The scheduled Cheshunt race had been cancelled due to the river and lake being frozen over, also due to the extreme weather and Christmas I had done virtually no training at all, I may look stupid but ice on the water just didnt appeal for a possible dunking in the water lol.
9th January Cambridge race
Desperately tried to get some training in at the last moment just before this race, didnt think it was going to do much good though lol,
day of the race and it couldnt have felt any colder, mmmmm not good, cant say I felt totally fit and well after getting over the usual Xmas colds.
The race seemed a straightforward one, 2 portages out and 2 back, the first being only 500 yds from the start line and a final turn point out in the distance, with a warning that there are other boat users on the water including the rowing boats and the public punts.
Actually managed to get myself on the front of the start line and some room either side of me before the off was called, had a reasonable run up to the first portage, the faster boats had gone past me fairly quick but I was feeling kaput already, I was struggling with the boat as I had the one where the footplate wont move forward on the pegs to give me the legroom, the stability feeling dosent bother me now but every time I pushed hard with my legs my back was being pushed against the back of the cockpit and was very uncomfortable, the further I got into the race the more uncomfortable it got and was starting to rub skin away.
The first portage didnt go that well, felt like I was carrying a ton of spuds with the boat, back on the water and I could see club member Paul in his really wobbly boat not to far ahead of me after steaming past me at the start, I could see him struggling with stability going through the channel area with the wave re-bound, time to get the teeth between my bit, my target was Paul, for once I had an advantage over him as I wasnt suffering stability problems in my boat like he was, started to meet the first of the public punts to navigate around, I was starting to gain ground on Paul now I'd started to concentrate, got to the second portage with Paul about 50 ft ahead, thought id play tactics and portage at the same time as him, all be it further back and hope that I could make up quicker ground with a longer portage run, mmmmmmm may have worked but he managed to get in line on the steps before the K2 guys got there, I didnt make it and got stuck in the queue of K2's, had no choice but to wait as there was only a small narrow staircase down to the portage, the grass either side was way to slippery to even think of trying, perhaps in the summer it may have been worth a try, before I even got in the water I could see Paul disappearing of in the distance, not a hope of catching him now, next target was the K2's in front of me, it did feel odd as I was going past quite a few K2's, the slog out to the turn point just seemed to go on forever, by now the punts had been put behind but now there was the racing rowing boats ahead so a bit more tactful navigation was needed, I knew Paul would be pulling way ahead of me now as the water had become more open and less choppy, which was more suited to his boat.
My back rubbing was really starting to hurt and a reluctance to push hard with the legs, went past one of the shorter distance class's marker, kept thinking that was a long slog to get to that marker, got a little worried it was my marker and being and I was the only twit heading off somewhere to the coast on my own, but then I hadn't seen any of the other class,s come back from their turn point, mmm must be ahead for our turn, the run was starting to get a bit solitary and every corner thinking the turn point must be just ahead, no!!!! nor the next or the next, eventually I got site of Keith coming back on his return leg, cant mistake seeing him ain the distance as he's always got the correct posture and so smooth, he never looks knackered lol,
a few more turns and Stuart and John came into sight, John without his hat looked knackered, they had their own battle placed in second and chasing for the lead, still a few more corners and Paul came into sight on his return leg, but it wasnt to far for the turn point, thank god!!!! I wasnt as far behind Paul as I thought, but I didnt feel I had any reserves to try and claw some time of him, especially when I hit one of the long straights and couldnt see him in the distance,Bu***r, most of the long run back was solitary with some of the rowing boats for company, tried to keep pace with an 8 man crew boat and tried to be sneaky and get a toe in their wash, but they just dont seem to generate a usable wash like the canoes, again it seemed one hell of a slog back to the second portage, all energy had drained and couldnt muster the effort to run with the boat on the portage, by now my back was really tender and I could see a blister on my left hand had opened and gone red raw, dug in as much as possible to the finish line, I was paying the price for the lack of training and not prep-ping myself properly with the boat and letting the mental side of things wander all over the place, but it was sweet to cross the line and stop paddling, first time Ive felt really cold whilst racing, roll on the summer :)
After checking the results board I'd managed 5th in the end on my class, the gap between the faster guys and me were still roughly on par with other races and no one ahead of me in the so called slower boats like mine.
Managed to get a look at a short video of me passing the club house after the start, looked more like I was off on a Sunday play paddle.....mmmmmmmmmmm got some work ahead yet
The beginning
At 47 most would regard you over the hill as an athlete, hopefully I can prove that's not always the case, and Ive got a few more puffs of steam left yet.
Ive chosen the fantastic sport of K1 Kayak marathon racing for my last ditched attempt of a physical endurance sport before I fall the wrong side of the hill.
The last time I did any Kayaking was well over 20 years ago, technology has made vast improvements in construction and weight saving, paddle technology too has gone a long way in deign and efficiency, but the overall concept has changed very little.
I have chosen to enter the Devizes to Westminster race Easter 2011, raced in a solo K1 its a race against the clock over 125miles of the Thames river, with 77 portages (get out of your boat and carry it around locks etc) over a period of 4 days,
if raced in a K2 (2 man) then its a race non stop from start to finish inc. through the night, advertised as one of the worlds toughest Kayaking races it not only tests your fitness and stamina, but your mental endurance as well together with the help of a good ground crew providing support with food and water.
Have a look at the posted YOU TUBE 6 part documentary to get a better idea of how tough this race can be, and for a laugh there's a couple of videos showing how difficult it can be trying out a K1 kayak for the first time.
I'm planning to enter one of the winter 6 race series starting on the 7th November to help towards the Devize race, my general fitness is OK and quite reasonable for endurance, perhaps bordering insane to take this on, got a feeling I'm going to be feeling some pain along the way.
I am smoking but that has another 7 days before I stop, aghhhh I have to :( I'm getting so much grief from my boys so all in all it'll be a good thing and a few more coins in my pocket.
Technique does play a major part in this sport, but fitness and training can't be ignored, so much to achieve in a short time, where to start I haven't a scooby yet or what other training away from Kayaking will help, another whole ball game to look at and plan.
The K1 Kayaks have a stability rating of 1 to 10, 1 being the least stable, the less stable they are the faster they go, that is if youre staying in the boat that is.
I'm comfortable on a 5, but the difference between the 5 and 4 seem a big step, the width (beam) is even narrower, if you can imagine trying to keep upright on a uni cycle for the first time then you're getting near how difficult it can be, once you're moving it's a little more stable, well that is until your co-ordination goes haywire then it seems to remind you you're on a tight rope and the ejection seat is getting ready to dump you overboard,
I keep being told its like learning to ride a bike all over again, mmmmm seems a lot harder than I remembered, so looks like practice and more practice will be the order of the day,
the club have told me as soon as I'm comfortable with the current boat ill be put on the next faster boat, heck the one I'm on is like balancing on an ice skate, the next one was like balancing on a knife blade aaaagghhhh
Im going to use this blog as a diary entry to show how I get on and some useful information about the K1 & K2 kayak marathon and sprint racing as I go, and my preparation for the Devizes to Westminster race, it should be a laugh and hopefully some may find it useful starting the sport themselves, or perhaps what not to do!!.
Feel free to add comments and any advise on any of the subjects I may be failing on, that'll be ALL to start with !!! lol
Tip's and hints will continually be added to entry 18
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