8’ endurance pieces with resistance The Workout Breakdown - 4(8/2) at 80% - 10-min Warmup at 60% - 4 sets of 8 minute at 80% with resistance, 2 minutes active or full rest - 10-min Cooldown at 70% pErg - use damper 6 row erg - use damper 9 Oc1 - with bungee Oc6 or DB - with pool noodle Technique Focus: - Dragon Boat Style: switch sides every minute - OC Style: switch sides every 12 strokes  - For Both: Focus on efficient, long, and strong strokes the whole time 💬 Coach Tek's Weekly Update: What a Week! October Madness in Full Swing 🔥 Training Kickoff: Monday hit hard with two 500m pieces and ten 250m intervals - exactly the kind of speed work I needed heading into Nationals week! CADBC Magic! ✨ Tuesday after work, Eri and I jetted down to LA for Coach Nathan's California Dragon Boat Camp - and WOW, what an honor to be invited back for our 4th year! This year was our biggest yet: - 90 paddlers from across the nation - 5 boats, 6 coaches - Campers flew in from Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, New York, and beyond! Working alongside Coach Nathan, Steve, Connie, Eri, and Juntai was pure joy - watching paddlers level up their technique never gets old. Morning V1 Sessions: While coaching camp, I squeezed in morning V1 training sessions. Nothing beats getting that rudderless feel dialed in before Nationals! Legendary Moment! 🏆 Friday brought the ultimate highlight - the Na Wahine 2025 CHAMPIONS from Ihilani Va'a stopped by the Dam to share their knowledge with us! Talk about humbling - getting tips from legends who had just conquered the most prestigious women's race in the world. Incredible! IVF Sprint Nationals - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 🇺🇸 Massive thanks to Marissa and Randy for hosting us, and Andy, Amy, and Team Phoenix for adopting us into their Ohana. The nerves were real, but I trusted my training and left everything on the water. THE RESULTS: - 2nd fastest time overall BOTH DAYS - Multiple Singapore 2026 berths secured!

So happy to have secured a spot for the 250m and 500m races at the IVF Worlds next August! Thoughts about my race experience: my times were good enough but not up to the bar for Gold at Worlds. I have work to do! I felt especially inspired after the training clinic with world champion and TUSA coach April Zilg. On Monday I hung out on the Nike campus with my brother (he’s worked there for 20 years). It was amazing to be in a space dedicated to excellence in athletics.

Is there a way to train for different water conditions without having access to a variety of environments? This Saturday, I participated in my first ocean race in Half Moon Bay. However, it didn't feel like a typical race for me. The waves were quite large, ranging from 8 to 10 feet, and I struggled to move as quickly as I wanted. Instead of racing, I turned it into a workout and focused on finding ways to move effectively through the water. It was more balanced work than I expected. I mainly practice in the local Foster City lagoon or in San Francisco Bay, which are not comparable to ocean conditions. I wouldn’t go to the ocean by myself for practice. Is it possible to use some land equipment to prepare for ocean races? Some balance board + pErg machine...

Since I don't know how to post this in Training Peaks, wanted to get feedback on why my stroke rate could increase /pace could decrease but my heart rate goes down? I'm struggling to keep at a consistent HR for long periods. In this case, I was aiming 70% for an hour.

I am so incredibly proud of this group of paddlers. Over the past five weeks, I had the honor of coaching the Mystic Dragons, a new team that came together through the GWN Train and Race program. Most of them had never been in a dragon boat before, yet in just a handful of practices, about six total hours on the water, they grew one in sync boat. This was also my first real consistent coaching adventure. I’ll admit, there were moments when I felt unsure of myself, worried I might not be providing the training necessary for them to succeed. But I kept reminding myself that the ultimate goal was for them to have fun, build confidence, and discover the joy of paddling together. Their hard work, determination, and teamwork all paid off at the KC Race this last weekend. They pulled off two silver-medal finishes, one in their division and another for Best Local Team! Watching their transformation from first strokes to the medal podium was such a rewarding coaching experience, and my first at that. I want to send a special thanks to everyone from SLAP Dragons KC and the KC Pink Warriors who came out to help at practices. The support, guidance, and encouragement made all the difference for this crew and for me as a new/backup coach. In addition, the resources shared within this community, and the Tek Talks from @Tek Li helped me build both my confidence and my coaching toolkit to guide this amazing group. The Mystic Dragons showed what’s possible when people come together with open minds, strong hearts, and a willingness to learn. I truly hope I get the chance to see this team race again in the future.