I think I might be slightly obsessed...

[liz_marcs]

I haven't been around because of kayaking. And yoga. Between the two, I'm getting biceps and triceps of steel. Seriously.

I'll probably always be shaped like a meatball with legs, but at least I'll be a fit meatball with legs. Go me!

And, hey, remember when I said this would be so totally me?





The thing I really, really love about kayaking? Getting up close and personal with wildlife. No, seriously. Waterfowl have, like no fear of kayaks.

During my first lesson, a mother Mallard duck with 8 baby ducklings who were so wee they were still bundles of grey fluff basically swam within petting distance of my kayak.

Keep in mind, I do not touch the wildlife because that's wrong. I'm just saying that I could've if I wanted to.

And last weekend when I went out on a row with kurukami, we saw a a great blue heron take off from the water. It's flight trajectory didn't take it too far in front of our kayaks. Two blackbirds kicking the shit out of a red-tailed hawk. Two adult swans with their four little grey cygnets. And one red-tailed hawk diving for dinner.

And did I mention the flock of ducks who were roosting in a tree? No? Funny as all hell. When I saw the ducks in a tree, I was all "Bwahunh? Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" And kurukami's all, "Yup. You sure are."

Let me state for the record right now: seeing a flock of mallard ducks roosting in a tree with their bright orange feet wrapped around tree branches is something that is just straight up weird to see. Wish I had a camera right at that moment.

In short, we got a free hour-and-a-half Animal Planet show to go with our hour-and-a-half kayak rentals. Awsomesauce!

Today in my second (and last) basic kayaking class, we saw the swans with cygnets again, only the cygnets were looking bigger and were leaning toward a whitish-grey, two blue herons hunting for frogs in the weeds (they eat frogs), and a couple of blackbirds who blithely zoomed past our heads like we weren't even there.

Anyway, I've already signed up for the intermediate class in July. Oh, and I also signed up for my first 3-hour moonlight row. And did I mention that I plan to take my next two weeks of "free kayak rentals anytime" and go for an hour after work for the next two weeks? Since the days are getting longer, I can definitely squeeze in after-work rowing before the final kayak rental goes out at 7:30.

*beams*

Aaaaaand, I even dumped myself in the water today. Twice. Yikes! I wasn't the only one who managed to dump themselves into Charles River twice, by the way. Some of those advanced strokes have a lot going on and if you lose concentration...*wet plop*.

Good thing I bought a pair of Keen Newport H2 sport sandals. I at least didn't feel weighted down when I managed to dump myself in the drink. Twice. Not only that, they didn't feel at all uncomfortable during the operation of the kayak wet or dry. Plus, you can wear them in multiple uses.

By the by, as awesome as these sandals are, it's totally a case of Vimes's boots. They're hideously expensive, but you just know that:

• They're going to last you more than a year (the woman at Eastern Mountain Sports who had me try them on said she had her Keen sandals, which were a different make, for going on 5 years)
  
• You can use them for all watersports and light hiking (yes, they really are sturdy enough and they have toe protection)
  
• You can use them as regular sandals just to bop around in (which is how I broke those puppies in)
  

Okay, they're glow-in-the-dark green and not exactly pretty to look at, but the second I put these sandals on I didn't care because they feel that comfortable.

Anyway first time in the drink I panicked because I was taken by surprise, but I was able to haul myself into my kayak doing the standard T-rescue where you basically have haul yourself up out of the water (with help from your rescuer) and crawl into your boat.

The second time, I managed not to panic, but my floatation device (otherwise known as "a life jacket") managed to come undone, so I had no extra buoyancy and had to fight my way (with a lot of help from the instructor) to get back in the kayak. Double yikes!

Then when we got to the part of the class where the instructor demonstrated different kinds of wet rescues, he showed a scoop rescue where basically you don't have to use all your upper body strength to get into the boat. Instead, you turn the kayak on its side while the person with zero upper body strength basically slides in feet-first.

Of course, while I'm floating there going, "Now wait a second!" the instructor's all, "One, the way you were rescued is faster and more efficient for getting someone back in their boat without taking on massive amounts of water and, two, you could do it. Twice."

Okay, he had a point, but still...

He also showed a few other rescues, like the sling rescue (complicated and requires an extra strap) and a self-rescue (what to do if you're by yourself) that made me decide that open water kayaking is probably not for me. Better to do it in a river where I can swim for shore towing my upside-down kayak behind me.

Luckily, I didn't have to demonstrate a wet rescue (again!) because I'd already done it twice.

Anyway, next thing I knew, I was making more Nefarious Plans because, clearly, I'm addicted to the way of the kayak.

Like, oh, signing up for a kayaking pool-based safety course this winter so I could learn different wet rescues and self-rescues and Eskimo rolls in a controlled environment. And before you ask, no, learning these in the basically calm Charles River is so not a controlled environment.

And I'm planning to take swimming lessons at the Y in the fall and winter, because clearly I need to improve my swimming if I'm going to get serious about this. I can basically dog paddle, but that's not going to be helpful if I get into real trouble.

Know what that means? I'm going to have to buy a bathing suit. AAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!

Maybe I can get one that looks like shorts and a halter. Something for water sports. It might not be as traumatic as I think. I hope.

And, horror of horrors, I'm working out ways to improve my upper body strength beyond my yoga strength moves. Like actually going back to weight work. Free weights, not the machine weights. Because I clearly have to develop better upper body strength just in case.


Good grief. What have I gotten myself addicted to?

And it's expensive. And that's without buying a kayak and related equipment.

Comments

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

I need a new bathing suit and I am not looking forward to the process. If having company would make the shopping less unpleasant, let me know and maybe we can meet somewhere halfway or something? *Hugs* The kayaking sounds like awesomeness, I have to say.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Wheee! We can share in our misery! I know I don't dare wait until fall, because then there'll be nothing.


I'm totally thinking that a tankini would work for swimming lessons at the Y with the benefit of hiding the worst of the *ahem* meatballness of my shape. :-)

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

My current, needing to be replaced suit is a tankini, and it didn't work for me. I shall describe why.

My challenge as far as my shape goes is that I am very round. Apple-shaped. Because I am chubby now (in addition to being apple-shaped) my upper arms are kind of chubby, and my butt is kind of chubby, while my legs and lower arms are slender. Anyway, the biggest issue is my roundness, and thus my stomach.

The tankini, while it looks better than anything else I tried on at the time when walking to the beach, or sitting near the pool, or walking around after swimming, does not work for me while I'm actually swimming, because the shirt part floats up in the water, exposing the very part of me I'm most interested in keeping covered! I think this time around I will go with a more traditional suit and use some sort of cotton cover-up for the before-and-after actual exercise portions of bathing suit wearing.

ANYWAY. Part of my issue is post-having-had-a-baby, and the stretch marks and never-quite-recovered skin that came with that, which wouldn't be an issue for you, and I think tankinis are GREAT in theory and I know a lot of people who like them. Just thought I'd share why they don't work for me. Now I will hit "post comment" before I decide to erase this whole embarrassing comment, LOL!

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Not embarrassing. Commiserating. I just fear that finding a suit in my size is gonna be near-impossible.

Maybe I'll just go with a frumpy something or other. It's for the Y pool, so it's going to be subjected to harsh chlorine that'll just kill the material, so I'm aiming for "not expensive and fits" ultimately.

I'll shoot you an email tomorrow for nefarious plans. :-)

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

Kayaking on the Charles or Walden pond is pretty nice. And yeah you do see all kinds of ducks and geese and things. But in Alaska whales swim under you! It is crazy.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Holy cow! That sounds awesome with the whales. I'm nowhere near confident enough to be even tempted right now, but who knows...maybe in a couple of years I might be brave and/or skilled enough to give ocean kayaking a try.

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

It's quite different. They run sea kayaking classes on Walden Pond on rolling and stuff and it feels very safe there.

I can't do it anymore because of a chronic pain problem, but I'm totally feeling nostalgic now.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

This basic class and the intermediate class has a lot of sea kayaking moves thrown in that you probably wouldn't use just paddling along a river with zero by way of rapids. A lot of the problem is that I don't feel quite confident enough (yet) to do a specific safety course in pond/river.

There were a couple of people in my class who had taken the pool classes and said they were perfect for getting used to the feeling of being under a boat in water, mostly because you had a zillion people ready to ride to the rescue if you got into trouble.

I think it's a case of me wanting to take it slow and be as safe as possible while I'm at it. Besides, a pool environment sounded pretty good for basic rescue/rolling learning as well as confidence building.

But, yeah, I'm so glad I bit the bullet on this.

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

Good for you and your kickass arms. :D

[ponders-life.livejournal.com]

Good on you!!! I'm having my own 'holy shit' moments lately; I'm in week 2 of my "Intro to Programming Concepts" class*... which is the first intellectually challenging thing I've done in... more than 20 years.

*It's the prerequisite course for all the other cool classes I want to take, like Perl, CGI, Javascript, and SQL (when did I decide that this was cool?! OMG, I'm going back to school! How did that happen?).

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

It's totally like the heavens opening up and the choirs of angels singing. :-)

I think we're doing this because we need to challenge ourselves.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

You almost make me want to try kayaking even with my complete lack of upper body strength and general unathleticism.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

You actually don't need either. When I was out rowing a week ago, there was this woman who was 300 pounds if she was an ounce rowing happily along in one of these puppies. Sure, she wasn't about to do an Eskimo roll or anything (and neither am I, come to think of it), but she was paddling along with no trouble at all.

Which was totally good for her for doing it. Plus, she looked like she was having a ball.

Besides, when you row in a kayak, you're not rowing with your arms. Your torso actually gives you the forward momentum because you actually twist your body ever so slightly when you paddle. Your arms are basically used to manhandle the paddle (this is why you feel it in your ribs and not so much your shoulders).

Personally, I think kayaks are far more stable than canoes (at least I think so), and also a lot more responsive for turns. Plus, the paddles are much, much easier to handle.

Seriously, if there a place in Texas near you you can do an intro class, you should really give it a try. On a calm river or lake or even a sheltered harbor, you'd be surprised how intuitive the basics are.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

There's lots of places around here I could do this. Not sure the money works at the moment but the chance to have all that wildlife that close is damn tempting.

[omegar.livejournal.com]

Many, Many, Many years ago i just To kayak on the Liffey.

It was organised by a local Youth club i was a member of, however i never really got beyond the basic lessons (expense, oh so the expense) And as much as i would love to get back into it, i think i would need to increase my general fitness* before i could get back into it.

However i still miss the fun of being cold and wet and close to nature.

The Liffey is a great river to learn on, because it is a dammed river they can control the volume of water when they want to have major competitions, ala http://www.liffeydescent.com/, but most times it is nice and calm, with weirs and with step descents and all other things to learn on.




*This is short hand for loose a Lot of weight!

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

You know, I shouldn't find the concept of kayaking in Ireland strange at all, but somehow I kind of do because kayak is so associated with First Nation people in the U.S. and Canada.

Yet, I also find it deeply cool that people are white-water kayaking in Ireland.

As for fitness....pffffft. I was mentioning above that I saw a woman who was 300 pounds if she was an ounce kayaking just last week (and by the by...good for her!) and was moving along just fine. I'm sure they had to have some kind of special accommodation for her, but the point is she could get into a boat and the point is she could do it.

As for the expense *shudder*...yeah, there's no way around that at all. Even if you don't buy one — the boats themselves aren't horribly expensive, but the related equipment can easily top push the spending into the $1,000 range — all of the related classes on "how-to" in the boat as well as classes for related skills like swimming adds up incredibly fast.

[omegar.livejournal.com]

In truth a lot of things are popular in Ireland that would surprise you (for example Surfing) it stems from a growth in communication around the world. While in general this is of the good, there is also a loss for local culture.

The reason for "increased Fitness" is not necessary as such, however i admit that a lot of it is fear of getting stuck in the Kayak... Sure its probably irrational, but well it adds to the expense.

I must seriously consider this.......once i actually stabilize my finances.

[rileysaplank.livejournal.com]

Let me state for the record right now: seeing a flock of mallard ducks roosting in a tree with their bright orange feet wrapped around tree branches is something that is just straight up weird to see.

There's a nature programme on in the UK at the moment called 'Springwatch' and they put a birdhouse about half way up a tree to see which bird would use it as a nest. A Duck has started using it so your ducks are not an isolated case.

[lostlo.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to see the ducks in a tree, so I looked for an image online that I then intended to share with you. I didn't find anything that sounds like what you saw, but I did find a duck standing on a tree branch - but it looks like he's standing on water. Not as awesome, but pretty neat.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

Rock on with the awesomeness of kayaking!

You're making me want to hit the river myself. It's a canoe for me, though - I'm a kind of a fish, so the ability to flip over/jump out of the boat at a moment's notice appeals. ;)

Quick swimsuit advice? Avoid tankinis; there's a good chance it'll be either loose and float off (well, not "off" off, but you get the idea), or tight and climb up to your ribcage. I'd recommend an athletic suit. They take some wiggling to get into, but they're like a sport bra for your entire torso, and you don't have to worry about the straps sliding off your shoulders. If you feel self-conscious about the amount of butt/thigh showing, cheap jogging shorts don't look too shabby over the suit, and should be fine for wearing in the water.

[sam-arkand.livejournal.com]

I've kayaked a few times, waaaay back when I was in camp. Decidedly more fun than canoeing, if only because I didn't have to J stroke with a bunch of people I despised.

Camp was sometimes not so fun. Especially portages on overnight trips. The purpose of boating is to, you know, stay in the damn water. Not haul the fricking canoe over a kilometer of rocks and bush.

I see a Klepper in your future...