TRANSCRIPTION:

Maddi Leblanc

All right, everyone. Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to season two of Rise & Glide. We are so stoked to be here for the 2024 season, and we have a whole new set of amazing guests that we are super stoked to share with all of you, amazing, awesome, rad paddlers in our community.  But before we get going, you know, Holly, how have you been? How has life been since season one? Cause I guess, you know, it's been a hot minute. So I think we'd love to know, how have you been? How did 2023 end for you? And how's life going right now?

Holly Pye

Hey Maddi, so good to catch up with you again. Yeah, season one was a while ago. Like I think it was nearly six months ago, and a lot has happened since then. So shortly after we recorded, we had the ISA Worlds, and then the Europeans, and then the ICF Worlds, and I went to all three. That was kind of like the highlight of my year, I think. They're one of the only interesting things that happened for me last year. So no, I'm joking, lots of interesting things happened, but like that was what I was working towards. And they all went really well. Like I learned loads. I think my favorite was actually the Europeans, and I came sixth in the technical race, which I was really happy with. And then we had Thailand, and that was not so, I mean, I really enjoyed it, but like I got sick, and yeah, my results weren't quite what I was hoping for because of that. But it was a huge learning experience, learned loads at all of those events, and I'm really excited to put it into practice in 2024. Training's been looking a lot different this winter to how it did last year. So I've been training harder and now touch wood. Like I think I'm injury free. So hopefully 2024 will be exciting. But how are you getting on? You have a new sponsor, which I'm excited to hear all about. And yeah, how's the end of your 2023 season?

Maddi Leblanc

First of all, Holly, I do, I love hearing that. I love hearing that you had such a successful end to your 2023 season. And I think it is really cool, you know, because while we were recording for season one, I remember you telling me about your injury and rehabbing it and kind of like watching you go through that process of making yourself like healthy, happy and whole again, because you are a strong paddler and you are a phenomenal athlete. So to see you kind of have that comeback was really cool and really inspiring. And I'm just like, I'm super proud of you for all of that, first and foremost. And yeah, I totally get that with the end of 23 as well, with our competitions that we had. I remember you getting sick in Thailand and I was like, oh man. I was so genuinely bummed for you too, because I just knew that again, the inner competitiveness and fire that you have and the talent that you can bring to the table, I knew just because you were sick, it wasn't there and it didn't show, but you have it in you. And so I think 2024 is gonna be just such a great season for you and I'm so stoked for you about that, first and foremost. Yeah, listeners, you gotta know, Holly's pretty damn awesome.So just throwing that out there, but yeah, honestly.

Holly Pye

My head is swelling.

Maddi Leblanc

Yeah, you guys can't see Holly in her house right now because it's just the audio that's recording. But yeah, her head's getting, no, I'm just kidding. But yeah, I had a great end as well to the 2023 season. He took away a lot of valuable life lessons and learning more about myself as an athlete and trying to become a professional and make like a living out of this. Thailand was incredible. I didn't go to the Europeans and I didn't go to the ISA Worlds. I qualified for the ISAs. I just didn't have like time and I didn't have funding to go. So Thailand was incredible. It was such a phenomenal experience. I loved actually going back to Asia. I have like a definitely allergic peanut allergy.So to be able to like navigate through that and like dial in, like keep my nutrition good and be still like on my best game. I felt really happy about that because my first time competing actually in Asia did not go super well with my peanut allergies. So I'm stoked that I survived. But yeah, it was such an incredible experience. All of it.I loved the competition. I loved the level of competition. I definitely had the best results of my athletic career on a world stage there. I came 14th in the distance. I made it to the quarter finals for sprints. And then I actually got disqualified, unfortunately from my tech race. But besides missing the last buoy, the race itself, actually, I felt pretty proud of my performance. I had a great beach start, and I kept up with the main pack during that whole heat. So I feel pretty proud of how far I've come and knowing that my training is going well. And yeah, I guess going into 2024, it's kind of a funny story, actually. I didn't plan to like end up in Florida. It was just kind of something that happened with the flow of life and how opportunities came. And I wanted to take them by the horns, and just go for it. And being in Florida, I got to meet the Flying Fish team, John Miscauskas, Kim Barnes, Stephanie Shidler, Steve Miller, all of those incredible paddlers. And for me, it was truly an eye opener of again, kind of like learning more about myself as an athlete, what my goals are, what my values are, who and what I want to represent specifically. And so talking more with John, I realized I kind of had, it was almost like a bit of a revelation where I was like, wow, like we are very similar. Our passions are similar. What we want to promote on the water is similar. And I think I need to go down this different path. I think I need to align myself with someone who has fully recognized my value and really truly fully believes in me 100% and is gonna be with me at my side. So I was really excited to announce, I believe at the end of January that I am now with Flying Fish, which is pretty cool. So I'm really, really stoked about this new journey and riding for a different board company. To be honest, does it still like scare me a little bit? Yeah, because like I've been with Starboard for six years. So to like leave was bittersweet. You know, I've had such a good relationship with them over the past six years. They've supported me so much and they are still such an incredible stand-up paddle boarding company and windsurf and foil and the whole shebang. They do amazing things for the world and for the planet. But yeah, I think it was time for me to like just have this change in my life and yeah, just go in a different direction. And so yeah, I'm pretty stoked about that.

I guess that was a major thing for me. And I guess, yeah, we'll see what 2024 brings.

Holly Pye

Nice. Well, again, I'm so happy that you enjoyed the end of 2023 and you did really, really well in Thailand. And I think most of all, we both learned a lot whilst we were there. Like the results are great, but the main thing I think for both of us is that we're just learning as we go. And it's a pretty cool way to do it. So that was great. And also, yeah, congratulations on flying fish. Like that's pretty cool. And there's always a good time to fly the nest. Like you can always try new things, try new boards, work with new people. Sometimes being stuck in the comfort zone is, you know, the worst place to be. Not saying that Starboard is the worst place to be, but no, definitely it's good to try new things sometimes. So really happy for you. And I'm looking forward to seeing kind of what 2024 brings for you on new boards and with a whole new routine. And you're currently in Tahiti now, right?

Maddi Leblanc

Yes, yeah, that's correct. Yeah, like I guess my original off-season training plan was that I was going to stay in Canada for the month of January and then head to Tahiti in February and be here until the end of April just before Carolina Cup. Because last year I had a very successful season like being away from home for three months during like the coldest parts of the year, coldest months of the year. And so I knew in my heart, I was like, okay, I wanna travel, I wanna train again somewhere warm. And last year when I competed in the Waterman Tahiti Tour, I came in second place overall. And so I won air miles with Air Tahiti Nui. So I kind of put it together. I was like, hey, you know what? Like I can save myself a little bit more money and like it's easier on the budget and why not travel and fly back to Tahiti to train here with the most incredible water women that I know, like the most incredible athletes I think I've ever met live here and train here. And there's just something super magical too about Tahitian culture. Like people here are just willing to give you the shirt off their back, even if they have no idea who you are. Like you hug and you kiss everyone every time you see them. And it's just such a friendly culture that like, I think as North Americans, like we're just, we're not really good at that. Like we're very like close minded people in terms of like having that kind of trust and communication with others and especially strangers. Yet Tahiti is very much like, welcome, welcome to our island, like welcome to this culture. Like I wanna share with you everything. And so being back here, like people are sharing with me so much ocean knowledge that I've never had really from anywhere else. And you know, they're not even asking for anything in return. They're just like, yeah, let me share with you the ocean because I love the ocean. It's my sanctuary, it's my church. Like, let me show you, let me show you. Whereas like, you know, if I was like back in Canada, someone would be like, yeah, I'll show you how to subsurf on the East or the West Coast, but like, I'm gonna charge you like 300 bucks for like a three hour lesson. And I'm like, oh no, I can't afford that. So yeah, Tahiti is, it's been pretty great. And I love the people here. I love the culture. I love the vibe. And so I'm actually now only gonna be here for like another month. And then I fly back to Florida because I'll be joining Seychelle for one of her women's retreats to help her like run that and do her social media and marketing for that. And then yeah, it'll be probably Carolina Cup before you know it. And then that's gonna be the first race of the year. So I'm excited.

Holly Pye

It's coming around quickly, isn't it? I was thinking that this week, my first event this year is also gonna be in April. I haven't fully decided yet whether I might be doing one in Spain at the start of April. But if not, then it's gonna be Head of the Dart, which is like a probably the biggest UK race at the end of April. And I'm like, that's actually only like two months away, which sounds like a long time, but it's in terms of training, like it's really not a long time. I mean, it takes several weeks for your body to adapt. And so I'm like, okay, how fit do I feel right now? How good am I going to be? I'm like trying really hard not to put the pressure on myself after, again, like a bit like you.

I'm not in Tahiti, sadly, but my training has looked a bit different this year as well. So I've been training a lot more this winter than previous winters. So obviously I'm hoping to do better, but until you actually get on the start line, you just don't know. And yeah, it's a weird feeling. It's only like two months ago until all of the racing kicks off and then it's nonstop and the whole summer goes really quickly. Are there any other events on your list for 2024?

Maddi Leblanc

Yeah, well, honestly, Holly, those all sound like really exciting. So I'd love to like have that update to know like, yeah, if you end up doing that race in Spain, and if not, yeah, I hope that race in the UK goes super well. And yeah, I agree with you, you know, like less than, or pretty much just a little over two months is like, it's not that much time when you think about it in training. And then you're like, oh my God, that's like an eight week block. And then you're like, okay, but then, you know, when you start to break it down, it's really not that much time. But yeah, for me, I actually really only have three major races planned for 2024. So the first one being Carolina Cup, and then the second one, I'm actually gonna be participating in the Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis, which is an 80 mile paddle from Bimini in the Bahamas to Lake Worth in Florida. And it's all to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis and specifically an organization called Piper's Angels. So it's all for like a good cause. And I'm actually really excited to be doing it because a few like local friends in Florida were like bugging me for like a month, like solid. They're like, you got to do this race, you got to do this race. And I was like, I don't know. Like I was so on the fence about it for so long. And then I ended up going to like this film premiere. Well, I went to two film premieres, one called Through Blue, which is a documentary style film by Locale Films that features Blake Carmichael and it like followed his journey across. And I'm like, wow, okay, that's like really cool. And then at the end of January, I went to another film called Double or Nothing that also featured another paddler that did the crossing. But this paddler in particular, he actually like has cystic fibrosis. So it was kind of cool to learn more about his journey. And after seeing that film, I was like, okay, just do it, you know, stop overthinking this. Like this is a really good event, a really cool thing to be a part of. So just jump on it, you know? Like same thing with like going to Florida, even in the first place or like being here in Tahiti. It's like, I keep making these decisions where I'm like, just go for it, you know? So I'm gonna be competing in that June 23rd this year. And then really after that, I'm gonna do some local races back at home and then just really train and work hard for the ICF World Championships in Sarasota. So I'm pretty excited that Worlds is on this side of the planet this year. I don't have to like pay a $2,000 plane ticket to go to the other side of the world. But yeah, I'm pretty stoked for Worlds in Sarasota this year.

Holly Pye

How exciting, I mean 80 miles across literally an ocean is gonna be tough physically and mentally. And yeah, hats off because that even just training for that sounds brutal, let alone racing. So that's gonna be so excited. I'm really, really interested to follow your progress. I know you're posting a lot online about your kind of training updates and really cool to read. So if anyone hasn't already checked that out, head over to Maddie's Instagram and have a look at her training updates for the crossing because that's really exciting. And yeah, I'm looking forward to racing with you in Florida as well. Hopefully I'll see you before then. But if not, we're gonna both be in Florida again. So that's pretty cool.

Maddi Leblanc

I was just about to ask you too, Holly. Yeah, like, I mean, first of all, thank you for the shout out. I really appreciate that. I kind of figured this year, I actually wanted to take people along for the ride, because exactly like what you said, I think this will probably be the hardest paddle that I'll ever do probably in my whole entire life. And I'm laughing too, because for all of you listening out there, we have a couple of endurance paddlers in season two. And during one of our episodes, we recorded before this, I said to this special guest, I said, I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you do endurance paddles. Like I don't want to go that far. And then here I am like two weeks later, signing up for this 80 mile paddle. So it should be fun. It should be great. But I'm also very curious, Holly, what are some of your plans for 2024 as well, besides like maybe Spain and Dartmouth and the worlds?

Holly Pye

I'm really excited to get back to racing in Europe again. So I took a pretty long break from racing last year. I did the worlds and the Europeans, which was super cool. And I'm really grateful for that opportunity because yeah, going to the world championships isn't to be taken lightly. But the year before I did a lot more racing and I really felt out of practice when I was racing at the end of last year. I could tell I hadn't raced in a whole 12 months. I felt fairly fit, but my head just wasn't in the game. Like, I don't know, my pre-race prep wasn't good. Standing on the start line, I was like, what am I doing? I knew I had the skills and I knew I had the fitness, but I just, yeah, I was just out of practice. Like racing is so different to training, even just in terms of like your nutrition and hydration, but also your like tactics kind of on the race course. And going around those turns with 15 other women, things like that, you know, under that pressure where everyone is desperate to get to the finish line as fast as they can, you just don't get that from training, even training in a group. I just, for me, I only get that kind of thing from racing. And so in 2022, when I did a lot more racing, by the end of the year at the Worlds, I was tired from a whole season of racing, but I like my skills and my kind of mental game was much better. And so, yeah, 2024 for me is about kind of finding the balance, getting the race practice in. I know that not every race is gonna be like on my A game, because if I'm racing a lot, I'm not gonna be at my peak fitness for every single one, but I'm just really excited to kind of get that race practice underway again. I haven't fully decided other than the Worlds. I'm hoping to qualify again for Great Britain, for the ISA Worlds and the Europeans. But yeah, I'm hoping to do maybe some Euro Tour races, maybe some like ICF World Cup races, and one or two in the UK as well. But we'll see. That's kind of on my to-do list for the next week or two, is sit down and commit and maybe book some flights. Because so far I am, yeah, I have like decision paralysis. I want to do everything, but I'm also scared of committing to everything because I'm hesitant of overdoing it and getting tired again. So yeah, gotta make some important decisions and then train hard for them. So that's really exciting. And I think, yeah, summer's gonna come around super fast. Yeah, I'm so excited for some of the guests that we have this season. We've got, season one was good, but season two is gonna be even better. We've got a massive range of people. We've got explorers, we've got racers, we've got people doing expeditions and ultras. Some really cool conversations, haven't we?

Maddi Leblanc

Yes, absolutely.

Oh, yeah, honestly, Holly, I'm so stoked to hear what your plans are for the upcoming 2024 season. And I'm also pretty stoked for the guests that we have for this second season of Rise & Glide. I think it's gonna be really cool. Yeah, we definitely have a wide range of diverse backgrounds in terms of, you know, our world of stand-up paddle boarding. So I think it's gonna be really unique, hopefully very inspiring, too, for listeners. And, you know, keeps people motivated to be out on the water and just be having fun and enjoying all that stand-up paddle boarding has to bring. So I think, you know, for all of our listeners, I hope, you know, grab a coffee, grab a cup of tea, you know, like sit back and relax. And I really hope you enjoy season two because I think it's gonna be even better than the first one.

Holly Pye

Yeah, I just had a thought, actually. It's not just the world of stand-up paddle boarding because we have a couple of people in this season who don't stand up paddle board. So you're gonna have to stay tuned for the other paddlers.

Maddi Leblanc

True, that's so true.

I love it when my personal bias shines through.

Holly Pye

We all love it when your personal bias shines through.

Maddi Leblanc

But heck yeah, you can't be any more right, though, Holly. Season two is gonna be awesome. It's gonna be epic. So I really hope you guys tag along for the ride. Give us a follow on Paddle Logger. We also are... Oh my God, Dave, edit that. We are also on all listening platforms. So Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the whole shebang. So be sure to give us a follow and tune in for...

Holly Pye

Give us a rating. We only accept five star ratings, by the way, in case if you've listened this far.

Maddi Leblanc

That's it. Yeah, five stars, nothing less. And unfortunately, we can't go anymore because Apple Podcasts doesn't let you go over five stars.

Holly Pye

Yeah, do you know what? I would actually be really interested in knowing where people are listening to these podcasts. So send us a quick message. Tell us, are you listening to this in the car? Are you cleaning your house? Are you listening to this whilst paddling? I want to know.

Maddi Leblanc

I actually do too. That's a great question. I'm curious now also, because personally, when I've gone back to listen to the episodes, I've done all of that. Like I've listened to one in my car. I've listened to one on the water. I've definitely listened to some while I've been cooking in my kitchen. So yeah, I want to know where listeners are tuning in.

Holly Pye

No, really excited to open this season. So you're going to have to sit back and relax until next week when our first episode is live on Rise & Glide.But in the meantime, have a great week. Happy paddling and we'll see you on the water.