Running out of time

 Due to reasons that I will not bore you with the last few days have been a mad rush to prep kit ready for the start of the DW and while I have been steadily ticking stuff off of the 'to do' list there is still a lot of stuff  still left 'to be done'. I've been focussing on the mystere. It's not ours and we've been loaned it for free, which is great, but there's no doubt that it's seen better days. I spent the best part of two hours today installing a new rudder wire as the old one looked particularly brittle and was badly frayed. Having never done it before I was obviously quite concerned that I'd stuff it up. It is a little disconcerting when you take it apart and find out how rudimentry it all is, the rudder bar merely being a couple of sticks screwed together with the cable threaded through it to lock the wire in place. I took pictures as I went to ensure that I reassembled it in the right order. Not having an access hatch at the rear I had to use the old cable which was already in situ to pull the new cable through.

Not so much state of the art, more like state of the ark.





Belt and braces



 I used an electrical connector block that you can get from diy stores as a locknut to keep both ends of the wire fastened as well as the standard screws. It's worth carrying a spare one of these in the boat with a small screwdriver in order to repair a wire breakage. 

I spent quite of bit of time checking over the hull. I was originally going to apply some gel coat to a few areas but on closer inspection it didn't need it. I also had a play around with using joined cable ties to secure the drybag under Adam's footrest. I don't think it's worked too well so we may well revert back to bungees. If the boat is going to break, then it will be the footrest that goes. I might just see if I can get a piece of timber that we could use as a replacement if that were to happen.

The sunshine was lovely but I could clearly see the bottom of the river and debris on the surface was not moving at all. 100 miles of canal anyone?

With my gammy foot proving tiresome again I dashed to the Sweatshop in Teddington and bought some New Balance MT101 running shoes. Horrible colours but very slim fitting and supportive with good grip on the sole, they should do the job. I've basically got tomorrow to pack most of the gear and then next week Jonesey's going to sort the food and a few last remaining bits. Our last paddle together will be on Sunday night, owing to another 40th birthday, but as it's Adam's wife it's a fairly important one. Shepperton to Teddington which will be couple of hours and then nothing until Saturday 7th April. Just want it done now.


Anthony- Dancing like crazy, with very little effect. :-0





What to do?

Lots of discussion at the moment regarding whether to start early or start late and wait for the evening tide window. It seems that there will be a large number of crews (40) attempting to get away at 7am on Saturday, which could make the first pound quite bouncy and slow. Here's my thoughts;

Adam and I just want to finish so for us, an early start is a no-brainer (IMO  ;-)  It gives us 2 bites at the cherry in that if things start to turn to worms and for whatever reason we slow up and miss the early tide window then we will still have the 2 hour window later on in which we can finish the event. We are lucky in that we've got a lovely warm clubhouse where we can get changed and grab some kip if that does happen. Ok, we'll be last with a finish time of 30 plus hours but after retiring last year, this year it is all about the finish.

But of course, that isn't going to happen. We are going to absolutely nail it this year and that means that when we hit the tideway we will not have anywhere near the amount of river traffic on the tideway to contend with, which I think is another plus point.

If you go for the smaller 2 hour window later on sunday and miss it, for whatever reason, fatigue, injury etc, then that's it; game over. I would have thought that for experienced paddlers used to the event and confident in the pace that they can keep then that's not such a problem.

You need to work backwards. What do you realistically think your time will be, baring in mind that there is very little flow on the Thames at the moment and that's unlikely to change significantly between now and the race? Evening high tide is at 5pm therefore a 24hr ish schedule averging 5mph on both canal and river, you would be looking at starting at around 7.30pm therefore you would be doing the canal between 7.30pm and 6.30am then the river from 6.30ish to 5pm.

That means doing the canal in the dark (lots of portaging in the dark; seems like a recipe for disaster to me) and then doing the river in the day time (potentially a lot more river traffic to contend with particulalry if it's going to be fine weather)

I am sure that there are some advantages to starting later ,but I cannot think of many. Being able to travel down on the day / less people at the start?

Discuss.

#Jantastic

The Jantastic running challenge has ended with a bit of a whimper. Once again my left foot has flared up again and as I write this I am sitting with my feet up, dosed up on nurofen and about to apply an icepack. My foot has not been right since the start of the year and rather than letting it rest and doing some proper rehab I have soldiered on when my experience should have told me better. In the last 2 weeks I have only run twice (3 times if you include Crofton)  and it's my leg simply giving up and crying for mercy. It was the running that we did during our bread pudding paddle that was the nail in the coffin for my plantar fascia and within hours I started to get that omonious deep ache that no amount of ice and stretching could get rid of. I was awake for most of last night, not able to find a comfortable position with my foot glowing in the dark as it swelled up. It's made me decide that I must get some really good footwear for the DW that I will be comfortable in, so I'm going to invest in a pair of trail or off-road  running shoes. Getting ones that can fit into a boat might not be easy but there must be something out there and if my foot starts playing up during the race then that could be a DW-ending problem. Once the DW is out the way I am going to go back to the physio and get some serious rehab done as I simply cannot keep going on like this. So, Jantastic is over. I have not laid the enormous aerobic base that I was hoping to in preparation for the Edinburgh Marathon and as things stand I cannot see me taking the start there, not unless I can recover quickly and keep this problem at bay.

Yesterday, I went on a BCU FSRT course (foundation safety and rescue training). It's a basic course designed to help paddlers cope with capsize and rescue situations, assess risks and take appropriate control measures etc when on the water.  My reason for doing it was two-fold. I wanted to have a few more skills so that I could cope with capsize and emergency training situations when I am out training and also I will be doing a coaching level 1 course in September and the FSRT is a pre-requisite. The Royal are short of coaches to help out so a group of us will be taking the level 1 and I am hoping that in the future it might be something that Wheezy junior and I could do. The course was taken by Paul who was very knowledeable about all types of boats and had many anecdotes to tell. I now know how to empty a Canadian kayak and how you can paddle 2 K1's with only 1 paddle. It's surprisingly easy.

The bread pudding run

Adam and I knew that we would find it hard to fit in the really long paddles that we would need in the run-up to the DW. I had hoped that we would do some of the Waterside series as training but it turned out that on every race weekend we were committed to other friend and family events (everyone we know’s turning 40 this month) so our windows of opportunity to get a really long paddle in were dwindling. Yesterday was to be our Waterside D replacement where we would find out our canal pace, practice our portaging and feeding and get Dad and John up to speed on their supporting duties. We had decided to put in at Pewesy instead of Devizes so that we would not have to do the first 12 miles of pretty dull paddling without a portage, but much more importantly we would carry on past Newbury and head up to Aldermaston  in order tp familiarise ourselves with that section of the course. This was where things began to unravel for us last year and we wanted to go back and get it in our heads and see the obstacles in daylight. It was going to be a long day in the boat as we only had a handful of two hour plus paddles in the bag in the last few months but we wanted to see if the technique work that we have been doing had made any difference to our ability to paddle the boat well. The next 31 miles would tell us.

The put in at Pewsey was easy with an accessible car park and the weather was perfect, being quite cool, although weakly warm when the sun made the odd appearance. We found we were too hot to start with but within an hour or so it had cooled down and was very comfortable for most of the paddle. We had the usual 15 minute shakes as Adam settled down but we had a nice easy paddle up to Wotton all on our own in order to find our rhythm. Straightaway we focussed on our technique, with me trying to ‘spear my feet’ and keep my hands high while Adam got his rotation going.

The first major obstacle was going to be the Savernake Tunnel. I knew that we would get through ok but I was worried about encountering a boat trying to get through the tunnel from the other direction, despite us having a light on the front. As it was I need not have worried; it was possible to see very clearly through the tunnel and the water was dead calm, however there was a lot of weed and other debris that had got caught-up in there, making paddling quite difficult. We tip-toed through and then got our heads down to negotiate Crofton.

We walk/jogged the whole of Crofton, expecting to meet Dad and John at the bottom, but they had unexpectedly turned up in the middle. We passed up the offer of a feed and kept on plugging away, breaking out into a trot when we felt like it, but we didn’t rush it particularly, knowing that we were going to have a pretty big feed at the end of the flight. We got there and had a sarnie, jelly babies and a bottle change. We were not using carbs drinks, instead using nuun in our bottles for electrolytes and hydration and relying on carbs through solid food. It’s very easy to stand around and have a chat and I think D & J were a bit surprised at my insistence that we get going again so soon. This need to get going and keep moving was however tempered with the need to keep relaxed when we were moving. As the paddle progressed we were more careful to slow ourselves down and not rush unnecessarily and avoid making silly mistakes that would cost us a lot of time. In the main, we achieved that pretty well although there were a few things which cost us a bit of time. For example my paddle came loose. All of a sudden I found myself slapping the water and I realised my feather angle was non-existent. Luckily we were at a portage although it took a few minutes to get a screwdriver. I’ll be sticking the plastic locknut back on for the race to avoid this happening again. Adam and I also managed to ship some water into the boat which we then had to get out. Another minute or two lost as we sorted it.

We got into Hungerford and it was at this point that I developed a back problem on my right hand side which sent a sharp pain that stopped me paddling for a moment. Bad thoughts raged and I thought that we were going to have to stop but gradually over the next half an hour it faded away. I can only think that I tweaked something during a portage. It was a bit of a worry at the time but seems ok now. It rather highlighted how quickly things could potentially turn to worms. It reinvigorated my focus on my technique once more.

The section before and just after Hungerford is densely populated with locks and a big part of this paddle was to give us the opportunity to get our portage routine squared away. We are not fast at portaging. Adam’s a big chap and getting out the boat is a big effort for him. Allied to that, we do not have the advantage of a lightweight kevlar boat that we can carry on the cockpit, so portaging requires us to get the boat out of the water by the cockpit first, before going to the handles to shoulder the mystere. This takes time. Not much time, but significantly more than just picking up the boat and running, and over 40 portages this adds up significantly. But, we got a good system going and I feel we were as efficient as we could be, also using the portages to take drink and a haribo or two to top up our sugar levels.

After seeing D and J at Kintbury, this time eating some of mum’s bread pudding,  we were on the final section before Newbury and here the locks begin to thin out, which allowed us to get back into a better rhythm. We could definitely feel the effects of hull drag on the boat but we had the mystere bouncing along nicely and we were feeling really good about how the paddle had gone. Newbury came up quickly and after another bread pudding stop and a haribo top-up we pushed on towards our next meeting with them at Midgham. As I said earlier, it was in this section last year that we started to push too hard to make up on lost time and ultimately was one of the causes for us to retire, so again, we tried to keep relaxed and maintain our technique and tick off the locks. This section has the two left turns after lock 88 and 94 but they really are no problem. We had to duck for a couple of low bridges and got through them comfortably and Monkey Marsh was open, although I made a hash of it and tried to put the boat in in front of a dredger. Another minute lost while we found a different get in point.

We were both getting a bit more clumsy as we got tired and at the second to last lock before Aldermaston we made a hash of it. I was busy saying hello to to a woman walking her dog and when I looked around Adam was floating in the water; apparently a BA strap had got caught. Not how we wanted to end the paddle but we had a really good recovery and found ourselves in Aldermaston ahead of schedule. Unfortunatley, J and D were not there. They had missed us at Woolhampton and then a road diversion in Aldermaston meant that it was another 40 minutes before they got to us. We got out our dry kit in the boat and waited. An unfortunate end to the day, but in the grand scheme of things, small beer. We were really pleased with how the day had gone with us finishing uninjured and feeling like we had not taken too much out of ourselves.

We were really pleased with our speed in the water. Despite it being the canal, we were faster in the water than we though that we would be and that’s a big testament to the work that we’ve put in over the winter. Hopefully, when we get on the Thames and we have less portaging to deal with then we will be able to maintain a good average speed. Don’t get me wrong; we’re still looking at a finishing time in excess of 25.5 hours, but we know that we can hit the cut–off times at Newbury and Dreadnaught and hit the tide window at Teddington.

I am now officially looking forward to April 7^th.

Details

Our Garmin is now installed in front of Adam's cockpit.

I think a piece of tape tactically placed over the 'distance travelled' display will be needed so as not to drive Adam nuts, constantly seeing how far we've still got to go.

We now have our confirmed entry and we've got one of the 30 slots for Good Friday check-in, so we should be able to get away super early on Saturday.

Dad has been and recce'd the paddle that we are due to do next week and reports that some of the roads around the access points are closed from this week and will continue to be so for 12 weeks. It could make it a bit interesting but at least we can make our mistakes next weekend.

I managed to get a late night ergo interval session  for an hour earlier this week and last night I got out for another interval paddle up to Molesey and back. I think my improved technique is showing as I pb'd the time for this paddle. Managed to hit another fishing line about 20 metres from the Royal, again completely unlit and again managed to unhook myself. The fisherman was a complete twit.

After my paddle I spent an enjoyable 30 minutes with epoxy resin and grp tape putting in another bolt to hold on my seat in order that there is no chance of them moving when portaging and I plan to also install our safety bags under there so that our dry bag can be much smaller. Details, details.....

Laying siege

At the end of my last post I mentioned that Adam and I would be going out for a long paddle later that evening. We did and we had a really great one. Right up to the point where we capsized. We had bashed our way up to Molesey, portaged and then carried on for another 20 minutes or so. The conditions were decidedly sub optimal with the wind throwing us off but we felt relaxed and comfortable. We were not doing any intervals, instead just doing a DW paced effort. As we turned back the weather was getting more filthy but as we were heading for home we were not particularly bothered. We were no more than 10 minutes from home, approaching Ravens Ait  when we went in. It was our first capsize in a year so we think we were due one. We were close to the bank so we didn't have far to swim but getting back into the boat was very difficult, with us both having to get in while standing waist high in water. We were very cold on the way back but thankfully not too far from the club and a hot shower.

Last night we continued the process of laying siege to 'the canoeists' Everest' over a curry and a few beers. Dad and John came over with Adam in order that we could plan our practise paddle in a couple of weeks over the Waterside D route. After speaking to Ed at the Royal a couple of week's ago we've decided to amend the paddle by not paddling from Devizes to Newbury, but instead we will be putting in at Pewsey and then finishing at Aldermaston. This does away with the long and frankly boring first 11 miles or so without a portage and means that we will also be paddling part of the later canal when things start to get a bit harder and there's a few navigation points to negotiate. We'll also have to deal with the Monkey Marsh portage which is causing a few problems at the moment and a few low bridges. It should make for a more useful paddle with more portaging while still giving us enough data to accurately know our canal pace. It will be very interesting to see how we compare to the race last year.

The devil is in the detail and hopefully we are getting the details right.

A 'meh' kind of week

It's been the usual story with outside pressures meaning that training has had to be fitted in and around work and family commitments. Work's been mental (but enjoyable, I should hasten to add) while Mrs Wheezy has had a lot of stuff on also, meaning that it has not been as easy for me to head out the door and train. I am very lucky; without her I wouldn't stand a hope of doing half the shenanigans that I get up to in the name of sport and when she has stuff to do (because she has a life too) it rather puts into focus what I am able to do with her support. <3

My legs have also been feeling very achy from the 10km race last Sunday and all this stuff has led to a relatively quiet week. Something had to give and that something was my 2 turbo sessions. I valiantly plugged away at getting my runs done and once again I have the Marathon Talk's Jantastic Spring motivation challenge to thank for getting me out the door when all I wanted to do was sit on the sofa and eat crisps. Actually, that's a lie. I did sit on the sofa and eat crisps (while marking piles of books) but I then went out for my runs when Mrs Wheezy got home. So there I was running around the streets at 10.30 at night, eyelids barely open, running on stiff stumps for legs. I did the runs but I can't say that I enjoyed them.

I've had 2 paddles so far this week. The first was in the mystere with Adam on Monday night. A really good fun, 2 hr paddle with lots going on. The rowing club was out in force and the wash that the support boats threw up around Raven's Ait had us bouncing around but we were relaxed and once through it all we did 6 x 3 minutes with 2 minutes recovery, and then it was a slow DW paced effort for the rest of the paddle. Just after portaging Molesey we saw another DW crew training, heading the other way and exchanged greetings which was cool. We were meant to meet up again on Friday night but Adam couldn't make it so there I was heading out at 9pm on my own. For once, the ergo seemed tempting but by the time I got to the club I had regained my senses enough to get a laance out of the shed. I headed up to Kingston and did an interval session of 8 x 2 minutes hard with a 90 second recovery. I was working really hard and the laance took a bit of a battering as my technique began to disintegrate and  I started smacking the deck of the boat with my paddles, so over the last 2 reps I slowed it down a touch and tried to get some semblance of technique back. After 50 minutes I plodded back to the club feeling like I'd had a pretty good workout.

As I look out the window now, cold rain's falling and we've got a long paddle scheduled for tonight, so we probably will not be off the water until gone 11pm. I suppose starting a training session tired, at night in the cold and dark is good DW acclimatisation, but then again, it'll probably be 30 degrees Celsius again this Easter.

Onwards.

Replies

Hodge; Thanks mate. Glad that your training seems to be going well. Still haven't decided about Snowdonia yet.