It was very refreshing after a solid couple of months to have a week really easy and take the 407 for a drive. Good friend and training partner Jernej from Slovenia has been here three weeks now and has added a lot of value to the training sessions not to mention the good humor..
On the way down to the Central Plateu we called into New Zealands rowing high performance base at Lake Karapiro, we were lucky with the timing and Jernej was able to meet some of New Zealands most respected athletes and Olympians Rob Waddell(2xWorld Champ and Sydney Olympic Champ Single sculls) and Mahe Drysdale(3xWorld Champ single sculls) as well as Mathew Trott and Nathan Cohen.
From there we headed to Taupo where the next day we paddled on the Waikato river and Jernej did the Taupo bungy.
I on the other hand thought that hitting golf balls into the lake seemed like a better way to unwind.
Jernej also got to see where for obvious reasons my white water career decided to go to flatwater. I like to push and challenge myself but a bad day in flat water racing unlike white water doesn’t involved drowning. My old white water mates assure me that its not that hard.. I will take their word for it..
The infamous Huka Falls below
From there we headed up to Mt Ruapehu to go for a run. When I used to live in the area I would more than happily drive the 45 minutes it took after work to run here.
Mt Ruapehu
We are now into another three week block and it feels good. The volume is still respectable sitting just over 160km per week but the quality is starting to pick up which is exciting.
