Team Z Blog
The New England Whitewater Triple Crown
May 2, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
This was the 4th year of the Triple Crown on the Farmington River in CT. What another great event that was put on by the organizers and volunteers. It's a downriver race, slalom, and freestyle competition and you get points on your placing in each event. Saturday is the qualifying day and individual prizes and Sunday is the day the Triple Crown gets awarded.
There were not as many competitors this year so the event moved a little faster than last year. Saturday the event started at 9:15am with the downriver race and a few of us were so fast that we beat the timer to the finish line and had to race again! After downriver racing you hop into a slalom boat and run the course twice and you are crazy tired! Then you squeeze yourself into your playboat for 2 freestyle runs. You are officially cooked at that point and guess what, you get to do it again tomorrow if you qualify! Ten men moved on from Saturday and since there were only four women we all moved on to Sunday.
Saturday night we tried to get a good night sleep in the RV but Laya our fat cat kept us up all night meowing and scratching at my face for pets. We wanted to cook her like a chicken! Anyway, Sunday morning arrived and we got to the race put in around 8am. I was feeling good and wanted to better my time from Saturday, which I did by 1 second! Not what I was hoping for but it's better than being a second slower. Emily of course beat me in the downriver race by a lot. She was 4 minutes 12 seconds and I was 4 minutes 30 seconds. Rachel came in 3rd and Courtney from New Zealand came in 4th. It doesn't seem like a hard race but when you know it's only 4 something minutes you go all out and it hurts.
The next event is slalom and I was lucky enough to borrow Andy's sweet slalom boat on Sunday which helped improve my time by like 40 seconds from Saturday. I had 2 good slalom runs and my second run was clean and was 154 seconds and came in 3rd. Emily of course crushed the slalom with 122 seconds and was 1st. Rachel who is a slalom boater also did really well and came in 2nd, her best run was 132 seconds. Courtney came in 4th with 168 seconds. When the slalom race was over a bunch of the competitors went across the river to help take down gates before we started the freestyle event. It was a huge help to get the gates down so the volunteers wouldn't have worry about it.
The last event of the day was freestyle and since it was finals you had 3 runs and your best one counts. The level was good but you crushed the bottom on your loops or at least I did. Emily of course killed it in freestyle with 600 points coming in 1st. I had a 180 point ride with my most signature move the mcnasty flush for a 2nd place finish. Courtney came in 3rd for freestyle with 90 and Rachel in 4.
The Triple Crown results for women is Emily, me, and Rachel. In the mens class was EJ, Danny, and Nick. The mens class was super close this year and Jordan came in 4th in C1 which was pretty awesome.
I had a great time again and am looking forward to next year! I left CT then headed to FL to drive my mother in law's car and dog back to MA and now I'm hanging out at my sister in law's house in DE and will be back home tomorrow after I drop her car off. Then it's getting ready for the big trip out west!
Photo by: Scott Barnes
Photo by: Scott Barnes
Photo by: Scott Barnes
Photo by: Scott Barnes
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Team Z Interview Videos
April 26, 2012 by Janet Burnett Cowie (comments: 0)
Team Z is kicking into full gear right now as our competitors hit up many of the great spring paddling events New England has to offer. For the next couple weeks we’ll be releasing interview videos with each of the team members, highlighting some of the great paddling they’ve been achieving.
Here is a little info on some of the upcoming events we’ll be attending:
4/28-29 Whitewater Triple Crown- A premier whitewater competition on the Farmington River in Tariffville Gorge; features a downriver race, slalom and freestyle competition.
5/11-13 Spring Moose Fest- Join us in Old Forge, NY and watch paddlers run waterfalls and large drops on a scheduled dam release weekend.
5/19-20 Deerfield River Rally / Paddling School Refresher- Kicking off the warm summer releases on the Deerfield River. This weekend has a river cleanup, clinics with some of our top instructors and the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour
Late May Elaine heads on her western competition tour encompassing four stops in Colorado and one in Nevada.
6/22-24 Demo Fest- A great time to meet Team Z members, gain some free instruction, and meet manufacturer representatives and pro paddlers
6/30 Deerfield River Fest; Celebrate guaranteed dam released whitewater on the Deerfield River with American Whitewater and listen to some fun music at night.
Mount Washington Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon
April 24, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
I've been wanting to do this race for a few years but it's usually the same weekend as the NOC Shootout and have gone to the shootout. This year I decided to bail on the NOC event and compete at the Inferno. The Inferno is a 8.3 mile run, 5 mile kayak, 18 mile bike, 3 mile hike, and skiing down Tuckermans Ravine. Here's a link to the race course maphttp://www.friendsoftuckerman.org/2012-InfernoMap-revised.pdf
I was on a Team of 5 women called Team Broads with Kim Seaman our runner, Nicole Vassar our biker, Nancy Caldwell the hiker, Ali O'Rourke skied and I was the kayaker. We competed in the all women's category against 4 women teams and wanted to do well in the overall Inferno category.
Jeff, Nancy and I arrived Thursday night in North Conway, NH so I could get a low water practice run in on Friday on the Saco River and stopped by Saco Bound Outdoors in Conway, NH to talk about Wave Sport boats. The rest of the team arrived Friday for registration at Flatbread Pizza. We ate, had a couple beers and started to get psyched up for Saturday morning.
The alarm clock started going off at 5:30am and Jeff was up making coffee and breakfast. The race started right at 7am with the run and off went Kim plus the other 65 racers. We immediately drove over to the kayak tag zone so I could get ready. Mark my brother, our buddy Simpson and John were all doing the kayak race so we were all harassing each other while we waited for our runners to arrive. Mark, John and I had carbon wildwater boats and Simpson had a wavehopper. Most of the people competing in the kayak race were in sea/rec kayaks.
John was the first to go his runner came in first with a 48:59 time. A few more runners came in then Mark's runner came in with a time of 55:20 and then Simpson went out before me when his runner came in at 1.04:49. I was thinking to myself that Kim should be coming in any second now but there was no sign of her. Joanne who is soloing the event came in at 1.11:18 and told us that Kim was in trouble and we needed to get to her. Kim started out a little hot with her pace and had a touch of heatstroke by the time she got to the transition zone, but after a quick discussion, Jeff, Nancy and I decided to keep on going and I was soon on my way down the trail, across a mostly dry riverbed, into my boat and down the Saco. Unfortunately my starting time did not get recorded as the tag took place just prior to the transition zone. On the upside, Kim had a very quick recovery and we were still in the hunt.
I passed a fair number of boats and felt very good about my performance. Without the official time it's hard to know for sure but think I was in the low to mid 40's based on factors we could figure and my past performances against some of the other boaters in the race. There were some moments where I had to slow down to wait for traffic jams so it could have been a bit longer. I saw the finish and sprinted as hard as I could fell out of my boat and ran to Nicole for the bike tag.
Nicole went on her way and took a wrong turn, luckily, Jayson saw her going the wrong way and let her know. She went about a half mile out of the way… oops! Nicole got to the base of Mount Washington in 1.16:20 and tagged Nancy for the hike up to the Ravine. Nancy flew up the mountain with a time of 1.06:56 to tag Ali. Ali had to "boot pack" up to the top of Left Gulley in the bowl of the ravine and ski the giant slalom course down. She did it in 36:53 and Team Broads finished the Tuckerman Inferno in 5.05:27.
We pulled together when we needed to and bounced back from a rough start. We had a 3rd place finish in the Tuckerwoman event and a 29th place finish overall in the event out of 66. The good news is that Kim was ok and that we continued to compete and not just give up. We are all going to do it again next year and hopefully we have no hiccups but if we do we are prepared to deal with them.
The next event on the schedule is the New England Triple Crown in CT. We got some rain so the level is going to be great! Come out and compete or just come out and watch!
Practice run
Simpson, Mark and I waiting for our runners.
Mark get the tag!
Ali waiting for her tag.
Left Gulley!
Mark, Astrid and I waiting for our skiers at HoJo's hut!
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Spring Video
April 13, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
The Spring run off this year was weak due to lack of snow. The rivers ran for about a week and then dropped out. I was able to get on 2 new runs in NH the Swift and the Sawyer River and spent a couple days on the Black River in NY where we froze our butts off! I've put together a little video from my spring boating.
The next competition on my schedule is the Mount Washington Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon which is April 21. I'm very excited about this race hoping to have a really good race run. I'll post an update about it after the race and keep your fingers crossed for rain!
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Berkshire Highlands Pentathlon Race
April 3, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
This past weekend was the first Berkshire Highlands Pentathlon Race in Charlemont, MA. The race started with a 4.5 mile trail run, 23 mile bike, 5 mile kayak on the Deerfield River, a hike up a small portion of Berkshire East, and then ski down a short section. The area had a tough winter with not much snow plus 80 degree weather for consecutive days 2 weeks ago which pretty much melted most of the snow so the last two legs of the race were much shorter than what they were supposed to be.
I put together a team of five called Afore Vous (before you). Our team was Bill Simpson our runner, Chris Jalbert biked, I kayaked, Nancy Caldwell hiked, and Ali O'Rourke was the skier.
The race kicked off Saturday at 10:30am with 43 overall racers which included teams of 5, duos, and soloists (120 competitors all together). It was snowing and around 30 degrees but reached 40 with cloudy skies by mid-day. The trail runners started from Berkshire East ski area and headed out to the trails surrounding the town of Charlemont. The next transition was at Zoar Outdoor where the runner tagged the biker or the soloist just kept on hoofing it to their bike. Simpson tagged Chris and he ran to his bike hopped on it and started passing people. At that point we were in 30th place and Chris was able to move us into 23rd place and his bike time landed him in 17th place. While the bikers were climbing up hills the kayakers waited patiently for the bikers to arrive while we trash talked each other. I of course was distracted talking to people and Chris all most flew by me with out the tag but I was able to slap him five. I ran as fast as I could to the river and Jeff helped me get in my wildwater boat and my leg of the race was on! I paddled my brains out for 5 miles and think I passed 3 or 4 kayakers. Jeff was following me on the road in the truck yelling at me to paddle faster. I paddled pretty hard which led me to the second fastest kayak time in the race out of 43 people which moved the team from 23rd place to 16th. Nancy was waiting for me at the side of the river for the next transition. I came barreling into shore and we tagged. She had to run like a mile up the access road to Berkshire East then up the steep trail where Ali was waiting for the tag to ski. Nancy was able to move us into 15th place with the tag and she finished 12th in the hike. Ali skied down the gates and our team finished in 14th overall with Ali's ski and 7th in the team of 5's and she placed 11th in the ski. It took us 3 hours 15 minutes and 11 seconds to complete it. We did pretty well for our first team event and brought on Simpson and Chris last minute to race with us. A couple of our friends soloed the event and am super proud of them Joanne Grogan, Mike Porter, Ryan Shackleton, and John McCarthy they slayed it!
The after party at Phil and Ali's was awesome as usual with lot's of food and drinks! We all got after it that night and felt it the next day.
The event was pretty flawless overall the only issue which they couldn't control was mother nature didn't drop enough snow this winter and super warm temps changed the snowshoe and ski event. A huge thanks to the organizers and volunteers for putting on such a great event! I'm looking forward to it next year with Team Afore Vous!
The next event on the schedule is coming up in 3 weeks another Pentathlon this one is the MT. Washington Tuckerman Inferno Race in NH. We are competing as a team of 5 women called Team Broads for the Tuckerwoman Inferno! It's going to be awesome! Team Broads is Kim Seaman 8.3 mile run, me 6.2 mile kayak on the Saco River, Nicole Vassar 18.2 mile uphill bike, Nancy Caldwell 3 mile hike 2,268 ft climb, and Ali O'Rourke GS ski down Tuckerman Ravine. It's a step up from the race this weekend and we are going to bring it!
Here are some photos from the race and Jeff apologies for no kayaking photos since he was yelling (he says motivating) at me to paddle faster which he feels was more important than photos!
Getting Ready!
Run to bike transition.
Mike Porter Soloing it!
My fast boat!
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Back in my boat again!
March 20, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
It feels good to put my winter gear away and bring out the paddling gear even though VT didn't have much of winter. I've taken advantage of what little snow pack we have and been in my variety of boats a bunch. The run off this year is pretty weak with lack of snow and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for rain but not Irene type rain.
My 2012 season is kicking off and it's going to be a good one! The Berkshire Highlands Pentathlon Race is on March 31st this is my first race of the season on the Deerfield River. If you are in the area you should come by and watch the races or bettter yet sign up and compete at http://www.berkshirehighlandsevents.com/events-reader/events/pentathlon.html
Hopefully I'll get the kinks worked out by then! Check out my website for my 2012 schedule if you'd like at www.elainecampbellkayaking.com
I should get a video out soon from Spring boating!
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
-bdb07d21.jpg)
}}
December Boating!
January 18, 2012 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
Happy New Year!
It's been a slow start to winter here in VT with more rain than snow so we've been lucky enough to get some more days on the water. I've been working two jobs this winter to keep me busy and it's working. We finally have snow so I'll be skate and classic skiing and snowboarding a bunch. That's pretty much it for now.
Here's a video of some boating from December.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spNm3vpd3FU&list=UUwELn2hgIYbfJztcXu-ep-Q&index=1&feature=plcp
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Paddling School Reunion
October 5, 2011 by Janet Burnett Cowie (comments: 0)
Hey all, just wanted to share a video from the paddling school reunion this past weekend. It was great to see so many students from lessons earlier in the season. We had a blast. Thanks to all the students that joined us this summer. Have a great fall paddling season, the colors are starting to be great right now. - Jim
Check out how I stay in shape in the winter!
September 22, 2011 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
Fall is here which means paddling season is coming close to being over in my neck of the woods. I usually try to paddle till the beginning of December and then I put the paddling gear away and break out the winter toys. Here's what I do to stay in shape: boxing, weight lifting, abs, xc/skate skiing, snow shoeing, and snowboarding. Now I'm no fitness expert but this all helps me and I really enjoy doing ALL of it especially the boxing! I think now I'm supposed say consult your physician before starting a new workout program.
Equipment I use (all in my basement):
Boxing equipment you need is a speed bag, heavy bag, and double end speed bag. Hand wraps and boxing gloves.
Free weights, kettle bell, home gym, exercise ball, ab roller, exercise band and Timer.
You choose how much weight you want to use. It's better to start light and then increase the weight. Look up how to properly do each exercise. Youtube has good video on each exercise I do. If you get the boxing equipment watch a bunch of videos that teach you how to punch properly and how to wrap your hands.
Day 1
Lower Body:
-Barbell Calf Raise 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Walking Lunge 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg
-Bench Step Up 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg
-Leg Extension 3 sets 12-15 reps each leg
Abs/core:
-Left/Right Torso Rotation with Band 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Overhead Torso Band pull 3 sets 15-20 reps
All body workout:
Double end Speed bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between
Day 2
Upper Body-Back, chest, shoulders:
-Behind the Neck Pull Down 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Standing Cable Row 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Rope Straight Arm Pull Down 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Dumbell Incline Press 3 sets 12-15 reps
-SeatedPress 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Push ups 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Pec Deck Fly 3 sets 12-15 rep
Abs/core:
-Ab roller 3 sets 15-20 reps
-Side crunches on ball 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Seated Torso Twist with kettle bell 3 sets 15-20 reps
All body workout:
Heavy Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.
Day 3
Lower Body:
-Barbel Squat 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Romanian Deadlift 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Leg Press 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Lying Leg Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps
Abs/core:
-Reverse Crunch 3 sets 15-20 reps
-Bicycle 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Ball scissors 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
All body workout:
-Speed Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.
Day 4
Upper Body-Triceps, biceps, shoulders
-Reverse Grip Pushdown 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Overhead Dumbell Press 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Lat Pulldown 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Tricep Extension 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Barbell Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps
-Bicep Concentration Curl 3 sets 12-15 reps
Abs/core:
-Plank 5 sets hold 1 minute
-Ball crunch 3 sets 15-20 reps
-Knee Tucks on Ball 3 sets 15-20 reps
All body workout:
-Double end Speed bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.
Day 5
Kettle Bell workout
-Kettlebell Throw 3 sets 15-20 reps
-Body Circles 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Hip Hinge 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Lunge and Row 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Bowling Ball Lunge 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Angel Squat 3 sets 15-20 reps each side
-Heavy Bag 7 sets 3 min each 30 second break in-between.
Day 6 and 7 snowboarding or xc/ skate skiing all day affair.
Everyday after I workout we go for a long snowshoe with the dog.
So there you go. That's how I stay in shape. Maybe this winter I'll take some video of my boxing routine and post it up. If you have any questions let me know.
As for now I get in my Wildwater boat and paddle down the Fife Brook of the Deerfield River when nothing else in running.
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
Irene, Beavering, and Gauley Fest
September 20, 2011 by Elaine Campbell (comments: 0)
The past few weeks have been crazy up here in the northeast. Irene came and caused massive destruction all over western MA and VT. The Deerfield River which is my home town river flooded to the highest it's been in over a hundred years. It wiped out downtown Wilmington, VT and most of the roads have turned into one lane because the other half fell into the river. Rt. 100 in Readsboro the town I live in is still closed where Tunnel Vision rapid is due to the bridge being unsafe to drive over. People in the area have lost business and homes. We lost one life in Wilmington during the floods. A young woman who was trying to get home from work and was swept away by the rising river. It's pretty crazy that a hurricane cause this much destruction in VT. If you are in the area next weekend please come to the Mt.Snow area for a music Festival called Floodstock to help raise money for the people in Wilmington who lost their homes and business and didn't have flood insurance. Check out the website www.floodstockvt.com to see the schedule and if you can't come please consider donating something. My husband's rock band will be playing Saturday afternoon as well as many other great bands from all over New England.
Here are some photos from my town.
Tunnel Vision
Tunnel Vision
Rt.100 in Readsboro Photos: Elaine Campbell
A happy photo after Irene in Henderson Harbor.
Photo: Mike Miller
The week after Irene was the Beaver release weekend. I headed to NY to paddle the Moshier Falls section which has one scheduled release a year. It's such a fun run! Pretty straight forward easy creek where you can scout everything and people can walk a drop that they don't want to run. After Moshier you head over to the Eagle which is a water park for kayakers. It's slide after slide and pretty short so you can hike back up and do it again. This year the Eagle had it's first race. This was the second race of the King of New York series. I raced it and was the only girl that raced. It's a tough race because a lot of people are running the section at the same time you are and I had a few interferences during the race. Another great weekend at the Beaver!
After that I headed back up to the Ottawa to paddle for a few days before going back to VT. I got to the border crossing and realized that I took Jeff's passport instead of mine! They let me into Canada and I was a little nervous about how it was going to be to come back into the states. It wasn't a problem getting back in they gave me a warning about being non compliant. Anyway Garb was still in so had some sweet times there with NO lines!
Then off to Gauley Fest but first up was the upper Yough with Team NRS for a photo shoot which lasted all week and was really fun. We did upper Yough two days, then Valley Falls, New River Gorge and then the upper Gauley during the fest. The Gauley is so much fun but not the walk out in crocs! Last year when I ran the upper G I got rides out so I never new of this hike out. I didn't bring my booties and had crocs in the back of my boat. Craig new I never done it before so he gave me a bunch of bull sh*t which was we are all most there. F no we aren't all most there! When I finally made it to the top I was so mad but got over it quickly and yes the joke was on me! Thanks Craig! I brought my NRS creek boots the next day for the walk out and made it no problem. For future reference don't wear crocs for the hike out! The fest this year was Friday and Saturday night. It was great times and got to practice more hula hooping (hoping no video was taken). Every booth had some type of tasty beverage and some fun activity. It's all ways a great time at the Gauley Fest!
That's it for now. Pretty much back in VT full time for the fall and winter. Looking forward to the fall rain to see the changes to all the rivers and creeks that changed during the flood in our area. If you come up to VT and western MA make sure you scout first since most of the rapids have changed and lot's of debri and wood are now in the rivers and creeks.
Photo: Bryan Smith
I'll have a video put together soon of some boating.
Till next time,
Elaine Campbell
