Just got home from a great weekend in Wrightsville Beach at the 2nd Annual Surf to Sound Challenge. When you are from Toronto and it's mid November it's always nice to get away somewhere south, even if the weather when you get there is kind of cold and grey. It's even better when you are in one of your favorite places and you're there with a dozen of your best friends from home. Yes, there was a Canadian invasion of Wrightsville Beach this weekend and we had so much fun I guarantee we'll be back.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get off work to spend Friday, the best of the 3 days weather wise, with my posse honing my surfing skills. My Friday was spent at work and then rushing to Buffalo to catch an evening flight. I got into the Blockade Runner past midnight and was up for breakfast at 7 a.m.
Race morning was chilly - maybe 50 F (10 C). A lot colder than I had hoped for and the north wind was probably about 20 mph gusting to maybe 30, making for conditions a lot more challenging than those we experienced last year. It's funny how the waves always look smaller from shore than they actually are. When it came time to punch out through the surf on the start there was a lot of carnage and boards flying everywhere. I took my time off the start and used a race plan similar to what worked for me last year. Unfortunately the buoy placement this year meant we never really had a well lined up downwind run. We went way out on an angle towards the buoy off the jetty and then had to come back in to enter the Masonboro inlet. It would definitely have been more fun if we didn't go out as far and then surfed straight downwind to the end of the jetty, but it was the same course for everyone so it was all good.
When I got to the jetty I didn't recognize it. Not only were the waves bigger than I had ever experienced there, but the tide was so high the jetty wasn't there in places. This meant the passage through the jetty was really choppy with a strong wind and chop coming from the right. By this point I was sitting in good shape and definitely within striking distance from the guys I could see in the lead not too far ahead. When we got to the inside end of the jetty and turned south into the sound I closed the gap really quickly. There were some great, clean, and very fast knee high runners here and I was able to keep linking them till they flattened out and just left us with a strong tailwind and small chop. By this time I was almost at the turn buoy and could see the leader going around it about 150 m in front of me. I had figured it was Dan Gavere and was happily surprised to see it was my buddy from home, Doug Tutty who had had an insanely good ocean leg. I had passed Doug on the ocean and then when I fell off my board he passed me back. When we went around the buoy off the end of the jetty he was a little ahead but I saw what appeared to be him careening out of control out to sea rather than picking up a line to the inlet. I figured I had left him behind with the line I'd taken but apparently not as there he was leading the race! Right on his tail was Jarrod Covington, a local Carolina paddler.
I got around the turn quickly and was in 3rd and about 100m down which I closed down pretty quickly and then, after a brief rest on Jarrod's wash, put my head down and just plowed through the headwind back to the finish in front of the Blockade Runner. I was relieved and happy to have pulled out a pretty comfortable win in a race where the ocean leg for me wasn't very pretty. I was also thrilled to see 5 Canadians in the top 10 including Chris Stringer in 5th right behind Dan Gavere and Doug, Jonathon Hollins and Rich Phelan in the top 10 as well. The other thrill was meeting Jeremy Riggs at the finish who I hadn't realized had been in the race. Jeremy and I tried to hook up for a downwind run on Sunday but the weather got insane as a Nor'easter came in. The rain was torrential and the ocean looked insane. After the number of beers consumed on Saturday night I figured it was beyond what I was ready for.
A huge thank you to the Blockade Runner for hosting the event and providing the usual great hospitality and to all the usual Carolina suspects for their part in putting on another great event. I LOVE padding in Wrightsville Beach and every time I am there people make me feel right at home.
The Canadian invasion was a success. Everyone had an awesome time and despite the weather most of the guys spent a ton of time surfing and kiting as well as doing the race. We will definitely be back next year!
::Larry's Technical Blog::
Monday, 19 November 2012
Friday, 16 November 2012
Training for SUP Part 4 – Structure of a Periodized Year Plan
So now it’s time to put everything together and develop your periodized yearlong training plan. I’ve attached an example that you’ll see below and you can download as an excel document to refer to as you read this
post. Please do not attempt to use it as your own training plan as it is just an example. Instead, think of the things I’ve discussed in my last couple of posts and use the information I provide here to develop your own plan that suits your needs and will best help you meet your goals.
The first thing I recommend you do is go and get a large sheet of graph paper with approximately ¼ inch squares. With it positioned lengthwise and using a ruler, draw a line along the length of the page about one inch from the bottom edge. About 1 ½ inches from the right edge of the page, draw a vertical line to a point near the top of the page. Now starting from the vertical line count out 52 squares along the horizontal line, each one corresponding to one week of the year and number them from right to left (52 should be at the far left, one at the far right). Each square represents one week of your training year.
After reading the last post and setting some goals, you should have determined your main race(s) for the season. Enter them on the graph paper near the top of the page, with the biggest race of your year (the race that is your main focus) in the column above the number 1 square. Now everything you enter in your plan is counting down to your biggest race. You know the date of the race so you know the week of the calendar year that week 1 on your page represents. I like to put the month of the year on my page, so I know where I am in the calendar year at a glance.
Before going any further you need to know the basic structure of a periodized yearly plan. The year is broken into a number of phases or cycles of training of varying sizes. The largest training phase is the macrocycle. Macrocycles represent major segments of the training year, each with specific physiological and technical aspects in mind as the main focus, and can be as long as 12 to 16 weeks in duration. Each macrocycle is divided into smaller training phases called mesocycles, each devoted to progressive improvement of the major training objectives of the macrocycle. These are usually 3 to 4 weeks in duration. Each mesocycle can then be divided into smaller microcycles, which are usually 1 week in length. These focus on the training objectives of the mesocycle, but represent an effective way to control progressive training load (both in terms of volume and intensity) within the mesocycle.
In general, if you have 4 microcycles within a mesocycle, the training load should increase slightly in each of the first three before dropping in the fourth to provide an easier week. This easier week allows for the body to consolidate physiological and technical gains made in the mesocycle and recharge before beginning the next mesocycle and its progressively increasing training load. This pattern of progressive loading with built in consolidation/recovery ensures maximal gains in the components of fitness being trained, prevents overtraining and burnout and minimizes the risk of injury.
So how might these macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles fit together for a SUP paddler? Let’s go back to our graph paper. Currently you’ve plotted the year out into 52 weeks, each represented by one square on your sheet, with your most important race of the year occurring in the week 1 column to the far right of your page. If you are a cold climate paddler a useful place to start is to look at what you’ve plotted on the graph paper so far and determine the weeks in the winter where you are most likely going to be frozen off the water (or at least have your paddling seriously curtailed by weather). Since you can’t paddle much during this period, this is an appropriate place to create a macrocycle dedicated primarily to general dry-land fitness training as opposed to specific on-water training. For me living in the Toronto area this phase starts at the beginning of December when the rivers and lakes usually begin to freeze and extends until early to mid March when the ice has usually melted or I am at a training camp somewhere in a warm climate. Since you’ve already plotted the months of the year on your page you should easily be able to define this macrocycle on your page. I call this macrocycle the general preparatory phase. If you are from a climate where you can paddle comfortably all year round you’ll need to consider where you want to fit your general preparatory phase within your year.
If I were from a warmer climate I’d probably keep my general preparatory phase in pretty much the same spot, but as I’ve been training for 35 years it is as much due to being comfortable with it there rather than due to any physiological reason. I think somewhere around a minimum of 20 weeks of uninterrupted on-water preparation is ideal for optimal race preparation so you have some flexibility as to where you locate your general preparatory phase within the year. Next let’s consider the period of time between your biggest race of the previous season and the start of the general preparatory phase which you just scheduled into your plan. This macrocycle consists primarily of on-water training (as winter weather hasn’t arrived yet) and should be used for the following:
I call this macrocycle the specific base development phase as the focus is on building a specific (paddling) base of both fitness and technique,while introducing the most basic dry-land training. As such it concentrates more on volume of training than intensity. For me this cycle usually lasts from mid to late September to the end of November(approximately 9 to 10 weeks.)
So now you’ve plotted out the first two macrocycles of your training year. At this point you need to consider what comes after your general preparatory macrocycle. This phase is called the specific preparatory phase.This phase generally covers about 16 weeks and covers your early season on-water preparation and much of the early season racing. The focus here should be on transferring gains made in general fitness during dry-land training to specific fitness required for paddling. Initially this macrocycle is characterized by relatively high volume, low intensity training, however as the cycle continues there is a progression to higher intensity and slightly lower volume.
As the general preparatory phase is a little too short to fully address all the strength/power requirements for SUP there is a need to continue to do dry-land strength/power training during the specific preparatory phase. Furthermore, as the paddling season between the end of the basic preparatory phase and the year’s most important race can be up to 28 weeks or more long, it is necessary to continue to do dry-land strength/power training to maintain abilities you’ve already developed. The main focus of strength/power training during this cycle should be the development of power endurance. This can be done effectively with short intense dry-land workouts 1x to 2x/week and on the water 1x to 2x/week by using a variety of brake-like mechanisms to increase resistance while paddling on your board.
The last macrocycle of the season is the competitive phase. It can be anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks in length and consists of on-water training designed to progressively address the high intensity effort required in racing. Depending on the nature of the race you’ve identified as the year’s most important, this cycle can include a lot of high intensity aerobic or even anaerobic work. As intensity increases in this phase there is a corresponding decrease in volume.
The last 2 to 3 weeks of this cycle are devoted to peaking for the year’s biggest race. This process is characterized by short, high intensity workouts with increasingly large amounts of rest and recovery in between. In theory, your body rebounds from the high training load it has endured and super compensates to the new, reduced training load. This allows it to be at its absolute strongest and most prepared for your most important race.
At this point I think it would be appropriate to make a few comments on the example of the year plan that I’ve included, particularly with reference to volume and intensity. It is important to note the following:
This should serve as a good overview of the structure of a periodized year plan. I’ll dedicate each of the next few posts to a closer look at each of the macrocycles I’ve identified here, including their objectives, the type of training you should be doing to meet those objectives, the progression from mesocycle to mesocycle, some examples of workouts and exercises you can do, and how to manage the balance between volume and intensity. Stay tuned!
The first thing I recommend you do is go and get a large sheet of graph paper with approximately ¼ inch squares. With it positioned lengthwise and using a ruler, draw a line along the length of the page about one inch from the bottom edge. About 1 ½ inches from the right edge of the page, draw a vertical line to a point near the top of the page. Now starting from the vertical line count out 52 squares along the horizontal line, each one corresponding to one week of the year and number them from right to left (52 should be at the far left, one at the far right). Each square represents one week of your training year.
After reading the last post and setting some goals, you should have determined your main race(s) for the season. Enter them on the graph paper near the top of the page, with the biggest race of your year (the race that is your main focus) in the column above the number 1 square. Now everything you enter in your plan is counting down to your biggest race. You know the date of the race so you know the week of the calendar year that week 1 on your page represents. I like to put the month of the year on my page, so I know where I am in the calendar year at a glance.
Before going any further you need to know the basic structure of a periodized yearly plan. The year is broken into a number of phases or cycles of training of varying sizes. The largest training phase is the macrocycle. Macrocycles represent major segments of the training year, each with specific physiological and technical aspects in mind as the main focus, and can be as long as 12 to 16 weeks in duration. Each macrocycle is divided into smaller training phases called mesocycles, each devoted to progressive improvement of the major training objectives of the macrocycle. These are usually 3 to 4 weeks in duration. Each mesocycle can then be divided into smaller microcycles, which are usually 1 week in length. These focus on the training objectives of the mesocycle, but represent an effective way to control progressive training load (both in terms of volume and intensity) within the mesocycle.
In general, if you have 4 microcycles within a mesocycle, the training load should increase slightly in each of the first three before dropping in the fourth to provide an easier week. This easier week allows for the body to consolidate physiological and technical gains made in the mesocycle and recharge before beginning the next mesocycle and its progressively increasing training load. This pattern of progressive loading with built in consolidation/recovery ensures maximal gains in the components of fitness being trained, prevents overtraining and burnout and minimizes the risk of injury.
So how might these macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles fit together for a SUP paddler? Let’s go back to our graph paper. Currently you’ve plotted the year out into 52 weeks, each represented by one square on your sheet, with your most important race of the year occurring in the week 1 column to the far right of your page. If you are a cold climate paddler a useful place to start is to look at what you’ve plotted on the graph paper so far and determine the weeks in the winter where you are most likely going to be frozen off the water (or at least have your paddling seriously curtailed by weather). Since you can’t paddle much during this period, this is an appropriate place to create a macrocycle dedicated primarily to general dry-land fitness training as opposed to specific on-water training. For me living in the Toronto area this phase starts at the beginning of December when the rivers and lakes usually begin to freeze and extends until early to mid March when the ice has usually melted or I am at a training camp somewhere in a warm climate. Since you’ve already plotted the months of the year on your page you should easily be able to define this macrocycle on your page. I call this macrocycle the general preparatory phase. If you are from a climate where you can paddle comfortably all year round you’ll need to consider where you want to fit your general preparatory phase within your year.
If I were from a warmer climate I’d probably keep my general preparatory phase in pretty much the same spot, but as I’ve been training for 35 years it is as much due to being comfortable with it there rather than due to any physiological reason. I think somewhere around a minimum of 20 weeks of uninterrupted on-water preparation is ideal for optimal race preparation so you have some flexibility as to where you locate your general preparatory phase within the year. Next let’s consider the period of time between your biggest race of the previous season and the start of the general preparatory phase which you just scheduled into your plan. This macrocycle consists primarily of on-water training (as winter weather hasn’t arrived yet) and should be used for the following:
- Recovery from the previous competitive season (usually about 3 weeks of active rest)
- Development of specific aerobic base (your aerobic fitness developed on the water)
- Correction of technical flaws/refinement of paddling technique
- Introduction to dry-land fitness training with particular focus on dry-land aerobic work and development of basic strength
I call this macrocycle the specific base development phase as the focus is on building a specific (paddling) base of both fitness and technique,while introducing the most basic dry-land training. As such it concentrates more on volume of training than intensity. For me this cycle usually lasts from mid to late September to the end of November(approximately 9 to 10 weeks.)
So now you’ve plotted out the first two macrocycles of your training year. At this point you need to consider what comes after your general preparatory macrocycle. This phase is called the specific preparatory phase.This phase generally covers about 16 weeks and covers your early season on-water preparation and much of the early season racing. The focus here should be on transferring gains made in general fitness during dry-land training to specific fitness required for paddling. Initially this macrocycle is characterized by relatively high volume, low intensity training, however as the cycle continues there is a progression to higher intensity and slightly lower volume.
As the general preparatory phase is a little too short to fully address all the strength/power requirements for SUP there is a need to continue to do dry-land strength/power training during the specific preparatory phase. Furthermore, as the paddling season between the end of the basic preparatory phase and the year’s most important race can be up to 28 weeks or more long, it is necessary to continue to do dry-land strength/power training to maintain abilities you’ve already developed. The main focus of strength/power training during this cycle should be the development of power endurance. This can be done effectively with short intense dry-land workouts 1x to 2x/week and on the water 1x to 2x/week by using a variety of brake-like mechanisms to increase resistance while paddling on your board.
The last macrocycle of the season is the competitive phase. It can be anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks in length and consists of on-water training designed to progressively address the high intensity effort required in racing. Depending on the nature of the race you’ve identified as the year’s most important, this cycle can include a lot of high intensity aerobic or even anaerobic work. As intensity increases in this phase there is a corresponding decrease in volume.
The last 2 to 3 weeks of this cycle are devoted to peaking for the year’s biggest race. This process is characterized by short, high intensity workouts with increasingly large amounts of rest and recovery in between. In theory, your body rebounds from the high training load it has endured and super compensates to the new, reduced training load. This allows it to be at its absolute strongest and most prepared for your most important race.
At this point I think it would be appropriate to make a few comments on the example of the year plan that I’ve included, particularly with reference to volume and intensity. It is important to note the following:
- There is no scale to the volume and intensity bars in the year plan I’ve included. They simply represent the relative load in terms of each that is completed in each microcycle.
- Volume is underneath intensity on the plan as volume is foundation training upon which increased intensity can be added
- You can see the pattern of increased training load (volume and intensity) for the first 2 to 3 weeks (microcycles) of each mesocycle, followed by an easier week of reduced load for consolidation and recovery. You can see that the load also tends to increase from mesocycle to mesocycle. It is important to note that such an undulating increase in training load is ultimately more effective than a linear increase which is more likely to lead to overtraining injuries and burnout.
- You can see that in the specific base development, general preparatory and specific preparatory phases volume is the main focus, although intensity does increase gradually
- In the competitive phase volume is reduced and intensity becomes a greater part of the total training load
- During the peaking mesocycle volume is cut way back but intensity remains fairly high
- You can see that for “A” races there is generally some reduction in training load built in during the week leading up to the race, corresponding to what could be described as a “mini peak”. For “B” races there is no such reduction in training load. As such you are often racing tired in these events and using them as training exercises rather than performance indicators.
This should serve as a good overview of the structure of a periodized year plan. I’ll dedicate each of the next few posts to a closer look at each of the macrocycles I’ve identified here, including their objectives, the type of training you should be doing to meet those objectives, the progression from mesocycle to mesocycle, some examples of workouts and exercises you can do, and how to manage the balance between volume and intensity. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Training for SUP Part 3 - Goal Setting, Assessing Performance and Choosing Races
In the last post I described the main fitness components
that you need to consider in developing a periodized training program for stand
up paddling. The structure of your
program, the degree to which you train these components, and the amount of time
you actually spend in the gym and on the water should all depend on your
paddling goals.
So what should you consider when setting your goals? I’ve always thought that you should start by
asking yourself a number of questions:
- How important is SUP to you? How much of your life are you willing or able to devote to training and paddling?
- What is your current level of performance? How did you do in your most recent race(s)?
- What is your current level of fitness? Who are the athletes performing at the level you aspire to? What is your impression of their fitness level? What skills and areas of fitness do you need to improve to get to their level? Is it realistic to get to their level in the time you are considering?
- What is the timeline for your goal(s)? What major race do you want to perform best at? What other races would you like to do (or maybe are committed to do)? Are you prepared to train through many of them and sacrifice performance in them for even better results in your major race(s)?
Where does SUP fit in
your life?
Whether I am coaching kids at the canoe club or talking to
adults who do stand up paddling, I always say the same thing - train
appropriately for your goals. I could
just as easily say it the other way round – set goals that are appropriate for
the amount of time and effort you are willing to devote to training.
I think the first thing you should do in the process of
setting your goals is take a look at your life and determine honestly what kind
of commitment you can, or are willing, to make to training. You’ll be a lot happier person and enjoy your
paddling much more if you’re honest with yourself right from the start. It is totally unrealistic for someone who is
only able to train, or worse still only wants
to train, four times a week to have the goal of a top twenty finish at the
Battle of the Paddle. Having raced
against and paddled with the top SUP guys like Danny Ching and Jamie Mitchell I
can tell you that they are similar level athletes to Adam Van Koeverden, an
Olympic champion kayak paddler from my club.
Athletes at this level are incredible and aren’t that way by
accident. They train hard – up to
10x/week, at times even more, and have done so for years.
On the other hand you can enter races and meet your
performance goals even if you only want to train 4x/week. You just have to set realistic goals and
develop an intelligent training plan. I
suggest considering all the commitments that you have – family, work, etc. Look at the other things you like to do with
your free time and ask yourself how much time you have to devote to SUP
training. If you can only paddle 4x/week
and can’t commit to doing much of the dryland training I’ve discussed in the last
post, then your goal should probably be as simple as entering and completing
races. You don’t have to win to make
racing fun and worthwhile, but if you decide you really want to step up your
level of performance then you are going to have to increase your training
volume and intensity. Start by
increasing it a little. Add one extra paddle/week or maybe a
couple of strength sessions. See how you
make out with that small additional training commitment. Can you consistently handle that commitment
and still get everything else you want out of life? If you can, then set a cautiously more
ambitious goal for yourself.
It takes a while to find a sense of balance in your life
when you increase your training load.
Take some time to see if you can handle the new load, even if you’ve
only bumped it up a little, before considering adding even more to your
training program. It also takes a
fairly long time to see the benefits of an increased training load. Don’t expect to see instant results. Set relatively long term goals and give
yourself time to achieve them.
Assessing your
current level of performance
This should be the easiest thing to consider in the goal
setting process. Results are results. You can’t really debate them. If you’ve done a bunch of races you should
have a pretty good idea of the group within the race that you are usually
competing most closely with. These are
the paddlers you should be aiming to best when you start putting your training
plan together. You should also have some
idea of who the paddlers are in the level just above yours. If you want to make a big push to improve,
then these are the guys you should be aiming to try to beat in your races next
season.
Of course the other measure of performance is your own
paddling speed. If you use a GPS you
should know the speed you usually travel at.
Some people use miles or kilometers per hour. I actually prefer pace per kilometer. Whatever measure you use, a good year goal is
to lower your travelling pace or increase your travelling speed by a small yet
significant amount.
If you don’t use a GPS a great way to assess speed is to
perform periodic time controls. Chose a
standard distance on water that is pretty consistent in terms of offering
neutral conditions. Get a baseline time
for that distance and then set a target time that you’d like to achieve over
the course of the season. Repeat the
test every month or so to monitor your progress. I think a great distance is 2000m. It is long enough to be heavily aerobic but
still has a significant anaerobic component to it. It isn’t excessively long, so it is a
relatively easy test to fit into your training program and it is a very good
measure of your likely travelling speed in a longer race. For example, from 2 km to 4 km my pace is
only about 1% slower and from 2 km to 15 km only about 3% slower in neutral conditions. If you can lower your 2 km time substantially
you’ll likely be going a lot faster over a longer race.
Assessing your
current level of fitness
Besides paddling technique and your board skills, fitness is
a decisive, major factor influencing your speed and thus your performance.
You’ll recall in my last post I discussed strength, power,
and aerobic and anaerobic training. If
you are an experienced SUP racer that has a good foundation of training behind
you, then you should try to find a test or tests for each of these elements of
fitness. These tests will help you
assess where your baseline is in each area, will help you monitor the quality
and effectiveness of your training, and help you set some fitness goals for the
preparatory phase of your periodized program.
Your baseline tests will help you determine your fitness strengths and
weaknesses and help you determine areas you should focus more heavily on in
your training plan.
If you are new to training for SUP then you don’t need to
test yourself in all of the elements of fitness that I have described. My advice would be to choose tests that test basic
strength and aerobic fitness, and wait until you have a greater training
background before testing power and your anaerobic capability.
Listed below are some examples of tests that I’ve used in
the past for each element of sprint canoe and SUP related fitness. I’ve indicated whether the test is appropriate
for novice or more advanced SUP trainers.
At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter which tests you choose to
do as long as you do them in a consistent, controlled fashion each time you
perform them. If you don’t take care to
do them the same way each time they really won’t be giving you any useful
information. Find some tests that work
for you, and keep a record of your results so you can monitor improvement
within a season and from year to year. I
am willing to bet you’ll start to see a pretty strong correlation between your
test results and your performance on the water.
- Basic Strength
o Push ups – max number (novice)
o Chin ups – max number (novice and advanced)
o Bench press with body weight – max number (advanced) - Maximum Strength
o 3 rep bench press max (advanced) - Strength Endurance
o Push ups – max number (advanced)
o 110 lbs. (or 60% body weight) bench press – max number (advanced)
o Body row – max number (advanced)
o 110 lbs. (or 60% body weight) bench pull – max number (advanced) - Relative Strength
o Any of above tests using body weight only (novice or advanced)
o Parallel bar dips – max number (novice or advanced) -
Power Endurance
o Push ups – max number in 1 minute (novice or advanced – good for testing
relative strength as well)
o Chin ups – max number in 1 minute (novice or advanced – good for testing relative
strength as well)
o Abdominal crunches – max number in 1 minute (novice or advanced – good for testing
relative strength as well)
o 110 lbs. (or 60% body weight) bench press – max number in one minute (advanced)
o 110 lbs. (or 60% body weight) bench pull – max number in one minute (advanced)
o 135 lbs. bench press – max number in 30 seconds (advanced) - Maximum Power
o Body weight bench press – time for 15 repetitions (advanced)
o Body weight + 25% bench press - time for 15 repetitions (advanced) - Aerobic Capacity
o 1500m run for time (novice and advanced)
o 300m swim for time (novice and advanced)
o 5 km run for time (novice and advanced) - Anaerobic Capacity
o 400m run for time (novice and advanced)
These tests are examples of how you can assess each area of
fitness. If you are an experienced
trainer you’ll undoubtedly have some tests of your own that you already
use. Performing these tests will give
you some idea of your level of fitness in strength, power and cardiovascular
fitness. Again, if you are a novice
trainer with little training background I suggest you only do the tests
identified for novices. The bulk of your
training should be devoted to bringing your basic strength and aerobic fitness to
a higher level before starting to spend a lot of time training the other
elements of fitness I’ve identified. If
you are more advanced you can test in each area and evaluate your progress in
each phase of training. Whether you are
novice or more experienced, once you have some baseline data from these tests
it is much easier to set realistic yet challenging goals.
Selecting Races
When you are setting your goals and starting to think about
your periodized yearlong training plan you should determine the event you’d
like to make your main focus. Your
performance at this event represents your main performance goal for the
season. Ideally this race should be
towards the end of your season so that it represents the culmination of all the
training, both on water and dryland, that you’ve done all year. For example, for relatively elite level SUP paddlers
the Battle of the Paddle is a great event to focus on as it is the biggest,
most prestigious event in SUP and occurs towards the end of the summer. In sprint canoe, the world championships or
the Olympics are the ones that paddlers generally focus on. Whatever race you choose it should be
towards the end of your training year so you have the benefit of the entire
year of training behind you.
Does choosing one main race to focus on mean you can’t or
shouldn’t do others? Of course not! You can chose a few other big races to aim
for, but if you want to peak fully for your main race you should know it is easier
to peak for one than it is for many. I
strongly suggest choosing one you want to fully peak for and then looking at
maybe adding a couple more and seeing if you can do a mini peak for them. If you are one of those paddlers who like to
race every week I suggest a couple of things:
·
Cut back on your racing. You don’t need to race so often. In fact it is counterproductive if you cut back
on training to rest for races, do a lot of extra travel to get to races, or run
yourself down by doing too many long races with insufficient recovery in between.
·
If you must race often because you’ve made
commitments to events or sponsors then you should identify races you want to
perform at and ones you are going to train through. You can’t be concerned about your performance
in the races you train through. You need to be comfortable with results that
seem subpar and maintain your confidence in what you are doing. Remember these races are just training
exercises. Because they are in a competitive
environment it might be possible to use these races to gauge aspects of your
training, but not its overall effectiveness.
When I structure my year I try to aim at one main race late
in the season. For SUP it’s the
BOP. I try to pick one race in May, June
or early July that I can do a mini peak for.
The rest of the races I won’t alter my training for, although for the
odd big race (like the Carolina Cup in late April) I’ll cut my training back a
little in the week leading up to it. The
other handful of races I do I train through.
I don’t miss a workout and I don’t back off at all to save it for a
race. My results may be compromised at
those races a little or a lot, depending on what phase of training I’m in and
how tired I am, but it’s worth it in the long run. This philosophy mirrors exactly what I used
to do when I raced C1 and prepared for the Worlds or the Olympics. When done correctly this process has always
yielded a superior performance when it matters most.
In my next post I’ll put everything I’ve discussed so far together
in an example of a periodized year plan.
I’ll show you the basic format of a periodized year and how the various
elements fit together. It won’t be a
plan that you can just copy and do, as I hope that I’ve made it clear that
since we all have different goals, strengths, weaknesses, and fitness and
technical needs we should all be on different individualized programs. But it will give you an idea of how you can
take everything into account and develop your own periodized plan. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Training for SUP Part 2 - Essential Elements of Fitness
In Part 1 I introduced the concept of periodization in the
design of a training program. Not only
does following a periodized program help maximize performance, but because such
a program introduces new elements of training in a sequential fashion and allows
for proper rest and consolidation it also helps to minimize the risk of injury
and enhance athletic longevity.
Athletes are much less subject to burnout, both physical and mental, when
following a periodized program.
In order to put together a periodized program for yourself,
you’ll need to understand the various types of fitness required for SUP – what
they are, their role in making your board move, and how to train them. I’ve put together a chart that lists all the
fitness abilities and various skills needed to be successful in SUP. These are the things you’ll need to consider
in your training, both on and off the water, as you become increasingly serious
about the sport. I’ll focus primarily on
strength, power and energy systems here, as they should comprise the bulk of
your fitness training.
Link to downloadable chart
Intuitively every paddler understands the value of strength in SUP. Anyone that has secured their paddle in the water and tried to pull their board past their paddle understands that you use muscles throughout your body. Clearly anything that can help those muscles become stronger and work longer before exhaustion is good, but it is important to have an understanding of exactly what can accomplish that. Here is a summary of the various types of strength and power required in SUP:
Intuitively every paddler understands the value of strength in SUP. Anyone that has secured their paddle in the water and tried to pull their board past their paddle understands that you use muscles throughout your body. Clearly anything that can help those muscles become stronger and work longer before exhaustion is good, but it is important to have an understanding of exactly what can accomplish that. Here is a summary of the various types of strength and power required in SUP:
Basic Strength is
the foundation on which all other forms of strength and power development are
based. It is the first element that should
be trained in the gym and includes strengthening of muscles and connective tissue
like tendons and ligaments. The main objective
of a cycle of basic strength training in a periodized program is to increase
your ability to perform high volume strength training work without injury in
future phases of training. Obviously
athletes who already have sufficient muscle mass and a strong weight training
background don’t need to spend a lot of time training basic strength beyond that
required to get their connective tissue prepared for more intense types of
strength and power training which follow.
However if you’re a more novice trainer with less of a strength training
background then you should train basic strength for a longer period, as you probably
need to build more muscle and a sound foundation before moving onto other types
of strength and power training. Basic
strength weight training is similar to body building training in that movements
should be preformed in a slow and controlled manner, for 10 to 15 repetitions
with about 3 minutes of active rest between sets. Exercises need not be sport specific but
should train the muscle groups used in SUP.
Typical exercises include bench press, seating rowing, and squats.
Maximum Strength is
built on the foundation of basic strength.
It can basically be defined as the ability to perform heavy lifts, and
readies the athlete for training power in future phases of training by
requiring greater neural recruitment of muscle fibers than basic strength
training. Essentially if basic strength
training readies you for high volume
work in coming phases, maximum strength training prepares you for high intensity training. Exercises are performed without consideration
for speed of contraction, in controlled movements and for 3 to 6 repetitions
with 3 to 5 minutes of active rest between sets.
Strength Endurance is
the ability to perform movements repeatedly.
Again movements are controlled and precise and done for more than 15 -20
repetitions with rest of one minute or less between sets. This work encourages changes within the
muscle fiber that allow them to be more efficient in repeated movement. Once again, this type of training is done
without consideration for speed of muscle contraction and in controlled
movements. This work helps prepare the
muscles for power endurance training in future phases.
Relative Strength
can be defined as strength measured against body weight. In a sport like stand up paddling relative
strength is extremely important as the paddler not only has to move the weight
of the board, but also his or her own body, through the water. Relative strength is developed during the
other types of strength training already discussed, as basic and maximum
strength training build lean muscle mass.
Muscle is highly metabolic tissue and burns tremendous amounts of energy
just to maintain itself so increases in muscle mass should help diminish body
fat. The resulting increased ratio of lean
muscle mass to body fat automatically results in improved relative
strength. Specific exercises, such as
chin-ups, dips, etc., in which the resistance is provided by your own body
weight, can be chosen as part of your basic strength and strength endurance
work and can help you monitor your progress in the development of relative
strength.
Common to each of these types of training is that they are
performed without regard to time and the speed of muscle contraction. However practical sport applications of
strength almost always involve time and the speed at which muscles are required
to contract. For almost all athletes
these are major concerns. If we accept
the idea that lifting or moving a weight represents work, then power can be
defined as the amount of work done per unit of time. Power is measured in Watts according to the
formula Watts = work/time. In a specific
sport application of power, SUP athletes are interested in performing the
highest amount of work in the least amount of time in each stroke they take.
Power Endurance can
be defined as the ability to consistently and repeatedly perform dynamic high
wattage output movements. It’s the type
of strength you need to pull your best, dynamic paddling strokes consistently
for an hour or more in a race without tiring excessively. In the development of power endurance the
time it takes to perform a repetition or set is important. Many of the same exercises performed in basic
strength training can be performed in rapid dynamic movements to develop power. One example I’ve used to develop power
endurance is to perform circuit training in which the exercises are performed
as rapidly as possible with precise movements.
New exercises, such as power cleans and clean and jerk etc, which by
their very nature require dynamic movements should be introduced. High repetition plyometric training is also
useful. In performing this type of
training higher repetitions are used to develop the ability to perform these
high wattage output movements repeatedly.
Maximum or Explosive
Power is the ability to produce maximum or peak power for short periods of
time. This is the type of power that
allows you to blast off at the start, charge past someone in a race or sprint
to the finish. It is also extremely
important in enabling you to pull yourself onto a wave when going downwind or pulling
onto somebody’s draft. Maximum power can
be trained by doing more intense lifts, such as power cleans, for fewer reps or
doing traditional body building exercises with heavy weights as dynamically as
possible. Six to eight repetitions
should be performed.
As important as strength and power training is in
preparation for SUP racing, if you don’t train your energy systems your
performance will be disappointing.
Muscle contraction requires energy which allows the processes within the
muscle fiber responsible for that contraction to occur. There are three different systems which
produce the energy used in muscle contraction and you should be making two of
them big parts of your fitness training.
The energy currency for almost all processes in the human
body is a molecule called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. It is produced locally in the muscle fiber,
either in the mitochondria or the cytoplasm, and is essential for the process
by which muscles contact. When a
phosphate is ripped off the ATP a high-energy bond is broken releasing energy
that drives the contraction process.
Clearly we want to do things in our training that enhance the production
of ATP in our muscles. This can be
accomplished to a degree through strength and power training however it can be
enhanced most effectively by doing aerobic and anaerobic endurance training.
Aerobic training
is simply training that affects the aerobic energy system. This is the energy system your muscles rely
on for ATP when you are doing long steady work in training or are in the middle
of a long race. This energy system
relies on glucose (stored as glycogen) and fats for fuel, occurs in the
mitochondria of the muscle fiber and can last indefinitely. It is efficient in that it produces relatively
large amounts of ATP for each molecule of glucose used and it produces only
water and carbon dioxide as by-products so there is no negative impact on
performance from using it. The only
drawback with this system is that it requires oxygen; hence if your
cardiorespiratory system (heart and lungs) cannot deliver enough oxygen to the
muscle to meet the demand, then another energy system will have to make up the
shortfall.
Anaerobic lactic
training affects the anaerobic lactic system.
This is the main energy system the body uses to produce energy when
there is a negative balance of oxygen or oxygen deficit. It requires glycogen as fuel, occurs in the
cytoplasm of the muscle fiber and its advantage is that it provides ATP in
rapid response to need. The drawback of
this system is that it is effective for a limited time of around 2 minutes
maximum (more commonly in most people 40 seconds to 1 minute) and it produces a
by-product called lactic acid that builds up in the muscle, inhibiting
performance and eventually causing muscle failure. This is the energy system you use when you
take your speed up to a higher level off the start, at the finish or when passing
someone in the middle of a race. It’s
also the energy system that kicks in to meet the energy shortfall when the
cardiorespiratory system cannot supply enough oxygen to the muscle to meet the
demand. You need to use it carefully in
a long SUP race to prevent too much lactic acid from accumulating in your
muscles.
A third energy system exists called the anaerobic alactic system, but it is of little consequence in SUP
paddling except for very short sprints.
It relies on a compound called creatine phosphate to produce ATP without
oxygen. It does not produce lactic acid and
hence has no negative consequences, however it only lasts for 10 to 15 seconds
maximum and takes a relatively long period to recover. It is the primary energy system used by
someone in jumping, throwing or sprinting events in athletics but is
responsible for only a very small amount of the ATP produced during a typical
SUP race.
Training aerobically leads to changes in the muscle fiber
that allow for more efficient production of ATP, including an increased number
of mitochondria, increased oxygen carrying capacity inside the muscle fiber
(via a substance called myoglobin) and increased activity of enzymes involved
in the breakdown of glucose in the production of ATP. It also leads to an improved ability of your
lungs to get oxygen into your blood stream and your heart to pump oxygenated
blood throughout the body. This increased
efficiency of the heart and lungs and an increased vascularity of muscle tissue
increases the amount of oxygen that can be supplied to the working muscles. This in turn allows you to paddle harder and
still be working aerobically.
No matter how well developed your aerobic system is, at some
point as you increase your effort you will reach a point where your aerobic
system is maxed out and your anaerobic lactic system is called upon to pick up
the slack. At this point lactic acid
begins to accumulate in your muscles and in your blood as the blood tries to
carry it away from the muscle. This
point, where the anaerobic lactic system kicks in, is called the anaerobic threshold (AT). The goal of your aerobic training should be to
try to push your AT to a higher level. This
is most effectively done by doing aerobic training close to, but below, that
threshold.
You can train your energy systems effectively on the water,
however you can more easily train close to your anaerobic threshold doing
dryland aerobic training like running, cycling or cross country skiing. In these activities it is easier to raise and
maintain your heart rate than it is while paddling, primarily because they use
the large muscles of the legs to a greater degree than SUP. You can therefore put a much greater load on
your cardiorespiratory system and develop it to a higher degree on land than on
the water. Even if you have not been
training specific paddling muscles in a padding motion, when you return to the
water after a phase of dryland aerobic training your ability to deliver oxygen
to paddling muscles will be improved.
This will allow you to paddler harder and still be working aerobically,
avoiding any build up of performance limiting lactic acid.
Hopefully you now have an understanding of the types of
strength, power and energy system training you need to do for stand up
paddling. In my next post I’ll discuss
how to assess your fitness in each area so you know your strengths and weaknesses
before you start training. I’ll also discuss
how to set some season goals, for both your fitness level and race
performances, and how to select races to peak for and to train through. Stay tuned!
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Training for SUP Part 1 - Introduction
It’s starting to get colder here in Toronto and with that comes the realization that there are only another 6 to 8 weeks of paddling left for all but the very hard core. Yet in warmer climates paddlers are happily oblivious to the changing seasons and carrying on as they have all summer. How can cold climate paddlers ever hope to compete with those from warmer climates that can paddle all year round?
From my experience in sprint canoe, being frozen off the water hasn’t been the disadvantage one might think. It actually forces paddlers to place greater focus on fitness, and develop that fitness to a higher level than they would if they were paddling all year round.
A sport like sprint canoe has a very large technical component to it. Being able to pull yourself by your paddle efficiently and effectively is a skill that takes time to acquire, and some paddlers never master it. Stand up paddling is even more technical. Not only do SUP paddlers need paddling skills similar to those of a sprint canoe paddler, but they also need a variety of ocean skills that could take a lifetime to truly master. Clearly the place to master these skills is on the water and so the value of being able to spend time on the water year round is obvious.
However both sprint canoe and SUP require a high level of fitness that can only be developed to a point on the water. Dryland fitness training, focusing on both energy systems and strength, is essential to develop fitness to its fullest. True it is possible; in fact even likely, that a highly skilled SUP paddler will beat a less skilled but fitter paddler in a race. However if you take two paddlers of similar skill level the stronger, fitter one will almost always beat the less fit one. Fitness does make a difference to performance, and anyone who truly desires to be the best they can possibly be should approach fitness training professionally, whether it be general conditioning on land or specific fitness developed on the water.
Interestingly, the most successful sprint canoe athletes are from colder climate countries and spend anywhere from 1 to 3 months off the water each year. In this time they do intense training for aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and develop the various types of strength required for paddling at the highest level. They train this dryland fitness a minimum of 10x/week through the winter. In the spring, when they return to the water, they then enter a maintenance phase of fitness training designed to help them hold the enormous fitness gains they made over the winter, while they develop their paddling skills and various aspects of specific fitness through different phases of training during the paddling season.
In contrast, the paddlers from warmer climates are often tempted to do too much paddling through the winter, and not only miss opportunities to take their fitness to the highest level but often burn out or get stale on the water. Those that were frozen off the water enter the competitive season a little behind on their paddling but way ahead on fitness as well as hungry and excited about returning to the water. If their program is properly designed they can carry that hunger and fitness through the entire paddling season, and in a few months are usually well ahead of those that were on the water all winter.
Obviously the optimal scenario would be having the climate to paddle all year round but training on a program that only requires you to paddle 2 or 3x/week maximum for 2 to 3 months. The training focus can then still be on achieving high levels of fitness with the paddles providing an opportunity to refine technical skills and maintain a good feeling on the water through this general conditioning phase.
All of this suggests that dividing the year into training cycles or phases, each with its own distinct objectives is the optimal approach to training. Various fitness and skill abilities can be the focus of training at certain points in the year and developed to their fullest. These abilities can then be maintained while focus shifts to developing others. This division of the year into distinct training cycles is known as periodization of training. It is widely accepted as the optimal way to train for high-level sport. Every canoe-kayak athlete at the Olympic Games trains on a periodized program. Some structure their year differently than others and the way in which the year is optimally broken down is, to a degree, open for debate.
I strongly believe that SUP paddlers should train on a periodized program as well. I take the “no stone left unturned” approach to preparation. I want my board skills developed to a maximum, but I know the only way to get my fitness to a maximum is to do the required fitness work on a program that addresses in an intelligent and sequential manner all of the skills and abilities needed to be successful.
In a series of upcoming posts I’ll share my ideas on how to structure a training plan for SUP. I’ll take a look at how to choose what races to do, what races to peak for and which ones to train through. I’ll do an inventory of all of the fitness abilities and skills needed in SUP and suggest how to structure a periodized program that maximizes their development so they are optimal for your most important races. I’ll try to give you concrete training suggestions for each phase of training. Throughout this series of posts I’ll try to answer any questions you have. All you have to do is leave them as comments after each post and I’ll return to try to answer them. Stay tuned!
From my experience in sprint canoe, being frozen off the water hasn’t been the disadvantage one might think. It actually forces paddlers to place greater focus on fitness, and develop that fitness to a higher level than they would if they were paddling all year round.
A sport like sprint canoe has a very large technical component to it. Being able to pull yourself by your paddle efficiently and effectively is a skill that takes time to acquire, and some paddlers never master it. Stand up paddling is even more technical. Not only do SUP paddlers need paddling skills similar to those of a sprint canoe paddler, but they also need a variety of ocean skills that could take a lifetime to truly master. Clearly the place to master these skills is on the water and so the value of being able to spend time on the water year round is obvious.
However both sprint canoe and SUP require a high level of fitness that can only be developed to a point on the water. Dryland fitness training, focusing on both energy systems and strength, is essential to develop fitness to its fullest. True it is possible; in fact even likely, that a highly skilled SUP paddler will beat a less skilled but fitter paddler in a race. However if you take two paddlers of similar skill level the stronger, fitter one will almost always beat the less fit one. Fitness does make a difference to performance, and anyone who truly desires to be the best they can possibly be should approach fitness training professionally, whether it be general conditioning on land or specific fitness developed on the water.
Interestingly, the most successful sprint canoe athletes are from colder climate countries and spend anywhere from 1 to 3 months off the water each year. In this time they do intense training for aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and develop the various types of strength required for paddling at the highest level. They train this dryland fitness a minimum of 10x/week through the winter. In the spring, when they return to the water, they then enter a maintenance phase of fitness training designed to help them hold the enormous fitness gains they made over the winter, while they develop their paddling skills and various aspects of specific fitness through different phases of training during the paddling season.
In contrast, the paddlers from warmer climates are often tempted to do too much paddling through the winter, and not only miss opportunities to take their fitness to the highest level but often burn out or get stale on the water. Those that were frozen off the water enter the competitive season a little behind on their paddling but way ahead on fitness as well as hungry and excited about returning to the water. If their program is properly designed they can carry that hunger and fitness through the entire paddling season, and in a few months are usually well ahead of those that were on the water all winter.
Obviously the optimal scenario would be having the climate to paddle all year round but training on a program that only requires you to paddle 2 or 3x/week maximum for 2 to 3 months. The training focus can then still be on achieving high levels of fitness with the paddles providing an opportunity to refine technical skills and maintain a good feeling on the water through this general conditioning phase.
All of this suggests that dividing the year into training cycles or phases, each with its own distinct objectives is the optimal approach to training. Various fitness and skill abilities can be the focus of training at certain points in the year and developed to their fullest. These abilities can then be maintained while focus shifts to developing others. This division of the year into distinct training cycles is known as periodization of training. It is widely accepted as the optimal way to train for high-level sport. Every canoe-kayak athlete at the Olympic Games trains on a periodized program. Some structure their year differently than others and the way in which the year is optimally broken down is, to a degree, open for debate.
I strongly believe that SUP paddlers should train on a periodized program as well. I take the “no stone left unturned” approach to preparation. I want my board skills developed to a maximum, but I know the only way to get my fitness to a maximum is to do the required fitness work on a program that addresses in an intelligent and sequential manner all of the skills and abilities needed to be successful.
In a series of upcoming posts I’ll share my ideas on how to structure a training plan for SUP. I’ll take a look at how to choose what races to do, what races to peak for and which ones to train through. I’ll do an inventory of all of the fitness abilities and skills needed in SUP and suggest how to structure a periodized program that maximizes their development so they are optimal for your most important races. I’ll try to give you concrete training suggestions for each phase of training. Throughout this series of posts I’ll try to answer any questions you have. All you have to do is leave them as comments after each post and I’ll return to try to answer them. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Drafting in Stand Up Paddling
Drafting is a topic that is often discussed in SUP paddling and in certain quarters hotly debated. Some people feel it should be allowed and that it actually adds to the sport while others seem to think, for various reasons, that it is something that should be banned. Although I wasn’t at the Battle of the Paddle this past weekend I’m sure it was pretty much like last year in terms of drafting. When you’ve got up to 400 boards in a race there is only so much water available to paddle on. At some point, unless you’re leading, you either have to draft or just wallow in all the wash so I figure this is a timely post. I’ll express my reasons for being pro-drafting in a bit, but first I want to describe how to do it properly and effectively. If you are going to add drafting to your arsenal of racing skills you might as well do it well.
Drafting in a paddled watercraft is something that comes from marathon canoe racing and, to a lesser extent, sprint canoe-kayak. People that cycle or have watched an event like the Tour de France on television are familiar with drafting in that sport. While the physics of it are different, the concept is basically the same in paddling. Drafting is also known aswash riding in Canada and parts of Europe, wake riding in many places in the US and wave riding or hanging in many places in Europe. As most people who paddle SUP seem to prefer the term ‘drafting’ that is the term I’ll try to use here.
Positioning yourself on the wave when drafting from behind
The most common position to draft from is directly behind the board you’re drafting, riding the wave that comes off the tail of the board. In contrast, in canoes and kayaks the best position is at the side of the lead boat, riding the wave that comes off the bow.
When you’re practicing drafting get the lead board to start paddling at a reasonable speed but not so fast that you are really challenged to stay on the wave. Slip in behind the lead board so that your nose is almost directly behind the tail of the lead board. If the board has a squared tail the wave you’re riding will be bigger and easier to ride, if it has a pintail you’ll find the wave to be smaller and a little more erratic. Again, make sure the lead board isn’t going too fast, as you want to be able to focus on feeling the wave you’re trying to ride. If you are in the right spot you’ll feel like your nose is down and you’ll see water run up the sides of your board at the nose and maybe even onto the top of your board. This nose down feeling is the same feeling, but of course less dramatic, that you get when you are riding a bump or dropping onto a wave. The difference is just a matter of degree.
Let your board move a little forward or back and try to find the sweet spot where it feels easiest to match the speed of the lead board with the least amount of work. When you’ve done that, you’re on. You are drafting. Communicate with the lead board you’re working with and get that person to paddle a little harder. Try to stay in the sweet spot. You’ll likely find that as the speed of the lead board increases you have to drop a little further back from the tail of the lead board as the wave off the back of the board will be getting bigger and longer the faster that board goes. When I am drafting some of the top guys I have to be a surprising distance back from them to get in that sweet spot. Lots of paddlers make the mistake of being too close to the board they are trying to draft.
Troubleshooting suggestions
If you are having a hard time staying directly behind the lead board and your nose keeps drifting outside the cone of the wave you’re trying to ride, then you need to work on your steering. It’s a lot easier if you’ve mastered steering without changing sides (see blog post from September 13, 2012). If you have to you can change sides to keep your nose in the cone but as you shouldn’t be paddling very hard while on the wash, in most cases you should be able to fine-tune your placement on the wave without having to change sides (unless you want to).
One trick that can help is to change sides when the paddler on the lead board changes sides. This is especially useful if the board you are riding tends to drift a lot from one side to the other depending on which side that person is paddling.
Sometimes you just can’t seem to find the sweet spot very well and despite the fact that your paddling should feel easier it doesn’t. In this case you should try moving forward on your board to help get your nose down. I have actually been standing with both feet on the ‘bubble’ of the front deck of a Bark board to be in the ideal spot while drafting.
You should be prepared to do a lot less work when you are drafting. This means that your stroke rate will likely be much lower and your power applied to each stroke will be a lot less. But you will need to be prepared to increase both power and rate instantly if required. One of the biggest things to get used to when drafting is that your stroke will be much less consistent from stroke to stroke than if you are paddling on your own. You need to be flexible and prepared at times to put more effort into steering than moving your board forward. You’ll also need to be prepared, if necessary, to go as hard as you possibly can to stay in touch with the wash. When drafting your priority is to stay on the wash. If you lose it you’ll either be paddling hard uphill to try to reacquire it, or you will have lost your ride and have to paddle on your own.
In summary:
Drafting on the side of the lead board
Advanced paddlers may find that riding on the side of the lead board is even more effective. It is a bigger and cleaner wave, especially if the lead board is a pintail, and you won’t be paddling in the swirls coming off the paddle of the lead paddler like when you draft behind.
The problem with drafting here is that you have to maintain the correct distance from the lead board or you will be hitting the lead paddler’s paddle with your board or worse still you’ll be getting your paddle tangled with his.
To learn to ride here, find a stretch of flat, glassy water. Watch the board you’re going to ride and identify the bow wave that comes off the nose. That is the wave you’re going to ride. You’ll want to be far enough back on it so that you are far enough from the lead board that you won’t be interfering in anyway with his/her paddle. Try to estimate where that means you’ll need to have your nose positioned along the leader’s board. It is usually somewhere near his/her feet.
Now, line up beside the paddler you’ll be riding with your nose approximately in the position you identified. Get the paddler to start paddling slowly, gradually increasing speed. Try to position your nose on the bow wave of the lead board in the approximate spot you’ve targeted and look for that nose-down, paddling downhill feeling that you felt when you were drafting from behind. I strongly suggest paddling on the side the lead board is on with your paddle between your board and the lead board. You’ll have to pay attention to prevent your paddle from interfering with the lead paddler’s, but it will help prevent you from getting sucked into the lead board and will help you maintain appropriate distance between boards. Use all of your steering without changing sides tricks, including leaning your board. When you suddenly find yourself paddling much more easily then you’ve found the sweet spot and are now drafting. Hang there for a bit and then ask the lead board to gradually accelerate a little. Observe how the wave off the lead board changes and how that affects where you need to position your board relative to the lead board. With practice you should be able to find and stay on this wave quite easily and be able to benefit from it in increasingly rougher water.
Troubleshooting suggestions
Like drafting from behind, the most important skill required is being able to steer capably (i.e. make necessary steering corrections) without changing sides
Whether you are riding behind or on the side, practice makes perfect. The more you can play on the wash the better you will be at drafting. Don’t look at it as taking the easy route in training. Find a training partner who is your speed and take turns leading, trading leads every 2, 3 or 4 minutes. You’ll find your training pace increases and you’ll be working really hard when leading. When riding you’ll get to a point where you are paddling ridiculously easy, yet going fast. Together you and your training partner will be covering distance at paces faster than you customarily go.
Drafting in races – tactics and ethics
Every race I paddle that my good friend Jimmy Terrell is in, I know that at some point in the race we’ll be paddling and working together. In the three most recent races we’ve done together we worked together a lot. At the Orange Bowl in January 2012, the 2012 Carolina Cup and the 2012 Eastern Canadian Championships we paddled the majority of the race trading leads. At the Carolina Cup we worked together for the entire flats section and it allowed up to pull way ahead of the guys behind us and chase down and catch Matt Becker and Nick Leason. We were actually closing the gap on Chase and Danny as well; it’s just that they had too great a lead coming in from the ocean to catch them. It was definitely beneficial for both of us.
When working with another paddler in a race you need to communicate. Ideally two evenly matched guys should share the lead equally. Agree on 2, 3 or 4 minute leads. When it is time to switch leads the lead guy just says, “I’m out” and pulls off to the agreed side (Jimmy and I usually pull out to the right). He can take a little rest for a second while the new leader catches up and takes the lead then he’s got to, at all costs, get on the new leader’s wash. The new leader should make sure the new drafter is on before really hammering. Once comfortably drafting it is easy days for the duration of the other guy’s lead. While riding you’re resting and recharging for your next lead. You can really bump up the pace by doing these lead change intervals. It is a great way to chew up distance in a race.
If you think there is someone you might end up working with in the race you can talk with them before the race and get the details of lead changes, etc. ironed out. If there isn’t don’t despair, there will be other guys in the race who will present themselves as good to team up with as the race develops. I remember in the 2011 Carolina Cup pulling on to Anthony Vela’s side wash and having the easiest ride ever. After about 500m I told him I was doing nothing and didn’t want to draft off him the whole race. I asked if he wanted to work together. He agreed and I took the lead. AV, jimmy and I had a very successful draft train that lasted all the way to the ocean. What was really cool in that example of working together is that moment was the first time that AV and I ever met.
I know people always wonder what to do about that paddler who just wants to draft but never lead. In my experience it isn’t a huge problem for a few reasons:
If you’re leading the race and the guy drafting won’t take a turn leading then just slow down. I have led and paddled very easily before in both C1 and on a SUP. At some point you won’t be working any harder then the guy riding you. You should have as much energy for a sprint to the finish as the guy that has stuck himself on your draft and should be able to hold him off at the finish. The important thing is to stay in front, and as you approach the finish not let him get his nose past your feet. Remember when you pull off the rear wash and try to pass someone there is a point where you are going uphill. Make it hard for the guy trying to pass you to get past that point and keep him in the “uphill zone”. Not only will he not pass you, he’ll spend a ton of energy trying to because he’ll be stuck in that uphill spot too long. The only caveat with “leading slow” is that you have to make sure you don’t let a group working together behind you get back into the race.
If you are further back in a race and someone isn’t taking his or her turn leading then my experience has been you probably don’t have to worry a lot. If the person is good, he’ll want to close up the gap with the leaders. As such he should be eager to work together and take his turn leading so that the pace will be faster allowing the two of you to gain ground on the leaders. If he isn’t good then he’s probably working his butt off on your wash and can’t lead. He’s just hanging on for dear life. Although the free ride he is getting off you in going to help him beat people who might normally beat him, he isn’t going to be a threat to you if you keep your wits about you at the finish.
You should be able to shake the guy that is just hanging on and can’t effectively take a turn leading. Try paddling on your stronger side and letting your board drift gradually to that side. The guy drafting you will have to follow you in the direction you are drifting. Staying on that side, hop back a little on your board and do a couple of hard, fast wide (sweep) strokes to quickly change course in the opposite direction. Then immediately move back forward on your board and paddle your ass off. The guy who has been riding you will initially be shot off to your paddling side and will lose contact with your wave. You’ll have to be committed to the move you’ve just made and be willing to go very hard for up to 3 to 5 minutes to completely drop this paddler. There is nothing worse than using energy making a big move like that but easing up too early and letting the guy get back on your wash. If you try to make your move and within 30 seconds to a minute the guy has recovered and is back on your wash then abort your move and lead slow for a bit to rest before considering another move. If the guy is on your side wash he might be easier to shake, as he’ll get shot off more easily. You are just going to have to drift to the side he is on before making your course change to the other side and hammering it. Again, stay committed to your move.
Don’t try to do things like splash the guy on your wash. Not only is it ineffective and a waste of energy, you’ll end up going slower and look like an idiot while doing it.
Obviously, it’s my opinion that when you are riding you have an obligation to take your turn leading. Nothing is worse than being known as the one that drafts but never leads. Only draft boards in your own class. It’s not cool when a guy on a 12’6” board drafts someone on a 14’, or someone on a 14’ drafts an unlimited. Girls drafting on guys is equally uncool. I’d also say that it is good etiquette to resist the temptation to sprint by someone at the finish if you’ve ridden him or her for the vast majority of a race.
Drafting can make races way more interesting for athletes and exciting for spectators. Personally I love close finishes whether I’m watching the race or in it myself. Drafting keeps things close. It is extremely hard to lead and blow apart a draft train. When there are good guys in a race the guys in the draft train will almost always finish close together at the finish. In contrast, if drafting were prohibited there would probably be big gaps between paddlers at the end of a long race. What is interesting or exciting about that? A great idea to compromise and allay the fears of those who can’t get by the vision or someone riding them the whole race and passing them at the end, is to make the last mile of distance races a “drafting free” zone. You could conceivably have guys on jet skis patrolling the last mile and assessing time penalties to those that won’t do their own work.
Play around with drafting in practice and if you race give it a try in races. It is a perfectly legitimate tactic that smart athletes will use when the opportunity arises, however it does require some personal responsibility to use it appropriately and ethically.
Drafting in a paddled watercraft is something that comes from marathon canoe racing and, to a lesser extent, sprint canoe-kayak. People that cycle or have watched an event like the Tour de France on television are familiar with drafting in that sport. While the physics of it are different, the concept is basically the same in paddling. Drafting is also known aswash riding in Canada and parts of Europe, wake riding in many places in the US and wave riding or hanging in many places in Europe. As most people who paddle SUP seem to prefer the term ‘drafting’ that is the term I’ll try to use here.
The purpose of drafting is
either:
- To paddle with less effort by riding the wave generated by another board or,
- To paddle faster than you would normally be able to by riding the wave generated by another board or,
- Some combination of the above (i.e. paddling faster and with less effort) by riding the wave generated by another board
Positioning yourself on the wave when drafting from behind
The most common position to draft from is directly behind the board you’re drafting, riding the wave that comes off the tail of the board. In contrast, in canoes and kayaks the best position is at the side of the lead boat, riding the wave that comes off the bow.
When you’re practicing drafting get the lead board to start paddling at a reasonable speed but not so fast that you are really challenged to stay on the wave. Slip in behind the lead board so that your nose is almost directly behind the tail of the lead board. If the board has a squared tail the wave you’re riding will be bigger and easier to ride, if it has a pintail you’ll find the wave to be smaller and a little more erratic. Again, make sure the lead board isn’t going too fast, as you want to be able to focus on feeling the wave you’re trying to ride. If you are in the right spot you’ll feel like your nose is down and you’ll see water run up the sides of your board at the nose and maybe even onto the top of your board. This nose down feeling is the same feeling, but of course less dramatic, that you get when you are riding a bump or dropping onto a wave. The difference is just a matter of degree.
Let your board move a little forward or back and try to find the sweet spot where it feels easiest to match the speed of the lead board with the least amount of work. When you’ve done that, you’re on. You are drafting. Communicate with the lead board you’re working with and get that person to paddle a little harder. Try to stay in the sweet spot. You’ll likely find that as the speed of the lead board increases you have to drop a little further back from the tail of the lead board as the wave off the back of the board will be getting bigger and longer the faster that board goes. When I am drafting some of the top guys I have to be a surprising distance back from them to get in that sweet spot. Lots of paddlers make the mistake of being too close to the board they are trying to draft.
Troubleshooting suggestions
If you are having a hard time staying directly behind the lead board and your nose keeps drifting outside the cone of the wave you’re trying to ride, then you need to work on your steering. It’s a lot easier if you’ve mastered steering without changing sides (see blog post from September 13, 2012). If you have to you can change sides to keep your nose in the cone but as you shouldn’t be paddling very hard while on the wash, in most cases you should be able to fine-tune your placement on the wave without having to change sides (unless you want to).
One trick that can help is to change sides when the paddler on the lead board changes sides. This is especially useful if the board you are riding tends to drift a lot from one side to the other depending on which side that person is paddling.
Sometimes you just can’t seem to find the sweet spot very well and despite the fact that your paddling should feel easier it doesn’t. In this case you should try moving forward on your board to help get your nose down. I have actually been standing with both feet on the ‘bubble’ of the front deck of a Bark board to be in the ideal spot while drafting.
You should be prepared to do a lot less work when you are drafting. This means that your stroke rate will likely be much lower and your power applied to each stroke will be a lot less. But you will need to be prepared to increase both power and rate instantly if required. One of the biggest things to get used to when drafting is that your stroke will be much less consistent from stroke to stroke than if you are paddling on your own. You need to be flexible and prepared at times to put more effort into steering than moving your board forward. You’ll also need to be prepared, if necessary, to go as hard as you possibly can to stay in touch with the wash. When drafting your priority is to stay on the wash. If you lose it you’ll either be paddling hard uphill to try to reacquire it, or you will have lost your ride and have to paddle on your own.
In summary:
- Master steering without changing sides
- Be prepared to draft either further back when drafting a fast board or closer when drafting a slower board
- Change sides when the person you are drafting changes sides (matching the side he/she is paddling on) if the lead board drifts from one side to the other
- Move forward on your board to find the right board trim to get your board running downhill
- Be prepared to vary your power and stroke rate from stroke to stroke and make steering and staying in the sweet spot your priority
- Hang onto your ride at all costs. If you lose it you’ll be forced to paddle
uphill to reacquire it (thus wasting energy) or paddle the rest of the race on
your own
Drafting on the side of the lead board
Advanced paddlers may find that riding on the side of the lead board is even more effective. It is a bigger and cleaner wave, especially if the lead board is a pintail, and you won’t be paddling in the swirls coming off the paddle of the lead paddler like when you draft behind.
The problem with drafting here is that you have to maintain the correct distance from the lead board or you will be hitting the lead paddler’s paddle with your board or worse still you’ll be getting your paddle tangled with his.
To learn to ride here, find a stretch of flat, glassy water. Watch the board you’re going to ride and identify the bow wave that comes off the nose. That is the wave you’re going to ride. You’ll want to be far enough back on it so that you are far enough from the lead board that you won’t be interfering in anyway with his/her paddle. Try to estimate where that means you’ll need to have your nose positioned along the leader’s board. It is usually somewhere near his/her feet.
Now, line up beside the paddler you’ll be riding with your nose approximately in the position you identified. Get the paddler to start paddling slowly, gradually increasing speed. Try to position your nose on the bow wave of the lead board in the approximate spot you’ve targeted and look for that nose-down, paddling downhill feeling that you felt when you were drafting from behind. I strongly suggest paddling on the side the lead board is on with your paddle between your board and the lead board. You’ll have to pay attention to prevent your paddle from interfering with the lead paddler’s, but it will help prevent you from getting sucked into the lead board and will help you maintain appropriate distance between boards. Use all of your steering without changing sides tricks, including leaning your board. When you suddenly find yourself paddling much more easily then you’ve found the sweet spot and are now drafting. Hang there for a bit and then ask the lead board to gradually accelerate a little. Observe how the wave off the lead board changes and how that affects where you need to position your board relative to the lead board. With practice you should be able to find and stay on this wave quite easily and be able to benefit from it in increasingly rougher water.
Troubleshooting suggestions
Like drafting from behind, the most important skill required is being able to steer capably (i.e. make necessary steering corrections) without changing sides
- Play with your positioning until you find the sweet spot
- Be prepared to move forward on your board to help get the board running downhill
- Be prepared to vary power and stroke rate as necessary
Whether you are riding behind or on the side, practice makes perfect. The more you can play on the wash the better you will be at drafting. Don’t look at it as taking the easy route in training. Find a training partner who is your speed and take turns leading, trading leads every 2, 3 or 4 minutes. You’ll find your training pace increases and you’ll be working really hard when leading. When riding you’ll get to a point where you are paddling ridiculously easy, yet going fast. Together you and your training partner will be covering distance at paces faster than you customarily go.
Drafting in races – tactics and ethics
Every race I paddle that my good friend Jimmy Terrell is in, I know that at some point in the race we’ll be paddling and working together. In the three most recent races we’ve done together we worked together a lot. At the Orange Bowl in January 2012, the 2012 Carolina Cup and the 2012 Eastern Canadian Championships we paddled the majority of the race trading leads. At the Carolina Cup we worked together for the entire flats section and it allowed up to pull way ahead of the guys behind us and chase down and catch Matt Becker and Nick Leason. We were actually closing the gap on Chase and Danny as well; it’s just that they had too great a lead coming in from the ocean to catch them. It was definitely beneficial for both of us.
When working with another paddler in a race you need to communicate. Ideally two evenly matched guys should share the lead equally. Agree on 2, 3 or 4 minute leads. When it is time to switch leads the lead guy just says, “I’m out” and pulls off to the agreed side (Jimmy and I usually pull out to the right). He can take a little rest for a second while the new leader catches up and takes the lead then he’s got to, at all costs, get on the new leader’s wash. The new leader should make sure the new drafter is on before really hammering. Once comfortably drafting it is easy days for the duration of the other guy’s lead. While riding you’re resting and recharging for your next lead. You can really bump up the pace by doing these lead change intervals. It is a great way to chew up distance in a race.
If you think there is someone you might end up working with in the race you can talk with them before the race and get the details of lead changes, etc. ironed out. If there isn’t don’t despair, there will be other guys in the race who will present themselves as good to team up with as the race develops. I remember in the 2011 Carolina Cup pulling on to Anthony Vela’s side wash and having the easiest ride ever. After about 500m I told him I was doing nothing and didn’t want to draft off him the whole race. I asked if he wanted to work together. He agreed and I took the lead. AV, jimmy and I had a very successful draft train that lasted all the way to the ocean. What was really cool in that example of working together is that moment was the first time that AV and I ever met.
I know people always wonder what to do about that paddler who just wants to draft but never lead. In my experience it isn’t a huge problem for a few reasons:
If you’re leading the race and the guy drafting won’t take a turn leading then just slow down. I have led and paddled very easily before in both C1 and on a SUP. At some point you won’t be working any harder then the guy riding you. You should have as much energy for a sprint to the finish as the guy that has stuck himself on your draft and should be able to hold him off at the finish. The important thing is to stay in front, and as you approach the finish not let him get his nose past your feet. Remember when you pull off the rear wash and try to pass someone there is a point where you are going uphill. Make it hard for the guy trying to pass you to get past that point and keep him in the “uphill zone”. Not only will he not pass you, he’ll spend a ton of energy trying to because he’ll be stuck in that uphill spot too long. The only caveat with “leading slow” is that you have to make sure you don’t let a group working together behind you get back into the race.
If you are further back in a race and someone isn’t taking his or her turn leading then my experience has been you probably don’t have to worry a lot. If the person is good, he’ll want to close up the gap with the leaders. As such he should be eager to work together and take his turn leading so that the pace will be faster allowing the two of you to gain ground on the leaders. If he isn’t good then he’s probably working his butt off on your wash and can’t lead. He’s just hanging on for dear life. Although the free ride he is getting off you in going to help him beat people who might normally beat him, he isn’t going to be a threat to you if you keep your wits about you at the finish.
You should be able to shake the guy that is just hanging on and can’t effectively take a turn leading. Try paddling on your stronger side and letting your board drift gradually to that side. The guy drafting you will have to follow you in the direction you are drifting. Staying on that side, hop back a little on your board and do a couple of hard, fast wide (sweep) strokes to quickly change course in the opposite direction. Then immediately move back forward on your board and paddle your ass off. The guy who has been riding you will initially be shot off to your paddling side and will lose contact with your wave. You’ll have to be committed to the move you’ve just made and be willing to go very hard for up to 3 to 5 minutes to completely drop this paddler. There is nothing worse than using energy making a big move like that but easing up too early and letting the guy get back on your wash. If you try to make your move and within 30 seconds to a minute the guy has recovered and is back on your wash then abort your move and lead slow for a bit to rest before considering another move. If the guy is on your side wash he might be easier to shake, as he’ll get shot off more easily. You are just going to have to drift to the side he is on before making your course change to the other side and hammering it. Again, stay committed to your move.
Don’t try to do things like splash the guy on your wash. Not only is it ineffective and a waste of energy, you’ll end up going slower and look like an idiot while doing it.
Obviously, it’s my opinion that when you are riding you have an obligation to take your turn leading. Nothing is worse than being known as the one that drafts but never leads. Only draft boards in your own class. It’s not cool when a guy on a 12’6” board drafts someone on a 14’, or someone on a 14’ drafts an unlimited. Girls drafting on guys is equally uncool. I’d also say that it is good etiquette to resist the temptation to sprint by someone at the finish if you’ve ridden him or her for the vast majority of a race.
Drafting can make races way more interesting for athletes and exciting for spectators. Personally I love close finishes whether I’m watching the race or in it myself. Drafting keeps things close. It is extremely hard to lead and blow apart a draft train. When there are good guys in a race the guys in the draft train will almost always finish close together at the finish. In contrast, if drafting were prohibited there would probably be big gaps between paddlers at the end of a long race. What is interesting or exciting about that? A great idea to compromise and allay the fears of those who can’t get by the vision or someone riding them the whole race and passing them at the end, is to make the last mile of distance races a “drafting free” zone. You could conceivably have guys on jet skis patrolling the last mile and assessing time penalties to those that won’t do their own work.
Play around with drafting in practice and if you race give it a try in races. It is a perfectly legitimate tactic that smart athletes will use when the opportunity arises, however it does require some personal responsibility to use it appropriately and ethically.
Sunday, 23 September 2012
London 2012
I know it is a little late to be writing about the London Olympics when they have been over for six weeks, but it has been a busy August and early September. I want to share a few things while they are still somewhat fresh in my mind so here it goes…
First and foremost let me start by saying what a privilege it was to be able to witness every stroke of every canoe-kayak race in London as the colour commentator for the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium (which is really a fancy way of saying CTV/TSN/Sportsnet). It was even more of a privilege to be involved in some small way with the medal performances of guys I have watched grow up, followed their careers, and witnessed close up and first hand the enormous commitment they made for this Olympic moment. Being able to call the medal races of Adam Van Koeverden and Mark Oldershaw, club mates of mine at Burloak, was amazing.
The Olympics had already started when I got on the plane for London. Prior to leaving, I had settled into a routine for a few days of watching some of the very early morning Olympic broadcasts, heading to the canoe club to coach, getting on the water for a workout myself, and then watching more Olympics on TV until it was back to the canoe club again in the afternoon. The way the consortium did the coverage was pretty cool in that you had a host of different channels to choose from at any given time, giving you the opportunity to channel surf to the event that was most interesting. Sure beats what my poor American friends were subjected to with NBC. Anyway, early in the morning on August 2nd I found myself headed for the airport excited about what lay ahead but at the same time bummed by the fact that the August winds were just starting to pick up in Toronto and I was going to be missing some great conditions on the lake over the next couple of weeks.
If you haven’t flown to Europe from North America on a morning flight I really think you should. You’ll never want to take an evening flight again. It is so ridiculously easy compared to the usual afternoon or evening flight where you arrive the next morning bleary-eyed and with an internal clock so confused it takes a few full days to get back on track. My morning flight left at 8:55 a.m. and landed at Heathrow at 9:00 p.m. local time. I was in my hotel lying in bed watching BBC Olympic coverage by 11:00 p.m. and woke up in the morning feeling like I was at home. I felt no jetlag at all. In fact I felt like I was ready to race myself! I was off to the course that morning and with help from a nice volunteer (who happened to be a West Ham season ticket holder) got my accreditation problem sorted out and was into the venue and finding my way around the media area in no time.
With there still being two full days of rowing finals when I arrived I had no official capacity for a couple of days. I mostly just hung around the venue hoping to see some of the paddlers I know and watched the rowing finals, getting my own personal commentary from three-time Olympic Champion Marnie McBean while my broadcast partner Rob Faulds called the races with Barney Williams. It was awesome to see 30,000 people packed into huge stands on either side of the course roaring for crews on the water as they passed by. It was particularly impressive when the British crews were racing. As if spurred on and pulled down the course by the huge crowd they did extremely well, reaching the podium 5 times in the two days I was there and winning 3 golds. I can’t describe how emotionally powerful it is to hear 30,000 people in full voice singing God Save the Queen. The first two times I just stood there and soaked it in. The third time I actually had the presence of mind to record it on my Iphone so people back home could get an appreciation for what was like.
Over those first few days I got to get to know the crew I’d be working with which was good. Rob Faulds is a great professional and was able to give me a pretty good idea of what to expect when we hit the air with the first race. He is also a pretty funny guy and made me laugh a lot with some good stories and a sarcastic sense of humor that was right up my alley. Genevieve Beauchemin was there to do the mixed zone interviews with the athletes. She is also the Montreal bureau chief for CTV News. She was also pretty cool and not nearly as high maintenance as we teased her as being. Lastly, our on-site producer was Steve Paine, who does Blue Jay broadcasts back home and fit in really well. We quickly became an effective team and what I found interesting and enjoyed most is that being there as a team with them felt very much like it did to be at an international competition with my teammates when I was an athlete. The camaraderie was identical and I loved it.
In all honesty, the 6 days of canoe-kayak racing is a bit of a blur. We’d get to the course at about 6:30 a.m. every morning and immediately start working. For me that meant getting the day’s draws and transposing my research notes about the athletes to the draw sheet for each race. Sometimes I’d use the computer system to double-check some fact or other. We’d often consult with the consortium’s camera crew about which crews to focus on in each race, and I’d compare my notes with those of Maxim Boillard and Daniel Aucoin, who were doing the French Canadian broadcast. Then Rob and I would go over all the races before doing a preview on camera for the day’s broadcast. Before we knew it we were settling into the broadcast booth, putting on the headsets and checking in with our producer, Lucas Sheffield, in Toronto. Although I got to see every stroke of every race either through the monitor or on the course in front of me, it seems that when you are busy doing everything involved with calling every race you just don’t have time to absorb things as well as you can when you are just there as a spectator. I’ll have to watch some of the races again on video to really process the details of each race.
The lasting impressions I do have of 6 great days of racing are:
• The tremendous performance of Adam Van Koeverden. I’ve seen Adam training since day one and he never ceases to impress me. The paddling I saw him do this summer when he was training in Oakville was spectacular. It is really something when you can see someone who always paddles really well and be able to clearly discern that at a particular moment he is paddling even better. That was the impression I had of Adam all summer. He looked so incredibly efficient and his boat was moving so well underneath him I enjoyed every time he passed me on the river and I always stopped whatever coaching I was doing to watch him go by.
In London he was awesome in both the heat and the semi, going 3:26 in both races only 90 minutes apart and dominating the field. In the final he faced a big challenge as the guys he dominated in the qualifying rounds would all have regrouped and be prepared to change the results of the heat and semi. I remember Rob and I commenting on each of the eight finalists as the camera panned across the lanes before the start. It was probably the deepest, most decorated field ever in the Olympic K1 1000m final. In the end, Adam raced the same way he did in the heat and semi and the same way he did at the Worlds in 2011. He looked great at 500m but 2004 Olympic Champion Eirik Veras Larsen of Norway was still within touch. Adam just couldn’t break totally clear of Eirik and Eirik kept chipping away at Adam’s lead. In the last 200m as Eirik made his move, Adam got a little tight and heavy. Eiirk slipped by him and Adam had to be satisfied with a silver.
In my mind, Adam didn’t lose a gold, he won a silver. He had a great race but just got beaten by a guy who had an even better race. Eirik’s performance was amazing. The class and grace with which Adam received his silver was as impressive as his paddling and for those who missed it, Christie Blatchford wrote a great column in the National Post about it that brought a tear to my eye.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/08/08/adam-van-koeverden-takes-home-olympic-silver-in-kayak-final/
• Mark Oldershaw’s wonderful bronze in C1 1000m. Until London, Mark was the best Canadian paddler to never have won a medal at the Worlds or the Olympics. Here is a guy who has at times dominated World Cups but for one reason or another has never quite been able to put it all together at the Worlds or Olympics. After winning all the C1s at the Junior Worlds in 2001, he’s had a lot of tough luck. A hand injury not only kept him from paddling properly for almost 3 years but also left him in almost constant pain. Eventually a couple of surgeries got him back on track, but throughout the entire time he dealt with this injury I never heard him complaining about it at the club. In 2008, he made the Olympic team and raced C1 500m. In his heat he was winning and only had to take his last stroke to cross the finish line and advance directly to the final, but not knowing how close second place was he shot his boat. Unfortunately his boat shoot was early and while he was drifting across the line he was passed for first. This meant he lost the direct qualification to the final that came with first place and would have to go to the semis, where he got a tough draw, had a bad race and ended up coming 4th. There would be no final in Beijing for Mark.
In 2012, Mark seemed ready to totally leave those frustrations behind him and, like Adam, looked great everyday in training. His heat and semi in London were solid and he advanced comfortably to the final. In the final he did a great job of stepping up his race plan. Mark loves to get off well on the start, settle and let a couple of other guys lead for the first 500m and then reel them in and pass them in the last 500m. When he does it well at the World Cups he is on the podium and often wins. However the final at the Worlds is a faster race than at World Cups and he has always let the top group slip a little too far ahead in the first 500m at the Worlds, leaving himself with too much work to do in the second half. Though he charges hard he’s never been able to reel them in and reach the podium.
In London he knew he’d need to keep in closer contact with the leaders in the first 500m if he was going to reach the podium. As it turns out he executed his plan to perfection and stayed in touch with the leaders throughout the first 500m. When he began to make his move it was clear he was going to be able to pull himself into the top three if he could maintain his push for the entire second half. For a few moments in the last 150m he actually held second place, before being passed by 2004 Olympic Champion David Cal of Spain, who had a ridiculously fast last 250m. Mark ended up with a bronze behind silver medallist Cal and gold medal winner Sebatian Brendel of Germany, The expression on Mark’s face when he realized he’d reached the podium said it all and that photo made the covers of most Canadian newspapers the next day. What that race meant to Mark and to the entire Oldershaw family, who have done so much for Canadian paddling, is hard to describe. For me it was the highlight of the Olympics.
• Mark de Jonge of Halifax winning a bronze in the K1 200m. Here was a guy who broke a finger in the spring and was unable to train properly or race because of it. He never gave up and trained as best he could. Credit to Canoe-Kayak Canada, who gave him the opportunity to race for selection at the last set of National Team Trials in late June. By that time his injury was healed and he looked incredibly sharp, doing an unofficial world best time in winning his entry.
In London he arrived without the benefit of having had any international racing in his preparation. He looked great in his heat and semi and qualified for the final as a top seed. In the final it looked like he may not have had the best start but he hit the gas and blasted down the course to a bronze medal behind a dominant Ed McKeever of Britain. To me it was a pretty incredible accomplishment given the obstacle he’d had to overcome in the spring.
• The Australian K4. This is memorable to me for a couple of reasons. One, obviously, was the quality of the performance. They were absolutely dominant, leading almost wire to wire and reminding me of some of those legendary East German and Hungarian K4s from back when I was on the team. The other reason was that Canada’s and Burloak’s own Nathan Luce, who has moved on successfully to coaching gigs in the United States and now Australia, coached them. Great work, Nathan! Hope you continue to have fun and continue to produce more results like that down under!
• The Hungarian women winning K4. Anyone who knows me will be surprised that this race was a highlight for me. Canada didn’t qualify a crew (more on that and the state of Canadian paddling in another blog) so there was no Canadian crew to root for. What could possibly make this event so interesting? SUP. Stand up paddling. The Hungarian crew had a teammate of mine from Team Quickblade, Krisztina Fazekas (also known as Krisztina Zur), in their boat.
Krisztina is one of the nicest girls I’ve met in SUP and she left Hungary a few years ago when she married American Rami Zur. She has been racing K1 quite successfully for the Americans the last few years. She’s also been racing SUP and making quite an impression, particularly for someone with no big water experience. Unfortunately she was unable to secure her American citizenship in time to compete as an American and race K1 in London. America’s loss and Hungary’s gain. She went back to Hungary to try to get the K1 entry for their team. Hungary’s depth, of course, is incredible and she wasn’t quite able to do that, finishing just behind eventual London gold medallist Danuta Kozak, in the final Hungarian selection race at World Cup 2 in Duisburg. So, with no other route to the Olympics she challenged for a spot in the Hungarian K4. You’d think that it would be a no-brainer for her to be added to the Hungarian K4 given her medal winning performances in international races he last few years in K1. However I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t that easy. Hungarians are pretty proud of their canoe-kayak history. Their success over the years has been incredible. They export coaches all over the world. I have a hard time believing there were no politics for Krisztina to overcome to make that K4. I imagine there were some that felt that if she’d turned her back on Hungary and left for the United States she should no longer be welcome in the Hungarian program. Krisztina persevered and wiser minds prevailed and she was selected to the K4. Hungary managed to win the K4 in convincing fashion taking back the Olympic title from the Germans who had won in Beijing. Adding Krisztina to the crew certainly strengthened it and she had a huge smile on her face when I saw her in the mixed zone with her medal around her neck.
• Josefa Idem. Before I write anything more, understand that this woman won a bronze medal in K2 at the same Olympics I medalled at – 1984! After an absolutely incredible career spanning 7 Olympics and including a K1 bronze in 96, gold in 2000 and silvers in 2004 and 2008 at age 47 she was back for more in her eighth games. Unreal. Could she possibly continue her medal streak?
In the semi final in K1 500m Rob and I had her dead and buried after 150m. She was so far back I honestly didn’t believe she could claw her way back into a top three spot. Not against the field she faced in her semi. Then the magic occurred. As if out of nowhere she killed it in her last 250m and charged past the field to win her semi and qualify for the final. Despite everyone being well aware of her historic career, a stunned silence seemed to fall over Eton-Dorney as people tried to process what they had just witnessed. A comeback like that in 500m at any age is remarkable, but at 47 years old? That stretches the limits of the imagination.
Though Danute Kozak of Hungary won the final in dominant fashion, I think that everyone, including probably the Hungarians themselves, were at some level pulling for Idem in the final. She came up a little short in the end, finishing a very competitive and close 5th, but she didn’t disappoint anyone in her last Olympics, providing more that just a glimpse of the magic that fueled such a remarkable career.
• The Russian K2 200m. When I first started racing internationally for Canada in 1980 there was a Soviet K2 that was at an entirely different level that the rest of the world. Vladimir Parfenovich and Sergei Chukrai not only dominated K2 but also looked like they were from another planet doing it. They made it look easy. Their smooth, fluid transmission of power made their K2 sit higher and more stable in the water at speed than any other boat. They could have the fastest stroke rate and quickest start in a 500m race and make it look like they were taking it easy. They were so strong yet so skilled it was beautiful to watch, even to a canoe paddler!
In London, Russia’s Yuri Postrigay and Alexander Dyanchenko evoked memories of one of history’s greatest ever K2s, not only by winning the K2 200m by such a clear margin but by paddling so impressively well. The combination of speed, power and artistry they displayed was breathtaking and immediately brought images of Parfenovich and Chukrai to mind. At an event in which all the 200m races were, as one would expect, extremely tight, their race was a demolition in comparison. It left me with the feeling that if they wanted to they could have gone faster. What an emphatic performance to end the competition with!
When it was all said and done I sat there for a few moments, taking in the scene around me at the venue and thinking of the 6 fantastic days of racing I had been so privileged to witness. It was hard to believe it was over. In a few days they would start taking down the stands, the flags and the banners until Eton-Dorney would be little more than a 2400m long water filled ditch running through prime sheep grazing land. We left the venue for the last time and headed back to the hotel. We had the opportunity to attend a small reception hosted by Canoe-Kayak Canada that afternoon at a hotel in nearby Slough, and it was fun to see the athletes and meet their families. Steve, Genevieve and I headed into the city to Canada House that night for a few pints in honour of Mark de Jonge’s bronze, just as we had a few days earlier for Adam and Mark. These Canada house receptions were fun times to witness but really a moment for the athletes on the Canadian Olympic team. By midnight I was back at the Crowne Plaza Heathrow and climbing into bed.
The next day, the Sunday of the closing ceremonies, I slept in, then packed, said goodbye to my broadcast colleagues and left to meet up with my buddies Toby Collins and his brother Tracy, Mike Roche, and Justin DeBlase and his cousin Jimmy who had a house basically across the road from Wembley Stadium. Suddenly, the Olympics seemed far away. Toby and I ventured across town on the tube to hook up with my sister, Susan, who I see far too rarely, and we enjoyed dinner and a few pints at her local. We watched the closing ceremonies in a pub that night and the next day we wandered about London seeing the Imperial War Museum, Upton Park (home of mighty West Ham United) and whatever else we could see in one day. The following day I was on a plane headed home.
Since I’ve come home people have asked me what events I saw and sound disappointed when I tell them that although I had accreditation that would get me into every venue I only saw the events at Eton-Dorney. Yes, I missed seeing Mo Farrah win his second gold, I missed the night of magic at the main stadium when Farrah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford won 3 golds for Britain in 40 minutes in athletics, and of course I missed the incredible Usain Bolt who is an Olympic legend despite what IOC President Jacques Rogge says. Our accommodation was just too far away and our work started too early each day to make getting out to events very feasible. I watched those events on the BBC like everyone else. Yet I saw what I wanted to see most, did my job, and watched my friends and countrymen go and do theirs. It was more than enough for me. It was an awesome experience that will stay etched in my memory for a long time. I’d love to have opportunity to do it again in Rio in 2016!
First and foremost let me start by saying what a privilege it was to be able to witness every stroke of every canoe-kayak race in London as the colour commentator for the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Consortium (which is really a fancy way of saying CTV/TSN/Sportsnet). It was even more of a privilege to be involved in some small way with the medal performances of guys I have watched grow up, followed their careers, and witnessed close up and first hand the enormous commitment they made for this Olympic moment. Being able to call the medal races of Adam Van Koeverden and Mark Oldershaw, club mates of mine at Burloak, was amazing.
The Olympics had already started when I got on the plane for London. Prior to leaving, I had settled into a routine for a few days of watching some of the very early morning Olympic broadcasts, heading to the canoe club to coach, getting on the water for a workout myself, and then watching more Olympics on TV until it was back to the canoe club again in the afternoon. The way the consortium did the coverage was pretty cool in that you had a host of different channels to choose from at any given time, giving you the opportunity to channel surf to the event that was most interesting. Sure beats what my poor American friends were subjected to with NBC. Anyway, early in the morning on August 2nd I found myself headed for the airport excited about what lay ahead but at the same time bummed by the fact that the August winds were just starting to pick up in Toronto and I was going to be missing some great conditions on the lake over the next couple of weeks.
If you haven’t flown to Europe from North America on a morning flight I really think you should. You’ll never want to take an evening flight again. It is so ridiculously easy compared to the usual afternoon or evening flight where you arrive the next morning bleary-eyed and with an internal clock so confused it takes a few full days to get back on track. My morning flight left at 8:55 a.m. and landed at Heathrow at 9:00 p.m. local time. I was in my hotel lying in bed watching BBC Olympic coverage by 11:00 p.m. and woke up in the morning feeling like I was at home. I felt no jetlag at all. In fact I felt like I was ready to race myself! I was off to the course that morning and with help from a nice volunteer (who happened to be a West Ham season ticket holder) got my accreditation problem sorted out and was into the venue and finding my way around the media area in no time.
With there still being two full days of rowing finals when I arrived I had no official capacity for a couple of days. I mostly just hung around the venue hoping to see some of the paddlers I know and watched the rowing finals, getting my own personal commentary from three-time Olympic Champion Marnie McBean while my broadcast partner Rob Faulds called the races with Barney Williams. It was awesome to see 30,000 people packed into huge stands on either side of the course roaring for crews on the water as they passed by. It was particularly impressive when the British crews were racing. As if spurred on and pulled down the course by the huge crowd they did extremely well, reaching the podium 5 times in the two days I was there and winning 3 golds. I can’t describe how emotionally powerful it is to hear 30,000 people in full voice singing God Save the Queen. The first two times I just stood there and soaked it in. The third time I actually had the presence of mind to record it on my Iphone so people back home could get an appreciation for what was like.
Over those first few days I got to get to know the crew I’d be working with which was good. Rob Faulds is a great professional and was able to give me a pretty good idea of what to expect when we hit the air with the first race. He is also a pretty funny guy and made me laugh a lot with some good stories and a sarcastic sense of humor that was right up my alley. Genevieve Beauchemin was there to do the mixed zone interviews with the athletes. She is also the Montreal bureau chief for CTV News. She was also pretty cool and not nearly as high maintenance as we teased her as being. Lastly, our on-site producer was Steve Paine, who does Blue Jay broadcasts back home and fit in really well. We quickly became an effective team and what I found interesting and enjoyed most is that being there as a team with them felt very much like it did to be at an international competition with my teammates when I was an athlete. The camaraderie was identical and I loved it.
In all honesty, the 6 days of canoe-kayak racing is a bit of a blur. We’d get to the course at about 6:30 a.m. every morning and immediately start working. For me that meant getting the day’s draws and transposing my research notes about the athletes to the draw sheet for each race. Sometimes I’d use the computer system to double-check some fact or other. We’d often consult with the consortium’s camera crew about which crews to focus on in each race, and I’d compare my notes with those of Maxim Boillard and Daniel Aucoin, who were doing the French Canadian broadcast. Then Rob and I would go over all the races before doing a preview on camera for the day’s broadcast. Before we knew it we were settling into the broadcast booth, putting on the headsets and checking in with our producer, Lucas Sheffield, in Toronto. Although I got to see every stroke of every race either through the monitor or on the course in front of me, it seems that when you are busy doing everything involved with calling every race you just don’t have time to absorb things as well as you can when you are just there as a spectator. I’ll have to watch some of the races again on video to really process the details of each race.
The lasting impressions I do have of 6 great days of racing are:
• The tremendous performance of Adam Van Koeverden. I’ve seen Adam training since day one and he never ceases to impress me. The paddling I saw him do this summer when he was training in Oakville was spectacular. It is really something when you can see someone who always paddles really well and be able to clearly discern that at a particular moment he is paddling even better. That was the impression I had of Adam all summer. He looked so incredibly efficient and his boat was moving so well underneath him I enjoyed every time he passed me on the river and I always stopped whatever coaching I was doing to watch him go by.
In London he was awesome in both the heat and the semi, going 3:26 in both races only 90 minutes apart and dominating the field. In the final he faced a big challenge as the guys he dominated in the qualifying rounds would all have regrouped and be prepared to change the results of the heat and semi. I remember Rob and I commenting on each of the eight finalists as the camera panned across the lanes before the start. It was probably the deepest, most decorated field ever in the Olympic K1 1000m final. In the end, Adam raced the same way he did in the heat and semi and the same way he did at the Worlds in 2011. He looked great at 500m but 2004 Olympic Champion Eirik Veras Larsen of Norway was still within touch. Adam just couldn’t break totally clear of Eirik and Eirik kept chipping away at Adam’s lead. In the last 200m as Eirik made his move, Adam got a little tight and heavy. Eiirk slipped by him and Adam had to be satisfied with a silver.
In my mind, Adam didn’t lose a gold, he won a silver. He had a great race but just got beaten by a guy who had an even better race. Eirik’s performance was amazing. The class and grace with which Adam received his silver was as impressive as his paddling and for those who missed it, Christie Blatchford wrote a great column in the National Post about it that brought a tear to my eye.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/08/08/adam-van-koeverden-takes-home-olympic-silver-in-kayak-final/
• Mark Oldershaw’s wonderful bronze in C1 1000m. Until London, Mark was the best Canadian paddler to never have won a medal at the Worlds or the Olympics. Here is a guy who has at times dominated World Cups but for one reason or another has never quite been able to put it all together at the Worlds or Olympics. After winning all the C1s at the Junior Worlds in 2001, he’s had a lot of tough luck. A hand injury not only kept him from paddling properly for almost 3 years but also left him in almost constant pain. Eventually a couple of surgeries got him back on track, but throughout the entire time he dealt with this injury I never heard him complaining about it at the club. In 2008, he made the Olympic team and raced C1 500m. In his heat he was winning and only had to take his last stroke to cross the finish line and advance directly to the final, but not knowing how close second place was he shot his boat. Unfortunately his boat shoot was early and while he was drifting across the line he was passed for first. This meant he lost the direct qualification to the final that came with first place and would have to go to the semis, where he got a tough draw, had a bad race and ended up coming 4th. There would be no final in Beijing for Mark.
In 2012, Mark seemed ready to totally leave those frustrations behind him and, like Adam, looked great everyday in training. His heat and semi in London were solid and he advanced comfortably to the final. In the final he did a great job of stepping up his race plan. Mark loves to get off well on the start, settle and let a couple of other guys lead for the first 500m and then reel them in and pass them in the last 500m. When he does it well at the World Cups he is on the podium and often wins. However the final at the Worlds is a faster race than at World Cups and he has always let the top group slip a little too far ahead in the first 500m at the Worlds, leaving himself with too much work to do in the second half. Though he charges hard he’s never been able to reel them in and reach the podium.
In London he knew he’d need to keep in closer contact with the leaders in the first 500m if he was going to reach the podium. As it turns out he executed his plan to perfection and stayed in touch with the leaders throughout the first 500m. When he began to make his move it was clear he was going to be able to pull himself into the top three if he could maintain his push for the entire second half. For a few moments in the last 150m he actually held second place, before being passed by 2004 Olympic Champion David Cal of Spain, who had a ridiculously fast last 250m. Mark ended up with a bronze behind silver medallist Cal and gold medal winner Sebatian Brendel of Germany, The expression on Mark’s face when he realized he’d reached the podium said it all and that photo made the covers of most Canadian newspapers the next day. What that race meant to Mark and to the entire Oldershaw family, who have done so much for Canadian paddling, is hard to describe. For me it was the highlight of the Olympics.
• Mark de Jonge of Halifax winning a bronze in the K1 200m. Here was a guy who broke a finger in the spring and was unable to train properly or race because of it. He never gave up and trained as best he could. Credit to Canoe-Kayak Canada, who gave him the opportunity to race for selection at the last set of National Team Trials in late June. By that time his injury was healed and he looked incredibly sharp, doing an unofficial world best time in winning his entry.
In London he arrived without the benefit of having had any international racing in his preparation. He looked great in his heat and semi and qualified for the final as a top seed. In the final it looked like he may not have had the best start but he hit the gas and blasted down the course to a bronze medal behind a dominant Ed McKeever of Britain. To me it was a pretty incredible accomplishment given the obstacle he’d had to overcome in the spring.
• The Australian K4. This is memorable to me for a couple of reasons. One, obviously, was the quality of the performance. They were absolutely dominant, leading almost wire to wire and reminding me of some of those legendary East German and Hungarian K4s from back when I was on the team. The other reason was that Canada’s and Burloak’s own Nathan Luce, who has moved on successfully to coaching gigs in the United States and now Australia, coached them. Great work, Nathan! Hope you continue to have fun and continue to produce more results like that down under!
• The Hungarian women winning K4. Anyone who knows me will be surprised that this race was a highlight for me. Canada didn’t qualify a crew (more on that and the state of Canadian paddling in another blog) so there was no Canadian crew to root for. What could possibly make this event so interesting? SUP. Stand up paddling. The Hungarian crew had a teammate of mine from Team Quickblade, Krisztina Fazekas (also known as Krisztina Zur), in their boat.
Krisztina is one of the nicest girls I’ve met in SUP and she left Hungary a few years ago when she married American Rami Zur. She has been racing K1 quite successfully for the Americans the last few years. She’s also been racing SUP and making quite an impression, particularly for someone with no big water experience. Unfortunately she was unable to secure her American citizenship in time to compete as an American and race K1 in London. America’s loss and Hungary’s gain. She went back to Hungary to try to get the K1 entry for their team. Hungary’s depth, of course, is incredible and she wasn’t quite able to do that, finishing just behind eventual London gold medallist Danuta Kozak, in the final Hungarian selection race at World Cup 2 in Duisburg. So, with no other route to the Olympics she challenged for a spot in the Hungarian K4. You’d think that it would be a no-brainer for her to be added to the Hungarian K4 given her medal winning performances in international races he last few years in K1. However I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t that easy. Hungarians are pretty proud of their canoe-kayak history. Their success over the years has been incredible. They export coaches all over the world. I have a hard time believing there were no politics for Krisztina to overcome to make that K4. I imagine there were some that felt that if she’d turned her back on Hungary and left for the United States she should no longer be welcome in the Hungarian program. Krisztina persevered and wiser minds prevailed and she was selected to the K4. Hungary managed to win the K4 in convincing fashion taking back the Olympic title from the Germans who had won in Beijing. Adding Krisztina to the crew certainly strengthened it and she had a huge smile on her face when I saw her in the mixed zone with her medal around her neck.
• Josefa Idem. Before I write anything more, understand that this woman won a bronze medal in K2 at the same Olympics I medalled at – 1984! After an absolutely incredible career spanning 7 Olympics and including a K1 bronze in 96, gold in 2000 and silvers in 2004 and 2008 at age 47 she was back for more in her eighth games. Unreal. Could she possibly continue her medal streak?
In the semi final in K1 500m Rob and I had her dead and buried after 150m. She was so far back I honestly didn’t believe she could claw her way back into a top three spot. Not against the field she faced in her semi. Then the magic occurred. As if out of nowhere she killed it in her last 250m and charged past the field to win her semi and qualify for the final. Despite everyone being well aware of her historic career, a stunned silence seemed to fall over Eton-Dorney as people tried to process what they had just witnessed. A comeback like that in 500m at any age is remarkable, but at 47 years old? That stretches the limits of the imagination.
Though Danute Kozak of Hungary won the final in dominant fashion, I think that everyone, including probably the Hungarians themselves, were at some level pulling for Idem in the final. She came up a little short in the end, finishing a very competitive and close 5th, but she didn’t disappoint anyone in her last Olympics, providing more that just a glimpse of the magic that fueled such a remarkable career.
• The Russian K2 200m. When I first started racing internationally for Canada in 1980 there was a Soviet K2 that was at an entirely different level that the rest of the world. Vladimir Parfenovich and Sergei Chukrai not only dominated K2 but also looked like they were from another planet doing it. They made it look easy. Their smooth, fluid transmission of power made their K2 sit higher and more stable in the water at speed than any other boat. They could have the fastest stroke rate and quickest start in a 500m race and make it look like they were taking it easy. They were so strong yet so skilled it was beautiful to watch, even to a canoe paddler!
In London, Russia’s Yuri Postrigay and Alexander Dyanchenko evoked memories of one of history’s greatest ever K2s, not only by winning the K2 200m by such a clear margin but by paddling so impressively well. The combination of speed, power and artistry they displayed was breathtaking and immediately brought images of Parfenovich and Chukrai to mind. At an event in which all the 200m races were, as one would expect, extremely tight, their race was a demolition in comparison. It left me with the feeling that if they wanted to they could have gone faster. What an emphatic performance to end the competition with!
When it was all said and done I sat there for a few moments, taking in the scene around me at the venue and thinking of the 6 fantastic days of racing I had been so privileged to witness. It was hard to believe it was over. In a few days they would start taking down the stands, the flags and the banners until Eton-Dorney would be little more than a 2400m long water filled ditch running through prime sheep grazing land. We left the venue for the last time and headed back to the hotel. We had the opportunity to attend a small reception hosted by Canoe-Kayak Canada that afternoon at a hotel in nearby Slough, and it was fun to see the athletes and meet their families. Steve, Genevieve and I headed into the city to Canada House that night for a few pints in honour of Mark de Jonge’s bronze, just as we had a few days earlier for Adam and Mark. These Canada house receptions were fun times to witness but really a moment for the athletes on the Canadian Olympic team. By midnight I was back at the Crowne Plaza Heathrow and climbing into bed.
The next day, the Sunday of the closing ceremonies, I slept in, then packed, said goodbye to my broadcast colleagues and left to meet up with my buddies Toby Collins and his brother Tracy, Mike Roche, and Justin DeBlase and his cousin Jimmy who had a house basically across the road from Wembley Stadium. Suddenly, the Olympics seemed far away. Toby and I ventured across town on the tube to hook up with my sister, Susan, who I see far too rarely, and we enjoyed dinner and a few pints at her local. We watched the closing ceremonies in a pub that night and the next day we wandered about London seeing the Imperial War Museum, Upton Park (home of mighty West Ham United) and whatever else we could see in one day. The following day I was on a plane headed home.
Since I’ve come home people have asked me what events I saw and sound disappointed when I tell them that although I had accreditation that would get me into every venue I only saw the events at Eton-Dorney. Yes, I missed seeing Mo Farrah win his second gold, I missed the night of magic at the main stadium when Farrah, Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford won 3 golds for Britain in 40 minutes in athletics, and of course I missed the incredible Usain Bolt who is an Olympic legend despite what IOC President Jacques Rogge says. Our accommodation was just too far away and our work started too early each day to make getting out to events very feasible. I watched those events on the BBC like everyone else. Yet I saw what I wanted to see most, did my job, and watched my friends and countrymen go and do theirs. It was more than enough for me. It was an awesome experience that will stay etched in my memory for a long time. I’d love to have opportunity to do it again in Rio in 2016!
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