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

Saturday, 7 May 2011

Entry 24 Bedford Hasler race 2011

Its been quick to come around for the my second Hasler race at Bedford, went to this one with mixed feelings as this course had been portrayed as very choppy with concrete sides to the river.
Its a pretty river and the countryside surrounding Bedford is really nice, the Bedford club otherwise known as the Vikings have really good facilities they share with the rowing club and a bar :) lol

A division 7 race for me this time, I failed to have a good warm up before the start, but Id eaten and drunk everything I should have and was as ready as I was going to be, with the word that it was a choppy river I opted to use the Cirrus again, more for the reason that the mileage Id traveled to get there I didnt want to go for a swim as I can do that at home rather than a river 80 miles away.

I have been using the Epsilon boat Instead of the Cirrus to which Ive long outgrown, getting on with it well, give me a calm river and I can push the boat quite well but the stability goes a little haywire in the rougher water and very frustrating in trying to get the power down and to get the speed I know I can get out of it, so the option to use the cirrus was more just for a safe option, I believe some others had also had the same reasoning.
Had a look back at one of my first posts last September when Mo got me to sit in the Epsilon, I described it as like sitting on a razor blade,  after the winter series it dosent feel anything like it and feels quite stable

The water wasnt as rough as I thought it was going to be, but was a bit hard sitting at the back of a diamond formation behind 3 other boats though with the cirrus as its terrible for wandering its nose and a constant input on the steering.
Didnt have the best of starts with about 5 other boats ahead of me off the line, wasnt to worried as Im always slow of the line and catching up shouldn't be a problem, compared to the winter series it is so much better being with others of the same ability as youre not left for dead, 
so tactics can be played, mmmmm its a short race with no portages, pace is going to at the top end, ask me self whats more important time or position, opted for position and was happy to sit in and get a tow in the wash and save some energy and see how it pans out, with the quick catching of other groups in front Id lost who it was leading our group, pain as I needed him in sight, so perhaps forget position and go for time will be the better option,
was just about to pass the 2 boats in front of me and the lead boat suddenly veered abruptly left, can only presume he lost his balance and slipped his feet of the tiller, pain for us behind as we got caught with him, couldnt slow enough to miss the back end of the boat in front, all stop and back up to go around, lost 2 places from that, quickly gained those back by the turn and caught 2 on the hop at the first turn with a tight turn, pretty amazing with the cirrus as it has the turning circle of a London bus, at this point I could only presume who ever i was struggling to catch or who was keeping up with me was in my race.

Down leg from the turn the water was very choppy, if I had of used the other boat I really would have struggled to have stayed upright, there was the odd boat dotted around capsized, it gave me a lousy struggle with the steering and was loosing me time, I had 2 in front and was really struggling to get on there tale and getting past their wash, try to close and the front of your boat gets sucked in, a little further out it was a struggle to get over the wash with the nose pointing skywards and the feeling of paddling up hill, tried further out 30yds away to see if it would be easier,  amazing how far out the wash can go and still be effective for wash hanging, all I managed was riding up the wash back to his boat, mmmmm gona have to remember that one, sure I can make use of that one in the future.
At the very last turn I knew it was only a short 100mtr sprint to the finish line, Id struggle to get past the 2 boats in front of me with the chop, Id drawn back up close and was gona give it a slightly wide berth for the turn and pull tight on them, the last couple of turns they had been turning wide, so worth a risk and ask the old bus one more favor for a sixpence turn, ................................why is it great plans never work out, id pulled out as wide as I dared only to have one of our teams K'2 pull alongside on the inside, B****r, I ended up getting caught in a wide turn with them, the 2 I was chasing I just couldnt catch on the last sprint, all I could manage was keeping the K2 at bay to the line.

It felt a scrappy race but earnt me a 4th with only seconds dividing all of us, and it got me a promotion to Division 5 and the medium course for my next race, pleased about that, the longer races suit me far better, but Im also acutely aware the hard work starts here now, the good bit is it has spurred me on to actually stop smoking, HAVEN'T had a cigarette since the Bedford race and no longer tied to the 20 a day.

The cirrus has to be hung up for good now, shes done me well for a slow boat getting me up to Division 5 in 2 races, 
Ill be in the faster boat for the next race so a little more time for me to wring out the the last balance bits in the rougher water and getting all the power down, who Knows may even get into Div 4 by the end of the year, gota have something to aim for ;-)

Next race in a week, having a crack at the summer series local sprints at our club, im not really a sprinter but it'll sure help my starts for my racing, but I can lift the nose on the new boat for a sprint, itll be interesting to see how the times go.

till next time

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