It has been an interesting year. I pulled out of Paracanoe competition last summer to prevent further injury to my right shoulder. In September, I had surgery on my right shoulder to remove the tip of my clavicle and clean up scar tissue in the joint and 12 weeks later I was back to my Paracanoe training routine. My weight in strength training continued to increase, I was paddling 7,000 - 8,000 meters during my erg sessions, and my pool training to get reaquainted with my K1 was going well. Life was good and I felt I was making good strides down what I thought was my path to winning a spot on the US Paracanoe team, until...
Mid February, I was doing a bench press and I got a muscle spasm, aka trigger point, in my lower trapezius. I stopped my workout, did some stretching and got a hot shower, hoping to relax the trigger point. A week later, I woke up to a stiffness in my entire upper right back area and within about 20 minutes, the tip of my thumb went numb. So I got a massage appointment to workout the trigger points, which were big at this point. The following week I had another massage to break down the trigger points some more, but I had also made an appointment with my orthopaedic.
My orthopaedic informed me that swelling around my C 5-6 vertebrae was causing the numbness, along with the possibility that some of the trigger points were pinching the the nerve. I got a cortisone shot in the biggest trigger point and a dose pack of methylprednisolone for the disk swelling. In addition to this, I continued massage therapy and had some dry needling done to reset the trigger points.
Yes, you read that right, dry needling, which is a procedure where my PT inserts a 30, 40, or 50 mm thin needle into my trigger points to cause muscle twitches that releases spasm in the muscle. It feels like worms wiggling under your skin. One of my trigger points was so tight, it bent her needles. Surprisingly, it actually released all my trigger points in my scapular/rotator cuff area. My numbness in my right thumb went from being around my thumbnail and my thumb pad to just the left side of my thumb pad. I was happy with the progress, though I knew there was more to it.
I went to a spine specialist, per request of my ortho if symptoms did not fully resolve in a month. He tested my strength, isolated my numbness, and then got the X-rays of my neck. Well, my gut feeling kicked in as the nurse pulled up my scans that something was not 100% and the doctor confirmed this feeling. The trigger points were the smoke from the fire in my C 5-6 vertebrae area that showed some spurring and surprisingly my C 6-7 area looked worse, but I had no side effects from that area. The plus side is that I am in no pain, just a little annoying numbness that he said should heal in a year or two, he did not think I needed a cortisone shot, and he definitely would not do surgery.
The downside came when I asked him what I needed to do to prevent further damage. His advice was to limit my chin to shoulder/shoulder to chin movement and that is when it sank in hard that my sprint paddling career had just been greatly affected. Why? My sprint paddle stroke is a chin to shoulder movement at almost two strokes per second to propel my K1 up to peak speeds from 11 - 15 mph. For Rio training, I would be paddling up to 20 km a week. This weekly distance, along with the forces exerted on my body to reach sprint speeds, were not adding up to positive outcome in my favor.
Throughout our lives we have to make decisions, costs versus reward. When I was first diagnosed with bone cancer, I thought I could never live a good life with one leg, yet I continue to be blessed. I am a competitor which is why the decision to stop training for the Paralympics was a disheartening one to make. Sprint training is rigorous and for me the long term risks of continuing for a short term goal of Rio is not worth it.
In my prayers, I simply asked to be guided down the path on which God wants me to follow. Sometimes that path is not leading to your intended destination, but bringing people into your life so you can make a positive impact in theirs. My sprint training path led me to Bridge II Sports, "B2S". Since one of the reasons for me leaving the Y was to get more physically challenged athletes into kayaking, I have been redirected to my roots.
Now I am heavily involved in getting the first truly accessible dock for physically challenged paddlers in North Carolina built at Crabtree Lake and helping B2S develop a kayak program for its participants. In addition, my kayaking program with the Town of Cary has tripled in size in the past year. My love for kayaking will still be fulfilled and my life will move forward.
Will I ever wonder "What if?"?, yes, but that fork in my path will now be behind me and I need to focus on my new one.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Things were going great until....
Since being released from PT for my bicep injury, training was going great. My shoulders were getting stronger, exercises that were a struggle in November became an ease by January. I started back on the kayak erg late February twice a week. Even my erg sessions showed increased wattage output with less strokes per minute and workouts that were painful last year were easier. Smooth sailing, prepping myself for late spring on water training where I knew my coach was going to start ramping up the conditioning.
Then came the Triangle Area's second snow storm and a fall on ice. My crutches splayed outward like a giraffe's legs do when it gets a drink of water. Caught myself with about a foot of clearance between my chest and the ground and slowly lowered my body the rest of the way. I knew this was not good, felt soreness in the back of my right shoulder soon after. An ice pack soon followed with a couple of days of rest. Strength conditioning that followed this incident was a little painful at first, but my shoulder seemed to have recovered.
March 9th arrived, my daughter had her first outdoor soccer game. We were heading back to the Man Van and a boy asked me if I could get his soccer ball out from under it. No problem, I knelt down retrieved his ball and as I was standing back up, I put my right elbow out to brace myself against the sliding door. Well, the sliding door was open and into the MV I went landing on my elbow. An ice pack soon followed and a day of rest. That Tuesday, I had my first pool session of the season doing balance drills in my K1 and testing my new K1 seat. The session went well, I felt fine afterwards...a little sore, but this is what I expected. Friday, I resumed strength conditioning and everything was good, with exception of a couple exercises. Sunday, kayak erg training day, I had a 65 minute session, which I stopped in the last eight minutes due to feeling some soreness in my right shoulder.
Monday, the right shoulder was not feeling fine, something was just not right. So I scheduled an appointment with my Orthopedic. After x-rays and multiple angle contortion of my right arm, I have apparently injured the top of my shoulder joint and re-aggravated the long head of my bicep. My treatment: 6 days of prednisone and three weeks of no shoulder exertion. I can only train core and leg muscles and will need to cycle for cardio.
I am not sure what I wanted to hear. I simply want the right shoulder to be 100% again, an equal partner to my left shoulder, though the physics of my physical condition may not permit this, as my right shoulder does not have a right leg to help out. Maybe my new K1 seat design will give my right side something to push/pull against when paddling, so far it has in pool training, but real world paddling will be the true test.
I am happy it was not surgery, as my first two kayak clinics of the summer are sold out and I am responsible for coordinating 50+ kayakers and 5 motor boats to ensure the safety of 2700 Iron Man swimmers, June 1st. I just do not have a window of time for recovery from surgery, so I am exerting a strong will of patience during this healing time.
I cannot let this setback/challenge overtake me though. I have wonderful support from friends and family to help me prevail. I also have a great K1 coach, Stephen Knight, athletic trainer, Jennifer Jones, and nutritionist, Sonia Vieregge Kennedy with Nutrition In Motion, who will keep me in check as my training resumes.
So I carry on with a something I wrote to a fellow parapaddler:
From successes to injury setbacks, it is surviving the bumpy roads that make us stronger in the end.
Then came the Triangle Area's second snow storm and a fall on ice. My crutches splayed outward like a giraffe's legs do when it gets a drink of water. Caught myself with about a foot of clearance between my chest and the ground and slowly lowered my body the rest of the way. I knew this was not good, felt soreness in the back of my right shoulder soon after. An ice pack soon followed with a couple of days of rest. Strength conditioning that followed this incident was a little painful at first, but my shoulder seemed to have recovered.
March 9th arrived, my daughter had her first outdoor soccer game. We were heading back to the Man Van and a boy asked me if I could get his soccer ball out from under it. No problem, I knelt down retrieved his ball and as I was standing back up, I put my right elbow out to brace myself against the sliding door. Well, the sliding door was open and into the MV I went landing on my elbow. An ice pack soon followed and a day of rest. That Tuesday, I had my first pool session of the season doing balance drills in my K1 and testing my new K1 seat. The session went well, I felt fine afterwards...a little sore, but this is what I expected. Friday, I resumed strength conditioning and everything was good, with exception of a couple exercises. Sunday, kayak erg training day, I had a 65 minute session, which I stopped in the last eight minutes due to feeling some soreness in my right shoulder.
Monday, the right shoulder was not feeling fine, something was just not right. So I scheduled an appointment with my Orthopedic. After x-rays and multiple angle contortion of my right arm, I have apparently injured the top of my shoulder joint and re-aggravated the long head of my bicep. My treatment: 6 days of prednisone and three weeks of no shoulder exertion. I can only train core and leg muscles and will need to cycle for cardio.
I am not sure what I wanted to hear. I simply want the right shoulder to be 100% again, an equal partner to my left shoulder, though the physics of my physical condition may not permit this, as my right shoulder does not have a right leg to help out. Maybe my new K1 seat design will give my right side something to push/pull against when paddling, so far it has in pool training, but real world paddling will be the true test.
I am happy it was not surgery, as my first two kayak clinics of the summer are sold out and I am responsible for coordinating 50+ kayakers and 5 motor boats to ensure the safety of 2700 Iron Man swimmers, June 1st. I just do not have a window of time for recovery from surgery, so I am exerting a strong will of patience during this healing time.
I cannot let this setback/challenge overtake me though. I have wonderful support from friends and family to help me prevail. I also have a great K1 coach, Stephen Knight, athletic trainer, Jennifer Jones, and nutritionist, Sonia Vieregge Kennedy with Nutrition In Motion, who will keep me in check as my training resumes.
So I carry on with a something I wrote to a fellow parapaddler:
From successes to injury setbacks, it is surviving the bumpy roads that make us stronger in the end.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
My Workout for Kayak Strength Training
This is my current workout, about 90 minutes. My heart rate will be steady around 130 - 140 bpm. I pick a weight that will start fatiguing my muscles in the last 5 reps, with the last rep being slower than the rest. I currently do this three times a week.
1st Set: Repeat twice, no resting between exercises
1st Set: Repeat twice, no resting between exercises
- Lateral & Front Arm Raises: Lateral & Front = 1 rep - 15x
- Bicep Curl: 20x Slow Reps (SR), 10 count
- Reverse Wrist Curl: 20x SR
- Wrist Curl: 20x SR
- Lateral Wrist Curl (giving a thumbs up): 20x SR
- Bent Over Lateral Raises or Modified Dumbbell Rows (Upper arm is parallel with my shoulder plane, I have more control): 20x
- Dumbbell Flies: 20x SR
- Dumbbell Triceps Extension-laying prone: 20x SR
- Dumbbell Pullover: 15x SR
2nd Set: Repeat twice, no resting between exercises
On the Cable Machine
- Rotator Cuff Exercises - External & Internal Rotation: 20x each
- Straight Arm Lat Pull Down: 15x SR
- Back Extension: 15x SR - not on cable machine
- Seat Row - wide bar: 15x
- Seated Russian Twist - using cable machine: 20x both sides, mimics path of paddle stroke
- Cybex Leg Squats: 15x
Water Break
3rd Set: Repeat Twice, no resting between exercises
- Russian Twist w Medicine Ball: 40x quick, keeping head facing forward while body rotates
- Crunches with Medicine Ball: 30x
- Side Plank Hip Lifts: 20x SR
- Bench Press: 15x
- Hanging Leg Raise: 30x
Protein Smoothie and Recovery Coffee 1/2 Caf
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Getting Started
I will be the first one to admit that getting started with a training routine for sprint kayaking was difficult. Between balancing family, house work (my wife may laugh), my part-time job and taking care of the kids, it was not as simple as just plugging workouts and pool practice time into my schedule. Though I had a goal, I knew to perform well in sprint kayaking, I needed to do more than just paddle a kayak.
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.
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.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Lake Placid International Regatta - 2013
A Little Information:
For the USA Paracanoe team, the Lake Placid International Regatta was the team trials for the 2013 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. The top paddler in each event classification will represent USA Paracanoe at the world championship. Para-Paddlers are classified into three categories; Leg-Trunk-Arm (LTA), Trunk-Arm (TA), or Arm (A). Para-paddlers either paddle a kayak or a outrigger canoe for a distance of 200m.
My classification is TA. For all intents and purposes, the fastest time for a LTA & TA paddler have about one second difference between them. So I am aiming for LTA times to push myself to be faster and meet a higher standard.
The Trip
We started our journey to Lake Placid, NY at 8:30 a.m. on July 1st and arrived 20+ hours later at 4:00 a.m. July 2nd. Aside from the yelping dog at 6:00 a.m., we all crashed until noon. Tuesday became more of a scouting day to check out our launch site and make plans for Wednesday's training camp. This is our humble stake out throughout the event:
Wednesday: Day 1 of Training Camp
We focused on starts, which was something I needed to practice as this was the 4th time I had been in my new Nelo Paracanoe K1(PK1). Allan from the Gig Harbor club was coaching us that day and had some positive feed back for me, which was great. He said I had a lot of power with about a 110 stroke cadence, which was evident when I checked my data on my Garmin and I had peaked at 10.7 mph on one of my starts (~30 m total). So I was very pleased with the results.
Of course, the 4th time in the PK1 meant I was bound to flip and I did during one of my starts. More impressively, especially to my fellow parapaddlers, I rolled her back upright only to flip again when I reached for my Carolina hat, priorities. This is what happens when you put a sea/whitewater paddler into a kayak.
Thursday: Day 2 of Training Camp
We did 5 x 100 m sprints after paddling the full length of the 1000 m course. I must say Mirror Lake, which main street Lake Placid borders, is the cleanest lake I have ever paddled. You could see the boulders 4 feet down as if they were on the surface, which is a far cry from Lake Crabtree that requires giving my PK1 a good cleaning after every paddle.
Friday: Day 3 of Training Camp
We did 3 x 100 m sprints down the lanes at about 80% effort, several sprint starts, and called it a day.
Race Day: July 6
I had a hard time getting to sleep Friday night, missing my family and visualizing my starts off and on all night. I was even dreaming about them. Saturday morning was no different, I was nervous and anxious about flipping on my first race. My first race was at 9:50, which may have been too much time to ponder...I just wanted get the first one over.
1st Race
At 9:30, I paddle out and check in with the start boat, which was followed by some warm up pacing to get the heart rate up. We are called to the race line, I am holding my PK1 center of the lane as a slight breeze nudges her to the left, draw stroke, draw stroke, announcer "lane 4 [me] move up", "lane 4 & 5 hold, lane 6 back", "hold your boats", "Ready, Set, horn blast", my heart is pumping, adrenaline flowing. I have a great start. I see no one in my peripheral vision, buoys are passing faster and faster. My boat begins to veer, I correct it, but I over compensate. I edge to correct her...it is working. Then, I have a mis-stroke and I feel the PK1 going over. I slap a low brace and recover, but I know that my race now is no longer about being the #1 TA, it is about finishing strong. I say a choice "word" and focus on recouping my speed and finishing my first race upright. I fumble a little at the 190m mark, perform a corrective stroke, and push my boat through the finish. First race complete and upright, though my emotions were flowing. This was not the race I wanted, but I completed it successfully in 1:00.49 (US Paracanoe National Standards). My big mistake would not reveal itself until my second race.
2nd Race
The nervousness is gone and now I am pumped. We are called to our lanes. I pace forward and backward to keep the heart pumping - announcer "paddlers to the line...Ready, Set, horn blast". I have another great start, but the kayak begins to veer, but I am able to edge her to correct her. The edging leads to a mis-stroke, so I pull on my foot to gain control. My foot floats from the foot board, and my grand mistake for both races is revealed: I forgot to strap my foot into the foot board to maximize my stability, power and control! At this point I want to finish the race upright, so I cruise to the finish the last 15 meters. I have accepted that my time for this race will be at least 1:10 to 1:15, but I was wrong, my time was 1:02.93.
My Reflection
Once the emotions subside and I receive reassurance from my coach and other parapaddlers, I realized that this was a good first race. Since this was my 7th time in my new K1, I did very well adjusting to a K1 less stable than the one I have been practicing in for the previous 3 months. My 2nd race, which I thought was terrible, was only a little more than 2 seconds slower than my first. So with more practice in my new K1, honing my outfitting, adapting rudder control (thanks to advice from my fellow parapaddler, Nick Miller), and remembering to strap that foot into the footboard or replacing it with a pull bar to ensure a solid grip; I should see times below 50 seconds within the next year.
The best result from the race was meeting my fellow parapaddlers: Greg, Ann, Nick, David, Megan, Kelly, and Bob, who have all overcome adversity to accomplish their goals. Moreover, my teammate, Carol Rogers, from Bridge II Sports Parakayak team made the national team heading to Duisburg, Germany.
For the USA Paracanoe team, the Lake Placid International Regatta was the team trials for the 2013 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. The top paddler in each event classification will represent USA Paracanoe at the world championship. Para-Paddlers are classified into three categories; Leg-Trunk-Arm (LTA), Trunk-Arm (TA), or Arm (A). Para-paddlers either paddle a kayak or a outrigger canoe for a distance of 200m.
My classification is TA. For all intents and purposes, the fastest time for a LTA & TA paddler have about one second difference between them. So I am aiming for LTA times to push myself to be faster and meet a higher standard.
The Trip
We started our journey to Lake Placid, NY at 8:30 a.m. on July 1st and arrived 20+ hours later at 4:00 a.m. July 2nd. Aside from the yelping dog at 6:00 a.m., we all crashed until noon. Tuesday became more of a scouting day to check out our launch site and make plans for Wednesday's training camp. This is our humble stake out throughout the event:
Wednesday: Day 1 of Training Camp
We focused on starts, which was something I needed to practice as this was the 4th time I had been in my new Nelo Paracanoe K1(PK1). Allan from the Gig Harbor club was coaching us that day and had some positive feed back for me, which was great. He said I had a lot of power with about a 110 stroke cadence, which was evident when I checked my data on my Garmin and I had peaked at 10.7 mph on one of my starts (~30 m total). So I was very pleased with the results.
Of course, the 4th time in the PK1 meant I was bound to flip and I did during one of my starts. More impressively, especially to my fellow parapaddlers, I rolled her back upright only to flip again when I reached for my Carolina hat, priorities. This is what happens when you put a sea/whitewater paddler into a kayak.
Thursday: Day 2 of Training Camp
We did 5 x 100 m sprints after paddling the full length of the 1000 m course. I must say Mirror Lake, which main street Lake Placid borders, is the cleanest lake I have ever paddled. You could see the boulders 4 feet down as if they were on the surface, which is a far cry from Lake Crabtree that requires giving my PK1 a good cleaning after every paddle.
Friday: Day 3 of Training Camp
We did 3 x 100 m sprints down the lanes at about 80% effort, several sprint starts, and called it a day.
Race Day: July 6
I had a hard time getting to sleep Friday night, missing my family and visualizing my starts off and on all night. I was even dreaming about them. Saturday morning was no different, I was nervous and anxious about flipping on my first race. My first race was at 9:50, which may have been too much time to ponder...I just wanted get the first one over.
1st Race
At 9:30, I paddle out and check in with the start boat, which was followed by some warm up pacing to get the heart rate up. We are called to the race line, I am holding my PK1 center of the lane as a slight breeze nudges her to the left, draw stroke, draw stroke, announcer "lane 4 [me] move up", "lane 4 & 5 hold, lane 6 back", "hold your boats", "Ready, Set, horn blast", my heart is pumping, adrenaline flowing. I have a great start. I see no one in my peripheral vision, buoys are passing faster and faster. My boat begins to veer, I correct it, but I over compensate. I edge to correct her...it is working. Then, I have a mis-stroke and I feel the PK1 going over. I slap a low brace and recover, but I know that my race now is no longer about being the #1 TA, it is about finishing strong. I say a choice "word" and focus on recouping my speed and finishing my first race upright. I fumble a little at the 190m mark, perform a corrective stroke, and push my boat through the finish. First race complete and upright, though my emotions were flowing. This was not the race I wanted, but I completed it successfully in 1:00.49 (US Paracanoe National Standards). My big mistake would not reveal itself until my second race.
2nd Race
The nervousness is gone and now I am pumped. We are called to our lanes. I pace forward and backward to keep the heart pumping - announcer "paddlers to the line...Ready, Set, horn blast". I have another great start, but the kayak begins to veer, but I am able to edge her to correct her. The edging leads to a mis-stroke, so I pull on my foot to gain control. My foot floats from the foot board, and my grand mistake for both races is revealed: I forgot to strap my foot into the foot board to maximize my stability, power and control! At this point I want to finish the race upright, so I cruise to the finish the last 15 meters. I have accepted that my time for this race will be at least 1:10 to 1:15, but I was wrong, my time was 1:02.93.
My Reflection
Once the emotions subside and I receive reassurance from my coach and other parapaddlers, I realized that this was a good first race. Since this was my 7th time in my new K1, I did very well adjusting to a K1 less stable than the one I have been practicing in for the previous 3 months. My 2nd race, which I thought was terrible, was only a little more than 2 seconds slower than my first. So with more practice in my new K1, honing my outfitting, adapting rudder control (thanks to advice from my fellow parapaddler, Nick Miller), and remembering to strap that foot into the footboard or replacing it with a pull bar to ensure a solid grip; I should see times below 50 seconds within the next year.
The best result from the race was meeting my fellow parapaddlers: Greg, Ann, Nick, David, Megan, Kelly, and Bob, who have all overcome adversity to accomplish their goals. Moreover, my teammate, Carol Rogers, from Bridge II Sports Parakayak team made the national team heading to Duisburg, Germany.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
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
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