“HEY, Which Way to the Start-Line? It’s been A LONG Time!”

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hi All: Just a note to connect the dots of my crazy medical-adventure with the circular journey of Racing "silly little boats"... I'll be entering my first Surfski race in over two years...Tomorrow...Nice! This is a fairly momentous occasion because ever since my doc's diagnosed my heart condition and subsequent surgery & recovery program...I've been relegated to "non-competitive exercise"...aka "NO STARTING LINES FOR YOU MISTER". So, tomorrow will be the beginning of the Next Chapter for me. I'm really looking forward to being out there in the pack again...It's been way too long.

So tomorrow is the Seatrek Regatta held in Sausalito, CA, on the San Francisco Bay. The course is from Seatrek Kayaking Center out to Alcatraz, back around Angle Island, down thru Raccoon Straights, and back home to Seatrek via Richardson Bay! SeaTrek is a race that I entered the very first year I moved to California from Colorado...way back 22 years ago (Jeeze!). I'm really happy that my recovery and training has pointed me in the direction for my first "re-entry" race toward this one. The Seatrek Regatta and I go back a long time. That course is an old-friend of mine!

Thanks to all my fiends who have sent me such good wishes, as I'm convinced your friendship has helped me Get Back in the Fold!

Cheers, brent

(I can already hear "Racers Ready....BANG"...!)

In his 70’s, Fast Eddy is STILL MAKING WAVES! Check out the news-link!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Dear Brent, My distant Coach & Friend,

After enjoying an extraordinary day of paddling this past Saturday, and during the trip having my friends comment on my paddling stroke, I immediately thought of you, and where my polished stroke, and consequence racing success, all started back in 1998, after I received your video.

So I decided to email you, and was shocked, and totally dumbfounded to read, where you had undergone such serious chest / heart surgery. I wish you the best in your recovery, which at this date, seems to be progressing very well. My best wishes and heart felt sympathy, regarding your troubles go out to you.

On a lighter note, I thought you might be interested in an article which dominated the sports page of the August 8th, Sun Chronicle Newspaper, titled, "Late Bloomer." My success on the racing circuit, in the Masters and Senior Divisions, I give a vast amount of credit to you, my friend, even though we have never met, your influence on me was tremendous.

Please click on the website, that my friend sent to me in her email, beginning with
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/08/08/sports/7759040.txt
Since we have never met, this may give you some insight, as to who I am. Very in debted to you.
Wish you a Total & Great recovery,

Your East Coast friend.
Ed "Fast Eddy" Earle

A GREAT BIG Thanks to my Friends up in Bellingham WA!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Hi All: Just wanted to take a moment to thank Larry Goolsby and my 20 Students (guys & gals), who set-up and attended my Forward Stroke Clinics last weekend. Wow, what a great bunch of paddlers and super-nice people as well! This was a special "racing clinic" as it was comprised of 100% Surfski!!! A little different than most of my clinics geared toward the more Touring oriented paddler. The key concepts are the same tho, so the learning curve is not as steep for those "experienced" paddlers, but the level of detail and the results some of those minor changes bring, can be very rewarding as the racing season rolls along. Of course trying to "un-learn" ingrained paddling movements becomes a greater challenge to the experienced paddler than the newer one. However, once you get the New movement locked in, it will be come second-nature and your off and running! Please remember to WALK before Running tho folks...

Anyway, Just wanted to tell you guys & gals how much I enjoyed having the opportunity to both teach & meet all of you! Cheers, brent

All’s Well w/ Recovery AND 3-New Clinic Dates in July!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

To all of you wondering about how my recovery from open heart surgery 3 months ago is going...I'm doing GREAT! Thank you ALL for the incredible support I've received throughout this whole medical adventure. It's been eye-opening (to say the least), and drives-home the point that "The Only Thing You Know About LIFE Forsure, Is That You Don't Know ANYTHING Forsure"! So my recommendation is to make every day the best it can be!

I'm actually doing so well, that I will be going back to work and resuming all normal life activities this Monday, May 24th...So, On to another chapter!

Since I'm paddling now, (8) days now since being given the ok by my Cardiologist), I've begun to book Forward Stroke Clinics again. Currently I have (2) Surfski Racing Clinics set up in Bellingham WA, on July 10 & 11. These will be private sessions hosted by the local paddling club up there, called The Whatcompaddlers. GREAT bunch of people and very focused on going FAST in their race boats! I love teaching these folks!!

I'm also doing the first Brent Reitz Forward Stroke Clinic for this season in Half Moon Bay on July 18 for California Canoe and Kayak (CCK). Please Go to their website for more details on the class and to sign-up! http://www.calkayak.com

I'm really looking forward to getting the teaching schedule back-on-track this year, so come on out to Half Moon Bay or Contact CCK or myself if you are interesed in another date/class.

Cheers and Thanks to All, brent

TEACHING TOMORROW!  R.E.I. Dry-Land Session in Marina store @ 1 PM Sat

Friday, April 30, 2010

Hi All,

Tomorrow, Sat May 1st, I'll be doing an On Land Clinic out in front of the R.E.I. Store in Marina, Ca @ 1pm...Come On Out!

I'll be going over the mechanics of an efficient Kayaking Forward Paddling Stroke. This is a very quick and easy way to get the basic concepts of how best to move a boat across the water early-on in the season!

Sorry for the short notice, but I contacted R.E.I. to volunteer to do this clinic once I discovered that they will be having an Entire PaddleSport Event there tomorrow. My clinic will dovetail nicely for all the folks interested in paddle-sports of all kinds!

R.E.I. carries copies of my DVD "The Brent Reitz Forward Stroke Clinic" at their store, should you be interested in a more in-depth way of understanding the most efficient mechanics of how to move your boat best, and in-turn Have MAXIMUM FUN!

Remember, My motto is: "Paddling is More Fun, the Less Tired You Are!" So come on out to Marina R.E.I. on MAY DAY and let's have some fun! brent

“Anticipate Teaching AGAIN early This Summer. So if you’d like a Clinic, LET ME KNOW!”

Friday, April 23, 2010

Hello All: As you may have noticied on some of the eariler posts in my Home Page, I've be out on a Medical Adventure since Feb, 2010. Feel free to scroll thru the Home Page and you'll understand more...

I'm awaiting final-word from my Doctors about when I can Get Back On The Water Again, and I intend to start-up Clinics as quickly as possible once given their "Go-Ahead". I anticipate being able to Teach starting in the JULY Timeframe.

If you are interested in either; TAKING A CLINIC, or would like me to PUT ON A CLINIC, please feel free to contact me here, or call 831 277 7897 for more details. I intend to Teach as much as possible this Summer, so if you are interested, I'd appreciate if you'd let me know!

Take Care and See Ya On The Water, brent

A TIP for Craig after Video Review that should be helpful to Others…

From: Craig
To: Brent Reitz
Subject: Re: 2009 Wildside relay Video

Brent,

Thanks for taking the time to look at the footage and the feedback. What you say makes sense and is the area of the forward stroke I am most confused about. I have noticed myself while looking at my footage it appeared I was finishing the stroke further away from the boat than I thought I should. Also the pause before the catch has always been a struggle for me to get a good feel for. I will focus more on these areas and hopefully dial them in before I get too old to grip a paddle!

Craig,

The two areas you have noticed yourself having difficulty with, are two areas where MOST EVERYONE has difficulty…The TORSO-PAUSE is the most important of the two to connect with, so let's discuss that one here:

A tip to think about getting the “pause” going to your advantage, is to really not think of it like “a pause” with anything other than Your Torso! The Hands, Shaft, Blade…everything else keeps moving on a constant, but you need to hold-back the recoil of The Torso a split second, to allow the all of Those Other Moving Parts enough time to engage with the water fully…Specifically burying the blade fully and as far forward as is natually possible. The Torso-Pause may come to you easier if you think about the movement in these terms.

Once you get that movement ingrained, it becomes as automatic as your current movement is now. Let’s work on that one first, and remember to ask me about the “finishing too far away from the boat-thing” when we see each other next. Cheers, brent

One Month out of Hospital and Recoverng Well!

Friday, April 09, 2010

Hi all: Just a quck update to let you know the Recovery Process is moving along "swimingly"! Some ups and downs as expected, but all in all I am very pleased at how I'm feeling and getting back-to-speed. Lots of WALKS...Jeeze, I can't wait to get back In-The-Water, but that will need to wait for a few months yet...I tried riding my bike one day instead of walking for exercise, (please don't tell the my Cardiologist!), but within about 10 min, decided that was pushing the envolope when thinking about all that's been invested in this chest of mine, and decided quickly to Step Off The Bike! (Not the greatest idea just yet!). However, the walks have increased in lenght and now I'm pushing 5 1/2 miles at a shot and averaged +/- 3.6 mph, So things are good.

On a padding note, I'd like to embed a video my friend Craig Tannner did of a Surfski workout he did in Benica on The Shipping Channel. I feel like he did a good job on the production of the film and it "starts" to give a non-surfskier the "feeling" of how wonderful it is to link-up wave-ride after wave-ride. Enjoy and feel free to send me a COMMENT from Comment-Section of this site! Cheers and Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement, brent

17 days out of Stanford and Doing Fine!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Hi All: Just a short note to let you know I'm doing well. I'm walking every day and that feels great. Not allowed to drive or lift anything over 5 lbs for quite awhile, but that's really minor in the scope of things. I would like to thank all of my friends who have been checking in with me via; Email, Facebook, Website Comments, Phone-calls and Good Ol' fashion "Get Well Cards". Your support has been incredible and is very much appreciated. Thank You.

My sister did a much better job of keeping the site "up to date" than I am, and for that I want to send out a Great Big Thank You to Donna again for doing such a great job!

I'd say however at this point, it appears that "No News is Good News"...I really don't have a lot to report...which is A GOOD THING! The need for 24/7 care and all that work seems to be behind me now. I feel great. Blood Pressure, Pain, Fatique and The Like, are all still daily issues to monitor and deal with, but this is normal, so I'm very pleased with my recovery progress...it's just going to take a while.

So, with that, I'm going to sign-off here, and tune-into my Sirius Radio Blues Channel to listen to B.B. King and Buddy Guy "shoot the shit" for the next hour!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND. In the words of the late Warren Zevon, "Remember to Enjoy Every Sandwich"! Cheers & Have Fun, brent

Progress Update after 9-Days back home & “Hi” to CANOECOPIA Folks!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Hi All:

I’m ROCK’N thru this thing! At the 7-Day Post Opt Check-Up, Both Doc’s; Cardiologist & Surgeon, have given me the Thumbs up to push Aerobic Exercise as hard as I want! That is to say, primarily walking. They figure that if I push too hard one day, the next day I’ll know it, and it will be up to ME to back-off. The constraints on my recovery-routine are that I’m not allowed to drive a car for 1-Month; and I'm not allowed to lift more than 5 lbs for 2 months…pretty cool! It’s up to me now, and I plan on lots of walking, not pushing too hard, but eventually shooting for some kind of training effect none-the-less.

The Medical Team's take is that “The Plumbing Job” (Removal and Replacement of my Aorta) is 100% in tact and doing well. However he “Cracked-Open Sternum” will need a full 3 full months for bones to knit back together. Hence the no lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs and also no Fun-Stuff like Kayaking, Lifting, Rope Climbing, Mt Bike Riding, etc till then.

Also, during the “Rib Stretching” Program carried out in surgery…(one of the more gruesome aspects of my surgeon’s job), one of my Upper Ribs evidently broke, (whoops!), instead of "bent", so that’s a bit painful just now. Blood Pressure, Sleeping and other body-functions are still in flux, which limit what I can do day-to-day as well, but for the most part I’ve avoided any “additional complications” of surgery. The Domino-Effect of surgery had always been one of my biggest concerns going into this thing, and now that aspect looks to be behind me, and Man, that's a huge relief!

I can not say enough about the quality and expertise of The Staff at Stanford Hospital! My Hat's Off to each and every one of them. Thank You Stanford!

TO ALL MY FRIENDS HEADED ON THEIR GREAT HOMAGE TO CANOECOPIA, MADISON WISCONSIN: I sure wish I was going to be able to see you all this weekend! DARN, missing last year was tough enough, now with this set-back....Oh well, I guess I'll just have to wait until Canoecopia 2011! Have a BLAST at the Expo this weekend and know that I'm there In Spirit!

Thanks again for all your Love and Caring. Brent