Take yourself to the gym and do weight training, focusing on muscle groups like your back, shoulders, and abdomen. Incorporate yoga for increased flexibility, and try pilates to help strengthen your core and improve your balance on the water. Find an indoor pool to swim in during the winter or a rowing machine you can use. Try to take a trip somewhere where you can paddle, or do some winter paddling.

Many of us are already in or heading into a paddling off-season where we have to stop doing and start dreaming. But sometimes the preparation and dreaming are just as good as that one still moment in time when you first leave contact with the shore.