 | Welcome to the home of the Destiny Dragons in Tacoma and Seattle |
|
|
|
Welcome
|
Ask the Paddlers… Q:
Why do you like to paddle? What magic does it hold for you? Rick:
I love to exercise, I love to compete, and I especially love physically
challenging types of activity that are unique or little different, and dragon
boating is definitely unique. Plus, I’m positively addicted to that feeling
after a good hard dragon boat practice: tired, but invigorated.
What’s magical about dragon boating? Seeing the sun go down behind Mt.
Rainer while paddling down the Foss Waterway; admiring Stadium High School from
the middle of Commencement Bay, or paddling up the Puyallup River and wondering
what the heck a seal’s doing in fresh water. There’s not a practice I’ve
been to that there hasn’t been something magical happen on the water. Q: How
do you mentally prepare for competition? Rick: Two
things I always do. First off, I always believe we’re going to win. We have so
many good paddlers who paddle together so well that I never go into a race
thinking that we’re going to do anything but win. Second, I try to visualize a
time when everything clicked: in other words, the timing, the technique, and the
pulling all came together. I then take that mental picture into the boat and all
the way past the finish line. Q: What
do you eat before a workout or to refuel afterward? Rick:
Before
a workout I usually eat a bagel, an apple, some almonds, nonfat yogurt, and a
cup of coffee. It’s
always given me just the right amount of carbos, sugars, and protein. For
refueling, especially on the distance workouts, I eat a couple of bananas,
several glasses of water and Gatorade or PowerAde for electrolyte replacement. I
also try to eat some protein, like tuna fish or peanut butter.
I have to admit though, sometimes a bunch of us end up eating Peggy’s
cinnamon rolls after a hard workout. Q: What
do you eat before and after competition? Rick: Before
competition I try to eat the same kinds of food as before a workout. I like to
stay with the foods I know work for me during practice and not experiment with
anything new. Also, during competition I try and eat continuously throughout the
day to maintain the right blood-sugar levels. I nearly bonked at one event
because the blood sugar got too low. Thankfully, one of my teammates shared his
energy bar with me. Q: How
do you control your weight without compromising your nutrition? Rick:
I’m a
label reader. When I buy groceries I stay away from products with cholesterol
and high saturated fat levels. I’ve always loved fruits and vegetables so
it’s not too hard for me to stay away from the bad stuff.
Plus, I weigh myself daily to make sure I never get too heavy or too
light. Now, if Krispy Kreme ever ends up in Tacoma, you can just forget about
all that stuff I just said. Q: What
kind of training do you do in the off-season that helps your paddling? Rick: Well,
I’ve always been into running. So I run an average of 25 to 30 miles a week.
This really helps if we end up racing three 500-meter races in a day. When you
have that endurance base to draw from, you’re just that much more relaxed and
loose when you have to dig for that extra bit of energy. Also, I started a
weight lifting program last October, which I think really helped prevent injury
and made me a stronger paddler. Q: How
do you balance an over-demanding schedule? Rick:
Balance?
What balance? You just wake up each day, and tell yourself your going to try and
do the best you can and hopefully when you finish the day you know you’ve done
your best to be nice to people and simply enjoy life. Somebody once said, “Are
we living to die, or dying to live?” I prefer the latter. Q: Do
you have any advice for new paddlers?
|
|
This page was last updated on 02/20/08. Contact Us Comments to Webmaster
|
Rick is our interviewee for October 2002.
He's usually in the engine room and sometimes strokes.