After March my April could only be an improvement and, for the most part it was. Good weather, great training sessions, good distance and signs of decent speed on the water.
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| McConks Go Race at Brokö in Kungsbacka Fjord |
Jan 23 | Feb 23 | March 2023 | April 2023 | May 2023 | |
KM paddled | 208.69 | 122.34 | 152.94 | 273.27 | |
Weight | 98 kg | 96.1kg | 96.3 | 98.7 | 98.1 |
VO2 Max | 46 | 47 | 47 | 46 | 46 |
Resting HR | 54 | 50 | 50 | 55 | 52 |
HRV | N/A | 48 | 48 | 45 | 50 |
Training load | N/A | 851 | 161 | 723 | 963 |
5km | 38m 18s | N/A | 33m 21s | 33m 7s | |
10km | 1h 9m 47s | 1h 8m 44s | 1h 15m 55s | 1h 10m 13s |
Throughout the month I was getting as much time on my narrow board as I could, getting a feel for the far less stable but more efficient skinny board, enjoying dry feet and the feeling of speed. It is certainly a different beast when compared to my Infinity!
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| McConks Go Race / Infinity Blackfish Flatdeck |
But we had a little incident and the fast board is now in the garage awaiting repair. Crush damage to one of the concaves in the hull, maybe some time ago but I thought it was a simple scratch to the paint and nothing more. Turns out there was a crack and she has been taking in water. Never fear, she will be back after I watch a load of YouTube videos, watch this space for more...
Before I found that crack she was in action for my first 'fast' TT of the year.
This was a highlight, yet also a slight disappointment. My first proper go on her was a bit wobbly with a turn that made tectonic plate movement seem fast and a time at the finish of 33 minutes and 7 seconds, not bad and my fastest of the year so far, but not great. However, I have to remember that this was paddled the day after a very tough session, fast-ish and ahead of 2022 but not what I was looking for on my fastest board.
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| April 5km TT |
My 10km TT was on the Blackfish and cropped from a training session with a lot of rests in it, that was a far more satisfying experience showing that the speed is there, I just need to get on a faster board.
Going Faster - part 4. Warm up and cool down with Boothy
An often overlooked but very important part of each training session are the bits that precede and follow each workout, the warm-up and the cool-down. And I am as guilty as anyone else of getting to the water and wanting to get going then finishing tired and sweaty and wanting to get home. This is a mistake and time taken to warm-up and cool-down should be seen as an investment, these parts of the workout are as important as the effort you put in on the water.
As you will know I am working with Booth Training and I reached out to Michael to get some guidance on what I should be doing, here is what he said:
Warming Up
This part of your session is key for your to get moving and get motivated for the upcoming key phase of the workout. The hardest thing a lot of the time when it comes to training is just getting started. So a few dynamic stretches for 2-3 minutes, then an easy 5-minute paddle starting slow and building up to a good 10km pace works for me.
And who better to illustrate this than Michael with one of his Booth TV videos, the warm-up starts at 46 seconds.
Cooling Down
Cool Down - In this part of the workout, we are really thinking about our next session and how we want to perform in it. Here it is good to have a light paddle for 5 minutes to allow the body to pass any lingering lactate, muscle soreness or fatigue.
After the session, a few 30-second stretches through key areas of the hip flexor, hamstrings, lats, abs and pecs will help you get the best out of your upcoming workout.”
And again who better to demonstrate than Michael from the end of the same video workout, the cooldown starts at 43 minutes 30 seconds.
My Favourite interval.
If having a favourite interval is a thing then six minutes is the sweet spot for me, it isn’t that I don’t like other interval durations and generally the longer the better for me but I do have a favourite.
Why 6 minutes?
Throughout my 14 months of training the 6-minute interval has been a regular component of sessions. I am not entirely sure why Michael uses 6 minutes but I like them because it is the easiest time duration to calculate speed while training. Simply take the distance completed in KM and move the decimal point one place to the right t get your speed. No thinking is required which during some sessions is a real bonus!
If at the end of your 6 minute interval, you have travelled 1.00 km then move the decimal point one place and your speed was 10 km/h. If you paddled 0.91 km then that’s 9.1km/h. 0.76km = 7.6 km/h. It is a simple and relatively accurate gauge of effort on the water.
Obviously, it’s not hard to work out speed from other intervals but that usually requires more brain power and when you only have 30 seconds rest then that can be a challenge!
Invest in yourself
Investing in yourself is the BEST upgrade you can make, with no exceptions. And that is what this series of blog posts is all about, investing in this paddler with the help of World Champion Michael Booth.
You can find out more about Michael's training on his website Booth Training, from his Booth Training Instagram account and on his YouTube channel BoothTV.
You can find me running the Facebook group SUP My Race, writing about all sorts of paddling for TotalSUP and now, occasionally, on Instagram.
See you on the water!
You can read the previous training logs here Training Logs and you can get to individual blog posts using the labels in the sidebar.