Paddling, Training, Racing Blogs
2007 Marathon Race Calendar
12 Pictures and Reflections from 2006 Paddling
Is Ultra-Marathon Kayak and Canoe Racing Growing?
It's My Life Movie by Nic Riosa
My Racing in 2005
40 mile portage rig
GPS/photo Log from Missori River 340 Race
Adventures of a Team Captain
Books and Gear
Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS
waterproof cameras for paddlers
paddling with a camera
weather & water
virtual racing
PixelsAway.com
LightScapes
Polaroid transfer art
Lost Colorado
photography bookstore
famous portraits of famous people
wayfarer.gather.com
my Flickr photostream
©
Wed - January 11, 2006
Long Distance Training – Tips from the Champions from surfski.info
Some highlights from the training routine of Oscar Chalupsky, South African paddling legend:
|
"Long slow paddles" are anathema to Oscar and on a downwind run, he goes at 100% all the way no matter whether it's ten or forty kilometers. He doesn't believe in training upwind.
On flat water he does interval training, emphasizing style and technique. Oscar believes in making training fun - hence the time taken for surfing and water polo. He doesn't train continuously. "I'm doing so much traveling these days, I can't. But when I do train, I focus on the race, I do the training and I win the race." He doesn't believe in radically tapering off the training just before a race although he will reduce the number of sessions per day. He admits though that his brother (whom he considers his greatest rival) doesn't agree. Herman does taper training before a race. Monday to Friday: up at 04h45 to go to gym and to swim (Oscar often alternates swimming with surfing). At 12h00, a 10km run. In the afternoon: flat water race OR two hour downwind OR water polo. Weekend: Long distance downwind paddling and racing. |
Other interviewed racer were Dawid Mocko who won the Cape Point Challenge in 4:16:50, beating the next single ski by nearly six minutes, and Peter Cole who came third.
There are also some tips for beginners concerning time and money: your leisure time is limited and cash is a factor in your quest to be involved in surfskiing. Let's quote the last tip:
| 7. You are unlikely ever to regret time or money spent on surf skiing. (Be aware that your values are likely to change somewhat, so much so that you might feel that not going for that paddle is cheating yourself!) |