Maybe I was lulled into a false sense of security through an unusually mild November and December and that’s why I decided to take on this challenge of 805 km/500 miles in 100 days. Whatever the reason, those mild days are gone and we’ve got real winter here in the Toronto area now. What looked fairly easy when I committed to it now looks like a considerably greater challenge. 
I paddled over 2800 km in 2015, and that was accomplished missing 5 weeks in the middle of the season while traveling in Europe with the canoe-kayak team. From September 1st through to the first week of December I tallied approximately 1100 km, showing that it’s certainly possible for me to do 805 km in 100 days. But oh boy, did I ever underestimate winter.
Since January 1st we’ve finally seen snow. This makes the local ski resort operators happy, but leaves people who enjoy summer sports like cycling, running, and of course paddling, grumbling. Our river has finally frozen over, and even a few mild days last weekend didn’t do anything to break the ice up. We’ve had one day that qualifies as “polar vortex”, a term that was introduced to us for the first time a couple of winters ago, and describes an aberration in the jet stream that pushes an arctic air mass over Southern Ontario with strong northwest winds and temperatures so frigid they are difficult to comprehend and don’t climb anywhere close to -10 C. And we’ve had a number of days where the temperature is -7 C to -2 C, with some amount of additional wind chill. This has left me confronted with the fact that the challenge of paddling 805km in 100 days is going to be far from easy, maybe impossible, and perhaps not even that much fun on many days.I’m pretty convinced that having company is going to be crucial in helping me try to meet this challenge. I’ve paddled with eight different people already this winter – not necessarily all at once, but I’ve had company far more often than I’ve had to paddle alone. Having others eager to get out there when it feels cold enough to seem a foolish thing to do is a big help for sure. They get me through the hardest part, which is the long, cold walk to the water where I often seem to be overcome by fits of shivering, and it’s fun to enjoy the paddle with them and talk story about it over coffee afterward.
To this point I’m exactly on pace: 97km in 12 calendar days. Today we paddled in -2 C temperature with -8 C wind chill. We now have to drive about 5 km from the frozen harbor to a sandy beach at a place called Coronation Park. We’ve got an even longer, colder walk to the beach from the parking lot and today my mind was full of thoughts of turning around while making that long trek. Fortunately I had Brandon van Elslander and Derek Schrotter walking with me so that wasn’t an option. Once on the water, however, I quickly warmed up. There was a really good southwest bump and we blasted downwind immediately. I’ve learned that in really cold weather it’s best to do the downwind leg first so you warm up more quickly, then since you’ve got all the gear on and are absolutely burning up after going downwind, the upwind leg feels toasty warm.The workout was awesome and so we now know that a “feels like” temperature of -8 C is doable. We’ll see how much further we can push it and find out exactly where the limits are over the next few weeks. Looking at the extended forecast there are going to be a lot of days that will be well below freezing.
I fully expect to fall behind pace over this period. To me, the paddling has to not only be fun but productive. I refuse to go out and be either miserable or paddling poorly because of the cold just to reach a mileage goal. To this point each session has been awesome – more fun that you’d think possible and undeniably productive. In fact, with the proper gear on, winter paddling has thus far represented an amazing opportunity to develop my skills. Being properly dressed for the conditions, I simply don’t care if I fall in. I can paddle on the edge and be totally relaxed, and that is precisely what you need to do to learn how to get the most out what the water is offering in big conditions. However I know there are going to be days that just aren’t going to be worth it because it is so cold. We’ve had a few of them already.
The other thing we need to consider is the wind. We aren’t always able to arrange the logistics of a downwind paddle, so if the wind is too strong to paddle into what is the point in trying to go out? Normally we’d just retreat to the shelter of the river, but with it frozen solid that option is out. So there is another reason I can expect to fall behind, as there are a lot of really windy days here in the winter. My hope is that while I may fall behind in January and February, I won’t be so far behind that I can’t catch up in March and the first ten days of April. We’ll see how it goes..
So what do you do when you can’t paddle?
There’s certainly lots to do on days when I can’t paddle. Remember, I’m a huge advocate of strength training for SUP. With the exception of the Starboard Sprint, which I’m in love with because it has been designed to move as efficiently through flat water as a 14 foot SUP board can possibly be (no wonder I feel like it rides like a racing canoe), SUP boards in general are based on designs intended to catch waves in the ocean, not cruise efficiently through glassy, flat water. As a result it takes a good deal of power and power endurance to move them effectively. As this can best be developed in the gym, it makes good sense to me that SUP paddlers should spend at least three days a week there, working comprehensively on developing these capabilities.
If you find yourself kept off the water by conditions beyond your control, you needn’t limit yourself to strength and power development. You can go for a run to support the cardiovascular ability you need to paddle at a high level for extended periods of time. You can also cycle, which provides the added benefit of working your legs at a high level, which is extremely beneficial for SUP. If it’s snow and cold that have kept you off the water, it’ll likely keep you off your bike as well. However you can always go to a gym and ride the stationary bike or do a spin class.
When I used to train for sprint canoe, I swam two to three times per week throughout the general preparatory phase of training. If you’re a good swimmer you can do the same type of workout in the pool that you’d do on your board. Anything from long and steady to intervals by time, work really well. Even if you’re not a good swimmer it’s an excellent training activity as long as you’re not continually stopping and resting your feet on the bottom or hanging on the edge of the pool. You may not be swimming fast, but as long as your heart rate is in an appropriate training zone it’s all good. Any other type of aerobic activity can be useful as well – rowing ergs, elliptical trainers, stair climbers all can be valuable training tools on days you can’t paddle. And although I don’t think we should ever feel obsessive-compulsive about the need to have a paddle in our hands, you can always hammer away on a SUP erg if you have access to one.
As far as cardiovascular training goes, you can always embrace winter and cross-country ski if you’ve got trails near your house. It is a fantastic training activity and there are some parallels between the polling motion in skiing and the paddle stroke.
Doing yoga or pilates is a great way to develop core strength and flexibility, both of which are useful for SUP.
Using a non-paddling day for an appointment with a physio or athletic therapist to treat a nagging injury seems like a great use of time. Certainly it makes more sense to book your appointment for a day when you can’t paddle rather than having to miss a good paddling session for it.
Similarly, if you’re not busy looking after your body on a day when you can’t paddle you can always turn it into a day where you look after your equipment instead. I like to take care of any small board or paddle repairs on days when, for one reason or another, I can’t paddle..
Lastly, there’s nothing wrong with rest. If I’ve been pushing it and training really hard, there’s often nothing I can do that’s more useful than a good day off. Rest allows you to consolidate the gains training is supposed to stimulate. It also helps prevent burnout, which is always a possibility when you’re relentlessly pursuing an ambitious mileage goal.
I really want to meet this 805/100 Paddle Challenge. I don’t set goals that I’m not serious about achieving and reaching this one through a Canadian winter would be an accomplishment to feel proud of. But I think it is important to keep things in perspective. The reason I’m doing it is that it is great motivation to pile on mileage through the winter, which is something that I have never seriously attempted to do before. And the purpose of that is to make me a faster, more skilled racer next season. Becoming a better paddler is what it is all about. The challenge is simply a means to an end, as opposed to the end goal itself.
Stay tuned for more posts. In the next one I’ll try to describe a typical winter paddling session, from the cold hands while loading the board on the car and the long, slippery walk to the water, to the harsh beauty of the lake in the winter, to the soggy change from paddling gear to dry clothes in the parking lot, and the sense of contentment and satisfaction felt while enjoying the post paddle coffee.
People bundled up on shore who see us on the water this time of year think we’re insane, and I must admit when I step outside in the cold to walk the dogs or clean snow off the car the thought of paddling in this weather seems exactly that. Yet already, this winter has provided me with some awesome, magical, paddling experiences. I can’t overstate how incredibly worthwhile winter paddling actually is.
