K1 Training: week of 5/27

This week, we went from conditioning to more intense interval training.  I was introduced to Tabata intervals on Tuesday and we timed three 200m sprints back to back on Thursday.

 

Tabata intervals are rough, but effective in long term goals.  My intervals were 20 seconds of sprint speed followed by 10 seconds of a paddling rest period done eight times.  My Garmin showed my speeds above 8 mph for the first 3 - 4, but my speed started tapering to around 6 mph for the last 4.  Though, I was happy to be able to complete all 8 and after about a 2 minute rest period my heart rate finally came down to the 140 range. 

 

My coach said I would probably need a day of rest, but I did not think anything of it, since I was feeling fine after the interval.  Though the next morning, I was corrected with a slight burning/sore sensation in my abdominal, chest, and back muscles.  My body's delayed response, thanking me for torturing it the day before. 

 

Tabata intervals increase aerobic and anaerobic efficiency with high intensity for a small period of time and in my case 4 minutes.  My goal will be to increase my last intervals speed above 10 mph.  To put this into perspective, the 200m K1 sprints is over in 43 seconds for the fastest paddler; hence, I need to reach at least 15 mph in the first 20 seconds to finish the 200m sprint in 40 seconds or less.

 

On Thursday, we timed our 200m sprints, which were into a cross wind.  My first time was 1:06.00, second time was 60.3 and the third was 1:10.  I seemed to always perform better in my 2nd run versus my 1st.  For the third run, I was spent.  The biggest challenge today was around the 100m mark there was a squirrely eddy current, which made keeping my balance difficult.

 

I also tried a different paddle on Thursday, a Jantex.  Though still not the length I need, I liked how it paddled. 

 

As for the rest of the week, I am hoping to get in some strength training along with teaching a kayak lesson at Bond Park and organizing 81 safety kayakers for the Iron Man 70.3 at Jordan Lake Sunday morning. 

 

It will be all worth it in the end.

Have A Jolly Day,
Wes