DW 2013 – 02.06.12 – Training Plan

What I am about to tell is our, or at the moment my, training plan for next year’s attempt at the DW. I am quite happy for you to sit where you are and say:

1.  It’s not worth the paper it’s written on– after all you did not finish this year or a couple of times before that.
2. It’s wrong – you have not thought about this or that!
3. It does not suit me or us in our situation.
4. It’s too easy.
5. It’s too hard.
6. You are not qualified to write a proper one.

All of the comments to one degree or another are true.  However it’s worth making a sweeping statement that “Training plans are very personal things.”  A training plan is an individual plan for one person or crew and accommodates that person or people’s individual circumstances.

Your and our training plan is simply a tool to get from where you are now to want you want to achieve come Easter2013.

This is what we are going to have to consider when firming up ours:

1. Our individual commitments outside paddling – don’t fail to recognise if golf, friends, family etc. will result in conflict somewhere.
2. We will need to plan for setback or unforeseen eventualities – then we will not beat ourselves up just because we have not kept the schedule.  A flexible plan is therefore essential.
3. It needs to meet the SMART criteria.  We have a strategy and the training plan will help us achieve that – so the plan has to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound.
4. We need to remember that it’s a plan and nothing else – it’s only a guide so if on a cold wet night in October the plan says ‘technique’, we need to be able to say – hang on its cold and wet let’s have a speed session or an endurance session and then at least we have trained and kept warm.
5. It should be progressive. By this I mean it should build up slowly and steadily then there is less chance of a training injury, fatigue or demotivation.  I like the rotation of easy, medium and hard sessions that build and allow rest and recovery.

I, along with all those I have paddled with, have always broken the training into 4 periods, they are:

1. Technique
2. Fitness
3. Endurance
4. Speed

Technique –this, along with fitness and stubbornness (read determination), will get you down the course.  Technique is critical – it reduces the risk of injury and also ensures efficiency – I think it’s fair to say that you should always think about technique but in this first period it’s vital to get it right and ingrained – it’s not impossible to change later but it’s not as easy as when a person is just learning.  It is worth spending time to go and watch quality paddlers and aspire to equal them – it’s always better to aim high.  Treat yourself to a coaching session – the cost per mile of the race and all the training miles make it a negligible cost/mile.  A good coach will also offer a tremendous amount of impartial advice.  At one session I was told that paddling could be equated to drinking a cup of tea- posture, engage, transfer and feel!  More of that at a later date. A coach local to me also explained you should only try to improve a couple of parts of the paddling stroke in any one session – break the stroke down into several pieces all of which can be worked on improve efficiency.

Fitness – for me this is a rugged road and one taken with difficulty – I always thought that it was just time in the boat you need – but last year (2011) finally proved that to be wrong.  A good level of general fitness makes getting in and out of the boat easier, running with the boat is easier, core stability is as safe as a rock and recovery is so much better. What you do out of the boat is entirely up to you but running is cheap and reaps great benefits quickly.  Other options are swimming, cross training, intervals in the gym, cycling and so on.  Again make improvements slowly and steadily.

Endurance – I mean, its common sense – its 125 miles – so the ability to paddle consistently over an extended period is critical – the max we do generally is no more than 3 hours with the exception of a Christmas time paddle from Wolverhampton to Market Drayton and the Watersides – the former being about 34 miles giving us a good marker for the New Year.  Throughout these sessions it’s vital to hang on to technique – I want it ingrained by Easter.

Speed – never my forte this – always seems like hard work – but it does two things for me – improves aerobic capacity and the stroke rate increases.  Just think if you increase your stroke rate by let’s say just 5 per minute what an impact that will have at Easter.

So there are my considerations – we are underway with the technique and making sure its good fun – it’s a long time to Easter.  I have also started on the fitness with the running as well so that by October I can get around the Cardiff Half Marathon a bit easier that last year and be ready to start building on the broad fitness base developed thus far.

DW 2013 – 01.06.12

Reasonably good week training wise although work did drag a bit.  Completed three runs of the NHS podcast which finished tonight with the second 25 minutes running.  Laura the voice of the podcast for the next (and last) two weeks tells me we will be running without the reward of a 90 second walk again.  I am slowly going off of our beloved Laura – pleased she has not produced a 5k to 10k podcast.  The running magazine has an article last month to do just that but seemed to rely on a lot of running up hill sessions!

Paddled twice this week, last nights followed the first 25 minute run!  Slept very well. Sam was in fine mood and kept pushing on to get back – a good technique session with some washing hanging.  Still all canal work at the moment – it’s harder especially on the shallow sections – great for one’s endurance and motivation, honest.

Next year’s partner is busy getting acquainted with the ergo at lunch times to reinforce the technique that is so new to her – she is full of enthusiasm and gets quite technical with the questions!

Tomorrow is a 3 hour stretching section on a local farm – shearing Texel ewes and rams! The lanolin on the fleece plays havoc with ones hands by softening the hard calluses between the thumb and first finger – after a couple of days shearing ones hands are as soft at the proverbial babies bum.

DW 2013 – 26.05.12 – Race Strategy

Another factor you will need to consider fairly soon is what strategy are you alone, or with your partner, going to adopt for Easter 2013.

The benefit of paddling on your own is that you are more in charge of your own destiny, you have nobody else’s expectations to accommodate and your success or failure to complete is generally in your own hands.

Those in C2 or K2 boats have to juggle, negotiate and finalise the strategy with somebody else – their paddling partner. I think that if your strategies are poles apart you will have a great deal of negotiating to do and unless there is total buy in by both partners, some where at some time it will rear its ugly head.  It may be that you shake hands, have a drink, a chat and agree to look for separate partners.

In a C2 or K2 boat and intending to go straight through, the only real strategy is to get to Teddington Lock for the turn of the tide.  There is some debate on the best time to get there – some say at high tide, some say an hour after – in the end the choice is yours.  But the time you intend to get to Teddington Lock will obviously dictate your start time – bearing in mind there is a start window at Devizes to accommodate.  So you need measured distance and timed paddles to get some idea of your speed on the water – the Thameside and Waterside races are a perfect opportunity to do just that and experience some of the DW course.  What you need to avoid is getting to Teddington after the window has closed – then you have to wait for the next high tide – not an experience to relish.

If you have the simple strategy to finish – then waiting at Teddington may be acceptable to you – but again you will need to read the rules and meet the cut off times!

I think it’s fair to say that along the course, time slips – it seems to disappear like a ferret down a rabbit burrow.  If you have no strategy it’s difficult to minimise the losses.  Most teams now have a spreadsheet that allows the support crews to tell the paddlers if they are up or down time wise against their strategy.  There are several samples on the internet and here on the Marsport website.

One thing to remember is that if you have a strategy and its working, stick to it – you have planned and trained for it – don’t waste it, unless there are very extenuating circumstances.  It’s too easy to chase boats that you come upon on the day – so now you are paddling faster than you had planned and because it goes well you continue chasing boats – it might work but you might just be tiring yourselves out.  Remember, the people you pass have strategies of their own!

The four-day event is not easy – you have to get out after day one and come back and carry on the next day and so on – even if you are stiff and tired!  At least with the straight through it’s all over and done with in one hit!

Which ever race you enter I think there are a couple of strategies worth thinking about:

1. Break the race down into stages and have a treat as you achieve them.  I have half a bacon sandwich and a slurp of real coffee at Newbury, a change of hat later on down the canal; we change clothes at or near Dreadnought and hot drinks at specific locks on the Thames.  Simple I know but then so am I!
2. When I meet the support crew I do not want to know how far I have come – or how far there is to go.  Once I have one of those pieces of information my mind starts chewing over them in a negative manner.  All I want to know is, are we up or down on the strategy? Who is meeting me next and how far away is that?  I like to know if a treat is at the next meet.  So, I am saying, I break the race down into small bite size pieces and forget about the total distance.
3. Support Crew strategy is a can of worms I will deal with later.

There are several other considerations you need to take note of such as food and drink, kit etc – which are all fairly personal but critical to your success or otherwise.

If you have any doubts seek advice from anywhere that you feel is reputable and that you trust.  It’s better to think about things earlier rather than later.

DW 2013 – 23.05.12

Monday night saw me under Bridge 65 on the Shropshire Union Canal with the new partner – the progress she made in 45 minutes was immense – its fair to say my hopes are high!

Bridge 65 holds so many memories of training with Graham – some bad and many good!

Tonight was the third session of week 5 of the NHS podcast.  Since my last run was week 5 session 1 it was a bit of a shock – 20 minutes non stop running.  Running with a group is inspiring because in the 10 minutes before we turned we I got much further that I had when running alone!  I dread to think what Fridays torture is – a sneak preview suggests it starts with a 20 minute run!  There were moans from the group about the heat – I drew a line under that sort of talk by saying that it was nothing compared with the London Marathon in 2011.

Tomorrow is a paddle at 6pm up to Welsh Frankton locks with DB in k1′s.

DW 2013 – 18.05.12 – Which Boat?

The last thing I would ever contemplate is to suggest to anybody which boat they should buy!  There are much better people and companies out there to do that.  It really is down to personal choice and dependant on many factors – my intention here is just to scratch the surface and encourage you to make up you own mind (or minds if it’s a K2 you are after).

Really and truly you are after a K1 or K2 (for the purpose of this blog I am going to avoid C1 and C2 – I can leave that to Craig to blog about when he can tear himself away from whatever he is doing).

Be it a K1 or K2 then the simple considerations are:

1. Do you want fast and tippier boat or one that is a bit slower and a lot more stable?  The boats are generally rated on a sliding scale with the lowest number being the least stable.  I have always opted for a more stable boat that is very forgiving when I or we are tired at the latter end of the race.
2. Do you want a lighter and more expensive boat or a cheaper and heavier boat?  Remember you are going to lift it out of the water and carry it through 70 odd portages before lowering it back on to the water.
3. New or used?  If its new you can literally have what you want – remember though you can only rarely buy them off the peg – generally they are made to order.  It’s no good trying after Christmas to look for a new boat – somebody somewhere is busy making all those ordered early in the training season.  If its second-hand – then it’s a matter of waiting for the one you want to turn up on the market.  Its worth noting K2 are snapped up quickly so you will need to be vigilant and decisive.  Buying a second-hand boat is very much like buying a second-hand car – take somebody you know that is a whizz on boats – you could save yourself buying a pig in a poke.
4. What is your price range? Obviously as with most things – you get what you pay for. Cheap and cheerful is ok so long as you are prepared to spend time and effort keeping the boat going – or would you prefer to be out paddling/training?
5. Then there are the extras to think about.  Do you want a standard seat or an infinitely adjustable Gee Seat?  Do you want an over or under stern rudder – each has it own merits. Do you want a pull bar?  What size and shape footrest do you prefer?  I know you are going to lie in bed pondering all this now!
6. If it’s a K2 then do you buy it out right or share the expense with the paddling partner?

Once you have acquired the perfect boat – where are you going to keep it – the sunlight delaminates some boat material.  Is it secure?  Do you keep it at a club house – is there unlimited access or can you only get to it when the club is open?

You would think at last you can get in and paddle the thing.  Well you can once you have the thing set up.  You need to be able to maximise the power from every one of you paddle strokes making the most of each phase.  I think it is personal preference but think about:

1. If your knees are too high you are less stable.
2. If your knees are too low then you can end up with a sore bum, pins and needle and cramp.  Foot wear makes a great difference and what you opt for will be a compromise between comfort and grip and fit in the boat.
3. If you are in a K2 then mark the seat and foot rest settings so that when you swap places the whole thing is easier and so quicker.

The boat needs to sit reasonably level on the water – when you are sat in it – it makes it more efficient in the water.  Get used to checking things in the boat – the simple thing like the plastic nuts on the foot rest, the seat toggle and nut, the rudder nuts, the cables and general wear and tear – the race will certainly find any weakness the boat has.

The most important thing now is to get out on the water and get used to the boat – do not leave it to the last-minute to source the race boat – you must find it second nature to paddle – so that when you are tired, cold, wet, sore, blistered and aching you can keep the boat upright.

If in doubt seek advice from trusted sources and get the best boat you can afford – you are going to work it hard for 8 or 9 months.

DW 2013 -14.05.12 – Partners

If you have opted for the single race – you are more than welcome to switch off your computer or surf elsewhere or perhaps pop out and do spot of training. However if you have set your heart on the straight through race and have no partner you need to put some effort into finding one.  However as Capt. Mainwaring would say – do not panic – if you do, you tend to pick a partner who is not best suited to you or they to you.  If a perfect partner does not make themselves known to you then enter the four-day event.  The following should be borne in mind:

1. Ideally they need to be within commuting distance of each other.  This ensures you have as much time in a boat together as possible – you get used to each others idiosyncrasies. This is no slight on this year’s partner.  I was very lucky we got on both in and out of the boat – however because of the logistics of meeting up we hardly paddled together – not ideal when we were going to be paddling 125 miles together.
2. You need to share or have a very similar reason for paddling the DW – if you are looking to finish whilst they are looking to improve on their personal best of say 20 hours – there is only one possible outcome from the partnership.
3. Your levels of commitment/determination need to be similar – come the winter, come the snow and come the frost – you both need to be “keen” to go training.  Reluctance to train is a slippery slope to not training.  Hand on heart of the four partners I have had the pleasure of paddling with – none have been keen to duck training.  Then there is the race itself – when there is only determination and commitment left to draw on.
4. It is written somewhere that you can paddle with people but not necessarily get on with them out of the boat.  I am not convinced of that – after all you are out of the boat seventy-odd times during the race.  I personally could not paddle with somebody who I did not get on with out of a boat.  There is all that time driving to training and/or training out of the boat with somebody whose company you do not enjoy – no that’s not for me.
5. Honesty and tact are good traits to find in a potential partner – if it’s not going well – whatever it is – its best to know how people are feeling without the blame culture so prevalent in society today.  Resentment of the partner (either) way is simply another nail in the not finishing coffin.
6. It would be good if they could paddle – but if they are as keen as mustard and committed then look on the bright side – unlike you they have no bad habits!  Mind it’s no good opting for a non paddler in October time – there is too much other training to sort.  The first I paddled – in the July prior to the paddle I had never been in a K2!  In fact we had never even paddled on the course.  Yes we did finish.
7. They need to be available to train – whilst they are committed and determined –  you and they need to have adequate time in each week to train.
8. They need access to family, colleagues and friends who are “willing” to give up their Easter weekend to support you as you wind your weary way to Westminster Bridge.
9. The ability to read moods and motivate is an essential characteristic – when its cold and wet and you are tired and you are not sure which part of your mortal remains aches the most and the support crew have eaten all the soft flapjack – you need your partner to say the right things and spur you on.
10. Last but by no means least – you and they need a sense of humour.

Where do you find such people – well that would be telling but you could try:

1. Small private ads in the broad sheets.
2. Small private ads in paddling magazines – not that sort of paddling.
3. The DW Race noticeboard.
4. Your local canoe and kayak club.
5. Speak to Craig or Paul at Marsport – they operate an informal introduction service!
6. Bribery
7. Blackmail
8. Begging

In fact any which you can – fair means or foul – there is a proverb that says “All is fair in love and war.”  Apply this to finding a partner you WILL find one.

DW 2013 – 14.05.12

Last Thursday was an unusual event – going out for a paddle with DB in a k1 as opposed to the K2.  I leant her a George Oliver single boat that just about got me down the DW in 2008.  Me, I was in the damned, or at least cursed red shiny boat that I look at with great contempt every time I approach it – I am sure it is determined to see me give up kayaking – I am made of sterner stuff than that – at least I tell myself I am.

DB and I paddled about 3.5 miles – with many a wobble and curse – however we did not swim.

Friday was the first week of the running podcast care of the NHS – we are now on walk 5, run 3, walk 1.5, run 5 walk 3, run 3, walk 1.5, run 5 and finally a final 5 minutes walking!  Its jumped from 9 to 16 minutes of running.   Again there were the full complement of 4 runners.

Sunday was a paddle with DB in a discovery, Sam in an alpha and the red shiny Chucky for me.  A simple 3.5 paddle concentrating on technique – punctuated by a swim at just over half way.  I was stroke matching with Sam and then I was in the water  I thought I was going to me joined by Sam who could hardly keep the alpha upright for laughing – apparently I was spectacular!

Tonight was a run with an extra “volunteer” who is looking to get fit – pleased to say I just about stayed in front of her!  Wednesday is the last session of week 4 and a rumour abounds that week 5 is a big step up in time running.  Not looking forward to Friday!!!!!!!

DW 2013 – 09.05.12

It funny how running in the rain – even for just the 30 minutes we are out at the moment is so damned depressing, pointless and ridiculous – yet paddling in the rain is not the slightest issue.  In fact I often wonder if people know what they are missing NOT paddling in the rain.

Anyway tonight was the last of week three on the NHS podcast – Friday sees us leap on to week 4 and up another step up in the time spent running.  The trusty four were out tonight – all being well we gain a fifth member on Monday next week – she is a bit secretive about how much running she has been doing.  At this rate we will soon need a police escort!

I suggested we find a 5K race to enter when we get to week 9 – the look from three soggy faces left little to the imagination.

Tonight I chased Ian the support driver along the road – slip streaming him and threatening to ankle tap him – boy can he run and weave.

Tomorrow sees me out in a K1 with DB.

DW 2012 – 07.05.12

Thinking of “doing” the DW? The inaugural event was, I think, in 1948 after a discussion one evening – no doubt fuelled by the odd pint or so. Since then it’s been completed each Easter with the odd exception for foot and mouth and high water levels. Before you start – there needs to be a very good reason for doing it. It might be to raise money for a charity, because a family has taken part, to mark a mile stone in one’s life, to mark a loved one’s passing, because you’ve been talked into it or perhaps just because it’s there. Whatever the reason you will need to hang on to it during the dark, cold winter training nights! If you click on to the DW official website at www.dwrace.org.uk   it will identify the various classes of racing. Whilst the main focus is often on the non-stop event there are several classes to whet the appetite. All of them presenting challenges to their completion. The choice, they say, is all yours! Time is a major consideration not just to put in the training, which is paramount but to give the DW the respect and justice it needs – so check with the loved ones around you who for an extended periods will have to support you in your endeavours and also be happy to be a DW widow(er) until Easter 2013. Also you will need to devote time to: 1. Planning your training not only for fitness but more importantly technique. 2. Planning support – somebody needs to provide food, drink and moral support for the event. 3. Planning diet and drink regimes that meet your and your body’s needs. 4. The logistics of completing the DW. Where will you stay the night before, who will drive, navigate etc.? 5. If necessary finding a partner or training partner(s). 6. Juggling life’s commitments that also call upon your time and need to be met. It’s fair to say that one will have to fully commit to the adventure be it just to finish, to hit a specific time or win a class. I once saw a tremendous poster somewhere that said “Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail.” I promise, for me, that sums it all up succinctly. Still keen and not put off – then there are some bonuses: 1. You meet people and make new friends who share similar views. 2. A perfect opportunity to get fit. 3. A chance to take stock on life. 4. To experience the tremendous sense of achievement.

Now you know why they suggest that to complete the DW you need the speed of a race horse, the stamina of a cart horse and the brains of a rocking horse.

DW 2013 – 04.05.12

Back to the full complement of runners tonight to endure session 1 of the third week of the NHS Couch to 5K podcast on a blustery evening with a dusting of rain in the air and temperatures gently plummeting at the speed of light.

The session tonight was 2 reps of 90 second running, 90 seconds walking then 3 minutes running followed by 3 minutes walking.

A  bit of a step too far for one of us – but “we” got through it without stopping.

Encountered our first horse and rider tonight – exchanged banter as we passed each other.  Concerned when a tractor approached with a load on its loader wider than the road – a well-timed crouch saved our heads.