Forward motion, headfirst & horizontal to gravity!

December 2009 Blog Posts (13)

Team FLI training with Kevin part 2: The Pool

I'll start this week, by saying that when you ask about the best form or technique for swimming, you are going to get a lot of different and maybe conflicting answers. If you are new to swimming, ask your local lifeguard or swim instructor at the pool for a few pointers. Accept pointers from other swimmers and then use your mind and how it feels with your body to decide if you should adopt it into your training routine. For example, sometimes other swimmers ask me why I'm swimming a certain way… Continue

Added by Kevin Yount on December 31, 2009 at 9:55pm — 6 Comments

It's the journey not the destination... um, right?

As I'm waiting in line at the ferry dock I am trying not get bits of windshield glass in my fingers as I attempt to organize my belongings. The car's probably going to be out of my possession for awhile, and I want to turn it over clutter-free.

Out of my top right periphery a dark object caught my attention for about 1/4 of a second, not enough time to react physically, only to think, this can't be good.

I've had a lot more time to think about what put me in the… Continue

Added by Rochelle Parry on December 28, 2009 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

Airboarding at Richmond Hills Park

12.21.09. After 4 days of being stuck in my neighborhood due to the snow and the city of Asheville Public Works' inability to scrape the roads, the temperatures finally climbed high enough to allow me to get my vehicle out. I promptly headed for the buffet at El Chapala and then to Richmond Hills park to try my airboard since there was some real snow.

I would have liked to had gone to Cataloochee Ski Resort (note: they don't currently allow it to the public, but are thinking about it… Continue

Added by Kevin Yount on December 22, 2009 at 12:43pm — No Comments

swimfins

i probably have around six pairs of swimfins / flippers in my garage. from those long fins used for spearfishing, to the short stubby fins used for bodyboarding and then a few variations in between. truth be told, i have something of a ’soft spot’ for swimfins. all swimfins.

it started when i got into bodyboarding as a young teenager. back then churchill’s makapuu fins were… Continue

Added by Charl van Rensburg on December 18, 2009 at 11:15am — 8 Comments

Face Level Fitness Training w/ Kevin: Calisthenics 101

What are calisthenics? They are exercises that use your own body weight as resistance. Calisthenics are a great tool for building strength, flexibility, balance, conditioning, and guarding against injury by strengthening stabilizer muscles that support your joints and other muscles. While I have added in working with resistance bands and kettle bands occasionally, calisthenics are one of the biggest parts of my physical training . I even recommend that those who enjoy training with weights… Continue

Added by Kevin Yount on December 17, 2009 at 10:30pm — 3 Comments

El Chorro Revisited

The first run we did in Costa Rica last January was El Chorro; this time it was the last. Peter had already gone home so it was Josh, Alicia and I. Two days after dropping Peter at the airport I came down with a nasty head cold and felt too ill to leave the house for two days. It started with a cough on Sunday and migrated upwards. It was probably a combo of the Guaro on Friday, a smoothie that was probably loaded with more sugar than I anticipated on Saturday, and restaurant food also on… Continue

Added by Rochelle Parry on December 14, 2009 at 2:35am — No Comments

Cheoah video

Last year when a few of us ran the Cheoah river, I had camera trouble that kept us from capturing any of the fun. Our consensus was that the whole river wasn't worth doing due to it being shallow, crowded, and sparse on the eddies, but that the last two miles would be fun to run laps on. Immediately right after Bear Creek Falls, the river splits around a few small islands. The channel that I took last year was on the far left and is called the West Prong channel or Watauga Alley because it has… Continue

Added by Kevin Yount on December 14, 2009 at 1:38am — 1 Comment

Costa Rica: Day 6

It didn't take too long to figure out how Josh was feeling in the morning. We could hear it from down the hallway. But he was determined to go with us, even if not riverboarding.

We found the road to the Florida section put-in. There was a raft exiting and a couple vans there. It would be a short, fast & furious three miles. The water was murky and brown and about 3 grand higher than when we'd run a longer section in… Continue

Added by Rochelle Parry on December 10, 2009 at 1:24am — No Comments

Costa Rica Day 5: Upper Upper Pacuare

Today we ran the upper upper Pacuare. Luis was our shuttle driver, and asked where Kevin and Alex were. Indeed. Work and school. Why do these have to interfere?

We were thinking of running the Reventazon, but I showed the video from the last trip to Peter C and he got a little on edge about the dirtiness of the water. So we went to where we knew the water would be clean.

The bridge to the higher put-in was being worked on, but there was just II-III stuff up there. The… Continue

Added by Rochelle Parry on December 7, 2009 at 2:00am — No Comments

Costa Rica Day 4

We couldn't get ahold of our usual shuttle driver Luis, but the hostel found us someone, and it turns out he is the president of the Costa Rica Whitewater Association. This was the guy Patricia -- who runs the hostel -- said thought we would surely die if we ran the Reventazon back in January. We never actually got confirmation on the veracity of that statement, but he was a really nice and knowledgeable man.…

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Added by Rochelle Parry on December 6, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Costa Rica Day 3

Since El Chorro was presumably still too high to run with any degree of sanity, we opted for a beach day down at Dominical. It's a long rivermouth sandy beach backed by jungle and a few businesses, nothing too touristy.

I've been running up and down energy-wise every other day. Today was a down day, and when we parked I noticed that the surf was less than stellar, so I plunked down my towel under a palm tree and tried to nap. The tide was low, the wind was sideshore and the waves… Continue

Added by Rochelle Parry on December 6, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Introducing My Training Series

Hi,

If you've been around me, then you know that I train hard on and off the river to be in shape for racing and recreational riding. You may be into racing or you may not plan to do it or may not take it as seriously (and simply race to hang out with other riders), but you can still benefit from increasing your fitness level even if you only enjoy face level sports as a past time. It's always a lot easier to enjoy face level type sports when you're not sucking wind. For me… Continue

Added by Kevin Yount on December 4, 2009 at 3:30am — 1 Comment

Costa Rica Riverboarding P.1

Friday began my adventure to Costa Rica. My friend’s band, Mozely Rose, was playing downtown Richmond and I really wanted to go see them play, but I was leaving for Costa Rica at 6am….from DC. Hmmm. I’m the type of person that likes to try to do everything I possibly can. If there’s a will, there’s a way right?

I ended up making the show, with the intent to stay for a bit, then drive to DC and catch a few Z’s til it was time to head to the airport. Well, I ended up staying for the… Continue

Added by Alicia Anne on December 1, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments