Product Review – Garmin Forerunner 101

I have been receiving quite a few emails asking what GPS I use for training. The answer would be the Garmin Forerunner 101.

This unit is the lowest priced of its kind that Garmin sells, but don't let the cheap price fool you. This unit has plenty of features. The price was one of the reasons, that I bought the 101, I managed to get mine for $79 at a running store, the other was the display. You can use the custom display feature and make the “units” that you want big in the main window. This was required with my eye sight being what it is.

The lack of a rechargeable battery has not really be an issue. I just stock up on batteries. Plus it is one less contact point to corrode in salt water. The same goes for the link to the computer. Since I do most of my data collection in a spreadsheet, the lack of being able to download has not hinder me in the least. Sure in the future it might be handy to have that feature, but for the price I am willing to live without it.

During training the I use the Training Assistant in the interval mode. The main mode, I use is the time on / time off,. (set time & rest time) but there are many modes that I even touched yet, that are invaluable for workouts.

During a race, I have it set to straight timing with the main display showing KPH. That way I can see if I am in a current or my stroke technique needs a little adjustment to go quicker.

I have no problems with the unit. The main thing with any GPS that is being used in salt water is that you need to ALWAYS rinse it in fresh water immediately after use. If you are looking for a cheap GPS for training this is the unit for you.

Big Chop #3 - Surprisingly Good Race

Surprisingly not the race it self, but my performance was the surprise. All day I was just bagged. Really, Really tired, to the point that I skipped my usual pre-race run, and was just going to have a little shut eye before the race.

The start just like Tuesday night had its own twist. The line which is normally at the first dock, was intentionally moved, (by the racers)ahead of the second dock. Everyone just kept creeping forward. What seemed to be a long time, Brian finally said go. I powered up pass the OC1 that was beside me, and was going after the big boys already making a gap in the front. Just then I heard a bunch of people yelling, and I looked to my left to see Calvin had huli'd and was getting back onto his OC1.

I turned my attention back to the group of skis and the lone sea kayak power by Brian in front of me. All the time going to the red marker, and then the sand barge, I was trying to catch up to Chris and Brian. I would gain on them, and then lost it.

It was very frustrating. After passing the sand barge, now the sail boats had to be taken into account. We were warned that there might be a sailboat race going on, and that the sail boats had the right away. I guess they remember the last race, or maybe had a couple of complaints.

Between the sand barge and the yacht club, It was the same thing, gain ground, and then lose it, but this time I had another issue to deal with. I could hear Sean, Gary and Marshall talking about keeping the pace and catching me. Since these guys have been kicking my butt lately, I did not want this to happen. It just made me dig in a harder. So it was head down, power up and really concentrate on technique to maximize every stroke.

As I came around the marker at the yacht club, I glanced over, and confirmed that it was Sean, Gary and Marshall in a double, and Calvin, who had caught up to them, and was now looking to catch me. The leg from the yacht club to the marker off the beach by Heritage Harbour was a downwind one, but it seemed to be against the current, or I was really getting tired. (it had to be a current)I could see Brain and Chris in front of me, so I tried again to catch them, and try to increase the gap between me and the guys behind me.

About half way down this leg three sail boats were starting to come over to where I was paddling. I thought oh great, now I have to dodge these guys as well as hold off the guys behind me. But these sails boats actually made some really good waves to ride, and my speed jumped up by 2 kph in a blink. This was great. During this time, I white nose of a OC1 came into view in the corner of my left eye. I said "Hi Calvin", I guess this shocked him a little. He said hi and started to pass. Well I was going to have none of that, and I immediately jumped on his wash.

This was good for me, because Calvin is a strong paddler, and he makes a good size wash to ride, so I was able to rest for a little bit. Not very long because Calvin was trying to shake me off. He kept looking over his left shoulder to see where I was. He would then pump up the pace, it was very hard, but I managed to stay with him. We came around the marker at Heritage Harbour, and Calvin shot ahead around the turn. I had to really pull hard for about 30 seconds to get back on his stern wake. He can really accelerate fast on his OC1.

We played this cat and mouse game all the way to the sand barge. Coming around the barge Calvin tried to take off yet again, but I was able to get back on his wake again. (My turning is not very good, so people usually can drop me at this point) I was really starting to get tired with all this catching up I had top do to stay with Calvin, and he slowly started to make a gap. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if I was there. So as we got closer to the finish, I decided to mess with him. because he was always looking over his left shoulder, I moved way over to the right, so he would not know how close I was. This had its problem as well. The finish dock is on that side. If we went for a sprint finish, he could easily close the door on me, and just head straight for the dock.

So once we got to within about 200 meters of the finish, I went back over to the left and clear water, and started to crank up the rate. Of course seeing this so did Calvin. I could not pass him, and he got me by about 7 seconds. It was a excellent race.

At the post race barbecue, I managed to win a very nice Stohlquist PFD. Thank Mel, Brian, and Ryan. I can't wait for the next race in two weeks.

Deep Cove #8 - Figure Eight, Crash, And Bump

Long course: (10 kms)

the long course goes to the north 5 km can, then goes to Lone Rock. Passing between the lighthouse and the island, we then proceed to the southern Twin island, keeping it on our left side. heading north we go between the islands and go around the north island, keeping it on our right side. Basically we are going to do a figure eight around the islands. Which should be fun, we just have to watch out for crashes in between the islands. From there we head back to the north 5km can, and into the finish.



Today I am going to do the long course in my EVO. The start was a wild one. it was one of the most interested I have ever been in. As we were lining up, the wind started blowing everyone toward the dock. it was getting very tight, with boats side by side and no place to put your paddle in.

Then the starter said three, two, one go, and it was nuts. blades everywhere boats bouncing off of each other, it was great. I managed to go about 100 meters and wham, everyone from the right came rocketing over at me. I had no place to go, with Bob on my left. It was a quick smash up. I was kidding Lina by asking who taught her to drive. she was two boats over, but I could easily reach over and touch her, that's how close we were.

We managed to get untangled, and get moving again, when I heard Corky telling me to go left. I couldn't and we got hooked up. I did a side draw, and got free from him. Bob was beside me looking good in his Epic V10 Elite. He then decided that all this crashing and banging was not his cup tea, and hammered away to the front of the pack. Boy when he puts the power down, he can really scoot.

The group stayed together until we got past the north 5km can. During the leg to Lone rocks it spread way out. After the start I was really behind, and had to crank it up just to keep up. I could see Csaba in front of me in an EVO, and he was going to be my first “goal”. It took about 6 minutes to catch and pass him. Next was to catch Brian and Bridget in their Millennium double ski, Micky, Bill, and Katja. Who were about 100 meter in front of me.

This would take the whole race just to catch Katja. I reached the lighthouse and turned toward the southern twin island. The group in front of me had strung out in to a long line with Brian and Bridget leading the way. Katja decided to go on her own, and was off to the left of the group. I was stuck in no man's land again, not gaining and not losing ground, just maintaining position. It was like this all the way across the arm. As we approached the island I noticed that the waves were going north, and that once we got to the other side of the island i could use the waves to try to surf up to the group.

The group all got around the point before I got there, and was racing away, so I cranked it up so I could try and keep the gap from increasing. Looking up a head I could see a couple of paddlers heading toward us. One was a beautiful carbon Think Legend who did not take the turn between the islands. Next I could see the group in front stop, and lined up trying to squeeze through the 3 to 4 foot pass between the islands. seeing this I hammered to catch up.



As I got closer I could see that a stand up paddle boarder coming from the north was going to reach the exact same spot as me. He managed to get into the tight pass before me, he slowed right down, but I “helped” him through, something I don't think he liked. Going through I could feel my rudder scraping the bottom. I was hoping that I did not damage my rudder. after getting through, I passed the surf boarder, and hammered to get back up to speed. I did a couple of zig zags to test the rudder. everything seemed ok. Going around the corner of the north island, I could see the group had really shot ahead in the current. I could tell we were in the current because my GPS went from 9.6 kph to 12.8 kph, in a snap of the fingers.

Of course everyone in front of me had the same advantage, and it was going to be hard to catch up. I powered up, and managed to close about 75% of the gap. Coming around the north end of the island, wham, now I was going against the current. Just as fast as the speed went up, it dropped just as fast.

I could see the group just in front of me heading for the gap. I thought if they had to stop last time, then it should happen again. So I kept the power up, hoping I would catch up. Sure enough the group stopped and was waiting their turn to go through. As I was getting closer, I could see each one getting through. Behind them there were more boats coming for their first shot at the gap. I eye balled a red plastic sea kayak, and figured we were going to get there at the same time, but this time I was not going to give way.

He managed to just get his nose in there, before me, but that was ok, I just rammed my ski in there, and kind of used him as a bumper against the rocks. From there I just kept paddling to move myself past. I don't think he knew what happened. Coming out of the gap and around the corner, I saw Matt on the shore working on his rudder. I guess a casualty of the low water level. From here it was just going to be a grind all the way back to the finish line. My goal was to just catch the group in front before the finish line.

My progress was slow and steady all the way across the arm. By this time Micky had gone a head of the group of Brian and Bridget, Bill, and Katja. Bill was drafting Brian and Bridget, and Katja was off to their right all alone. It took me most of this leg to finally catch Katja. I needed a huge rest. So I was glued to her wash for the next 1500 meters or more. Then I decide that I should do my time up front, so I moved over to the right and started to pass Katja. I though she would jump on my wash, but I don't think she did. My next goal was to catch the double ski, since Bill had now passed them, and was making a charge for Micky up ahead.

It was too little, too late. Brian and Bridget finished an easy 20 secs in front of me. It was a good hard race.

Big Chop #3 Reminder

This Thursday is Big Chop #3.

Registration is at 6pm, with racing starting at 7pm.

Cost is $8.00, which includes Food and Drinks, as well as the now famous draw prizes.

The race it self will be approximately 8 kms, with a shorter "small chop" of 4 kms.

It will be a medium low tide at the time of the race. see picture below.



One of the new series sponsors is Accent Paddles. www.accentpaddles.com

They have come out with a new wing blade, that is one of the draw prizes every race.

They use a new type of angle lock on their paddles, called Twist Tight Technology.



I have my fingers crossed, that I will be "testing" one after this weeks race.

Motivation Levels Really Low

My motivation levels have gone south this past week or so. I have way too many red spots in my training log. Technically there should only be one, a rest day, but lately this has not been the case.

This means it is the time to review my training and change things up a bit, to make it more interesting.

Running Early and Tired

This morning the motivation factor was next to zero, or as Tudor would say “the willingness to train”
I was bagged from bad sleep, and going to bed too late. This past week it has been like that. Low motivation.

The workout was only going to be a steady 30 minutes. My lack of energy and my right ankle was going to keep the speed down, or so I thought. I told Michelle that she was to set the pace. Well right off the bat the pace went up to the low 12s / high 11s. For me this pace was a little too much, I was feeling my ankle fairly quickly, even with the Tiger Balm, and massage before the run. After about 5 minutes at this pace my ankle was starting to feel better, so I kept the pace up.

This worked out fairly well , until about the 20 minute mark. That's when Michelle breathing started to ramp up at a very fast pace. Finally after about two minutes of this, I slowed the pace down so she could concentrate on her breathing. We cruised in the high 9s, and her breathing improved immediately.

Next run on Thursday. Hopefully the weather will be warmer. My ankle seems to like the heat.

First K2 Practice

Today was Amber's and my first K2 practise of the year. Until her main rowing regatta is over in six weeks, we won't be having very many practises. We trained out of Burnaby Lake today. We started by setting up the boat. A Simon River Sagitta K2, which is one of the best intermediate K2s on the market. I really like this boat. To the point we are thinking about buying our own, or a Fenn XT double surf ski. One problem is that I was very disappointed in the fit of the front seat in the XT. I assumed it would be like the single, but it was not. The front seat setup is not for someone with short legs. If we get one of those I will have to make a custom foot board.

Our goal for today's workout was going to be trying different set ups , and to work on timing. For the first round of paddling, I was going to be in the front. I know this boat very well so it was a quick couple of adjustments and I was ready to go. Once Amber was ready to go, we headed out into the lake, because we were going to be changing things often, I decided to stay in the area by the club house, to make it easier to make adjustments.

Right off the bat, I noticed that our collective balance was actually pretty good. We started with a medium stroke rate. I was using the Epic large blade again, and I didn't want to go too high of a rate. We settle in around 70 – 80 strokes per minute. The boat did rock the occasional time, but nothing too concerning. In other words no huge braces to keep us from swimming. Since Amber started working with a trainer her balance has improved quite a bit.

We don't have the “wobbles” like we had the last time we paddled K2 together. After about 10 – 15 minutes we headed in, and changed it up. Amber went in front seat and I went in the back seat. This made a big change in the balance of the boat. We became fairly twitchy, and our we weren't in sync with our stroke. It took a while, for us to get it together, but we did manage to get the boat moving ok.

On our next stop at the dock, we talked about stroke technique. It is good that Amber has not developed bad habits, and can be coached to do the proper stroke technique right from the start. We discussed rotation, the catch, and rotating the body, and not the arms. We sat on the edge of the dock, and worked on the position of the body at the catch or set up as it is being called in some circles. from there we worked on rotating the body and holding the arms locked in position. This is to get the feel of using the truck for your propulsion and not the arms. The arms are to hold the paddle in position.

Then it was back into the boat, and out to paddle some more. I was back in the front seat, and the boat was reacting better. We will still switch seats, so Amber can get more practise steering, and so I can see her technique. I could tell that Amber was trying what we talked about because the boat was starting to rock a little. This is good, but the main focus is on timing. We have to get our timing down as a main priority and then technique.

Our workout was only 50 minutes, but it was a very productive. I don't know when we will get a chance to paddle together in the next 6 weeks. Hopefully the time gap won't be too big.

Kayak Erg Part 2

Part 2 of How To Use The Kayak Erg can be found here:

http://www.howto.tv/show/how_to_use_the_kayak_ergo/episode/how_to_use_the_kayak_ergo_part_2

Kayak Ergometer Video

Check out this kayak erg video, I found on youtube.

Deep Cove #7 - XT Double Surf Ski

Tonight's race I am teamed up with my wife Amber in the Fenn XT double surf ski.

Since Amber has not paddled in over a year, ( she is a competitive rower ) we decided that we would do the short course if there was one. As well I would have to use my large Epic wing blade, and let Amber use my mid blade Set. This is a very hard paddle to use over distance, so the shorter the course the better.

When we got to Deep Cove, I went over to check the course board, and our prayers were answered, there was a short course. Once I had the paper work done for the boat and the race, we set up the boat to our liking. I was going to go in the front, because I know the area and where “most” of the large underwater rocks are. I was also going to set the pace, and be in charge of any race tactics that might come into play.

As this was our first paddle together in a surf ski, and Amber's first race in a ski, I thought this was a good arrangement. This was also our first training session together, as we are teaming up to race K2 in Australia at the World Masters Games.

Once we had the boat set up, we went out for a warm up paddle. The boat was quite stable and we seemed to be going pretty good right off the bat. I took us through some bouncy chop, and Amber indicated that she was not as stable as she would like. So we headed to the beach to make some adjustments in the foot board. I moved the foot board out to lower her knees, and give her a little more room to push with her feet.

After we paddled out to the 5 km can and back we lined up for the start. I kept us over to the far left, next to the wharf, so we wouldn't have to deal with too much wash. Beside us to the right was Chris in a V10, and then Ben and John in their Mark 2 double ski.

The short course was going to be to 5 km can, then south to Boulder Island, then back to the 5 km can, and then to the finish at the dock. Our start was a nice easy one. I stayed over to the left of the group, and way from the group's wash. We kept this position, all the way to the can, then I cut in toward the group, and rode their wash for a little bit. Then we split with the group and headed off toward Boulder, while the long course racers headed to Cates Park, and beyond.

In the middle of the channel, I was looking to get rides off of any wave I could see. The going was slow as our speed dropped to around 9 kph. I did managed to find some current going our way, combined with some good waves and the speed jumped to over 12 kph. We cruised all the way to Boulder. As we were coming around the south end of the island, on our left side came a orange double. Upon see them, I started to crank up the stroke rate. I completely forgot about my partner behind me, and her ability to keep up.

After a while she commented on slowing the pace down so she could keep up. Oops. By now we were going with the current and waves, that slowing the pace down, and getting our timing insync was making us go faster. As we were getting closer to the 5 km can, I saw Jodi paddling along the wall. She had turned back from the long course and was heading back to the cove. I steered right on to her side wash, and we chatted for a little bit. I had asked her what side of the 5 km can, were we to go on the way back. She said we needed to go around it. That was fine with me. We still had to deal with the orange double right behind us.

Once around the can both Jodi, and Amber and myself started to put the power on. I wanted to see what the orange double would do. They matched what we did. So here is all three of us bearing down on the finish line. Jodi on our right, and the orange double on our left. Just then Amber asks if the dock is the finish line. I say yes, and next thing I could feel the ski being pushed from behind. So that is when I started to bring up the stoke rate, and head straight for the dock.

By heading straight at the dock, I insured that the orange double was not going to pass us on that side. They would have to slow down and try to pass on the right. I was trying to get ahead of Jodi but she managed to hold us off at the line.

A good first race for us as a team. Now we have a “base line” to go forward with. Next up, a K2 practise on the weekend.

Thunder and Lightning Run

Because of my leg tightening up, this morning's run was a slow one. Just a straight 25 minutes at an easy pace of 10.6 average speed. My right ankle has tightened up again on me. This time before I ran, I put on Tiger Balm on my ankle and calf muscles, and made sure that I did a warm up walk of 5 minutes.

This really helped, but my leg was still tightening up by the end of the 25 minutes. This is something I am really going to have to keep an eye on. This week I am suppose to be doing at least four runs.

Country Road Run

Training when you can was today's theme. I had arranged an open hour today. So after doing not much in the way of training this long weekend, I decided to run today. I went running out on the country roads in Delta. It is amazing that 5 minutes from Vancouver you can be running out in farm land.

There was nothing on the road except the occasional car, tractor, dogs, and a cow. It was raining but the temperature had gone up so much since lat week, that I was running in shorts and a thin long sleeve shirt. The shirt was my neon orange one that can be seen for miles. A safety and tech shirt all in one.

As I was running along a section of farm land, I heard a voice from over the fence. “looks like your getting wet” said a lady from one of the farms. I said hello, and that it sure beat the heat. It was perfect running weather. The last time I had done this run, it was blazing hot and sunny. This was much better.

After about 20 minutes I had reached River road. River road is a major truck route, but today being a holiday there was next to no traffic. I ran along River road until I got to Deas Island park, where I ran into the park, and took the dike path along the east side of the slew.

There were signs saying private farm land, but I had seen people walking along the dike from the other end, so it must go through, right? Wrong. I had ran about 3/4s the way, when I came across a chain link fence with barbed wire on top. There was a small section where the barbed wire was pulled away, and since I did not want to go back, up and over I went.

This section will be now known as the bunny hop section. Every two meters a rabbit would run right across the path in front of me. I lost count after a while. No wonder the coyotes are fat and happy in Delta.

Finished the run with a 5 minute cool down walk and some stretching. All in all, a good run.

Sunshine and Good Swim

This morning was sunny and getting warm already at 5 am. The weather is suppose to stay nice all weekend. I keep my fingers crossed. The swim was a constant 30 minutes switching from breast stroke to front crawl. On the front crawl leg I was trying to concentrate on my air exchanges, but with not much success. Still taking in too much water.

This is something I really need to work on until I get it right. Then I sent about 20 minutes stretching and chatting to my brother in the hot tub. I great way to start my Friday.

Big Chop #2 – Bouncy and Traffic

Tonight's race was going to be a bouncy one. The waves were coming from all over the place. Tides, current, and boat wash all mixed together. Which of course meant for a great race. These conditions are a lot of fun, and good balance practice.

The race was to go to the marker at Second beach, turn left and head to the sand barge. From there you back towards False Creek turning at the Red Marker, then going to the Green marker and then off to the sand barge one more time, before heading in to the finish.

The start was ok, but there was a big booze ship coming into the creek. Check out the picture from www.katkam.ca.



You can see everyone at the start line with the ship coming into False Creek.
We were going to wait until it pasted, or so I thought. Then all of a sudden Brian started the race. Both Jeff and myself went to the right of the ship and everyone else shot to the right. As we were going by, the yahoos on the ship starting throwing things. Who knows what they were throwing, I could just here them hitting the water, and the guys cheering.

As the boat passed I could see that Shane was charging at the front as usual. Jeff then shot over to the right, and I followed suit. I slid in behind Bob in his beautiful V10 Elite, and rode his wash for a while. As we got out of the creek, the waves starting coming from everywhere, and I started to drop off.

This is where I was not thinking and made a huge tactical error. I decided not to wash ride. I think I left my brains back on the beach on this one, and I paid dearly. Slowly but surely everyone at the front was moving away. I did mange to keep people from passing but I was not staying with the people in front. Gray and Lina were right in front of me, and just kept pulling away. That was the extent of my race. The next 5.5 kilometers were just a grind. Mind you it still was a fun race, with all the waves. As we made the turn at the Second Beach marker, and started heading to the sand barge, I tried to catch up by changing my angle to the waves coming from the right. This worked and I could tell that I was gaining on the double, but it would only last for 50 to 60 meters and I would lose the line.

It would take me another 50 or 60 meters to find it again, and then lose it after another 60 meters or so. In this time the sail boats, who were in a race of their own at the time, were crossing our paths. Which made for some interesting maneuvers to avoid a collision. After the turn around the sand barge it was a down wind run all the way to the Red marker. Around the Red marker, and off to the Green one. Once past that marker, it was a up wind paddle back to the sand barge. Again I was not making up any ground at this point, just holding my position.

Once around the sand barge for the last time, it was another down wind sprint. I could get the ski going pretty good in the waves, but it would only last for about 3 to 4 waves, and then I would basically slow right down into the back of the next wave, and have to start over. At this point I knew there was no way I was going to catch anyone, and since I was getting tired, I just decided to practice catching waves and riding them. This was going good until I saw a sailboat bearing down on the double in front of me. It was going to be close, and Gary and Lina must have saw it and hammered to get in front of it. It turned right behind them.

Then I noticed that I was not alone and there was another sail boat about to do the same to me. I looked at the helmsman, and he looked at me, and sort of gestured, its your move small fry. I figured I could make I, so I hammered it. I just made it in front of the sail boat before it turned. What a rush.

From there it was a straight shot to the finish line. After crossing the finish line, I kept going into False Creek for a cool down paddle. I started to draft a war canoe full of what seemed to be a lot of shall we say over indulged females. I had numerous offers as I paddled by. Every race should be like that. lol.

Next up, was the famous smokies and drinks at the race center. A big hand goes to all the volunteers who with out them there would not be a race. Thank you.

Again this week I was one number away from a huge prize. A brand new carbon wing blade.Hopefully at the next race in two weeks, I will be one number over.

For the race results go to: http://www.bigchop.ca/results/2008_bigchopresults_race2.pdf

Pre-Race Run

My run for today was a 30 minute steady pace. It was going to be from Vanier Park, along the sea wall for 15 minutes and back. Since this is the start for tonight's Big Chop race it just makes sense to do an out and back run.

As I was getting ready to run, John George paddled up in his Millinium. As we were chatting, Kamini ran past at an good pace. Kamini is an ex national team member in the women's K4. I thought that she would make a good incentive to keep the pace up. So after about 3 to 4 minutes, off I went. The chase was on.

As I was running along the sea wall I could see what tonight's race conditions were going to be. It was going to be very bouncy, and lots of boat traffic to deal with. It is going to be a good one. The pace I was going was an easy one, with an average of 11.3 kph. Still nursing a tight right ankle, and did not want to push it any harder than that. Just under the point where I could fell it. This turned out to be a good pace, one that I could just cruise and sight see as I went.

As I came up the stairs and around the corner, there just 30 mters in front of me was Kamini. I looked at my watch, another 1 minute left before I turn around. About 15 secs later she turned and headed back. I kept running until the 15 minutess was up, turned around and headed back. I caught Kamini, and we chatted for a little while. We were slowed up by some other people on the side walk, so I hopped on to the road and just kept going.

With the temperature being so warm, it really helped in loosening up my ankle. This was one of those really fun runs. I wish they were all like that. Got back to Vanier right on time. Ended my run at the exact point in which i started, which meant my pace was the same both coming and going. Now it is time to get ready for the race.

Training Series - Supercompensation

Below are a couple of slides that I made up. I was thinking of starting some posts on training and training concepts. Is there any interest in this?


Figure 1.0 Super Compensation Terminology


Figure 1.1 Performance Improvement

Big Chop #2

Don't forget Big Chop #2 is tomorrow (Thursday)

Registration is at 6 pm
Racing starts at 7 pm

This is a great race series, and lots of fun, and racing.

check out: www.bigchop.ca for more information.



Here is shot of the first race on May 1st, 2208. See that orange boat on the far right, and top of the picture. That's me starting dead last.

Deep Cove #6 - Rain, Rain, and More Rain

I got to Deep Cove a little on the late side, with only 30 minutes before the race. It was raining out and traffic as usual was a nightmare. I did not have a lot of time to prep for the race.

As per usual lately, I was tired from the running workout two hours before hand. The course was from Deep Cove to Lone Rock, across to Raccoon Island and back to Deep Cove, about 7.43 kms. Starts are always good, with Bob on my left and John and Lina in the Mark 2 double on my right. As we were accelerating, I heard Bob say he was tired. I think he was messing with my mind because he just kept powering up and off he went to catch up to the front group. I managed to stay with him for the first 150 meters or so.

As we approuched the 5 km can, the front group was making a big gap on the second group. I was now behind, Micky, Matt, Rod, Kiran, and Ty and Terry, with Katja on my left and Jodi behind her. I had fallen off the side wake of the second group and was sort of on my own. I should have jumped on Katja's wash, but I wasn't thinking, just trying to get back on the group in front of me. I could see that everyone was drafting Ty and Terry. Both Katja and Jodi past me as we were getting closer to Lone Rock, just as the safety / camera boat came up on my left. I tried to get on its wash, but had a hard time of it, so I backed off.

I watched the boat catch up to the second group, and off went Micky on their wash. He is the king of wash riding. I almost thought he was going to catch the first group, but he did not quite make it. Too bad he was really going. So now he was stuck between both groups. As I turned at Lone Rock to head off to Raccoon, I saw that Micky had picked a line farther north than the second group, so I decided to do the same. At first it looked like the right move to make, as I thought I was catching Katja and Jodi.

The closer I got to Raccoon the harder and harder it got to just keep up, let alone catch the girls. I had hit the wall. 25 minutes into what would turn out to be a 43 minute race. UGH. The rest of my race was going to be a act of survival. Just paddling to get back to the Cove. The rain was still coming down fairly good at this point, and when I had turned behind Raccoon, I stopped paddling to clean off my glasses. I was having trouble seeing at that point.

I could see both Katja and Jodi about 150 meters in front of me, and I tried to speed up a touch, and try to catch up. No such luck. I said to myself if I could catch Jodi by the 5 km can, that I might have a chance of having a sprint finish. Again no such luck. I did managed to cut the distance in half by the time I had crossed the finish line, but that was about it. Good thing to, because I didn't know it but Brian Wong was trying to catch me.

As with every race, I had fun, but I hope to go faster as my endurance builds in the coming months.

Bob's new web site is very nice and should be up tomorrow. www.deepcovekayak.com Go have a look. All the race results are now up to date.

Running - Speed Workout

Today's run was a speed workout. The objective is to go at a pace that is higher than my normal race pace. . The eventual goal is to increase my race pace to a higher level, by training at the speed I want to achieve.

The workout was 10X 2 mins on at a fast pace / 1 minute off. It started off ok, with the first set. Speed was ok, pace was good. The second set was the fastest of the ten. Very fast pace (19.9 kph) at the beginning and was really hurting at the end. The average for that set was 15.3 kph, which for me is an excellent pace. After that, though the speeds starting dropping. By the time I got to the seventh set my right ankle was starting to really tighten up. It is still not 100%, and I am going to have to keep an eye on it.

On the ninth set, I stayed with Michelle to get an accurate measurement of her pace. Now with that number we can work on changing the workouts to bring her speed up. What I really need to start concentrating on is, keeping the pace even. Not blast off and then slowly die, but to keep the pace the same all the way through the set. I will need to play with my GPS, and set it to a specific pace. That way it can tell me if I am going to slow or too fast.

Non Stop Morning Swim

This morning swim was an ok session. Non stop for the entire workout, with either the front crawl or breast stroke. The idea was not to stop, just to keep going. Boy was I tired afterwards. Swimming is very good for building endurance, as well as, functional strength training. The front crawl is very similar to the paddle stroke in the boat.

The right calf muscle is getting better, but still I little stiff. I guess all those two legged, two stair jumps on the weekend helped loosen it up.

WMG 2009 Road Show Update

*****IMPORTANT NOTICE*****

You need an invatation to go to this meeting.

Email: rochelle.geeves@2009worldmasters.com right away.

The closing for this meeting is May 30th, 2008.

The meeting will be held in Richmond, B.C. On June 11th, 2008.

The venue will be:

Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention Centre.
7551 Westminster Hwy.

In the ballroom, starting at 7:30pm

Topics covered:

Latest information on your sport
Advice on where to stay in Sidney
How to make the most of your visit
Social Programme
Bringing your equipment to Sydney

Swim Cut Short Today

I had to cut my swim time down to 23 minutes today. My right calf muscle was tighten up so much that I stopped kicking with that leg half way through my swim. This all stems from not stretching before yesterday's morning run. I have been paying for it ever since.

So it was extra time in the hot tub, and lots and lots of stretching. Maybe a vast quantity of Tiger balm as well. I guess that will teach me to stretch before working out.

Morning Run – 30 minute Steady Pace

This mornings run was a 30 minute steady pace piece. The area where I run in the morning is easy to increase / decrease distance and time. Just add or subtract a block or two. This morning I increased it by one block, but that meant I had to run over two overpasses. One on the way out and one on the way back.

The pace was a steady but easy pace, with a couple of speed ups for cars and the occasional dog. My average pace was 11.5kph, with a max speed of 15.2 kph, which was either the down hill section of one of the over passes, or one of the said dogs.

Tour de Indian Arm - Photos #2

Why I Live Here

Throughout the winter in the rain and snow, I ask myself why, oh why, do I live here.

This picture from today from Katkam says it all. Now if we could only find a way of "removing" Vancouver Island. ;-)

World Masters Games Update

Just a quick updated of the World Master Games in Sidney, Australia 2009.

Early Registration opens on June 2, 2008

June 9th, 2008 Edmonton Roadshow
June 11th, 2008 Vancouver Roadshow
July 31, 2008 End of Early Bird Registration Offer

I will post more information as it becomes available or go to:

http://www.2009worldmasters.com/

Deep Cove #5 – Four Races in Seven Days

Today's race was going to be a bit of a struggle having raced three times already in seven days, so I was tired. It was to the point where I didn't want to do a overly long warm up.

I guess the warmer weather is starting to bring out more paddlers. There was a debate on how much or how little clothing to wear. I opted for the thinest long sleeve shirt with neoprene pant and boots. I noticed Gary is no longer wearing his dry suit after the weekend's race.

I didn't really have a strategy for this race, just go as hard as I could, and see how long can I last. The start was fairly quick at 14.4 kph, being led by Jim in his K1, and Garth in a Think surf ski. I considered this start as a good one because Katja and I did not bang together as per usual. As with every race going south there was a long line of boats on the right hand side. So I was riding up the left side of the line along the good size wave being created by the group.

I made some progress, by not very much. I had Micky, Matt, Rod and Katja in front of me. A sight I would have to get used to for the rest of the race. So for the rest of the race this is how it went. I would catch up to Katja, and then after a while fall back. Catch up, fall off, catch up, fall off. I just did not have the energy to stay in there.

Rod fell off the line of Matt and Micky, who were now drafting Ty and Terry who were in their marathon canoe. I managed to get on Katja's wake for the nth time, and she pulled me up to Rod. Then it happened again, off the back I went. So all the way from Boulder Island to the 5 kilometer can I was trying to get back up to Rod and Katja. the really frustrating thing was seeing not far in front of us was the group of Ty and Terry, Micky, Matt, and now Daryl tagging along. The guys in the back looked like they were barely paddling. Their stroke rate was noticeably slower than mine. They definitely made it look easy.

As we approached the 5 kilometer can, I knew I had better get moving and catch up or I was not going to be in the heat of things at the end. So I started to crank up the power and the rate from way out. I was starting to make some head way on Rod and Katja just when the safety boat came by with their good sized wake. Well I wasn't really thinking and got caught by the side waves and it cranked my around sideways. I came to almost a complete stop, with the other two riding the waves away from me.

I quickly got turned in the right direction, and started to hammer to try and catch up. I concentrated solely on technique and power. By we got to the finish line, I had reeled in the 30 meters that separated us, and finish right behind Katja. I was going so hard that I thought I was either going to crash into Katja on the right or the boat parked at the dock on the left.

I good try at the end, so I was pleased with that. As for the rest of the race, humm..... not so happy with. Oh Well. More training, and a rest day tomorrow.

Running Speed Workout

Today's workout is the start of speed work. Which I am really regretting, because I am really tired,but I sucked it up and did them anyways. The suggestion was 8 to 10 times of 2 mins fast / 1 min easy. With how I felt, and knowing that a had a surf ski race in a couple of hours, I changed it to 6 times.

This was a good move, as the speed was getting up there. There was a couple of sets where Michelle set the pace, and then there was the ones where I set the pace. With the slowest being 12.0 kph, and the fastest being 14.5 kph. This is definitely the speed I am looking for right now. Slowly buy surely the speed will increase, it just takes time and some patience.

If I start to push it too soon, it will just result in injuries, which is something I absolutely do not want. I spent a year with foot injuries it is not fun, and does not make you faster.

Tour de Indian Arm - Photos

More to follow.....

Cinqo de Mayo – PM Paddle

I went back to the slew in the afternoon to do so more paddling. as before the first 500 meters or so was a little dicey. But it was not long before I was back on track. The slew was wavy and the currents were swirling in circles. The rowers were out practising with a coach boat. The coach boat was ripping up and down between rowers making some rather large waves. It made for some interesting paddling, thats for sure.

I did not have the same amount of time this afternoon, but still managed to do about 6.69 kilometers, for a total of 15.86 for the day. This is a good start in the Thunder, hopefully I can keep the momentum up.

Cinqo de Mayo – AM Paddle

To celebrate Cinqo de Mayo, I decided to bring out the Thunder K1, and start training in it. So off I went to the Deas Island slew. This is a very nice piece of water, and where I will be doing the most of my K1 training this summer.

The first 500 meters was a little twitchy, but after that things came together. This mornings paddle was all about technique in the K1. Concentrating on keeping up hand up, and bringing the blade in vertical and as close to the hull as possible.

I would slow down and try to paddle with proper technique. It is easier to paddle at a fast rate, but it is a different story going slow. With the hour that I had to paddle, I managed to do 9.17 kilometers. I did a few power ups as well, and managed to get to 14.3 kph. Not bad for not paddling this boat since September of last year.

Tour de Indian Arm - Long Course

Tour de Indian Arm - Short Course

Time for me at this race was going to be limited, and I didn't think I was up to doing the 19 kilometer long course, so I signed up for the short course. I was hoping that the short course, would turn into a good race, turned out to be a 10.6 kilometer time trial. (more on that later)

The course(s) was going to leave Deep Cove and proceed south to Grey Rocks. From there it would continue south to the Cates park light house. This is where the two courses would split, with the long course going west toward the Iron Workers bridge, and the short course going east toward Port Moody.

The short course would then go over to the east side of Indian Arm, where a large yellow turn marker was. Then from there it went to the north side of Boulder Island, across the channel to the south end of Grey Rocks, and back to Deep Cove.

The long course would go to the turn marker near the bridge, before turning back east, and going to the yellow marker. From here the long course would go to the south side of Boulder Island, go up the wet side, and continue all the way to Jugg Island on the east side of the arm. they would go around Jugg, and then head back to Deep Cove.

At the race meeting, Bob indicated that some of the racers doing the long course, might jump ship at the Cates light house turn, and do the short course instead. This was good news to me because it did not look like many people were going to do the short course. So I was hoping a couple would bail on the long course, but that was not to be.

We all grouped together for the start of the race. this time my GPS was reset long before the line. I pushed myself next to John and Ben in the Huki double, because I knew they were going to hammer from the word go. Jeff paddling a Think Legend move up to my left. Humm, this was going to be a fast start for sure. There was little fan fair, and the race started quickly. Right off the bat, everyone was hammering away to get up to the front. I thought I was moving up ok, until I looked to my right and saw a huge line of skis rocketing past.

As I was coming up to Katja, something weird happened. As we were side by side, our boats just instantly came together. I thought I was going straight, but it sounded like Katja saw things differently. I do apologize if i was the cause of the bump. With the added adrenaline from the incident, I hammered up the side wakes as quickly as possible.

I got to the point where I wasn't catching anyone, just maintaining pace. Jodi and Colleen in the XT double were coming up hard on the left, as we approached Grey Rocks. As we came around the point, they were passing me, so the only thing I could do was to get on their wake. I rod their wake for about half way to the lighthouse, before dropping off. I managed to keep them close, but I could not get back on.

As we came closer to the lighthouse and the turn for the short course, I started to look to see who was going to turn and do the short course. As I got closer to the turn, and saw that no one was making the turn, I was getting worried that my race was over. I made it to the turn, and I was the only one going east. Everyone else in front of me was going west and doing the long course. I could see the yellow marker in the distance so I started to hammer. This direction had actually some waves / boat washes to ride. So I started to look for some rides.

As I got closer to the turn, there were more boats coming out of Port Moody. There was a large boat that gave off so good sized waves, as they came closer, I handled the first set, and then put the power on to catch the ones going the direction that I was going. I caught them and away I went. This was fun. I reached the marker, and looked back to see was behind me, and saw Brian and Bridget in their double surf ski. They were back a bit, but I knew I should not take them lightly, because they can really go.

I turned towards Boulder Island, and upped the pace. There were currents running in the channel, because my GPS would read 11.6 and then shoot up to 12.4, then back down to 10.8. The goal now was just to keep my GPS reading above 11.0 for the rest of the race. I managed to do this most of the time to the end of the race. I crossed the finish line at 58:36ish. I won' know exactly until the results are posted by Bob.

I quickly got my ski up to the van, and got changed. I did not have a lot of time before I had to go, and I wanted to get some picture of the long course finishers. After I got pictures of the first ten or so finishers, I had to go. Unfortunately I missed the barbecue and the awards. John was nice enough to stop by my place afterwards to drop off my first place ribbon.

Big Chop #1 - Bad Start, Good Race

Another start to the Big Chop Race series. It is always good to see people that you haven't seen since last year. A lot of the racers don't race Tuesday nights and vice a versa. Too bad because both nights are very good racing.

After registering for this years racing I went to set up my ski with my new number and get ready to go do a warm up paddle. After four races in Deep Cove the ski is pretty much set up the way I like it, just a little adjustment in the rudder position is all it took.

Off to the water to check the course. I paddling out past the first point to get a look at the first turn flag, and to see how close it was to the shore. As I came up to it, I noticed that it was, humm, shall we say, a little closer to shore than I would like to see. This means a fast start was going to be the order of the day, so I don't get caught in the funnel of boat traffic trying to get around the marker.

I saw that everyone who went out before me, was coming back, so I checked my watch, and it was time to head back to the start line. As I approached the dock, Ryan was standing on the end, telling every what tonight's course would be. It would be around the point to the first turn marker, a 90 degree right hand turn, straight over to the Red buoy, left hand turn, straight to Kits Beach and the marker there, right hand turn, then around the sand barge, and then back to the red buoy. For the Little Chop that would be it. Straight to the finish line from the red buoy, but for the Big Chop, we had to do another lap of the course before heading in.

Now it was time to turn around and get ready for the start, this is where things started to go wrong. I was chatting with Sean, about starts and lining up and not paying attention to my own lining up. I wanted to get beside Graham and Jonathan so I could ride their wash, but there was two boats between me and them. By the time I could back up and start heading over there, Ryan was starting the race. So I had to stop there, about 5 meters back, and get set. Then, just as Ryan says “racers ready” , I leaned forward to turn on my GPS, I noticed that I had not reset it from the run earlier. OH NO. So I go for the reset button, and I hear “GO”. As I am waiting for the GPS to reset, everyone is taking off. The GPS reads resetting in Three, Two, One. Let me tell you, that was the longest three seconds in my life. Once my GPS was reset, I pushed start , and looked up to see that I was in dead last.

Time to get moving, so I hammered to catch up. I managed to find a clear lane right up the middle, so that is where I went. The group made good wave to ride up on. It wasn't long before I was in the middle of the pack. With the first turn coming fast, I saw that I was in between two sets of outriggers. Two to the left of me and two to the right. I knew there was not enough room for all five of us to go around the turn together, and since I was in a ski, I figured out pretty quickly that I would be the loser in this battle.

So A really cranked up the pace to get in front of the group. I made it to the turn first, and headed off to the red buoy. As I was rounding the buoy, I could see that Jeff and Shame had already made a good gap between them and the next group. There was still a lot of boats between me and them, not like I am going to catch them, but that won't stop me from trying. From here I just started to pick one boat at a time. I would look for their side wake, catch it, and move up, and use the momentum to jump to the next wake. This was working well, as I started to catch up to the third group.

By now we had reached the turn at Kits Beach, and I was right on Sean's tail. He in turn was trying to ride the wake of Mel and Leonora in their OC2, and Marshall and Gary in their double kayak. So here we were, Mel / Leonora in front, me on their right side wake, Sean on their left side wake, and Gary / Marshall on Sean's left side wake. We maintained this position for a little while, and then Sean started to slip back. As we approuched the turn at the sand barge, we noticed that the barge was attached to a tug and moving. One of the course boats was there, and we used that as a turn marker instead of the barge.

Now it was a straight shot back to the red buoy and the end of the first lap for the people doing the big chop. During this leg, I was content in sitting on Mel and Leonore's wash, and rest up a bit. I could hear someone behind me having trouble staying on the wash, because they were saying to stay with it. Somewhere about half way to the red buoy I decided to move up, and do my share of the pulling. So I pulled out to the left and started to move up. That's when Mel said ”that's it Darrell time for you to do some work ”well in my enthusiasm to get to the front, I had cranked it to about 12.5 on the GPS, shot by Mel and Leonore, and got a big jump on them. I was having fun, and by the time I had figured out that I had gone so far past them, I just decided to keep going.

I mean, I felt good, no cramps or stitches, and wasn't too tired, so it was time to push myself, and try to bridge the gap to the second group. Which was going to be a huge undertaking because they were at least 400 to 500 meters in front of me. So the entire next lap, that is what I did. Stuck in no man's land, trying to keep the boat past the 11 kph mark. Every time I looked up during this last lap, I could see that I was getting closer to them, (my head was down and grinding as hard as I could) but I knew I was going to run out of time and race course before I caught them.

As I was coming into the finial stretch of the course, I had caught a couple of guys in a canoe, who were doing the Little Chop, and they asked if I wanted to race. I thought sure why not. So the race was on. They started to increase their stroke rate, and I stayed with them. As we were getting closer to the finish, I decided to have some fun, and told them that its was time to start racing. They thought I was kidding because I think they were going all out as it was. So I just cranked it as hard as I could, and managed to just squeak past 13 kph, just before I died going over the finish line.

After the race, we all headed up to the race tent and the barbecue for smokies, chips, fruit, and drinks. Brain and Ryan sure know how to put on a race. Ryan announced all the race winners for the night, and thanked everyone for coming. Then they gave away a large amount of draw prizes. I just missed winning some Ryder glasses by one number.

I can't wait for the next race in two weeks (May 15th) It is suppose to be longer than tonight's. If you would like to know how the racing was at the front, just go to SurfskiBC's blog,and read Jeff's write up.

(http://surfskibc.wordpress.com/author/surfskibc/)

Run Before the Race

Today I decided to come down to Vanier Park, and run along the trail that follows the shoreline around English Bay. Scenery wise it is a much nicer run here than by work. Instead of looking at the river and warehouses, I get to look at the north shore mountains, sailboats, Freighter, volleyball players, etc.

The run was another 20 mins steady state. The pace was a little higher than Tuesday's run at 11.5 kph,instead of 11.1 kph. This run was a little more challenging as well. As it was rolling hills and stairs to go up and down.

So now it is off to register for tonight's race.

KatKam and Big Chop #1

Today is the first Big Chop race of the season. Yee Haw. It should be a good race. Even with the predicted drop in wind speed at around race time.



Here is a link to a web cam that over looks English Bay and the start line at Vanier Park. www.katkam.ca. The shot is updated every 5 minutes, so if you start looking around 6:30 tonight, you will see everyone warming up. You might even catch the start of the race.