It was good to have a bit of energy back this week and to be able to get stuck into the training sessions again. There’s been some good days when I’ve felt really strong, and some not so good days when I’ve got really frustrated….but I guess it’ll always be a bit like that, and dealing with the frustrations is part of the challenge. The weather hasn’t help, and I got another very cold dunking on Friday when I got caught by a strong gust of wind.

The cold doesn’t help my ankle either and I’ve been in a fair bit of pain this week. This hasn’t helped things in the boat as I end up feeling pretty uneven. We’re looking into changing some adaptation’s in the boat to try and help things, and we’ve also changed my technique a bit to try and get the power from my hips rather than my feet. Once I grasp it this should hopefully make quite a big difference, but it’s always a challenge getting used to changes.

It’s been a significant week this week, as I got confirmation on Thursday that I’m being put on the British Canoeing Podium Potential Programme. This is really exciting news and means I’ll now get some funding through UK Sport. I’m incredibly grateful to UK Sport for their support and this will have a huge impact on my training. It’s great to move into 2015 with this in place.

I’ve also been asked this week to get involved with the Sporting Champions programme through “Get Inspired”, which similar to the Energize project, it will involve going into schools and working with young people to try and encourage and inspire them to participate in sport. As I’ve said before, this is something I’m incredibly passionate about, having experienced first hand, both through my work and through my own personal journey, the huge part sport can play on an individual’s confidence and development, so I’m really looking forward to getting involved with the programme.

At this time of year, I’d really like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped make everything that’s happened so far possible. To Marton pool for allowing me to train on their lake when I’m home in Shropshire, to The Holme Perriepont Leisure Trust for their support of my accommodation, to The Shropshire Community Leisure Trust for providing me access to the Shrewsbury Sports Village and their facilities, to Marc Woods for his invaluable advice and support and to the coaches at GB Canoeing and all the other athletes for providing me with the most amazing opportunity and giving me just the best time of my life!

Last week was another special week for Climbing Out too. Kevin Gledhill is a gentleman I met earlier in the year, he is an incredible man, who has sadly been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has set up a trust fund to support a Climbing Out programme a year for the foreseeable future. These programmes will be his legacy.

I was lucky enough to attend Kevin’s 60th Birthday last weekend, where Kevin asked everyone to donate to Climbing Out instead of buying him presents. The generosity of everyone was overwhelming, and the total raised so far stands at just under £5,000! The huge support shown is testament to just what a special man Kevin is.

So all that’s left to say is a huge Happy Christmas to everyone. Mine won’t be filled with too much eating and drinking (we’ve got performance testing on the 5^thJanuary so there’s no time for slacking!) but hopefully there’ll still be lots of merriment. Here’s to an awesome 2015!!

Happy Christmas!:-)

I had to have a bit of a chat to myself before I started writing this week. I’ve not had a great week, and I would normally keep those times when I’m not feeling strong and focused to myself. However, I want this to be a very honest and open account of what’s going on, so I guess there’s no point just writing about the good times!

I’ve found it quite a tough week. For whatever reason I’ve felt physically and mentally tired. Each morning I’ve got up thinking “today I’m going to go out and smash it” and I’ve really struggled to find the grit and determination to do it. It’s been frustrating…I think I’ve just got over tired. There’s been so much going on outside of training at the minute, and keeping on top of everything has been a challenge. I know I’ll get my mojo back, but it’s been an emotional week and there’s been a good few tears!

The weather hasn’t helped….it’s bloomin’ cold out on the water at the minute! The winds on Wednesday made life pretty difficult too, and resulted in me going for an involuntary swim after capsizing during training!

Even though I’ve struggled this week, things are still definitely improving. I’m lifting more weight in the gym and I’m feeling strong on the water….I’m just looking forward to what I can do once I’m feeling back to normal!

Earlier in the week I caught up on some information that we’d all been sent through about Rio 2016. It was a little bit surreal looking at the layout of the Olympic village, seeing the times of the opening and closing ceremony and being told the days our races would take place. It made the whole thing very real….and I cried – again!! As a kid I dreamed of representing my country and going to the Olympics, although I always thought it would be on a horse! And here I am, at 41years old, with a real chance of going….in a boat!!! I found it incredibly emotional when that realisation hit. But as my great friend, and 12 times paralympic swimming medallist Marc Woods said when I told him how upset I’d got “Use that emotion Kelda”. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do!

Next week I have every intention of training stronger, harder….and getting faster!