G'day!
I can't believe it's already been two months since I returned home from my World Championships - a time that has just flown by. Immediately following the Worlds, I took some time off the board, yet continued with my physical training, but more in a fun way. I participated in the GranFondo, a 120km bike race from downtown Vancouver to Whistler. It was great fun and a bit of a personal challenge as I'd never biked that far before, nor had I ever biked alongside 4000+ other bikers or tackled over 2500m of vertical throughout a ride. I finished in just under 5 hours and felt like a million bucks after. Can't wait to do it again next year.
The end of Worlds also was the end of the season for me and thus it was review time. Analyze this, debrief that, conference calls/meetings with all of my team making sure we are on the right track and then of course - the planning for the year to come based on the year analysis, taking my goals and the objectives of the year and periodizing them appropriately etc. I had a mini-camp in Victoria with my physiologist and bio-mechanic and Erik Stibbe the new CYA coach/manager in Vancouver to do some on water testing/analysing of my technique and had to do my fitness test :))) All this, plus training both at the gym and on the water, organizing the immediate fall/winter training plans made for some very time consuming and mentally draining days, all which were extremely worthwhile though. Next year (2011) is the first of the Olympic qualifiers and thus I want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to performing when I need to. With that also came the need for a total and complete mental rest/recovery away from my sport to re energize and press "re-set" so I could come back fresh for training and to be able to tackle the year ahead. I found my happy place surfing the waves in the Dominican Republic. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing trip - I was surrounded by absolutely lovely people and got to surf day in and day out, go horseback riding, sightsee and experience a bit of DR culture, eat real yum food (and freshly squeezed orange juice) and play some fun Jenga! Definitely the mental break I needed. I windsurfed a few times when it was windy (but on a short board), went to spinning classes and spent at least 4 hours a day in the water surfing, all of which had me exhausted at the end of each day, a perfect cross-training holiday!
Once back at home, I got straight back into my routine - gym and sailing, and getting ready for my next training trip to Perth, Australia. Which is where I am now!!! Perth is the venue of the ISAF World Sailing Championships (OLYMPIC QUALIFIER) in December 2011, so I have come here to test the waters. Next week, from November 16-21, I will be racing in the Perth International Regatta - which will act like a test event for the Worlds next year. Up until now and until then, I have/will be training with a really solid group of girls including Bryony Shaw who won the Bronze in Beijing and Marina Alabau who has held the World #1 spot for over 2 years. Needless to say, I need to show up with my A-game every day on the water while sticking to my fitness program off water, which once again has me falling into bed at the end of each day. More news to come as things progress!
Warm greetings from Down Under!
Nikola
I can't believe it's already been two months since I returned home from my World Championships - a time that has just flown by. Immediately following the Worlds, I took some time off the board, yet continued with my physical training, but more in a fun way. I participated in the GranFondo, a 120km bike race from downtown Vancouver to Whistler. It was great fun and a bit of a personal challenge as I'd never biked that far before, nor had I ever biked alongside 4000+ other bikers or tackled over 2500m of vertical throughout a ride. I finished in just under 5 hours and felt like a million bucks after. Can't wait to do it again next year. 
Once back at home, I got straight back into my routine - gym and sailing, and getting ready for my next training trip to Perth, Australia. Which is where I am now!!! Perth is the venue of the ISAF World Sailing Championships (OLYMPIC QUALIFIER) in December 2011, so I have come here to test the waters. Next week, from November 16-21, I will be racing in the Perth International Regatta - which will act like a test event for the Worlds next year. Up until now and until then, I have/will be training with a really solid group of girls including Bryony Shaw who won the Bronze in Beijing and Marina Alabau who has held the World #1 spot for over 2 years. Needless to say, I need to show up with my A-game every day on the water while sticking to my fitness program off water, which once again has me falling into bed at the end of each day. More news to come as things progress!
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