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Pregnant Paddling: Emily
Jackson-Troutman training
in Uganda.

Just when you thought the genetic lineage for freestyle kayaking couldn't get any better - with Eric Jackson's offspring Dane and Emily ripping it up on the world circuit - now it has, with former World Champions Emily and Nick Troutman seven months into making EJ a grandpa (now you young bucks will feel even worse losing to him). A few thoughts from Emily's blog as, seven months in, she's fresh back from training in Uganda and readying for the Team Trials at NOC...

On her recent blog post on Jackson Kayak (Click here), Emily Jackson-Troutman professed to being seven-months pregnant, but more importantly that it certainly doesn't mean having to hang up her paddle -- and that it shouldn;'t for anyone. In fact, she spent a month or so in Uganda this spring working on new moves, and is now back home training for, you guessed it, the U.S. Team Trials at the Nantahala Outdoor Center at the end of April.

Following are a couple of snippets from her post:

In Uganda
The first few weeks there, I felt 100% and I had yet to gain much weight- maybe 8 pounds total.

By the last week I found the hard bounces on the waves hurt my back enough that stretching just wasn't cutting it. But that did not mean I was done paddling.

Never would I have imagined that the eating habits in Uganda would leave me with an even healthier baby.

Back at Rock Island
The boys were doing the falls often and I knew that landing hard on the big waves hurt so going off the falls weren't going to feel too good either. So I decided to go for a mellow run...

The second I feel I may be getting tired I jump out to avoid any strain or potential injury...

At this point being around 20 pounds heavier than I am used to, I know what it's like to sink a boat. I don't recommend it for learning anything other than a cartwheel

In General
Everyone needs to know that being pregnant does not mean you have to stop what you are doing. You can be active as long as you are paying very close attention to your body and how your baby responds also. It's also important to be fully honest with your doctor on what you are doing. I went into my first appointment saying, "I want to kayak, what do I have to do to make sure I can keep paddling?" You'd be surprised how much more helpful they are when you don't really give them an option.

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