When getting started, I think we all hit that point in our workout, especially the cardio portion, where we ask ourselves, "why in the hell am I doing this to my body?" or "is this pain worth it?" This is why having a goal and keeping an eye on it, helped me push through the hard days. This is a video of my pool training in a Viper 55:
As easy as I may be making this exercise look, it was one of the most painful exercises we did. My shoulders would start to burn halfway through the 12, 8, 6 & 4 minute intervals (2 minute rests between). Fortunately, I capsized the K1, which cut my 6 minute interval short. Once again, I had to keep focused on my long term goal knowing this would get easier. It was not until I purchased my new torture toy, a KayakPro Speedstroke, that I was able to improve my conditioning. (Video below as my son eagerly watches)
This machine was no less strenuous than the pool sessions, it simply allowed me to "paddle" more to build up my endurance. Though building up endurance, lactate thresholds, etc. were only part of the equation. I needed to incorporate strength training as well, which would make these sessions on the speedstroke and in the pool less painful.
Unfortunately, some ill performed workouts on the rowing erg strained my muscles in my elbow resulting in "Tennis Elbow", which was shortly follow by straining my iliotibial band in my one and only leg while walking down steps in the NC Battleship. Then in May, I did a silly thing on the kayak erg, sprints at a high cadence, which resulted in straining the long head of my bicep. I made the grand mistake of trying to shorten the distance to my long term goal; hence, creating a speed bump in my training. My overzealousness now hindered my progress.
Of course these injuries led to physical therapy: the iliotibial band healed quickly, the elbow has almost healed completely, and the shoulder is about 80%. I did wise up after starting PT in January; I enlisted a friend, Jennifer Jones "JJ", who is an athletic trainer, to educate me a strength training routine that would benefit my performance in sprint kayaking.
You can easily get inundated with information on the internet about exercises for various sports and, without the proper knowledge, it can be difficult to filter out the subtle crazy stuff from the beneficial. Since I was looking for strength training to enhance performance versus enhancing my size, I am glad I went to a professional opposed to winging it. After the Lake Placid International Regatta, it became very evident that strength training for performance needs to be an integral part of sprint kayak training. The paddlers at this event were not bulky, they were athletically built for performance.
The Lake Placid event has re-focused my goals of strength training and the continual endurance training. I will let my wounds heal properly and focus on working out smarter not necessarily harder. As a friend reminded me, my overall goal is to be healthier and physically fit, with 2016 Paralympics in Rio lying on that path. I may have to take little bites for now, knowing I will be able to be more zealous on performance goals of faster times and winning races in the near future. So for now, I will exercise my patience as I miss the work out and the feeling I had after them, something I would have never thought I would have said 8 months ago when I started training.
Stay focused on the your long term goal, it will get easier. More importantly do not believe everything you read or hear on the internet.
