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

Monday, 6 June 2011

ENTRY 28

I found this clip today, you may find it useful, does emphasize how much effort has to be put into technique and an organised training regime, I hope over the next few weeks after a couple of training courses to put together a training program of my own for on and off the water for those that have just started


 

Training Talk with Oscar - Technique



Training with Oscar | Epic Kayaks Australia

Oscar Chalupsky


In your estimation, how important is technique training compared to fitness training for the average paddler?
Is it 50/50?
I love this subject as I spend more than 3 sessions a week doing technique. I constantly try to reinforce with people that technique is far more important than fitness! All of us, including the pros, can only improve and paddle our best with a dedicated focus on technique as part of our training routine. Training hard with bad technique will get you nowhere.
It is so important, I believe that newer paddlers should be spending up to 80% of their training time with a focus on technique, and 20% pure fitness training. For more experienced paddlers the balance can shift to around 50/50. Most top sportsman in all sports have personal coaches that stay with them 80% of the time, from practice to competition. This is especially true of sports with a focus on technique and form, such as golf, tennis and swimming. Today, many of these athletes maintain high levels of fitness, but they excel through refining their specific skills.
I recently worked a young swimmer who had no paddling experience. In just 2 months of technique work in a K1, he broke 2 minutes on a 500 meter course.
What is the most important factor in technique? (efficiency, injury prevention, reducing fatigue, etc.)
It is a combination of all of these. By refining your technique, you are learning to utilize your whole body to paddle, not just your upper body. You are maximizing your own strength, and utilizing the paddle to its full performance. This increases your speed, reduces your fatigue and helps prevent injuries. You’ll end up paddling faster over longer distances. It can take a long time for people to realize how important the legs are in the kayak forward stroke, and even longer for them to get comfortable with it. Practice is the only way.
If a paddler has 5 days to train on the water in a week, say 10-15 hours, how many hours do you think should be spent on form and technique?
I might be a bit biased, but I would do technique training 3 times a week. Some people get paranoid about losing focus on fitness, but in my technique sessions we are actually accomplishing both. For experienced paddlers, technique training can be done just by controlling the workout a little more, staying conscious of your blade placement, hip rotation, etc.
Would you rather be very fit with poor technique, or moderately fit with excellent technique?
Again, I would rather have better technique. These days I often end up having to rely on technique to get me through some of the bigger races, as I simply haven’t had the time to train the way I would like. For the Durban World Cup I had to get by on three 50 minute sessions a week leading up to the race, so my focus was form and technique.
Where do you work on technique? Ocean, flat water?
Flat water is the best for technique work. All my technique sessions are on totally flat water. This is the only way you can be totally focused on your form and all the components of the stroke. When I’m paddling downwind, I treat that as a separate discipline, and my “technique” training is aimed at catching runs and surfing.
What is your most important piece of advice when it comes to paddling technique? (blade placement, leg extension, blade exit, etc.)
There are several different components of the kayak forward stroke, and they have to work together to be truly efficient. Proper blade placement is essential, but can only be achieved with good leg extension, hip rotation, etc. If you have a kayak forward stroke DVD, study it. If you don’t, get one and watch it repeatedly. When practicing, spend different segments of the session focusing on a different component of the stroke. Paddle 500 meters at a controllable speed while paying close attention to your leg drive. Paddle the next 500 meters focusing on paddle angle, etc. Or break it into time segments. Personalize the training so it remains fun, but productive
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