I am a late forties kayak racer. My goal is to compete at the World Masters Games in Turin, Italy in 2013. I will be racing in ICF sprint kayaks. This blog will be my training diary for the next 4 yrs. I use a variety of running, weights, and cross training to hopefully become a better kayaker.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Climb the Wall Entry

Well another cross training event that I always wanted to do, but never did, until now.

I signed up for the "Climb the Wall" race.

"More than 600 participants will go one-on-one with BC's tallest staircase in support of clean air and lung health, climbing all 739 steps and 48 storeys of the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel to help fund vital research, programs and initiatives."

The race is on Sunday February 17th, 2008 at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel.

If you would like to sponsor me, the web site is: http://stairclimb2008.kintera.org/darrell

or

if you would like to do the race for yourself the link is: http://stairclimb2008.kintera.org

The deadline for donations is March 14th, 2008.

Thank you for your support.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Masters Spring Training Camp

My confirmations are now finalized for the spring training camp coming up at the end of March.

Listed below are the details for the camp in case if anyone is interested. I am looking forward to it. If you are interested just give Dan a call. Don't forget to tell him you read it here.

Master’s Camp 2008

Renton, WA March 24 – 29

The five goals of this camp are to help you:

  1. Develop your kayaking technique for greater endurance, power and speed

  2. Learn how to organize your training

  3. Develop your racing skills

  4. Develop your sport knowledge

  5. Get together with others of similar interest for friendship and camaraderie, and to share ideas and experiences

The camp is organized into five activity types:

  1. On the water training

  2. Video analysis of participants’ paddling technique

  3. Video analysis of model paddling technique

  4. Off the water presentations on paddling specific topics

  5. Social activities in which all participants are expected to participate

The schedule is subject to change based on weather and safety concerns. Also, if Dan feels the group would be better served by a schedule change, that will be discussed for a group consensus.

Most presentations are scheduled for 1½ hours. This includes lots of time for discussion in which participants are expected to actively participate.

Monday, March 24

8:00 – 11:00 Welcome, Aerobic Endurance Workout –video

11:00 – 12:00 Presentation – Kayak Forward Stroke

12:30 – 2:00 Barbeque at the boathouse

2:00 – 3:00 Review participants video from morning

3:00 – 5:00 Aerobic Endurance Workout – intervals

6:00 Welcome Dinner Together

Tuesday, March 25

8:00 – 10:30 Aerobic Endurance Workout – repeats

10:30 – Noon Review of 2006 World Championship video

Noon – 1:30 Lunch break

1:30 – 3:00 Presentation – Becoming a More Powerful Paddler

3:00 – 5:00 Aerobic Endurance Workout – repeats

Wednesday, March 26

8:00 – 10:30 Threshold Workout – intervals

10:30 – Noon Presentation - Applied Exercise Physiology

Noon – 1:30 Lunch

1:30 – 3:00 Presentation – Training Methodology

3:00 – 5:00 Aerobic Endurance Workout – repeats with games

6:00 Dinner together

Thursday, March 27

8:00 – 10:30 Speed Workout – intervals

10:30 – Noon Presentation – Organizing your training

Noon – 1:30 Lunch

1:30 – 4:00 Workshop – Organizing your training

Friday, March 28

8:00 – Noon Aerobic Endurance Workout – repeats

Participants’ video review

Noon – 1:30 Lunch

1:30 – 3:00 Presentation – Racing Tactics

3:00 – 5:00 Paddle – Starts & Race Tactics

Saturday, March 29

8:00 – 11:00 Aerobic Endurance Workout – repeats

11:00 – 1:00 Farewell Lunch Together

Boats

  • We do have secure space in the boathouse for you to store your boat during the week. If you need to borrow a boat, we do have a limited number. Please check for availability and to reserve a boat when you register.

Cost

  • $450 for the week

Meals

  • Except for lunch on Saturday, March 29 (barbecue on the pier), meals are participants’ responsibility. Several meals will be planned for local restaurants so we can eat together

Dan Henderson, former US Team member, coach and World Championship Team Leader, will lead this camp. He was the co-author of the International Canoe Federation (the world and Olympic canoe/kayak racing governing body) Coaching Manual and coach of the Cascade and Seattle University Canoe & Kayak Racing Teams. Dan is also a Masters candidate in Exercise Science at Western Washington University with a focus on the kayak forward stroke biomechanics.

For information, contact Dan Henderson at 425-430-0111 or itsfun@canoe-kayak.com

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Running Before the Snow Flies

Well the weather reports are all calling for snow later today and tomorrow. So instead of doing my run on Sunday, I did it today just make sure I got it in.

Change it up a little, I did 6X 3 mins jog / 1 min walk. After it all said and done, I maanged to go 6.04 Kms with an average speed of 8.2 kph. Not bad for all the walking and the wicked up hill finish.

My new runners have made a huge difference to my feet. I switch from a cushion shoe (Adidas Super Nova) to a stability (Asics Gel 1120) shoe. For over a year I had nothing but problems with my feet. It got so bad, that just to walk across the room in the morning was very painful.

Now that I am back to running, I have not had the pain that I had before. (I hope it stays that way). So if you are running as part of your training, go to a good shoe retailer and buy the proper shoe for your feet. It is well worth the price of the shoes.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

2nd and 3rd Training Runs

Wow, this week has really gone by fast, and with all three training runs in the bag, I'm feeling pretty good. Of course now that I have said this, the weather report is calling for snow for the weekend and the beginning of next week.

2nd Training Run:

It was an OK run. Still sore from the 1st run, but my quads seem to get better as I went along.
Did a 2 on / 1 off run 9X. Kept the speed at around 10 kph. So it was an easy jog.

3rd Training Run:

Legs were feeling good. No soreness at all. Did 8 X 2 on / 1 off, with the speed at 12 kph +.
Did the same distance with 8 sets as I did with 9 sets.

After running, I did one hour of ice skating. I can't wait for the Olympic speed skating oval to be finished. That is definitely going to be my "winter sport" in the coming years. Maybe by that time they will come up with a World's Masters Games for winter sports.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

1st Sun Run Training Run

Well today was the first training run for the Sun Run.

For the next 13 weeks, I will be doing a combination of Learn To Run 10K, and Run 10K Faster programs. I have had some feet injuries so by combining the two programs, I hope to stay injury free.

Today's session was suppose to be 8 x 1 min. jog / 2 min. walk., but I reverse the order and added 1 set. I had to add the set because the loop I was running was longer than the 8 x would have taken me. So I added one more in.

I felt OK jogging, but I am going to have to monitor my feet to make sure that I don't over do it. too soon. That's where the program will help me build me gradually. There are three session a week, so one down, two more to go.

So with the warm up walk, 9x session, and a cool down walk, I went 6.45 Kms. Not bad for the first run in 8 months.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Frozen Lake / Sun Run Training


Well just as I had thought would happen has. I got the email from the coach saying the lake was frozen, and that this weekends practice was tentative.

The good thing this week is that my training program showed up for the Sun Run. I did the run for the first time last year. Man what a rush. Trying to manoeuvre through 50,000 runners, joggers, and walkers. 10 Kms of weaving in and out of human traffic. Running straight, then across the road, up the side walk, anything to pass as many people as I could.

My time was 56:45, which considering the lack of training for it, not a too bad time. This year I am shooting for under 50 mins. The training program is 13 weeks long, and is from SportMedBC. Three sessions a week should not be too hard to manage. (I hope)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Life Getting in the Way of Training


Not much going on in regards to training. Other things (Life) have been pulling me away from doing my workouts.

Managed to go out last night and do about an hour and fifteen minutes of ice skating. Good for the legs and cardio.

The up coming weather looks great for getting out in the boat, except for the temperatures. Most likely the lake will freeze and our club practice will be canceled.

At least there is the ocean. Surf ski here I come.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

In the Ocean Again


Well it is back into the ocean again. Today was my first ocean paddle in a long time. Launched out of Deep Cove and headed south towards Cates park.

The water was flat and I was in my Current Designs Extreme sea kayak. Of course it was raining. Being in Vancouver what else would you expect. ;-)

Cruised past Grey Rocks and headed to Cates, this is were the water started to increase in size. It was coming at me on the beam side. As I rounded the corner at the light house the waves now had white caps and my speed went up 2 kms without having to do anything.

Yeehaa full on surfing in my Extreme. It is a heavy boat at 56 Lbs. So surfing it is no easy task, you need some good size waves. Well off I went towards the Second Narrows bridge. The wind was really blowing and I knew this was going to be a great ride. That is until I had to turn around and come back.

I managed to ride for about 4 kms, all the way to the Federal Fisheries buildings, in an area that is known to be very shallow. It was high tide, so I wasn't too concerned until I looked down and no problem seeing the bottom just below my boat. Being in the shallow just made the waves get bigger, so I decided that is was time to turn around and go back.

Turning around was fun. With the waves hitting me from all directions, and the bow flying into the air off of just about every wave. Once I got turned around my decision to go for a long wave riding session was going to bite me in the butt. Man what a slog paddle going back. The wind was blowing straight at me, almost stopping in my tracks.

From there on, all the way back past the lighthouse was just plain mind over water. Head down and grunt it out the whole way. As I got closer to the lighthouse, I decided to stop at the fishing wharf at Cates Park, for a bit of a rest, and to eat something. The wharf was blocking the waves, so I stop for about 3 to 4 mins. The guys fishing there thought I was nuts for paddling in this stuff. (I was starting to think the same thing myself)

Well off I went again, heading straight at the lighthouse. Just as I was getting to the corner, there was someone paddling a canoe with a kayak paddle, and only wearing a nylon track suit and a garbage bag in front of me. I could not believe my eyes. This guy was nuts. The whole time I thought I think I am going to have to do a rescue soon.

When I got beside him we said hi, and I kept going, just shaking my head. I was listening for a splash, and a "Help", but it did not happen. Now the waves were on my beam again and my kayak was rocking big time. I managed to scoot around the next corner and into the bay between Cates and Grey Rocks.

From there I cruised under and the wharfs all the way to Grey Rocks. I stopped for a quick bite before moving on. I was expecting some wave action bouncing off of the wall, but when I got there it was flat. As I was cruising along the wall looking at the homes I wished I lived in, I bumped into Chris and Gary. They were heading out to go paddling the same route that I did. So we chatted for a couple and then headed our separate ways.

As I headed into Deep Cove, I was thinking to myself that this was a good paddle. 15 Kms, and some wave riding, with some hard work thrown in.

When I got home, I did one hour of Ice Skating to help loosen up my legs.
They got a little cramped while paddling.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

First Paddle of the Year

Today was my first paddle, and my first K1 practise of the year.

I did not paddle the entire month of December, so it felt good to get out in the boat. Unfortunately the conditions were not the best. The wind was blowing very hard. There was white caps on the lake.

I guess the winds scared off the other masters, or they were out of town, because I was the only master out there with the juniors. With the wind it was actually hard to practise good technique. The the paddle being blown out of my hands.

Lynn, my coach, was saying that I needed to keep my hips moving front to back, and not side to side, as I was rotating. This keeps the boat from rocking, and directs the force of my legs going in the forward direction. Hence making the boat go quicker. Also she commented that she wanted me to focus on have a strong stoke all the way through, and not just at the beginning.

As it was, I was happy with the outcome of my paddle, having been out of a boat for so long. I managed to paddle 7.5 Kms. Not bad, considering that I should have been paddling my surf ski and not a K1 in those conditions. Mind you, if you don't practise in those conditions, then you will have difficultly at a regatta if the weather is not great.

Another thing, due to the wind, I was using a Think Super Lancer with a low seat, instead of the high seat I normally use. It is still not my boat, which is a Think Thunder. (which is the equivalent of a Plastex Aires 390) If I was paddling my boat, I would have gotten in a great swim workout.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

I guess the first thing I need to do is define where I need to be in terms of endurance and speed in order to "compete" at the games. It is one thing to be at the games and be a lily pusher, it is another thing to actually compete against the best that Australia and other parts of the world have to offer. (In my age group that is)

This brings me to the concept of SMART goals.

SPECIFIC:

This means that I have to nail down exactly what I want accomplish at the games. Lets face it, if I am going to go all the way to Australia, I am going to go to win. So there it is Gold in the K1 1000m and the K1 500m.

MEASURABLE:

Now I need some way of measuring my progress in order to achieve my goals listed above. That means doing set distance time trails throughout the next two years. these trails should be at specific time intervals. Say every three months.

ATTAINABLE:

Now comes one of the hard ones. Can I actually obtain what I am looking to achieve at the games. After reviewing the times from the last games in Australia, I think I can, with a lot of work. Which means my work ethic in paddling will have to make a huge jump.


RELEVANT:

As for this aspect of the concept, I think it is relevant to who I am. I like to compete. I need to keep a healthy life style, both for myself and my family.

TIME-BASED:

This is the easiest of the five. I've got less than two years to do this, period.


I guess in my next post I will have to actually list my time goals and my physical goals for the next two years. Once it written, I guess I am committed.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The Start

Well today is the start of training for the World Masters Games in Sidney Australia.

I have started with Ryan Lee's Millionaire Workout Program, to help me get in shape for the games.

The first workout does not last that long but it sure gets your heart a pumping.

Well here's to the next two years. I look forward to the challenge.