Ben Fouhy World Champion K1 1000m Kayaking New Zealand

It is satisfying to have finished my first training block at Karapiro. So far all has gone well. The goal was to get settled in and back on track with training after my break in Feb/March and also get a good start with my new coach. The eyes have been really good and it makes paddling so much more enjoyable being able to see the surroundings. I still havent worked out whether being able to see the finish line is going to make the race seem shorter or longer.

Today I did a 10k time trial on my own and improved one minute on two weeks ago. The time was good, not super fast, but it was good to have an indicator that my fitness is moving in the right direction.
In the afternoon I had a long endurance paddle to finish off the week. Saturday afternoons are not good on this lake as there are lots of wake-boarders and water skiers out. After about an hour and a half I blew and was seriously considering trying to get a ride back on the coaching boat, it was good to have my coach there to keep me going and I came back and finished the session well.
I am now looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the weekend and watching the Chiefs vs Blues match in Hamilton. I may need some caffeine to stay awake though.

Today we had the King of the Harbor Surf Ski World Cup race. 26km of Ocean paddling with the first 16km being into a strong head wind. For me it definatly made it better, for the ski specialists I am sure that they would have prefered all down wind.

Dawid Mocke of South Africa won with NZ team mate Mike Walker coming in a minute and a half back to take 2nd place. Oskar Chalupsky was 3rd. I was 6th about 5 minutes back.

Dawid below in the backwash at the northern aspect of Rangitito

Myself in the same place. My left foot pedal came out 8km into the race so I had to use my toes steer with the left rudder wire. In the end I think it may have even helped on the down wind section where I normally steer to much rather than lean the ski and allow the swells to do the work. If nothing else a solid 2hr 7min paddle to get the fitness going.

Thanks to Steve Knowles from Sportzhub.com for the photos.

Week two of training has been going well. I am now back in Auckland preparing for the King of the Harbor – International long distance Surfski World Cup.

This morning I paddled with 11 times World Champion Oscar Chalupsky. The session was 7×8 minutes in which I was probably the strongest but that is small consolation when Oscar is 44 years old and 110kg! I had very little advantage if any in the easy going conditions so if there are some good swells dont bet your money on me.

I have enjoyed paddling the new Mako 6 which has an improved seating position much more comparable to a K1. At 18.5kg it is a little on the heavy side when compared with the Epic V10 that Oscar will be racing at about 8kg!

Here is a photo from after training tonight of Rangitoto which is the Island that we will be racing around. Mike Walker and I paddled 1hr35 minutes tonight with some intervals to break it up. It was picturesque paddling back towards the city as the sun was setting.

Today was my first session on Lake Karapiro as my new home for training.

A stunning morning especially after the storms we had overnight. It was fantastic to have a coach beside me on the water for the whole session, which included 6 x 8 minute pieces. I was pleased to be going a little quicker than I was expecting to. Just goes to show you dont lose too much in a couple of weeks.

Great to be back on the lake after not being allowed to train for a week after my eye operation. I had my second check up yesterday and was stoked to be able to read two lines passed 20/20 vision. Paddling is even more enjoyable being able to see more and not having to lean forward to read the GPS!

It was also very nice to paddle my new Vajda supersonic 202 which has just arrived.

I am very happy to say that I have just had both of my eyes corrected with Laser surgery and it has been very successful.  On my check up on Saturday morning the day after I already had 20/20 vision in my right eye.

Glasses have been a part of my life since I was four years old. So it is probably hard to explain how exicted I am. No more contact lenses coming out during important races.

This weekend we had the New Zealand Kayak Nationals. Obviously I wasnt able to compete but I did enjoy watching some very good racing. A lot more depth in all the categories but in particular under 20s and in the Womens.

Erin Taylor came through to win the K1 1000 for her first time and became the first NZ women to break 4 minutes. She is still young so there is plenty of promise. Today she backed up to win the K1 500. In the Mens Steve Ferguson won the K1 1000 looking very much in control with Mike Walker paddling a PB in 3.35 for 2nd and Fred Tear coming in 3rd.

The K1 500 though was a tighter battle with Steve just putting Troy Burbridge away in the last 50m.

I was happy to sit out racing with many people asking if I wished I was racing. I can honestly say today I was happy to watch. I have probably overtrained in the offseason and I know there is a big base behind me. It is more important to make sure I am healthy when we leave for Europe.