing and just rocked out. Although we had intentions of going to a hotel the following night, we decided to save the 26Euros; also, we didn't want to ditch our fellow campers...it would be like we were breaking up the band.

The race was a double header, we got to race Thursday and Friday; where the results of both races were added together to determine the winner. At the first race, I finished 3rd and on the second day I finished 4th. Unfortunately, this was not good enough for a podium finish and the money. Oh well, next time.

Anyways, we are in Prague now as the World Cup circuit will be starting next weekend. I can't wait to race.

Video - Slovak Open 2007.

Finally.

Although the video doesn't profile the wicked awesome kayaking skills of mine, it does profile the wicked awesome video making skills I possess.

Using the finest video editing tools, I was able to create this masterpiece. It was from my race at the Slovak Open in which I finished 40th, or last place in the semi-final as I flipped over and missed the last two gates...anyways the video can be found at the following link.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7650358822669060460

Enjoy and be expecting more from the upcoming World Cup races.

Fear and Loathing in Augsburg

So, here we are once again in beautiful Augsburg, Germany. Arriving from Prague on Friday, we spent the last few days training, eating, sleeping and watching Trailer Park Boys. Yes, that is right, watching Trailer Park Boys. It is very sad, but this infamous Canadian documentary has come to end. We just rapped up watching the 7th and final season. It is a sad day, but, it was a good run and for those of you unfamiliar with the program, I recommend sourcing it out somehow. It is hilarious.

Training has been fun - we had the unique opportunity to train with the Chinese this past Saturday. It was unique in the sense of that there were coaches, support staff and professors (yes, university professors) littered on both sides of the river filming their athletes from various angles and analyzing everything in hope of finding the ticket or way of ensuring Olympic Gold at next year's games. After speaking to one of the athletes, who wished to remain antonymous, he told me that all of these people are here because it is gold or bust....a silver or bronze medal is insufficient and carries with it no or little reward. He told me that if he wins a gold, he can earn up to C$1M, and if he wins a silver, maybe he will get C$10,000.

I spent much of the day at the Munich Airport. Teammate James Cartwright arrived today...unfortunately his boat was mangled by the nasty plane monsters and is currently outside fixing it up....painful.

Alright friends, keep your heads up and I'll be back shortly with some more updates from the road.

One last note, for those of you in the Aurora area...keep your ears to street, their will be a SupportJohn.ca fundraiser in the near future....

The Black Plague

It happens every time I come to Eastern Europe - the contraction of the Black Plague. So, what is the Black Plague? Well, it is the time when one comes face-to-face with hell for 24 hours. The symptoms are tell-tale: stomach cramps, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and the dreaded sitting-in-a-Chevy feeling-something-heavy diarrhea.

It hit me last night...like a freight truck. I spent the night tossing and turning in dire pain, trying to use my Jedi forces to fight these demons playing havoc on my stomach. Needless to say, I wasn't strong enough; the dark sith prevailed and I have been left bed-ridden, licking my wounds.

To reframe the situation, I am glad it happened now as oppose to later. Last year, the Black Plague hit me on the day of the semi-finals at the World Championships. I recall vomiting repeatedly during warm-up.....too much detail?

Anyways, I can rest easy now. As the Plague slowly works it way out of my body I am pleased that I will now be resilient to any future wrath. It's almost as if I just finished writing an exam at school...pleased that it is over until next year.

Speaking of Exams, turns out my graduation is this coming Thursday. Unfortunately I won't be there....and it is a true shame, my mom told me on the phone today that I am graduating with Top Honours. Yep, it is now official, I am a big deal.

Training Hard or Hardly Training

Some might say (i.e. my coach Michal Staniszewski) that my antics as of late, training three times a day, is nothing. He would tell me about his days back in Poland when he would train four times a day and then help out the family Ox on the farm by carrying hay bail after hay bail from the field to farmhouse. Others may look on in amazement and confusion, trying to determine if I am human or machine.

For me, this is just right. After a four week racing stint, where the volume of training was dramatically tapered, it is nice to get back to the grind and do some hard work before tapering once again for the world cup circuit.

I know I shouldn't complain, but, it has been hot....really hot. Although the water is cool here, it isn't exactly clean....thus going for the mid-session dip is sort of ruled out. Oh well, we are all surviving...and when I mean all, I am referring to my New Zealand friends (Mike, James, Aaron, Mark and Tanya) who are hanging out here in the mighty clubhouse also.

As for life, it is going well. It is amazing to see the changes in Prague....even since last year. You can tell the EU is coming, quickly. Prices are sky-rocketing....new, fancy restaurants are being erected by the minute...the craziest thing of all (which I saw last night) was this all you can eat sushi joint. Sushi in Prague??? Crazy, yes...I guess Bob Dylan was right, the times, they are a changing. Needless to say, the Tesco supermarket, a frequent stop for us paddle-sport athletes is still the same. The food court, the movie theatre....it is still all the same.....glorious.

For my European friends who are off to race in Liptovsky Mikulas (Slovakia) at the European Championships, best of luck. And I hope that neither your car, wheels, or hubcaps get stolen!

Home #3 - Prague, CZ

It is true - Prague is my third home. I have been here so many times that it would be unjust to call it anything else. The sights, the sounds, the people, the smell, the course and the fact that any frugal athlete can live like a king here makes this the best place to train.

I arrived here in Prague this morning. I was fortunate to get a ride with some German team friends, Jens Ewald and Sebastian Schubert, to the Munich Airport yesterday after the second race in Tacen, Slovenia. There, I rented a car and began the four-hour drive up to Prague. Since it was 11pm when I left Munich, I only lasted an hour before being forced to pull over and rest. Fortunately, I was prepared. With my trusty sleeping bag, I crawled into the back seat of my Opel Astra Wagon and passed out...I awoke at 6:30 to pleasant sounds of traffic from the nearby Autobahn.

I decided to alter my original plan, which included racing in Merano, Italy, to come to Prague. I realized this past weekend that I was utterly exhausted from all of the racing. Although there was some fluctuations in my results, many great lessons have been learned and I feel that an additional race was unnecessary for me. What I need to do now is rest up and relax so I am nice and fresh for the upcoming World Cup Tour which starts three weeks from now.

Look forward to more consistent updates. Being the only Canadian here in Prague at the moment, I am certain my computer will become a close and dear friend.

Gate #3

"Park it." This is what teammate and sport psychology master James Cartwright would probably say to me after my second run in the first (of two) International Races here in Tacen, Slovenia.

Sitting in 10th place after my first run, I was primed and ready to attack my second run.

In my visualization prior to my second run, I forgot about gate #3. I skipped by as if it were an insignificant part of the course. Little did I know that this error would effect me so drastically. I was a Gee Gee (first horse out of the gate). I raced down the notorious first drop and through the first two gates here in Tacen perfectly....and then gate #3 happened. I was a bit too excited and neglected the precision and patience that this part of the course required. After catching an edge and nearly flipping and missing the gate (which would have earned me a 50 second penalty), I realized my mistake. Now, this is the point where James would have said to me, "Park it". Instead, I hurried. I turned on the afterburners and raced down the rest of the course. In the path of this hurricane named John, I incurred two penalties (an additional 4 seconds to my overall time). In a sport where you must be the fastest, having four seconds added to your time is very bad. Although my running times on both runs were the same, the four seconds in penalties proved costly as it resulted in my slipping into 14th place.

Needless to say, the lesson has been learned....never overlook anything when visualizing.

Now, I am happy to say that I have "Parked" today's blunders, and am looking forward to tomorrows race.