Indoor padding

Saturday we had a short wizz round the basin so I could get my back up and working again.  At the basin it was snowing - big fluffy lumps of snow and some folk from our club were out doing their level one coaching course so we did our best to complete our measured circuit without getting in their way.

After a couple of hours on the water we spent some time with the official race maps and google maps plotting the paddle and distances to certain places.  This means that as we go we are able to determine how well we are keeping to time.  We tried to do this as authentically as possible whilst drinking tea and eating the remaining Christmas cake in my living room.  Ok I'll admit that it all descended into silliness when Dan suggested that I should be wearing my canoeing hat.

Breaking it down into chunks makes it look a lot more do-able although the 8 hours we expect to spend on the lake is not overly welcome.

I suspect that getting over the lake will need my entire Abba medley which I kindly demo'd to keep me going as the painkillers started to wear off.  I feel sorry for Esther at times like that trapped in a boat whilst I warble along.






Now just down the road from our basin is Greenwich where this was recorded. I think we need to get out on the river to test our resolve against the seal who clearly wants a water fight!

Plumbing

Last Thursday I was woken by my downstairs neighbour as she had water coming through her ceiling. I had a coating of water all over my kitchen floor.

After investigation and several bottles of sink degunker we worked out that the drain was blocked with solid stuff so the u bend had to come off.

Friday before work saw me in my pj's under the sink unscrewing the u-bend and other sections of plumbing, removing the grit (which I suspect has been washed out of my paddling clothes by the washing machine) and putting it all back together again.

Saturday I was stiff, Sunday stiffer and by Monday barely walking.  A trip to the docs sees me with good painkillers and a series of appointments with the physio.

Plumbing has now resulted in two missed paddle sessions and today demoted to a gentle session round the basin.

Why, oh Why is it that I don't hurt myself paddling but doing something ridiculous.

Why did I think I could paddle? And can you help?!

Now, this isn't such a ridiculous question as you may think - although this post is all about me! Poor Sarah just has to put up with me being crap at the mo (or, in reality, turning her head from the bow position every time I screw up. She's like an owl!)

Starting out on this race prep I wasn't that worried about my canoeing ability. I knew I'd be learning more about racing techniques and how to paddle consistently and efficiently with Sarah. However, somehow I thought I could actually paddle well enough to just 'pick this up'.

Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.

I was originally very worried that physically this would be just impossible and that I'd spend the whole training time struggling to keep up.

Well, that was rubbish too.

Physically, I am mostly okay. That isn't to say it is not hard work, it really is. A couple of weeks ago I mostly wanted to be sick from the pain in my lower back (wasn't rotating properly). However, I don't mind and can push myself here - as Sarah can, so we really train well together in this aspect and will push one another.

My technique, well it is just rubbish. How I thought I could canoe is beyond me!

In no particular order to be fair, these are the elements I am rubbish at:

• To have the same paddling technique on both sides - I know, don't ask me why I can't be the same either way!
• Steering - oh my, all I do is brake the boat
• Power - I rock the boat back and forth so we are mostly plowing towards the bottom of the river. If not doing that, I rock sidewards!
• Paddling at the back, I can't paddle and steer efficiently so have to put less effect in to avoid turning the boat too much, hence slowing us down.

I can't help but see some of these (no, all of them) as obstacles to us getting the most out of our training sessions, and to our Race.

So, how do we break down these obstacles into bite-sized bits, into mini challenges that can be thought through, analysed and solved?

We are going to get a marathon canoe expert to have a look at our paddling but it behoves me in particular, to at least get the basics right before-hand.

But, what other recommendations do you all have?

For example, do we continue training to ensure that both are us can equally paddle in the bow and stern or should we specialise now?

And, should I dedicate some time to paddling solo to improve my overall technique and sterring ability?

Sarah's week

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm bored.  Not just bored I'm annoyed and I miss Dan.  I don't get to do what I want when I want and spend too much time near water and in the gym.  I've broken all my nails, there is mud permanently ingrained down the sides and I haven't had my eyebrows and eyelashes tinted since before Christmas.

This is my admission that I am a little on the high maintenance side.  This year's Easter trip is to a recreation centre with canoes in Holland as opposed to Paris or Brussels for a weekend relaxing in bars and coffee shops.  I can't even remember when I last bought shoes I didn't need, a handbag or ordered from the Hobbs or L K Bennett websites!

Why is it so much hassle -  here is my week:

Monday - 6am - get up go to work starting 8am finish 5.30 and straight to the gym.  my gym work out is:

5 minutes warm up on hill routine of bike
15 minutes on runner - again the hill cycle (will be 20 from next week as I can now still breathe after 15 mins)
then weights  - 3x15 pull downs of 27.5kg super setted with 15 flying arms (lateral raises to shoulder height) with 5kg weights.
3 times 15 tricep pull downs at 15kg super setted with15,  7kg bicep curls

3 times 15 leg raises with 20kg weights mixed with sitting rows at 30kg.

then 3 times 15 crunches; 1 minute plank and 15 squats

then 5 mins cool down aerobically and a walk up the hill home.

I'm trying to add 2.5 - 5kg to everything, every couple of weeks

Make dinner with Dan, shower get kit ready for next day - sleep.

Tuesday - 6am up and out of the house asap as have LARGE bag and need to be able to get on the tube.  Arrive at office and its locked - walk round till office opens.  In at 7.30 and working

5.30 dash off to canoeing - average 20 laps round basin (7 miles) - then to pub to catch up on social life, tube home - shower, sleep

Wednesday - up at 7am off to work - leave 5.30 dash home and train (most weeks) with Dwayne - an hour of hell - shuttle runs, strength work, aerobic, kickboxing etc etc etc.  Limp home, shower, make dinner, get kit ready for next night, sleep (admit that not this week - went to Dinner with a barrister for work - was nice)

Thursday - repeat Tuesday without social aspect.  Again not this week - Valentine's day with Dan

Friday - repeat Monday or skip gym - what happened to going out and getting completely hammered?

Saturday - up 6am - get boat somewhere, paddle all day - go home eat, sleep - thank god - mum visiting this week

Sunday - Have a life  - tidy home, get stuff sorted for next week - spend limited time with Dan maybe see friends, talk to mom, update blog.  However - Sunday soon to be a repeat of Saturday

aghhh it's Monday again.

Last year I did a relay channel swim - it was easier to fit in an hour or so trip to the Lido every morning and a couple of weekends in Dover Harbour than all of this paddle practice.

Has anyone worked out a way to train whilst sitting at a chair in an office?

Where to paddle next?

From our last few posts you will see that we spent over 2 hours on public transport getting to and from the River Lea in London for our first, longer, training run. When including putting together and dismantling the pakboat, (even allowing for Sarah having to tell me every step as I've not helped before), I reckon, for a 5 hour paddle we spend almost 4 hours doing paddle-related "stuff". Now that's not sustainable for our training days...carefully timed and packed into already full lives.

Even our second training run on the more beautiful River Medway took 2 hours transport on either end of our paddling. We at least managed to put the Pakboat together in 30 mins rather than the 1.5 hours the first time!! Now, I didn't mind this too much as the paddling was good but we only did 5 ish hours when we had thought it would be 6 hrs + and didn't want to do more as it would mean over 12 hours out of the house.

So, we are thinking of a few options but what other plans could we consider?

1. Talking to canoe hire companies on nearby rivers.
That would cut down on the preparation time with the Pakboat, but we'd be paddling a much slower, heavier boat that would hurt a wee bit (!) on the portages around locks - and cost more for each training session.

2. Putting up with the faff.
We'll get the boat prep time down maybe to 20 mins so we could just put up with public transport and yummy mummies and enormous buggies being mean about the Pakboat taking up "their" space on the bus...

3. Find places on the Thames that are less tidal but enough time between locks to get a real paddle in.
Possible safety issues, especially if lots of water around. Plus, my steering isn't up to this yet.

4. Circles on the basin for hours
Easy to do, easy access, showers etc and easy home BUT
Sarah would kill me......

As Ryerson & Anne say, it's about time on the water so any other thoughts to help us get time on the water in straight lines!?

A nice Saturday in Kent

We packed the boat up and caught the train from Charing Cross to Tonbridge and then paddled to Maidstone.    The added benefit of the River Medway is that a lot of the locks and weirs have canoe chutes so you do not have to portage

View

Not quite as long as we'd hoped buy I'll admit the planning wasn't exactly scientific and was done by Sarah in a bit of a rush on Friday afternoon (at work - shhhh).

We played with a few things, working our upstream against weir streams, how often we should change paddling sides and some fast and slow intervals - note for next time - don't leave this to the end of the day.

 This is us in one weir outlet. We did get a bit closer and I could start feeling the recirculation so we turned around.  I've seen this at summer levels before and the mass of white under the weir and the noise it created was a bit daunting.

 The EA are refurbishing Teston Lock so we had to haul the boat out and portage 500 plus metres - not fun.  They have also omitted to put a landing/launching stage on the downriver side of the lock leading to muddy bums all round as we slid down the bank into ankle deep mud - I will have words!

 As we got into Maidstone, Esther insisted on navigating our way to the station using road signs.  Sarah wanted to stop for a spot of shopping - they have good shoe and handbag departments in House of Fraser.

Cleaning and drying the boat at the end of the day.  As it goes on lots of rivers Sarah likes to make sure its as clean and dry as she can get it so we don't transport too many nasties.

I hated last night!

Tuesday's and Thursday's we practice at the basin.  Tuesday's are good as it's club night.  EVERYONE knows what we are up to, that we are mad, and has a comment to make.  It's great - as you paddle you get helpful comments shouted at you like 'only 430 miles to go' (thanks Matt) and 'Body Rotation' from Tom.  We can chat to Steve as he trains (sans training partner) for the DW and we shout 'coming thru' as we near the beginners group.  It's a lively friendly place, we feel athletic, slightly righteous and we know all our friends will be in the pub afterwards.  This provides us with extra right arm exercise lifting a pint.

Thursdays' are empty.  No one is there.  Sometimes one of the basin staff is about doing admin work and we can wave at them on the way in.  Occasionally there are joggers and someone doing personal training and this week the additional treat of a bloke who seemed to think that 2 girl's in a canoe would be great fun if he was in the canoe too.

Then it rained, and rained and rained, and I couldn't see out of my glasses so they went on top of my head, and it rained some more.  It was freezing rain.  Then I realised that using the reserve cag was a bad idea - it's now in the bin.  I'm not sure if I sweated outwards or the rain seeped through or both.  I was wet but didn't realise this.

I'd packed in a hurry and didn't have my gloves, or a hat but we were going to get our 20 laps done - even though we lost count at 7 and may have done 8 and 9 twice (by the timing we probably did).  When we got off I was cold.  Bad decisions 1 and 2, not paying enough attention to packing and continuing to paddle through as I got colder.

Bad decision 3 when we got off - I just wanted to get home so I just added a layer rather than having a hot shower and changing back into my work clothes.  Head to DLR and onto the tube home.  I warmed up on the tube, but by the time I was walking home I was cold.

I was lucky that Dan had been able to run a warm bath that I could walk straight into and as the layers came off I realised that the wet had soaked through from the clothes underneath to the top layer.

As an L2 coach I should be able to identify when other people are making bad decisions and have the wrong kit and call a halt to things and I think that generally I do (within reason where adults are concerned).  Clearly I need to think a bit more about looking after myself as I get cold and wet too.

After a day warming up in the office we have planned a paddle on the Medway tomorrow - 20 miles from Tonbridge to Maidstone.  We'll take the packboat on the train to Tonbridge and catch a train back from Maidstone.  It was that or Esther threatened 6 hours of paddling round in circles at the basin as the Thames is still on red boards.

The mysterious case of the disappearing trousers?

So, we did our first straight training run yesterday...and I mean straight instead of circles at Shadwell Basin. Don't worry, missing trousers comes later!

Packing the night before, although fairly simple, felt like a mini rite of passage for me. Unlike Sarah, I have not done a full day (for example) of canoe paddling at a speed above group slowness of 1.5-2miles/hr - and certainly not one that didn't allow an hour for lunch!! So, I kept jumping between deciding how many layers I needed for -1 degree and gusts <38 mph, how much food will I be need to eat (usually a lot), and packing it small enough to make my 8am cycle ride up Holloway Hill bearable.

We took the Pakboat on the bus and unpacked it at the side of a canal and jumped in. As of then, the trousers were still there (as you were wondering) despite over an hour of pulling and pushing the fabric of the Pakboat over the two ends. Honestly, I reckon that was more of a strain than paddling afterwards! Sarah and I are not two weaklings but still, better wrist and thumb muscles would have been very handy!

 (Sarah looking ready to fix a car rather than paddle)

However, we quickly discovered, unfortunately for Sarah's view when steering, that my dry trousers did not come high enough on my waist, and my yellow thermal and cag have a tendency to ride upwards! Especially noticable when windy or when a duck flies up next to us and splashes me.

It starts like this

So, only resolution was to tuck everything back in each time we portaged a lock (and there were a few!). Although Sarah did get a break when I was practising my steering at the back!

and then goes a bit like this.

Overall, we spent 5 hours from start to finish on the water. With 10 lock portages at around 5-8 minutes each, with one being 10-12 mins cos it was very tricky and we needed to eat (cheese and jam sandwiches, yum yum)! I'm estimating we spend 4 hours paddling, almost twice as long as a Tues & Thurs evening so I'm quite pleased with that. But also, quite terrified by how much further we have to go in just under 5 months.

We've marked a big blue line so you can follow our route below:


View Training run no 1 in a larger map


Excited but a wee bit scared of the task ahead so I'm just taking it a couple of weeks at a time. I've wanted to do this race for years, it is why I learnt to canoe and kayak so maybe taking the training step by step is a good idea!?

We do have some fun stuff to paddle past, one here, the London Eco Centre (aka incinerator) was one of the many scenenic parts of our journey!