Trailwalker Training Day 1

Turns out I was right to be anxious; I haven't felt so defeated and helpless in a long time.  Not even with the 60k commute with a leftie paddle last week -- I was tired, but I had no doubt I had the ability to take myself home before sunset.  Today, on section 8, I seriously doubted whether I could go on.  

Maybe it was because I travelled in a group of four, somehow I thought bailing out was an option.  As I got dizzy and wobbly, and the end of the ascending hill was still out of sight, I started making up excuses in my head, "it's dangerous to go on, I will collapse and fall off the hill.  I'm covered in goosebumps, there's something wrong with my metabolism."  

But I finished the training session, which proves I had the physical ability to do it; it's only will power that I lacked.  I got mad at myself for contemplating quitting; I imagined I was paddling against strong current and headwind, so I lowered my head, and took small steps forward slowly, and carried on.  Somehow linking the process with paddling helped.  

I have a workout program, jogging 7-8km a day is part of my daily assignment; I haven't even started on that part of the routine.  I knew my CV fitness is crap, and I knew training is going to be painful, so I worked really hard to avoid CV training.  

But I think, I'd rather take a small dose of stress on a daily basis, than to repeat the painful lesson today.  I've better start working on my CV routine.

Oh ya, the Shek Mun HQ log:

Gym: finished three sets of 20 (all items), then stretched for 30 minutes.

pontoon       1:55

-500 mark   2:05

3000 mark  2:30 

-500 mark   2:58

3000 mark  3:26

-500 mark   3:53

3000 mark  4:27

-500 mark   4:53

pontoon       5:02

pulse 114bpm

That's hopeful.  My first round is close to the 8km/hr mark -- which is my June target.  Though I seem to have trouble keeping it up.  Turns out my endurance isn't nearly as good as I thought it was.

shek Mun training Day 4 (21k)

Didn't windsurf, wind too mild, would end up pumping on the sail all day.

So I went to Shek Mun to train instead, and I'm glad I did.  Had curry for lunch in the Thai place near Sai Kung Pier first, then bused to Shek Mun (ho hum...)  

As soon as I got there, I spend 30+ minutes on the stepping machine, got my heart rate up to 172, then drank a lot of water.  Maybe I drank too much?  Or I ate too much at lunch?  I ended up feeling really sick and puked.

tried to get back onto the stepping machine, but was feeling too sick to go on.  Studied for a while (JLPT), puked some more, then did what I could on the weight sets.  After stretching, I felt much better, but decided not to push my luck (or stomach, for that matter), and went down to the water where I always feel more at home. 

I think I performed well today.  At least, I did much better than my previous attempt at Shek Mun:

Launch (pontoon) 1420 

--> mucked around for a bit, needed to rearrange the styrofoam, cos I could hardly stuff my legs into the cockpit.

-500 mark   1434

3ooo mark  1504

-500 mark   1529

3ooo mark  1559

-500 mark   1624

3ooo mark  1657

-500 mark   1721

pontoon       1733 (had to dodge a few row-boats)

heart rate at 116bpm

21km/167mins = 7.5km/hr

For some reasons I felt very uncomfortable while moving downstream.  When I paddled against headwind up the river, every paddle stroke felt solid; I could tell whether I was rotating my torso by gaging how much power I had to exert with my arms.  But when I moved down stream with the wind, (I felt as though I was being sun-dried alive, and) I felt as though I was just going through the motion.  When I planted my blade and rotated my torso, it felt as though the water gave me nothing back to grab.  In terms of speed I was moving faster than upstream, but I just felt as though I wasn't moving efficiently, like my body was rotating and moving in vain.

was tired after I rounded the 3000 mark for the 3rd time, and my speed also dropped significantly, so obviously I need to work on endurance.  I know I still haven't fully recovered from the 60k (SMB) trip, and I also lifted weight today, but I think it's encouraging that my body can recover while I continue to paddle 20+k on a daily basis.

Shek Mun training Day 3: only 8km!!

My performance is definitely going down!

Went to Shek Mun today, worked out in the gym then went down to the water.  I actually did better in the gym -- toiled on the stepping machine for the first time (20mins), managed to finish 3 sets of 20 dips (ballistic), and 3 sets of 20 sit ups.  Couldn't finish the pushups (did 3 sets of 10) and the pull ups (20/20/15) though.   

Only paddled one round, finished the 7km in exactly one hour, easy arithmetic, so I don't think I made a calculation error -- my speed has dropped!

And I only did 8 km today.  I could get down to the water to paddle now (I'm at Fred's), but it's like pulling teeth.  I'm really too tired to go on.  I don't think I can quite follow Fan Goh's program.  So I'll have to talk to him tomorrow.

And I might end up trying to follow Siu Ming's: i.e. 40% land workouts, 60% water works, with study/research time in between.  21k+ a day is fine, but not if I didn't spend as much time working on cardiovascular and strength.  More to the point, I get to take a break once or twice a week to let my paddling muscle recover.

Dreading the KAT tomorrow, I know I won't be able to perform normally; the DB->SMBWSC -> DB trip had me whipped.

Shek Mun training Day 2

I thought Fan-Goh's June training menu was easy enough to follow.  Ha!  I would laugh, except my ab hurts too much.

It's nearly mid night and I'm still up, so it doesn't look like I'll be able to paddle 20k in the morning before I go sailing.  And I thought, 20-30km a day was supposed to be an insult to my endurance! 

Bused to Shatin today.  Got there late, so neither jog nor stretch cos want to save time for paddling.  Changed the gym routine to see if I do better on the first few items ... well, yes and no.  I managed 20 dips on the first set, but couldn't finish the 2nd set.  The most pathetic part was the sit-ups -- my ab hurts so badly I couldn't even lie down comfortably.  I nearly teared up when I tried to sit up on the inclined board.  Did all of the TWO sit ups, and I was ready to give up.

Paddling went okay.  Found a tiger with a big styrofoam block inside so was able to push the kayak forward with my toes as I paddled.  I think I did a little better than yesterday, but have to pull out a calculator to work out the average speed and am too tired to do that.  First round was ridiculous, was going to try the baby gremini paddles but gave up after I made it to the -500 mark.  It gave me no power, no leverage at all.  So I went back to get the winged blades.

First few rounds were feeble, forgot to synchronize my paddling with my breathing all together on the first run.  After a few runs, I think my body finally got the coordinations down, and my performance improved.  I thought I wasn't too tired while I was still sitting in the boat, but once I climbed onto the pontoon, I was surprised at how stiff I was.

Took a short break (all of ONE minute) between round 3 and round 4 to have a drink -- ended up drinking up the entire bottle of poccari sweat, and I swear it jump-started my performance.  So for longer trips, maybe it is a good idea to stop for sugar and water.

Will write down the details tomorrow.  I'm so sleepy I'm getting dizzy.

Oh, and I finally contacted feifei-cat, the coastal search-and-rescue coordinator.  Really looking forward to training and planning with his team.  

[edited to add]

pull ups 20/20/20

dips 20/15/20

push ups 20/20/20

sit ups 1/1/- (DNF)

1455 launch 1

1511 got to the -500 mark and back to the pontoon (swapped the gremini for winged paddle)

1518 launch (pontoon)

1525 -500 mark

1602 3000 mark

1627 -500 mark

1707 3000 mark

1725 - 1726 -500 mark * * * 1 minutes water break (!) gulped down 1L of poccari sweat * * *

1755 3000 mark

1822 -500 mark

1851 3000 mark

1919 -500 mark

1929 landing (pontoon) * * * pulse rate 104 bpm * * *

Shek Mun training Day 1

Slept well last night, was tired but not over-the-top-exhausted.  Woke up at the crack of dawn but wasted all morning mucking around in my apartment in DB.  Tried to excavate my MP3 player for the gym workout but to no avail.  Finally got my ass out of the house at 1145 and didn't make it to Shek Mun till 1330.

Had all sorts of crap for breakfast: chocolate cream cookies, potato chips, juice, cream soup... the fact that I've been told to stay away from fatty food drives me to crave them even more.  And don't even talk about the alcohol ban.

One thing I found out about my performance / energy level is that it's all tied to my perception of how I'm doing -- paddled three rounds between the -500m to 3000m marks, and tried to calculate my average speed per section as I cruised.  For some reasons my brain farted and miscalculated my last section -- I thought I was 10 minutes behind schedule and suddenly decided I was hungry and tired and cannot go on.  So I slowed down to a crawl and felt fairly defeated ... until I was nearly at the -500 mark and checked my watch again, turns out I was actually 4 minutes ahead of schedule.  My heart did a summersault and I felt sure I could push for another round or two.  But I told the lifeguard I was going to land before 7 and there wasn't enough time for me to push for another set, plus I had to catch the last bus back to Tai Tan, so I landed.

With an unloaded tiger on flat water, my cruising speed (as of today) is appr 7kph.  I felt sure there is room for improvement though - I wasn't rotating my torso at the first round and a half, I'm also not familiar with the winged paddle, which I used today for the first time.  Which reminds me... my neck hurts.  I'm sure it's the new paddle's fault.  I couldn't have paddled much more than 20km today and I shouldn't be sore, it just doesn't make sense.  I don't know if I want to use the winged paddles again either, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to use that for NZ, I can't even trust it to do a simple sculling-draw stroke to get me to the pontoon.  I think, I should probably use the paddles that I intend to use when I go to NZ, like my Kiska or whichever spare paddle I decide to get before the expedition.

The gym work out was disappointing.  I just don't have the will power to push myself through the last few sets.  I ended up dragging my feet and doing steady sets of 10's, that is to say, I performed worse than yesterday.  I know I can do it if my life depends on it, but it's hard to convince myself lifting the metals have anything to do with survival when the water waving at me to come down and play.

In the gym:

chin-ups: 20/20/12

push-ups: 20/20/16+4

dips: 10/10/10

sit ups: 10/10/10

leg lift: 7 ... u_u

On the water:

1434 launch (pontoon)

1505 turned around at the very end of Shing Mun River

1533: pontoon -- went up to the gym to get snacks and drinks.  Was really hungry.  Then my body cooled down too quickly and I had to take a hot shower...

1552: launched from pontoon again

1604: -500 mark

1636: 3000 mark

1704: -500 mark

1734: 3000 mark

1802: -500 mark

1812: landing (pontoon)

tried to do another set of gym routine but the skin on my palm was peeling off.  So went to shower after a painful set of 10 chin-ups and went home.

Came home to walk and feed the dogs, and I'm ready for bed again.

[edited to add]

I need to do something about my cool-problem.  I was shivering uncontrollably on the bus on Monday after working out in Shek Mun, and I was shivering under the 30C sun when I took a lunch/snack break yesterday.

Shek Mun Initiation, and Fan Goh's program

Trained K1 with Suk-Fun today (instead of Man-Sir), then went to Shek Mun to train for the first time.  Spend the first 15 minutes being told off with a lot of far-fetched metaphors about what a liability I could be to HKCU if I were to paddle solo and get hurt.  But then we talked about the circumnavigate NZ trip, and that was very helpful.

Am too tired to write coherently.  So will use point forms and maybe reorganize later (or not).

• I have 6 months before the expedition, so make 6 progressive monthly training plans.
• write up all my calorie intakes (food + drinks), time of consumption, (how frequently)
• write up  how much work out I did every day, and paddling speed
• make a point to analyze my recovery (how long did it take to recover after a long, hard, continuous trip?) and make a log 
• measure my pulse rate after the paddling exercise, aim to work it up to 191bpm, but starting with 114.
• paddle 20-30 km every day, with a tiger, with no break at all (not even to bail water or to drink, bring a mountain fountain for drinks.)  Must work it up to 8km/hr by the end of June.  And that's "leisurely pace," not the 100m dash pace.
• sync my breathing with every stroke.
• run/jog for 7-8 km every day for cardiovascular conditioning.
• #3 Work on Endurance
• #2 Work on Strength
• #1 Work on techniques, skills, postures, rhythm, cadence, coordination... 
• must work on speed for the sake of survival -- in case I need to turn around at the mercy of a storm
• use a pair of 8 lbs dumbbells to tone the biceps.  Lift (L.R.L.R...) for 5 minutes, rest for 3, lift 5, rest 3, repeat 3 cycles until I can do it easily, then do 4 cycles, and so on.
• 3 sets of 20 : pull-ups, push-ups, dips, sit-ups.  When I can do it steadily with decent speed, add another cycle. (ha!  fat chance!  oh, but think survival...)
• work on 20-30 lbs dumbbells only just before the trip (or tournament)
• take frequent, small meals, with lots of veggies, but must also eat meat.
• absolutely no smoking, only half to one glass of wine per day, and avoid fatty food.
• avoid using a liquid-only diet for long term
• stretch for 20 minutes before paddling, stretch for 10 after.
• towards the end of the paddling exercise, paddling slowly to cool down and let the lactic acid out.
• experiment with seat paddings for height and also to reduce blisters.

That's all that I can remember for now.  Oh, and the gym session was humiliating.  I couldn't even finish one set of dips.  And I had to finish my second set of push ups on my knees.  Got down to the water  after 3 cycles though, paddled a tiger and somehow managed to keep pace with the k1 paddlers.  So that lifted my mood a little.

whoa, 0129 in the morning!  must...get...sleep.