Training with Whitney

What an eventful first week in Florida! This week I have been skiing with Whitney McClintock, who had just come back from winning the Moomba masters in Australia! I was interested in a week of coaching by her because having achieved what she has, I can learn a lot from her lifestyle as well as what she can teach me in terms of skiing. Since I had been more focussed on my nutrition and work outs recently, I was very interested in what she could tell me about this. This was quite a big difference, since she eats vegan, whereas I love eating meat and dairy products. I was curious how my body would react, but also a little nervous that I might miss eating what I normally do, even though it was only 4 days. As it turns out, it was very easy to eat according to her diet for a couple of days. There were so many delicious products to eat instead, that I barely even missed eating meat or snacking on a yoghurt. Even when on the third day we were offered some chicken, I didn’t want to take it (nothing to do with peer pressure at all… :D). Along with this nutrition, I also learned more about PiYo, a mix of Pilates and yoga, and joined in her warm up before skiing. I don’t think I will go vegan now, I mean I already ate steak at the first opportunity, but I am more open to it than I was before. I think I could start doing it every now and then for a full day, but I’m not ready to make a switch just yet. I also think I need to do more research into which vitamins and such I need to replace if I take out part of my diet, so this will take some time.

Whether it was the diet, lifestyle, environment, the vibes, or the preparation pre-season, 1 thing is for sure, I skied really well. I felt very strong in my slalom sets and controlled enough to make changes and adjustments according to the feedback. This resulted in running my 14 meter pass on the first try of the year. I was really happy about this, but will still be working on the 16 meter pass more in order to improve my technique more. In tricks I was especially surprised, because in the first toe hold set since December, I already managed to land a trick I had been working on all winter. I worked on the TWO in December with Vincent, but was just unable to make it before I left. Now back on the water, I tried once, got one more tip and actually landed it the second try. I was beyond amazed! In hands I will now be able to work on the 540 wake turns that I had been wanting to learn, but put off because of my torn ear drum. Whilst learning these, I am the absolute queen of face plants, so Whitney told me to try them as surface turns every set and then work them on the wake. This is a fun warm up and will help a lot, though I still managed to fall head first into the water doing this today.

On the last day skiing with Whitney, I was able to jump on my new jumpers for the first time. This was the first time jumping in 3 months, and the first time ever on the longer skis. For some reason, I still cut towards the ramp like there was no tomorrow, which resulted in my first jump crash, ever. Looking back I don’t know why I didn’t just take it easy, it being the first set of the year and on new skis… Luckily, I was able to continue jumping, though it did hurt quite a bit. I took it very slow the jumps after this and was able to get the feel back. I’m very happy with the skis and I can’t wait until I can build back to the level I left off, and further.

Arrived in Florida

After receiving a text Thursday night that the flight would be delayed by 2 hours, I arrived in Florida at roughly 20:00 Friday night, local time. There was therefore not a lot of time nor energy left to really do anything on Friday. Saturday, however, it was time to enjoy the start of an amazing holiday to the fullest. Luckily Florida was kind to us, and the weather was great. After breakfast it was already a great temperature to go out and ski. We couldn’t wait, so started the day with a slalom set. Even though it hasn’t been that long since my last set, it was officially last year, so this was the first set of 2017! It was a bit of a struggle to find the rhythm in the course the first 2 runs. But despite having an odd timing, I still enjoyed the inexplicable joy of swerving on the water after some time off the water. It didn’t take long to get the timing back and at that moment I could start enjoying the fact that my muscles were strong and ready for this moment. I had a couple of great passes to start the year and think it won’t take long to get back to the level I left last year, and afterwards of course over that level. If you followed my blogs last time I was in Florida, you’ll know that I left at a bitter sweet moment. I did ski a new personal best, but it was just 1 turn short of running the 13 meter pass, which I really want to run. This holiday, it’s time for revenge.

After getting the first set out of my system so my muscles could stop itching to get on the water for a bit, I could admire my new skis. I ordered jump skis to be delivered here last time, they arrived a bit late, so I hadn’t seen them yet. This time they were waiting for me in the garage. I was really excited to screw on my bindings and give them a try. There’s no ramp on the lake here, so I’m not sure when I’ll be jumping on them, but until then, it’s good to do some drills and get used to the extra 6 inch I have now. They already felt great to hold and look up at, because they really are bigger than my last ones. But more importantly, they were also amazing on the water. I expected to feel a bigger difference with my previous skis, but I immediately felt comfortable on them. I think it is also because the material of my new skis is lighter, so even though they are much bigger, they are still lighter than my old skis. For now, I will be doing drills so that I’m completely prepared the moment I can take them over a ramp and fly.

After 2 sets, I dared to say that my muscles felt good and weren’t aching yet. I was ready for a trick set, because I just really wanted to do everything on the first day! I only did some hand tricks, because I had no one to pin me. Because of that I was also hesitant in doing steps over the wake, because I would never forgive myself if I got injured on day 1. Thus I decided to give the 540° wake turns a try. I’d wanted to work on these last time, but my eardrum was still pierced, and the chance of falling on my ear was too high. Now I wanted to see how they were, because when I did them at home on land, they were getting really stable. They felt great, especially for a first set back on the water, so I have high hopes for them too.

All in all it was a great day, though I do feel my muscles today… I can’t wait to ski more, especially since I’m leaving to Whitney McClintock’s clinic this afternoon. I’m excited to see what this will bring!

Ready, set, go

I'm noticing in every way that the start of the season is coming close, and fast. I leave on Friday for
my trip to Florida and after that, I can count the weeks I spend in the Netherlands, before I leave for university on 2 hands. I'm worried that once I go to Florida, everything will go very fast. I have many trips abroad for both training and competition planned. Also I will train on multiple lakes in the Netherlands to optimally prepare for competitions and also attend coaching clinics. To stay involved in the season at home, I have been training with my club members. Also I spent last Saturday at my club to start cleaning and preparing for the season. There is still a lot that has to be done, but it feels good to have been able to help just a bit before I leave. When I come back from Florida, it's just 2 days before the opening of the season, so I won't have to wait long to keep training. I also hope to go to multiple coaches abroad in the pre-season, mainly because of the level of training, which will really help to kick-start my season and bring me up to a good level well before the competitions start. Also, less important of course... but the weather is much better in the south of Europe, in April it's still a little cold here :) especially when you just come back from the Florida climate.

Even though I leave on Friday already, there are still many things I need to plan. Luckily I have 4 full days to focus on this, though I will still be training and working Monday through Wednesday. Packing is not a big problem, since I have been through the packing routine so often last year. And also honestly, my skis have barely been unpacked since last time... What I need to focus on the coming days are also some organizational things, as well as getting into the best shape possible before I leave. My training will be adapted slightly to prepare my muscles for heavy training, but not have them be tired before I can even start. I'm so excited for the new experiences in the coming weeks, and even the coming season, the new people I will meet and I cannot wait to see what I will learn during my trip, both in skiing and mentally, since I feel like I've never been more prepared for a season than I am now.

Getting stronger

Listening to instructions before attacking each exercise

There are only 11 more days untill I leave to train in Florida to kick-start the coming season. I have been training and preparing for this trip, and the season in general, for quite some time now. The focus had been mostly to get fitter and have a better endurance to really make the most out of every second I get to spend on the water. Now that the start of the season is coming closer and closer, it's time to switch from the general training and focus a bit more on the water-ski muscles. This involves a lot of core stability, but also gaining strength to be able to have more efficient sets on the water. I do this with my personal trainer, by focussing more on specific muscle groups and stability exercises. Also, today was the first training with my club mates, organized by one of the trainers and his wife, who is also a fitess coach. They know exactly which muscles to focus on and put out a circuit in their fitness-aperatus filled garden. This circuit was also used in previous years, when we built towards the season, so I am able to compare the way I perform to previous years. I notice a very significant difference. Of course I am older and naturally a little stronger, but I also notice a big difference in the fact that I did not slack on training in the winter. In previous year, I really felt an off-season and did a lot less for my fitness and food. This year, in stead of seeing the off-season as a time to relax and get a break from water-skiing, I saw it as an oppertunity to get stronger and more in shape for the coming season and thus focus it only around water-skiing. I've been enjoying the way I'm investing in the coming season, and this preperation is also a welcome variety to the way I'd already been training. It is also a great confidence boost to see that I have in fact improved compared to last year and I know I'll start off this season much stronger, more prepared, and more dedicated than ever.

I'm already noticing the positive effects of the way I spent my off-season and people around me have noticed I'm in better shape too. This is a great motivator to keep pushing just a while longer untill the season finally starts and I can see how it will improve my skiing. I can't wait to get back on the water and I'm so excited to see what this eventfull season will bring. It's also very much time to get back on the water because I'm rapidly running out of pictures to post...