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Welcome
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Ask the Paddlers…
Q: Why do you like to paddle? What magic does it hold for you? Carl: I have been in some form of sporting activities all of my life, and this was a new and exciting way to compete, get lots of exercise, and have fun. Q: How do you mentally prepare for competition? Carl: At this stage of training (I've been paddling over two years), we all know what we have to do. I mentally prepare in practice, and I just do what I have done in practices in the races. Q: Do you have an superstitions or lucky charms? Carl: I have no superstitions, or lucky charms, but I do feel lucky every time I get into a boat to race. Q: What do you eat before a workout or to refuel afterward? Carl: I will only eat fruit or a PowerBar before a workout or a race, but I do eat a normal meal after both. Q: What do you eat before and after competition? Carl: I like to eat a lot of fish the week before the race, and lots of fruit and PowerBars the day of the race. Q: How do you control your weight without compromising your nutrition? Carl: I exercise all year around, but I do seem to lose 10 to 15 pounds doing the racing season, without any change in diet. Q: What kind of training do you do during the season in addition to paddling? Carl: I do aerobic exercise for flexibility, and weights for strength. Q: How do you keep your lats and shoulders from getting tired while paddling? Carl: They do get sore in the off-season when we are only paddling once a week, but not during the season, when we are paddling at least four times a week. Q: What kind of training do you do in the off season that helps your paddling? Carl: I work out in the gym at least three times a week in the off-season, with both strength and aerobic exercises. Q: What do you do to combat the saltwater organisms that cause your clothes to have that distracting fragrance? Carl: I wash my practice stuff every day, but the smell in the shoes seems to stay no matter how many times you wash them or what you wash them with. They never get past the garage. I have more than one pair of shoes to paddle in. Q: How to you balance an over-demanding schedule? Carl: 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? Carl: I would have to say that they are made. This is not a sport that small kids grow up seeing on TV, at least not in this country, so it has to be learned, and like any thing in life, you do get better with practice. Q: Do you have any advice for new paddlers? Carl: 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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Carl is our interviewee for July 2002. He paddles in the engine room (seats
4-6).