Training things have been on a slow but steady rise over the course of the summer and I am seeing some improvement which is helping my fragile confidence. I stated a few posts ago that the plan was 3-4 bikes per week, a paddle and a swim. It's no surprise that it has been on the bike that most has been gained although I was starting from a very low point. The shock of setting an all-time worst for a 10 mile tt a few months ago was the starting point. All I have done, which any coach or Internet guru will tell you is key, is to be consistent. I have not tried to smash hundreds of miles or bury myself on the turbo, but simply to ride my bike up hills and ride some bits faster than normal. Keep it simple stupid. I've raced four 10 mile tts and seen a gradual improvement in performance. In fact, a couple of weeks ago on an absolutely beautiful still evening, I set a 10 pb, without trying much. One of those, 'Where did that come from?' type of performances, and then last Saturday I was on the G10/42 course again and it was back to feeling like an asthmatic ant carrying heavy shopping. I can see from the numbers when I come back from a ride that my average speed is slowly creeping up while my rpe slowly gets lower. Let's hope I can keep that going.
Paddling was proving difficult recently. I went through a phase of simply not being able to stay upright in the Ranger for any length of time so I took a week off. Last night, I went back and I was not expecting much but it was much better. Adam accompanied me in a laance while I took to the island cut again. The first 15 minutes were really good, but then the catches started again. I've figured out what it is though. It's simply my core working very hard and gradually I lose control of my lower back and hips. I had a solid 40 minutes last night and walked away dry so that's a big step back in the right direction. I guess I need to really build up my core if I am to see some big improvement here.
My foot issue has had some developments. Firstly, I had my physio appointment a couple of weeks ago and after much prodding and poking, in a completely non-biblical sense by the very nice physio, Alison, she told me that she didn't know what was wrong. This is actually a good thing, because she has now referred me to have an MRI scan which will be the week after next. I have not run since 26th April and I have had no pain or discomfort in my foot for weeks now, so last night, after my paddle, I decided to test it out. My reasoning is two-fold. Either, it's healed, whatever it is and I'll be able to run on it or it hasn't and it may flare up again, in which case it will show up on the MRI. That said, I was not stupid. I ran for 8 minutes on grass at a very easy pace. So far, so good. Ironically, there was an article in 220 magazine this month where a reader was asking about pain on the outside of the foot. The two main culprits listed were the two things that seem to be my potential nemesis, peroneal tendon weakness or pressure on the cuboid and fifth metatarsal. The plan is to get myself some new footwear and do some small amounts of running and see how things go. In the meantime, more biking.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
My Olympics
I am tired and emotional. Not because of the hours of training that I have been putting in over the last fortnight but because the Olympics is over. Added to that I had to go into work this morning and the world did seem a good deal more monochrome than it was just a few days ago. I have had a great Olympics and I have probably managed to see more events than most. I try to be optimistic but I do have a tendency to lapse into pessimism and like many people I was holding my breath during the opening ceremony and asking if we, as a nation, could pull it off and show the world how well we could do things. The answer was an emphatic 'yes.' I know that it has been said many times but there are a few things that really made this games from my perspective.
The Gamesmakers. They were so positive, friendly and helpful. I did not see one Gamesmaker copping a strop or not being bothered to help. Their friendly enthusiasm was the heartbeat of the Games in my opinion. My one BIG regret is that I did not volunteer myself. Next time. ;-)
The Army and Police. They got so involved with the spectators and were so professional and efficient, as you would expect, but I think that this was a massive PR boost for them. In all the venues that we went to we were through security and into the venue within minutes. I for one, felt significantly more reassured knowing that they were responsible for our safety.
The Transport System. This was obviously going to come under major scrutiny during the Games, but what a success. Everything had been thought through, from the website, signage en route, shuttle buses, gamesmakers to point you in the right direction. It was a complete triumph. I'm sure that it also had a lot to do with people staying at home and working, companies doing night deliveries etc to alleviate the congestion but even so, the tube and rail system was very slick and added to the Olympic experience. It had other benefits; it encouraged people to talk to one another, have some banter and get along. Exactly what should happen during an event like this.
The Olympic Stadium
I had applied for but not been allocated any athletics tickets in the first ballot, but as the Games approached I spent more and more time on the ticket website to try to get something. I could see that the ticket allocations were changing hourly at one point and my perseverence paid off. With 10 days to go until the opening ceremony, up popped 2 tickets at a reasonable price for the morning athletics session, the day after the 100 metres final. We would get to see the qualifying for the women's 1500 metres and men's 800 metres as well as the men's discus and women's shot. We ended up staying on in the evening to watch the action in the Park Live site. We finished off by staying until late watching the Men's 400 metres Hurdles and flat races. The food and drink was pricey but no more so than you would find at other live events. The park was heaving as I believe it was one of the few days when the athletics, swimming and cycling was on.
Women's Mountain Bike Race- Hadleigh Farm, Essex
It was Wheezy Junior who got us into this event, as his Primary School had applied for and been given 9 tickets for it. They had held a writing competition amoungst the pupils in order to win a place which Wheezy Junior had won. Great, but his PE teacher who was taking them needed another adult to take the group as no other members of staff apparently wanted to go. It just so happens that her son had just done this year's Outlaw Triathlon and Wheezy Junior had told her that I had done the odd triathlon or two which we had chatted about, and being a teacher myself and CRB checked etc, she asked if I would like to help take the kids. I thought about it for about a nano-second before saying that I would love to. Again, the trip up was very easy, going through London on the District Line before catching a train to Leigh-on-Sea from Fenchurch Street and then catching a shuttle bus to Hadleigh Farm. The weather was gorgeous and the view from Hadleigh Farm across the Thames Esturary was breathtaking. The nice thing was that the train stopped at West Ham Station and passed by the Olympic Park so there was a really good feeling of connection to the main Olympic site which the kids absolutely loved.
If I am honest I don't think I was expecting very much. A farm in Essex? It hardly conjours up images of the Olympic ideal, but again, I could not have been more wrong. The whole site was amazing with great views and the course had lots of different elements that spectators could watch the riders tackle. There was a big screen in to watch the race develop although we did not need to use it as the great thing about the race was how close we got to the riders and by standing at some of the more technical or uphill sections you got a great view of them. One of our children managed to retrieve a bidon which had been discarded by a Swiss rider. It made his day. We moved around every lap to a different viewpoint and the kids loved taking photographs of the riders and cheering them all on. At the end of the race we watched the medal ceremony take place followed by a parachute drop by the RAF Falcons. A great end to a perfect day.
The Gamesmakers. They were so positive, friendly and helpful. I did not see one Gamesmaker copping a strop or not being bothered to help. Their friendly enthusiasm was the heartbeat of the Games in my opinion. My one BIG regret is that I did not volunteer myself. Next time. ;-)
The Army and Police. They got so involved with the spectators and were so professional and efficient, as you would expect, but I think that this was a massive PR boost for them. In all the venues that we went to we were through security and into the venue within minutes. I for one, felt significantly more reassured knowing that they were responsible for our safety.
The Transport System. This was obviously going to come under major scrutiny during the Games, but what a success. Everything had been thought through, from the website, signage en route, shuttle buses, gamesmakers to point you in the right direction. It was a complete triumph. I'm sure that it also had a lot to do with people staying at home and working, companies doing night deliveries etc to alleviate the congestion but even so, the tube and rail system was very slick and added to the Olympic experience. It had other benefits; it encouraged people to talk to one another, have some banter and get along. Exactly what should happen during an event like this.
So we had gone to the time trial and road races on the first weekend, but what about after that? Well, the next week was pretty much spent either on the sofa in tears as we won more medals (I am getting very soft in my old age) or on my bike getting some fitness back. More on that in a bit.
The Olympic Stadium
I had applied for but not been allocated any athletics tickets in the first ballot, but as the Games approached I spent more and more time on the ticket website to try to get something. I could see that the ticket allocations were changing hourly at one point and my perseverence paid off. With 10 days to go until the opening ceremony, up popped 2 tickets at a reasonable price for the morning athletics session, the day after the 100 metres final. We would get to see the qualifying for the women's 1500 metres and men's 800 metres as well as the men's discus and women's shot. We ended up staying on in the evening to watch the action in the Park Live site. We finished off by staying until late watching the Men's 400 metres Hurdles and flat races. The food and drink was pricey but no more so than you would find at other live events. The park was heaving as I believe it was one of the few days when the athletics, swimming and cycling was on.
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| Zak Purchase and Mark Hunter at the Park Live site. |
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| A stunning Stadium. |
Sprint Canoeing at Eton Dorney
These were the tickets that I had been allocated during the ballot. Up until a week before there were still plenty of tickets available for this event and mum and dad had been able to get some for the same session a few months before which meant that we were able to travel up together. Again, the transport was really well organised with a fast train taking us to Windsor and then dozens of shuttle buses transferring us to Windsor racecourse where we had a 20 minute walk to the venue. It was very hot day, probably the hottest of the fortnight.
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| Packed stands at Eton Dorney |
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| The noisiest supporters |
On the day we were there we saw the 200 metres heats, which were obviously very short events but we were well placed being right on the start line and opposite the big screen so that we could watch the entire race. As usual the loudest cheers were reserved for the GB paddlers (Mckeever, Schofield and Heath and Jess Walker) and the underdogs. There was one C1 paddler from Uganda who really struggled docking his canoe into the start gate who looked quite wobbly and was dead last in both his heats. He got the loudest cheer when he eventually crossed the finish line. They padded out the event with loud music and entertainment between the races including the bongo-cam which appealed to my childish sense of humour. It was a really great event and it was good to see a future GB gold medallist in action. My one and only criticism was that the first heats did not have any form of elimination so all six paddlers went through which meant that a few paddlers didn't try very hard and it seemed merely a warm up, although to be fair Ed Mckeever set an Olympic record in the first round which if I recall correctly was not broken for the rest of the meet.
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| Heath and Schofield (5) first round on their way to a Bronze medal |
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| Muppets |
It was Wheezy Junior who got us into this event, as his Primary School had applied for and been given 9 tickets for it. They had held a writing competition amoungst the pupils in order to win a place which Wheezy Junior had won. Great, but his PE teacher who was taking them needed another adult to take the group as no other members of staff apparently wanted to go. It just so happens that her son had just done this year's Outlaw Triathlon and Wheezy Junior had told her that I had done the odd triathlon or two which we had chatted about, and being a teacher myself and CRB checked etc, she asked if I would like to help take the kids. I thought about it for about a nano-second before saying that I would love to. Again, the trip up was very easy, going through London on the District Line before catching a train to Leigh-on-Sea from Fenchurch Street and then catching a shuttle bus to Hadleigh Farm. The weather was gorgeous and the view from Hadleigh Farm across the Thames Esturary was breathtaking. The nice thing was that the train stopped at West Ham Station and passed by the Olympic Park so there was a really good feeling of connection to the main Olympic site which the kids absolutely loved.
If I am honest I don't think I was expecting very much. A farm in Essex? It hardly conjours up images of the Olympic ideal, but again, I could not have been more wrong. The whole site was amazing with great views and the course had lots of different elements that spectators could watch the riders tackle. There was a big screen in to watch the race develop although we did not need to use it as the great thing about the race was how close we got to the riders and by standing at some of the more technical or uphill sections you got a great view of them. One of our children managed to retrieve a bidon which had been discarded by a Swiss rider. It made his day. We moved around every lap to a different viewpoint and the kids loved taking photographs of the riders and cheering them all on. At the end of the race we watched the medal ceremony take place followed by a parachute drop by the RAF Falcons. A great end to a perfect day.
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| A stunning day at Hadleigh Farm |
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| Annie Last on her last lap (see what I did there?) |
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| Some of the back markers had to dismount for the more technical sections at the end. It was a tough course. |
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| The medal ceremony |
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| Julie Bresett on her way to the Gold Medal. |
Inspiring a Generation?
This has been the well publicised strap line to these Olympics. It seems to have worked, at the moment at least. Wheezy Junior wants an aero-helmet (seriously) and wants to join Kingston Phoenix with me on the proviso that I buy him an expensive road bike. At the pool this weekend, the day after Tom Daley won his bronze medal, there must have been 30 kids either throwing themselves off of the 3 metre high board (including Wheezy Junior for the first time) and diving into the deep end of the pool. On my ride last weekend, as I made my way up Boxhill for the umpteenth time I was greeted by a sight I had not seen before. It was raining and there were 10 or so riders huddling under trees to take shelter. You don't see this often; if it's raining you're going to get wet and most riders just crack on. I guess these guys were relatively new to the sport, maybe encouraged to ride by the Wiggo effect. I think that's great and I hope that it is not a temporary effect but a genuine change in approach. Hopefully, some of them will find their way into a club or riding group. The trick is going to be to get those people who have not had a previously good experience of sport, single parents who might struggle to find time, the disadvanaged, the unemployed. How do we find a way to help those people and their children enjoy sport in the future? That will be the real challenge.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
London Olympic Time Trial
Back on the Hampton Court Way to see history being made. What a day. Just a great atmosphere. So pleased to have been there.
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| Ready and waiting |
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| Armstrong on her way to Gold |
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| Menchov (I think) |
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| Phillipe Gilbert |
Monday, 30 July 2012
On and off track
Training got back on track last week and was then promptly derailled. I've been sticking to my 3 bikes, a swim and a paddle, and particularly on the bike I was starting to feel a little like my old self. This was confirmed on wednesday night when I cycled down to Dorking for another Kingston Phoenix evening 10. My first two 10s of the year had been dire but Wednesday was a float night and I ended up with a long 25, which in the circumstances I was really pleased with. Simon was starting off, 30 seconds behind me so although I knew that he would overtake me at some point I was hoping to hold him off until the turn at Beare Greene. With 150 metres to go to the roundabout he went past; if I'd had a stick to put through his front wheel I would have used it; the joys of friendly rivalry. ;-) He didn't pull out too much ahead initially but there are a couple of slightly sharper hills at about 8 miles and he put some more distance between us. I finished strongly and felt that I had paced it well overall. The ride to the start and back home gave me a useful 30 mile training ride and I had a good gawp at the BMC, Rabobank and USA team vans that I saw at the Burford Bridge Hotel at the bottom of Box Hill on the way back. I just need to keep my power moving up and my weight moving down; simples.
I was derailled later that evening when a nice snotty cold developed. I was able to go for a very gentle swim on Thursday, just doing some easy drills and technique work but I had to scrub my scheduled rides over the weekend. I feel a bit better today so will aim to do an easy hour this evening and see how I go.
That meant that on saturday and sunday we were able to catch the Olympic cycle road races. With Simon's family we headed to the A24 in Leatherhead, a familiar part of my cycling routes and watched the first 4 laps of the men's race, before my 2 started fighting with their foam hands. It's amazing how children can turn almost anything into weaponry.
It was a great atmosphere up there and I sincerely hope it helps to change people's attitudes towards cycling and cyclists. Only time will tell regarding the legacy of that one but by no means was it all hardcore cycling fans cheering the team on. After watching TeamGB drag the rest of the peloton around for 5 laps we walked back to Simon's house for a barbie and to watch the rest of the race on the tv. It was so strange watching so many familiar places on there as they raced back to London. "Oh look, I lived there." "Oh look, mum and dad got married in that church." "Oh look, I worked in that building." And so it went on.... I blogged last time about how exotic previous Olympic venues had looked, however I have to say that Surrey looked absolutely stunning on the tv.
The next day, after doing my fair share of man jobs, we bundled into the car as the ladies race came off of Box Hill and drove down to Hampton Court Way to see them head back into London. While there had been lots of attacks there had been no significant breaks and it was really exciting to see Lizzie Armitstead in the breakaway some 20 minutes later and they were working well together to make it count. As soon as the peloton had gone we were back in the car to watch the finish at home with a cup of tea and watch her get GB's first medal f the Games. WAY. TOO. COOL. It was a most civilised way of watching the Olympics. Shame about the weather, but hey, it is Britain afterall.
The best news for me is that next week is my first appointment with the muscular skeletal clinic to start investigating my foot injury properly. I sincerely hope that I may be given the green light to start doing some gentle running and to finally find out what's going on in there. At the weekend I also have to learn how to pddle an open canoe. That could be rather interesting.
I was derailled later that evening when a nice snotty cold developed. I was able to go for a very gentle swim on Thursday, just doing some easy drills and technique work but I had to scrub my scheduled rides over the weekend. I feel a bit better today so will aim to do an easy hour this evening and see how I go.
That meant that on saturday and sunday we were able to catch the Olympic cycle road races. With Simon's family we headed to the A24 in Leatherhead, a familiar part of my cycling routes and watched the first 4 laps of the men's race, before my 2 started fighting with their foam hands. It's amazing how children can turn almost anything into weaponry.
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| big crowds on the A24 |
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| Chalking up some support for Cav and the boys |
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| Show us those hands. |
The next day, after doing my fair share of man jobs, we bundled into the car as the ladies race came off of Box Hill and drove down to Hampton Court Way to see them head back into London. While there had been lots of attacks there had been no significant breaks and it was really exciting to see Lizzie Armitstead in the breakaway some 20 minutes later and they were working well together to make it count. As soon as the peloton had gone we were back in the car to watch the finish at home with a cup of tea and watch her get GB's first medal f the Games. WAY. TOO. COOL. It was a most civilised way of watching the Olympics. Shame about the weather, but hey, it is Britain afterall.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
The Olympics are coming to town
I absolutely love the Olympics. It's probably the event that has kept me interested in sport all these years. It's no coincidence that at the same time that Coe and Ovett were thrashing it out around the race tracks of the world was also the first time my dad took me down to Ranelagh Harriers to begin running. I wasn't very good, although I flirted with mid-pack mediocrity for a while. However, I had a poster of Seb Coe on my bedroom wall and wanted to be an 800 metre runner like him. The important thing was I enjoyed running, I enjoyed spinning round Richmond Park with the adult and junior members of the club and I enjoyed the racing. That experience set me up for life and I still enjoy all of those things which have helped me to enjoy a heatlthy and active lifestyle. I have Seb Coe and more importantly, my Dad to thank for that.
The Olympics have always been 'another world' kind of experience, just coming through my television set showing seemingly imposible feats of athletic endeavour and endurance from an exotic foreign location. I remember faintly the 1980 Moscow Olympics but it was as a 13 year old watching the LA games that remain vividly in my mind, and they will always be covered with a Spandau Ballet soundtrack.
As well as Coe, Cram, Ovett and Thompson there are many other names that remain indelibly etched on my mind; Mary-Lou Retton, Malcolm Cooper, Mary Decker, Ed Moses, Carl Lewis, Zola Budd, Tessa Sanderson. (How can anyone forget Mitch Gaylord III, inventor of 'The Gaylord'? Your avergae 13 year old boy would remember that one fairly easily). The list goes on.
But now, 'The greatest show on Earth' is in my backyard, literally in my backyard, and I can't quite get my head around it. My one hour bike loop from my house, which I have been riding regulalry for the last 4 or 5 years takes in about 10 kilometers on the men's and women's time trial course as well as a couple of kilometres of the road race. I went out for a gentle spin last might after doing a lumpy 60 miles on Sunday and more barriers, signage and Olympic stuff is going up everytime. Speaking of that 60 miles, I went out with Simon and we hit most of the hills in Surrey, which the road race will be going nowhere near, but we finished off with our usual climb up Boxhill. Even on a busy Sunday I would probably see no more than 2 or 3 other riders, but on this morning it was mental. The Olympics and the Wiggins effect are really kicking in and as we climbed there must have been 40-50 riders going up with us with that again at the top having a coffee. There was even another bloke on a Van Nic. It was really good to see.
The next day I took Wheezy Junior to Boxhill to have a look. We parked at the bottom near Ryker's cafe and walked up to the top and had a look at the Olympic rings. It's hard to believe that during this weekend millions of people will be watching this little patch of Surrey that I know so well from working nearby, commuting to and from and living in. All through Cobham, Oxshott and Esher they've been sprucing, tidying and painting in preparation for the world to descend. It's not exactly an untidy place anyway but the effort that's gone into putting on a good event is plain to see.
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| Decorated bicycles along the road and tt routes |
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| Wheezy junior on top of Box Hill. |
The next day, we had the Torch relay go past the end of or road. It was started by James Cracknell, a former Kingston Grammar schoolboy and where he started his rowing career. Thousands of people turned out to watch it go past and got the area buzzing.
We made an Olympic day of it, so after watching the torch go through we hopped onto the bus to see Wenlock the mascot in John Lewis. I've never quite understood thewhole mascot thing until now. Yes, you can argue it's just a method of commercialisation to help sell merchandise but I have to say that it's really helped my two understand a bit more about the Olympics. We bought them a cuddly Wenlock and Mandeville and the checkout lady stated "What funny looking aliens." This prompted little wheezy to then give her a long lecture on who they were and why they were called Wenlock and Mandeville. Not bad for a 6 year old.
We've been lucky enough to get tickets to a few events as well as watching the road races and time trials. Already, Wheezy Junior has stated thst he wants 'a proper racing bike like Bradley Wiggins'. That's fine. As long as I can borrow it now and again.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Training with Strava
The last couple of weeks have gone pretty well with me getting back to some regular, if unspectacular training. I'm sticking to my 3 bikes per week, a swim and a paddle. On the bike I have started to use the Strava website and app to record and log my rides. I had heard of this software before but up until now I had no way of recording and uploading my rides. The segments that each ride can be split into means that I can push hard to move further up the league tables for each segment. It's good fun but more importantly it's already making me work harder on rides. I have always been rather one paced on the bike and then that's meant that when I have pushed harder in races it has caused me to suffer later on in the race. I'll need to be careful that I do not turn every ride into an eyeballs out effort, but it's brought a new dimension to my cycling that I can only see helping me. I have yet to become a 'King of the Mountain' but currently I'm lying in second in one segment near home. You'd have thought I'd won an Olympic medal I was so pleased. Bike fitness is returning well as a result and I guess that the commuting that I have done on the bike has kept some background fitness. I can now ride rolling hills with a bit more gusto and my foot is letting me push a bigger gear. When the hills kick up to a steeper gradient then that reveals my deeper lack of fitness and 5kgs excess baggage around my middle, but I'm getting there.
I've tried to keep the swimming fairly relaxed and stress free, with me focussing on drills and 100 metre reps off 2.15 mins. This is a long way down on where I should be but I already feel better for it, despite having terrible pool sniffles for a few days after. Short reps and a long rest seems to be working well and I'll stick with it for a while. I have no reason to hit the open water at the moment but Simon's got a tri at the end of the season so I when I feel that have a bit more endurance then I'll get along to Heron Lake for some long ones.
I stated a few posts ago that I had reached a stalemate in the Ranger. That's no longer true and since then I have spent a lot of time swimming and I have flat-lined very badly. I wish I could say that I had improved significantly but I honestly have not and it's going to take a lot more hours before I am going to be comfortable in the Ranger. I think it's mainly a technical / core strength issue rather than anything else but sometimes I just know I'm going in, so I need a few more positive paddles to get my head in the right place. The fact that the river's been up on red boards for the last few weeks has not helped. The Hampton Court swim was cancelled last weekend because of this so I did not get the opportunity to be a safety kayaker, which I had been looking forward to. Nevermind, next time.
Thoughts are turning to next season, and as ever it's hinging around what my foot will let me do and the diagnosis that I hope is coming soon. A sub 3 marathon is still top of the list and I'm working on Mrs Wheezy to do something a bit more exciting afterwards. Watch this space.
I've tried to keep the swimming fairly relaxed and stress free, with me focussing on drills and 100 metre reps off 2.15 mins. This is a long way down on where I should be but I already feel better for it, despite having terrible pool sniffles for a few days after. Short reps and a long rest seems to be working well and I'll stick with it for a while. I have no reason to hit the open water at the moment but Simon's got a tri at the end of the season so I when I feel that have a bit more endurance then I'll get along to Heron Lake for some long ones.
I stated a few posts ago that I had reached a stalemate in the Ranger. That's no longer true and since then I have spent a lot of time swimming and I have flat-lined very badly. I wish I could say that I had improved significantly but I honestly have not and it's going to take a lot more hours before I am going to be comfortable in the Ranger. I think it's mainly a technical / core strength issue rather than anything else but sometimes I just know I'm going in, so I need a few more positive paddles to get my head in the right place. The fact that the river's been up on red boards for the last few weeks has not helped. The Hampton Court swim was cancelled last weekend because of this so I did not get the opportunity to be a safety kayaker, which I had been looking forward to. Nevermind, next time.
Thoughts are turning to next season, and as ever it's hinging around what my foot will let me do and the diagnosis that I hope is coming soon. A sub 3 marathon is still top of the list and I'm working on Mrs Wheezy to do something a bit more exciting afterwards. Watch this space.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
An interesting evening on the A24
Another 10 mile tt on the G10/42 course. I knew that I would be slow but I also knew that I needed to do some faster cycling and a 10 mile tt is a perfect way of flooding your muscles with lactic acid. It took me over an hour to get there due to a tree coming down and a motorist going off the road so the start was delayed. I did a quick warm up which tok in about 200 metres of the A24, which this course runs on only to hear an enormous bang. Looked around and there was a beehive box bouncing along the road next to me, which had somehow fallen out of a trailer as the car towing it went past. Missed me by inches. It got my heart rate up at any rate.
After my last tt which saw me put in a personal worst performance I decided to not go out as hard as I usually do as I simply do not have the stamina, endurance or lactic threshold to hit it that hard. After 3 miles we went through the most enormos cloudburst, complete with thunder and lightning; it wasn't exactly a float night and I got really cold as a result. Felt a bit better on the way home and though I was passed by a couple of Kingston Wheelers I was catching the second one up as I went up the final climb. I think I did a mid 27, so my worst time on that course and my second worst time ever. But there were two positives. My times are moving in the right direction and I had fun, which is why I do it.
After my last tt which saw me put in a personal worst performance I decided to not go out as hard as I usually do as I simply do not have the stamina, endurance or lactic threshold to hit it that hard. After 3 miles we went through the most enormos cloudburst, complete with thunder and lightning; it wasn't exactly a float night and I got really cold as a result. Felt a bit better on the way home and though I was passed by a couple of Kingston Wheelers I was catching the second one up as I went up the final climb. I think I did a mid 27, so my worst time on that course and my second worst time ever. But there were two positives. My times are moving in the right direction and I had fun, which is why I do it.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Starting to enjoy myself
In the last couple of weeks I have noticed a strange sensation beginning to stir that I have not felt for a good few months. It's the feeling of wanting to be out there, doing some focussed work and training. It's basically come about through training with friends and finding enjoyment in just being outdoors. The weather's been horrific as we all know, but when you're mostly in the Thames anyway after throwing yourself out of a K1, pouring rain hardly matters.
Allied to that I caught up with Simon at the weekend after his great performance in the Outlaw. I had been feeling pretty guilty as I was meant to have done the race with him and then when that was not going to happen I was meant to have helped him train for it, but my foot injury and my resulting slump had not seen that happen either. Simon had some really supportive words for me and spinning around Surrey on Sunday morning with him, despite the atrocious weather, has helped me to start to get back on track. A bit of perspective goes a long way.
My ambition to run a sub-3 marathon in the Spring still seems very remote however. Until I know what's wrong with my foot I am not going to run. I had another GP consultation and now I have at last been referred to a clinic that will hopefully diagnose what's going on. Touch wood, by the end of the summer. With nothing to train for I have to get some kind of structure to my week so I've decided on a few simple steps to get the ball rolling. Firstly, my long weekend bike ride. I have simply got out of the habit of getting into the Surrey Hills and a 2 to 3 hour bike ride, hitting Crocknorth, Whitedown, Ranmoor Common and Boxhill will go a very long way towards getting me some fitness back. I fully admit that watching 'Le Tour' over the last week has rekindled the desire to get back on my bike and to ride purely for the sake of it rather than training for something. That can come later. Some commute rides or evening tempo rides will hopefully provide a bit of quality to the bike work. 2 rides minimum per week, but hopefully 3. Thursday night is going to become swim night. My favourite pool stays open until 10.30pm so there really is no excuse. I have delayed and then delayed some more getting back into the pool because I have not had a tri to train for, but mostly because I was not looking forward to starting entirely from scratch again and frankly feeling pretty rubbish. I went last Thursday for the first time since July last year and the first few hundred metres were very ouchy. But gradually things started to come back and before I knew it I had a smile on my face. 15 x 100m done mostly as drills (catch up, fists, finger drag) with some full stroke in between. As I left the pool I was kicking myself; why hadn't I done this sooner?
So, 2-3 rides per week, at least 1 swim (2 if time and Mrs Wheezy allow) and 1 paddle. That sounds doable.
Onwards.
Allied to that I caught up with Simon at the weekend after his great performance in the Outlaw. I had been feeling pretty guilty as I was meant to have done the race with him and then when that was not going to happen I was meant to have helped him train for it, but my foot injury and my resulting slump had not seen that happen either. Simon had some really supportive words for me and spinning around Surrey on Sunday morning with him, despite the atrocious weather, has helped me to start to get back on track. A bit of perspective goes a long way.
My ambition to run a sub-3 marathon in the Spring still seems very remote however. Until I know what's wrong with my foot I am not going to run. I had another GP consultation and now I have at last been referred to a clinic that will hopefully diagnose what's going on. Touch wood, by the end of the summer. With nothing to train for I have to get some kind of structure to my week so I've decided on a few simple steps to get the ball rolling. Firstly, my long weekend bike ride. I have simply got out of the habit of getting into the Surrey Hills and a 2 to 3 hour bike ride, hitting Crocknorth, Whitedown, Ranmoor Common and Boxhill will go a very long way towards getting me some fitness back. I fully admit that watching 'Le Tour' over the last week has rekindled the desire to get back on my bike and to ride purely for the sake of it rather than training for something. That can come later. Some commute rides or evening tempo rides will hopefully provide a bit of quality to the bike work. 2 rides minimum per week, but hopefully 3. Thursday night is going to become swim night. My favourite pool stays open until 10.30pm so there really is no excuse. I have delayed and then delayed some more getting back into the pool because I have not had a tri to train for, but mostly because I was not looking forward to starting entirely from scratch again and frankly feeling pretty rubbish. I went last Thursday for the first time since July last year and the first few hundred metres were very ouchy. But gradually things started to come back and before I knew it I had a smile on my face. 15 x 100m done mostly as drills (catch up, fists, finger drag) with some full stroke in between. As I left the pool I was kicking myself; why hadn't I done this sooner?
So, 2-3 rides per week, at least 1 swim (2 if time and Mrs Wheezy allow) and 1 paddle. That sounds doable.
Onwards.
Monday, 2 July 2012
Fulfilling the prophecy
If you think to yourself "I'm going to capsize" the chances are that you will. As I pushed away from the jetty early yesterday morning that was all that I was thinking to myself. I had gone early in the hope that I would be on my own because the day before I had had a bad time in the Ranger, capsizing twice and not settling down at all. So to turn up at the Royal and see Tim Brabants, the current K1 1000m metre Olympic Champion going through his paces was a tad off putting. The contrast between an athlete absolutely at the top of his game and me was particularly stark, especially when I decided to show him how well I could roll a boat and end up upside down in the water, sucking goose poo through my teeth like a blue whale eats plankton. I was not sure that he had seen how well I could capsize so I decided to do it again some 5 metres later. Boy, I was on fire. I've got this capsize thing absolutely nailed.
So last week I paddled 5 times, which for me is an all time record in consistency. That fact that I got consistently worse as the week progressed is vexing. I'm trying to get a handle on what I am doing wrong. It maybe core strength but I actually think that's one thing that I've got a lot of. I think that I have to get my legs cycling more and use my hips while keeping them relaxed. It might be that I have to increase my leg drive in order to become more stable because I'm too tense which means that a roll to one side is not conteracted with a fluid roll to the other. I don't know. Mybe it's just a lot more time in the boat is required.
In other good news, Simon did the Outlaw Triathlon yesterday and took an hour off of his time from the Forestman last year, coming home in 11:15hrs. A great performance and I am convinced that if he sticks together a solid block of training he can get down to sub 10:30. I hope that at some time in the near future I can join him.
So last week I paddled 5 times, which for me is an all time record in consistency. That fact that I got consistently worse as the week progressed is vexing. I'm trying to get a handle on what I am doing wrong. It maybe core strength but I actually think that's one thing that I've got a lot of. I think that I have to get my legs cycling more and use my hips while keeping them relaxed. It might be that I have to increase my leg drive in order to become more stable because I'm too tense which means that a roll to one side is not conteracted with a fluid roll to the other. I don't know. Mybe it's just a lot more time in the boat is required.
In other good news, Simon did the Outlaw Triathlon yesterday and took an hour off of his time from the Forestman last year, coming home in 11:15hrs. A great performance and I am convinced that if he sticks together a solid block of training he can get down to sub 10:30. I hope that at some time in the near future I can join him.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Moving the goalposts again
My foot injury continues to play havoc with my training and this season is now officially a write-off. It's settled down in that I can walk comfortably but if I have to stand on it for any length of time it soon starts to nag away. I have been doing 3 commutes per week on the Van Nic with one of them being my 22 mile route home via Boxhill to get me out on a 'proper' ride. I have to be careful though. I have found out that trying to push any form of larger gear gets my foot grumbling again. Gentle spinning is allowed but anything racey is a no-no. I'm still using RICE on it, but I honestly don't think it's doing any good at all, but at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something. I can feel my fitness ebbing away and when this foot problem is resolved it's going to be a long climb back. There's another GP's appointment in the pipeline and then hopefully some treatment.
In the meantime I've been getting to grips with the Ranger. We've kind of reached a stalemate. I'm not good enough to paddle it properly and it's not tippy enough to throw me in the water, although I've had quite a few close calls. Tonight I will be out for my 3rd paddle this week in it. On Wednesday I even went out onto the open river and before I knew it I was in the middle of the Thames. It was a stunning sunset over Teddington and I just wish I had had the stability to take a picture on my camera phone but as it was deep in my BA pocket I thought better about getting it out.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
So you want to do the DW? part 3
6. A Simple Training Plan
'Failing to plan is planning to fail.' So goes the simple maxim but how do you put together a training plan that will get you to the start of the DW in good enough shape to finish the event? Once again, I am writing this post from the perspective of a crew with little paddling experience. I am sure that knarly, more experienced racing paddlers will approach it in a very different way to what I might describe here, but I hope that you find the folowing post useful to give you a starting point. Before you start, it's worth considering the following points;
i. How much time you have until the race
There have been crews who have hopped into a kayak for the first time a few months before the DW and completed the event, however this is more than likely the exception and not the norm. It's worth considering the experience of Ben Hunt-Davis who jumped into a kayak for the first time some 8 weeks before this year's DW. A rowing gold medal winning Olympian, you would have thought that someone with his pedigree would be able to crash train his way to a DW finish. His blog on his failure to do so makes interesting reading for us mere MAMIL mortals. Most people I have spoken to, and the information I have read state that to do the event justice you should give yourself a full year to train. Jamie and I did it in 9 months, it took Adam and I 2 years. This sounds about right. A full year of training will get you to the startline, 2 years will more than likely get you to the finish line.
ii. Your experience / ability / fitness level
It stands to reason, but the harder you find it to stay upright in a boat or the lower the fitness level that you are starting from, the longer it is probably going to take you to get race ready. Again, my own anecdotal evidence bears this out. Jamie and I were both playing different sports regularly and had higher than average fitness levels for people our age. We got to grips with a stable boat fairly quickly and therefore were just about able to complete the race in 9 months. Adam had a bigger hill to climb. At 17 stone and having done no sport to speak of since leaving school it was always going to take him longer, but 2 years later and 3 stone lighter he was paddling under Westminster Bridge. You just need to be honest with yourself at the outset. Look at it as a long term goal if needs be.
iii. Your goal for the race
Do you intend to finish or are you racing for a time? I would argue that paddling to finish the event is easier than going for a specific time. (I'm not talking about trying to catch the tide at Teddington but actually racing to beat a finishing time that you have set) It may well be that you goals change as your training develops, which is fine, but if you are a novice kayaker I would think it best to initially set out on this journey with the intention of finishing. Time goals can come later. Anthony Murr mentioned it and it's worth repeating again that if doing the Senior Doubles, that you and your partner's goals are in-line. If one is going for sub 20 and the other just wants to finish, then probably it will end in tears way before you reach the startline at Devizes.
iv. How much time you have available to train
It's obviously really important to get your family and loved ones on board (metaphorically speaking; the kayak will be rather heavy otherwise). Whichever way you cut it, the race is a commitment. Like most of these things it's not the race so much but the hours of training beforehand that's the real endurance event. Again, be honest with yourself. There's not much point planning on doing 5 paddles per week if it's completely unrealistic and does not fit in with your other commitments and lifestyle.
Let's assume again that we're 1 year out from the DW. Our plan was to aim to paddle 3 times a week. If we achieved that, then that was a very good week. Our average was just under 2 paddles per week and often due to family stuff it became 1 paddle per week (exclusively training in a K2 therefore having to rely on each other to be there when we could have been in a K1 and paddling a lot more frequently). As I also stated in a previous post, making that first 5-6 months being technique focussed, maybe practising drills and getting coaching to make your technique as efficient as possible would be the way that I would now approach it. An hour's paddle maximum, 3 times per week would be ample and with the spring and long summer months it gives you the opportunity to capsize to your heart's content.
As we moved into the autumn we aimed to keep to 3 paddles per week that looked something like this;
Tuesday; Interval paddle 60-90 mins. Warm up followed by 4x5mins 3 mins rec / or 8x2mins 2mins rec / 3x10mins 5mins rec.
Thursday; 45min-60min tempo paddle. Faster than DW effort. We usually tacked on a run or core session afterwards.
weekend; long paddle 90-120mins DW effort.
This was an 'ideal' week and formed the bulk of Adam's and my training until January.
Once we got to January the focus was much more on ensuring that we got our long paddle in and if we could only fit a single paddle into any one week then it was the long paddle that was done. I have blogged before about what constitutes a long paddle but our weekly long paddle was usually 2-2.5 hours with the occasional 3 hour paddle. Once we got into January the aim was to get ourselves into the state where we would be able to complete a 6-8 hour paddle 2 to 3 weeks out from the DW. The long paddles were used to test food and drink, practice portaging and generally get us rehearsing DW techniques.
7. Interval training; a good idea?
I personally enjoyed the interval sessions as they provided a welcome change from bashing out the long miles and gave us more of an aerobic workout. I didn't use a heart rate monitor but I doubt very much that I went anaerobic more than a few times. If you look at the sessions written in Greenaway's book many of the weekly paddles are based around intervals and for a novice crew I am not sure that that's the best way to go. If you are a 24hr plus crew you are simply not going to be paddling at anywhere near that intensity and therefore paddling a lot like that, particularly if your technique is poor may do more harm than good. Energy efficient technique over raw speed everytime. I'm not saying don't do it; at the end of the day the training's also got to be fun or it will be very hard to stay motivated, but if in doubt, DW effort.
8.Waterside and Thameside Series; a good idea?
These series of races take place in the winter and early spring before the DW and are generally regarded as an excellent warm up before taking on the DW, mainly because they take place on parts of the DW course. This will give you the opportunity to practice portaging and familiarise yourself with a part of the course. In particular, the Waterside D, which takes place over the first 35 miles of the DW from Devizes to Newbury is generally regarded as the best one to do. Most crews use this as their last long training paddle and gauge their DW pace from it. But a slight word of caution. These are very competitive and busy events. The portages can get stupidly busy as is the canal at times. This is nothing like the Senior Doubles DW which sees crews leaving individually, spaced out over a much grreater length of time. Therefore, it might be better for you to paddle the D route or do something similar to what we did this year, on your own or with your clubmates rather than entering these races.
9. Other training
I have already mentioned core work which is time very well spent. There are 2 other things that might be worth doing;
i. Running for weight loss. Use running (or cycling, swimming, line dancing, whatever floats your boat) to promote weight loss. The more kilos you can lose the easier it will be to move the boat through the water and the easier you will find it to get in and out of the boat. You will also be running or walking with the boat 70 times during the DW ( I think somebody worked out that you will be carrying the boat for around 5 miles), therefore getting used to running and walking is a good idea.
ii. Gym work. This can supplement the core work and will be useful for helping you get in and out of the boat, particularly if the water levels are low and the portages are high. However, I would ALWAYS go for a paddle if I had a choice.
'Failing to plan is planning to fail.' So goes the simple maxim but how do you put together a training plan that will get you to the start of the DW in good enough shape to finish the event? Once again, I am writing this post from the perspective of a crew with little paddling experience. I am sure that knarly, more experienced racing paddlers will approach it in a very different way to what I might describe here, but I hope that you find the folowing post useful to give you a starting point. Before you start, it's worth considering the following points;
i. How much time you have until the race
There have been crews who have hopped into a kayak for the first time a few months before the DW and completed the event, however this is more than likely the exception and not the norm. It's worth considering the experience of Ben Hunt-Davis who jumped into a kayak for the first time some 8 weeks before this year's DW. A rowing gold medal winning Olympian, you would have thought that someone with his pedigree would be able to crash train his way to a DW finish. His blog on his failure to do so makes interesting reading for us mere MAMIL mortals. Most people I have spoken to, and the information I have read state that to do the event justice you should give yourself a full year to train. Jamie and I did it in 9 months, it took Adam and I 2 years. This sounds about right. A full year of training will get you to the startline, 2 years will more than likely get you to the finish line.
ii. Your experience / ability / fitness level
It stands to reason, but the harder you find it to stay upright in a boat or the lower the fitness level that you are starting from, the longer it is probably going to take you to get race ready. Again, my own anecdotal evidence bears this out. Jamie and I were both playing different sports regularly and had higher than average fitness levels for people our age. We got to grips with a stable boat fairly quickly and therefore were just about able to complete the race in 9 months. Adam had a bigger hill to climb. At 17 stone and having done no sport to speak of since leaving school it was always going to take him longer, but 2 years later and 3 stone lighter he was paddling under Westminster Bridge. You just need to be honest with yourself at the outset. Look at it as a long term goal if needs be.
iii. Your goal for the race
Do you intend to finish or are you racing for a time? I would argue that paddling to finish the event is easier than going for a specific time. (I'm not talking about trying to catch the tide at Teddington but actually racing to beat a finishing time that you have set) It may well be that you goals change as your training develops, which is fine, but if you are a novice kayaker I would think it best to initially set out on this journey with the intention of finishing. Time goals can come later. Anthony Murr mentioned it and it's worth repeating again that if doing the Senior Doubles, that you and your partner's goals are in-line. If one is going for sub 20 and the other just wants to finish, then probably it will end in tears way before you reach the startline at Devizes.
iv. How much time you have available to train
It's obviously really important to get your family and loved ones on board (metaphorically speaking; the kayak will be rather heavy otherwise). Whichever way you cut it, the race is a commitment. Like most of these things it's not the race so much but the hours of training beforehand that's the real endurance event. Again, be honest with yourself. There's not much point planning on doing 5 paddles per week if it's completely unrealistic and does not fit in with your other commitments and lifestyle.
Let's assume again that we're 1 year out from the DW. Our plan was to aim to paddle 3 times a week. If we achieved that, then that was a very good week. Our average was just under 2 paddles per week and often due to family stuff it became 1 paddle per week (exclusively training in a K2 therefore having to rely on each other to be there when we could have been in a K1 and paddling a lot more frequently). As I also stated in a previous post, making that first 5-6 months being technique focussed, maybe practising drills and getting coaching to make your technique as efficient as possible would be the way that I would now approach it. An hour's paddle maximum, 3 times per week would be ample and with the spring and long summer months it gives you the opportunity to capsize to your heart's content.
As we moved into the autumn we aimed to keep to 3 paddles per week that looked something like this;
Tuesday; Interval paddle 60-90 mins. Warm up followed by 4x5mins 3 mins rec / or 8x2mins 2mins rec / 3x10mins 5mins rec.
Thursday; 45min-60min tempo paddle. Faster than DW effort. We usually tacked on a run or core session afterwards.
weekend; long paddle 90-120mins DW effort.
This was an 'ideal' week and formed the bulk of Adam's and my training until January.
Once we got to January the focus was much more on ensuring that we got our long paddle in and if we could only fit a single paddle into any one week then it was the long paddle that was done. I have blogged before about what constitutes a long paddle but our weekly long paddle was usually 2-2.5 hours with the occasional 3 hour paddle. Once we got into January the aim was to get ourselves into the state where we would be able to complete a 6-8 hour paddle 2 to 3 weeks out from the DW. The long paddles were used to test food and drink, practice portaging and generally get us rehearsing DW techniques.
7. Interval training; a good idea?
I personally enjoyed the interval sessions as they provided a welcome change from bashing out the long miles and gave us more of an aerobic workout. I didn't use a heart rate monitor but I doubt very much that I went anaerobic more than a few times. If you look at the sessions written in Greenaway's book many of the weekly paddles are based around intervals and for a novice crew I am not sure that that's the best way to go. If you are a 24hr plus crew you are simply not going to be paddling at anywhere near that intensity and therefore paddling a lot like that, particularly if your technique is poor may do more harm than good. Energy efficient technique over raw speed everytime. I'm not saying don't do it; at the end of the day the training's also got to be fun or it will be very hard to stay motivated, but if in doubt, DW effort.
8.Waterside and Thameside Series; a good idea?
These series of races take place in the winter and early spring before the DW and are generally regarded as an excellent warm up before taking on the DW, mainly because they take place on parts of the DW course. This will give you the opportunity to practice portaging and familiarise yourself with a part of the course. In particular, the Waterside D, which takes place over the first 35 miles of the DW from Devizes to Newbury is generally regarded as the best one to do. Most crews use this as their last long training paddle and gauge their DW pace from it. But a slight word of caution. These are very competitive and busy events. The portages can get stupidly busy as is the canal at times. This is nothing like the Senior Doubles DW which sees crews leaving individually, spaced out over a much grreater length of time. Therefore, it might be better for you to paddle the D route or do something similar to what we did this year, on your own or with your clubmates rather than entering these races.
9. Other training
I have already mentioned core work which is time very well spent. There are 2 other things that might be worth doing;
i. Running for weight loss. Use running (or cycling, swimming, line dancing, whatever floats your boat) to promote weight loss. The more kilos you can lose the easier it will be to move the boat through the water and the easier you will find it to get in and out of the boat. You will also be running or walking with the boat 70 times during the DW ( I think somebody worked out that you will be carrying the boat for around 5 miles), therefore getting used to running and walking is a good idea.
ii. Gym work. This can supplement the core work and will be useful for helping you get in and out of the boat, particularly if the water levels are low and the portages are high. However, I would ALWAYS go for a paddle if I had a choice.
Friday, 22 June 2012
So you want to do the DW? Part 2.
Some more of my thoughts for fellow MAMILs / MAWILS training for the DW.
5. Get Stable. I have found stability an odd thing to get my head around; sometimes I feel terribly twitchy in a boat, even ones that are supposedly high up the wobble factor scale. I have found that there is a simple correlation between the amount of paddling I do and the more stable I become, but other than that, if you are struggling, how do you improve your stability? Well, these are the points that have helped me;
i. Bracing. Bracing is basically a support stroke that is used to help you recover if you tip too far. Practise bracing. The more confident I was in my ability to brace the better I paddled. Practice bracing in shallow water and find out how far you can tip the boat over before capsizing.
Start stable and paddle!
iv. There are other stability exercises that you can do in the boat. E.G. sitting in the boat and do the paddling action without the paddle. I find that this helps you to think about your hip position and how this effects the boat. I am sure there are others. Again, a coach will have exercises and drill to help you.
5. Get Stable. I have found stability an odd thing to get my head around; sometimes I feel terribly twitchy in a boat, even ones that are supposedly high up the wobble factor scale. I have found that there is a simple correlation between the amount of paddling I do and the more stable I become, but other than that, if you are struggling, how do you improve your stability? Well, these are the points that have helped me;
i. Bracing. Bracing is basically a support stroke that is used to help you recover if you tip too far. Practise bracing. The more confident I was in my ability to brace the better I paddled. Practice bracing in shallow water and find out how far you can tip the boat over before capsizing.
This guy's just showing off, but you get the idea. ;-)
ii. Keep your head up. Don't look down at the boat but look up ahead or at the horizon.
iii. Start off in a stable boat* that you can handle, get your technique nailed and then gradually move to a more tippy kayak. It's more important that you can go out and paddle comfortably on the river for an hour and have a good training session than spending that hour trying to stay upright, so don't waste months trying to master a boat when you probably don't need to.
iv. There are other stability exercises that you can do in the boat. E.G. sitting in the boat and do the paddling action without the paddle. I find that this helps you to think about your hip position and how this effects the boat. I am sure there are others. Again, a coach will have exercises and drill to help you.
v. Do core exercises. You core muscles are not only essential in helping you power the boat through the water but a strong core also helps with stability. When you first start paddling you will probably find your back aching like never before; this is because your lower back, hips and hamstrings are doing an awful lot of work keeping you upright. I would advise you to do a core session or two per week, using a Swiss Ball or some other similar device of torture.
There are plenty of core exercises and videos for you to develop a simply programme. I usually did a 30 minute session twice a week. Start gently. If you have back problems, take advice.
These are the 2 main exercises I focussed on;
These are the 2 main exercises I focussed on;
* More Stable boats;
K1 - Marsport Laance or Hobby, Kirton Tor (Mid-range stability boat)
K2 - Marsport Condor, Kirton Mystere, Kirton Meister, Kirton Mirage (Mid-range stability boat)
Useful Links
Kirton kayaks
Marsport
K1 - Marsport Laance or Hobby, Kirton Tor (Mid-range stability boat)
K2 - Marsport Condor, Kirton Mystere, Kirton Meister, Kirton Mirage (Mid-range stability boat)
Useful Links
Kirton kayaks
Marsport
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
So you want to do the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race?
I have been inspired to write this post having read Antony Murr's blog over the last couple of years. Within it you will find a whole host of hints, information and generally useful stuff that will get you thinking about how to tackle 'The Canoeists' Everest' and I strongly advise you to trawl through it. At the moment Antony is writing a series of posts to help readers get to the start of the race, and having gone from numpty to (fairly) experienced paddler in the last 3 years I thought it might be useful to anyone reading this to get a relative beginner's ideas and thoughts on this fantastic event and how you might go about training for it and the problems that you may encounter. In conjunction with Jamie and Adam, I made a LOT of mistakes and the next few posts might just help you avoid them. Maybe.... ;-)
Let me point out, I am not a coach. There are many, many more experienced paddlers than I who can give you advice and tips but these are my thoughts and on reflection the things that I should have done to prepare me better for this event.
1. It's the DW.
You must call this race 'The DW.' At all times. It means that you're in the know and confuses anyone else who knows nothing about kayaking or canoeing. It also means that you have to explain the event, in detail, to anyone that asks you "What's the DW?" Alternatively, when seeking a partner for the Senior Doubles it means you can lie or simply not tell them how far it is, only letting them in on the 'Devizes to Westminster' bit at the last opportunity.
2. Technique is EVERYTHING.
I'm writing this making the assumption that you've never paddled before. Saying that you had a go at it once in Centre Parcs or with the Scouts doesn't count. You're a MAMIL/ MAWIL (and proud). Maybe you've done a 10k, marathon or something similar and therefore have a degree of fitness although not specifically canoe / kayak related. A friend in a pub mentions 'The DW' and it's got you interested and then you decide it sounds like a good idea. What next?
Ok, well let's start with an analogy. If you had decided that you were going to swim the Channel, but yet you couldn't swim, would you throw yourself into the sea and go for a 2 mile swim? No, of course you wouldn't. You would LEARN TO SWIM first. Therefore, it's really important that you LEARN TO PADDLE FIRST. How you learn is up to you but I would advise either joining a club with a coaching set-up or if you know an experienced paddler who can advise you and take you out, then do that. Either way, you want someone who can give you direct feedback on your technique and tell you how you can improve. Ultimately it will make you faster, but you will also be much less likely to retire through injury during the race. Let's say that you have given yourself a year to get ready for the DW, then I would not worry at all for the first 5 or 6 months about long paddles. Get in a boat and get your technique as good as you can get it. Go out with other (good) paddlers whenever you can and see how they paddle. You will learn a lot by doing this and probably get more efficient and faster as a result. I would advise against interval training in the boat initially. Better to focus on ingraining good technique rather than trying to move the boat fast through the water with poor technique.
I would also keep your paddles for the first few months relatively short but try to go out frequently, ideally 3 times in a week for say 30-45 minutes so that you can focus on maintaining good technique throughout the paddle. In my opinion it's better to do 3 x 30 minute paddles than 1 x 90 minute paddle. Don't worry; the long paddles will come later.
3. K1 not K2
Readers of this blog will know that I have just bought myself a K1 boat, some 3 years after I started paddling with Jamie. This is 3 years too late. We did a few K1 paddles but not many. You will develop more quickly as a paddler if you concentrate on paddling in a K1. You can develop your own technique, stability and steering. It means both of you will have to learn to steer a boat. It means that you can go out independently as a paddler as you will not have to have a partner with you. Most clubs will have club boats and they may not be pretty or fast but they will get you on the water and you can begin the process of learning good technique. Initially, for the first 3 or 4 months I would not even think about getting into a K2. You will progress much quicker in K1 boats than you would struggling in a K2. Every year there are posts on various websites for paddlers who for some reason have had to pull out through injury or illness which results in the other paddler unable to race. Being proficient in a K1 at least gives you the option of doing the 4 day race in a K1 if it should come to that.
4. Be Safe
Most of this is obvious but it's worth repeating. By joining a club you will be able to go out in a group and there's safety in numbers. At some point you will capsize so know how to do it and look after yourself. The BCU FSRT course is well worth doing in my opinion to help you manage some of the situations that you may encounter. Initially, train on a benign piece of water where you know that if you go for a swim then you can get yourself out. Wear a good fitting bouyancy aid. As you gain more experience and confidence in your ability and handling a kayak then is the time to try water where you are more likely to encounter hazards, flow, river traffic etc. You are going to encounter these issues during the DW so you will need to become confident in higher flow, waves etc, but get used to your K1 first before tackling these things.
Some useful links
BCU - Find a Club
Find a Boat
Find a Paddler
Devizes To Westminster Canoe Race
More to follow......
Let me point out, I am not a coach. There are many, many more experienced paddlers than I who can give you advice and tips but these are my thoughts and on reflection the things that I should have done to prepare me better for this event.
1. It's the DW.
You must call this race 'The DW.' At all times. It means that you're in the know and confuses anyone else who knows nothing about kayaking or canoeing. It also means that you have to explain the event, in detail, to anyone that asks you "What's the DW?" Alternatively, when seeking a partner for the Senior Doubles it means you can lie or simply not tell them how far it is, only letting them in on the 'Devizes to Westminster' bit at the last opportunity.
2. Technique is EVERYTHING.
I'm writing this making the assumption that you've never paddled before. Saying that you had a go at it once in Centre Parcs or with the Scouts doesn't count. You're a MAMIL/ MAWIL (and proud). Maybe you've done a 10k, marathon or something similar and therefore have a degree of fitness although not specifically canoe / kayak related. A friend in a pub mentions 'The DW' and it's got you interested and then you decide it sounds like a good idea. What next?
Ok, well let's start with an analogy. If you had decided that you were going to swim the Channel, but yet you couldn't swim, would you throw yourself into the sea and go for a 2 mile swim? No, of course you wouldn't. You would LEARN TO SWIM first. Therefore, it's really important that you LEARN TO PADDLE FIRST. How you learn is up to you but I would advise either joining a club with a coaching set-up or if you know an experienced paddler who can advise you and take you out, then do that. Either way, you want someone who can give you direct feedback on your technique and tell you how you can improve. Ultimately it will make you faster, but you will also be much less likely to retire through injury during the race. Let's say that you have given yourself a year to get ready for the DW, then I would not worry at all for the first 5 or 6 months about long paddles. Get in a boat and get your technique as good as you can get it. Go out with other (good) paddlers whenever you can and see how they paddle. You will learn a lot by doing this and probably get more efficient and faster as a result. I would advise against interval training in the boat initially. Better to focus on ingraining good technique rather than trying to move the boat fast through the water with poor technique.
I would also keep your paddles for the first few months relatively short but try to go out frequently, ideally 3 times in a week for say 30-45 minutes so that you can focus on maintaining good technique throughout the paddle. In my opinion it's better to do 3 x 30 minute paddles than 1 x 90 minute paddle. Don't worry; the long paddles will come later.
3. K1 not K2
Readers of this blog will know that I have just bought myself a K1 boat, some 3 years after I started paddling with Jamie. This is 3 years too late. We did a few K1 paddles but not many. You will develop more quickly as a paddler if you concentrate on paddling in a K1. You can develop your own technique, stability and steering. It means both of you will have to learn to steer a boat. It means that you can go out independently as a paddler as you will not have to have a partner with you. Most clubs will have club boats and they may not be pretty or fast but they will get you on the water and you can begin the process of learning good technique. Initially, for the first 3 or 4 months I would not even think about getting into a K2. You will progress much quicker in K1 boats than you would struggling in a K2. Every year there are posts on various websites for paddlers who for some reason have had to pull out through injury or illness which results in the other paddler unable to race. Being proficient in a K1 at least gives you the option of doing the 4 day race in a K1 if it should come to that.
4. Be Safe
Most of this is obvious but it's worth repeating. By joining a club you will be able to go out in a group and there's safety in numbers. At some point you will capsize so know how to do it and look after yourself. The BCU FSRT course is well worth doing in my opinion to help you manage some of the situations that you may encounter. Initially, train on a benign piece of water where you know that if you go for a swim then you can get yourself out. Wear a good fitting bouyancy aid. As you gain more experience and confidence in your ability and handling a kayak then is the time to try water where you are more likely to encounter hazards, flow, river traffic etc. You are going to encounter these issues during the DW so you will need to become confident in higher flow, waves etc, but get used to your K1 first before tackling these things.
Some useful links
BCU - Find a Club
Find a Boat
Find a Paddler
Devizes To Westminster Canoe Race
More to follow......
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