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!

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:

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!

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!

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.

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

Despite the fact that some people say they can feel themselves being slowed down when someone is riding their wash, there is no proof that this slowing down effect actually occurs.  In all likelihood it is a psychological effect that the lead paddler feels and there is no real physical detriment to having someone on your wave.

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.