This week’s Tip of the Week has to do with two really great events I’ve done in the last couple of years. One of them is pretty well known and fallslater in the year so I’ll write about it – Chattajack – more in a coming post.The second is less well known but I’d like to see that change, as it is a great event. And it represents a fantastic way to accumulate mileage in a race environment that you need if you’re going to be well prepared for Chattajack. I’m talking about the most underrated SUP race I can think of – Maine’s Lobster SUP Cup.
I did the Lobster SUP Cup in 2013 and had an amazing time. Check out my blog post about it for a more in depth description of the race and the beautiful location it’s held in (Lobster SUP Cup 2013). When I did the race it was two back-to-back 12-mile races on Saturday and Sunday. That is challenging to say the least, but it was even more so because of conditions as the anticipated downwind conditions turned into a light headwind for the two days of racing.
This year the Lobster Cup will apparently consist of three days of racing from August 7 to 9, with distances in the 7 to 12 mile range. You can find out more about it at http://www.lobstersupcup.com/schedule/. I don’t know the exact details of this year’s race, but I did become familiar with the area it’s being held in. It’s beautiful.
If you haven’t considered doing the Lobster Cup but are doing something like Chattajack here’s why I think you should make the trip up to Maine.It’s the best opportunity you’ll find to rack up some quality mileage in a race environment for a race like Chattajack that absolutely requires you to be well prepared.That you get to do it in a beautiful environment with some great locals who make it a real fun weekend is a bonus.
If you do decide to do the Lobster Cup here are a few tips that will make your weekend of racing more successful and fun:
- Pace
yourself
- Draft! This should go without saying as I think it’s an essential tactic in any distance race. But further to the point raised about day 2 and 3 above, anything you can do to make it easier for yourself is going to be useful.Drafting is the best tactic you can employ to rest during a race without slowing down. Use it. For more information on the technique, tactics and ethics of drafting see my blog post from October 2012 “Drafting in Stand Up Paddling”.
- Hydrate. When I raced the Lobster Cup it was perfect weather – sunny and low 70s F or 20s C. It wasn’t what I would consider hot like, say the Chucktown Showdown in Charleston, for example. As such your water requirements aren’t quite as great and you won’t likely have the same thirst for water that you might in a hotter race of the same distance.However since you are doing three races in three days you’d be well advised to aggressively hydrate and drink more during and after each race than you normally might. This will help ensure you are hydrated from one day to the next and will minimize the impact that one day of racing will have on the next.
- Have an in-race nutrition plan. Though a single 12-mile race isn’t normally long enough for me to bring anything but water, when you’re racing that distance three days in a row you’ll want to get something beyond water into your body while you’re racing. An electrolyte mix in addition to just water during the race should be a consideration. Gels might be another. I even usually take something solid in the pocket of my board shorts just incase I feel like I’m going to crash. In Chattajack last year I stopped to eat a Cliff Bar in the last mile.
- Develop a recovery strategy. The simplest and most basic thing to effective recovery goes beyond hydration to nutrition. You’ll want to make sure your electrolyte levels are normalized as soon as possible after racing. Using an electrolyte mix while racing instead of just water can facilitate this. Normally in a 12-mile race I’d just use water, but if I’m racing on back-to-back-to-back days I’d definitely use an electrolyte mix during the race. Then I would use a recovery mix immediately after that provides rapidly absorbed carbohydrate and some protein.
- Treat any injuries immediately. If you’re like me and have a chronic overuse injury that you’re trying to manage it is an absolute must that you deal aggressively with it after each day of racing whether it is bothering you at the moment or not. Trust me, it will be bothering you by the end of the weekend if you don’t actively take steps to address it at the end of each day’s race. Ice and an anti-inflammatory are probably a good idea. Stretching, some massage, or whatever else is part of your management regimen should be things that you most definitely should be using here.
- Eat! Don’t be shy about enjoying a good meal after a hard day of racing. You need fuel for the next day. I’m not overly anal about getting carbs before or after a race. I continue to eat the same balanced diet I normally eat.You don’t just need to replace glycogen anyway, you also need protein to help repair muscle and fats as well as for a good part of a long SUP race your energy is coming from fat metabolism. I’m not recommending you eat four lobsters like I did after the first day of racing in 2013, but if you like lobster it probably won’t hurt you. Just make sure to eat from all the food groups.
- Sleep. Make sure you get lots of rest each evening. You’ve all heard how the body does all its repair work while you’re sleeping.If
you want to be strong on day three of racing it’s pretty important that you get
adequate sleep after day 1 and 2.
The Lobster SUP Cup is one of the least known,
but one of the best races out there. The whole concept, with multiple days of racing is cool and the setting it’s held in is awesome. Throw in some locals with a lot of stoke for SUP and it has the makings of a great event. Yes, it’s a little out of the way in the very
northeast corner of the United States, but Key West is a little out of the way
as well and it seems to draw well, doesn’t it?
If you’re doing Chattajack, and apparently
a lot of people are this year as it sold out really quickly, then the Lobster
Cup is exactly the type of event you should be hitting to prepare for it. Moreover, it is perfectly timed because if you’re racing Chattajack in late October you should be racking up the mileage
in August. Just consider the tips I’ve provided above for the Lobster Cup and you can see how relevant those same tips would be for a 31-mile, one-day race like Chattajack.The Lobster Cup represents a great opportunity to test your pacing, your drafting skills, and your hydration and
in-race nutrition systems.
I’m lucky I have this great new job doing
what I love,coaching paddling athletes preparing for the Olympics. But one of the unfortunate things is that it conflicts with the Lobster Cup. Last year I was in Lithuania during the Lobster Cup and this year will be on my way to a pre-World Championships training camp in the south of France.If I didn’t have this conflict I’d definitely be there as it is one of the better SUP events I’ve been to.
