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Welcome
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Q: Why
do you like to paddle? What magic does it hold for you? Denise: I’ve
finally reached the place in my life where I have time to do something for
myself, and paddling is it. I love
being on the water and I believe that you need exercise to balance your life.
TDBA offers goals, team spirit and camaraderie among teammates.
All this combined with the ever-changing beauty of the sea and sky is
amazing. Q:
How do you mentally prepare for competition? Denise:
I try to put everything into the each practice because if I don’t I won’t be
prepared for a competition. I
usually try to concentrate on one or two things in each practice.
Sometimes it will be technique other times it will be timing or blending.
Approaching a start line in a race, I try to get comfortable in the boat.
Sometimes on the way out we practice a start or two.
Once at the line, I concentrate only on listening for that whistle and my
first 25 strokes. Q:
Do you have an superstitions or lucky charms? Denise:
I can’t think of any superstitions, or lucky charms relating to paddling.
We don’t need them when we have the confidence from preparing ourselves
mentally, physically and nutritionally for a race. Q: What
do you eat before a workout or to refuel afterward? Denise: I
eat light before a workout or a race, then eat a normal meal afterwards.
Drinking plenty of water ahead of time is very important for the energy
level. Q:
What do you eat before and after competition? Denise: The
night before I’ll usually eat a meal with complex-carbohydrates.
Then a few hours before the race I’ll start eating very light or not at
all. Once the race is over, I’m
usually so hungry that I’ll eat a good healthy meal as soon as I can. Q:
How do you control your weight without compromising your nutrition? Denise:
I’ve always thought of the Weight Watcher diet as being well rounded and
nutritional. I usually follow those guidelines. If I need to lose weight I follow it pretty well until I get
to my desired weight range. After
that I just include more of the same foods to maintain. Q:
What kind of training do you do during the season in addition to paddling? Denise: I
use the treadmill, and weights for strength. Q:
How do you keep your lats and shoulders from getting tired while paddling? Denise: Your
lats and shoulders build up pretty fast if you attend all the practices and put
100% into it. Q:
What kind of training do you do in the off season that helps your paddling? Denise: I
work out in the gym at least three times a week in the off-season, with both
swimming and strength exercises. Q:
What do you do to combat the saltwater organisms that cause your clothes to
have that distracting fragrance? Denise: I
wash my practice clothes after every practice, I don’t notice it, maybe I’m
just used to it. Q:
How to you balance an over-demanding schedule? Denise:
I put a lot of things on hold doing the racing season. Every person who paddles
has to decide what is important to him or her, and to me this is important, so I
am doing what I enjoy doing. Q:
Do you think that good paddlers are born or made? Denise:
They’re definitely not born. There’s
more to paddling than meets the eye. It
looks easy if you watch an experienced paddler, but believe me there is a lot of
practice that goes into perfecting the skills needed. Q:
Do you have any advice for new paddlers? Denise: First
thing is to work through the initial soreness that you feel your first few times
out. The rest of the time is learning to paddle and having lots of fun. |
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This page was last updated on 02/20/08. Contact Us Comments to Webmaster
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Denise is our interviewee for April 2003. She has
paddled in most front and back seats.