Yukon Ho!

Ok, so I admit we’ve not been very good at posting our updates on what we’re doing well, or badly. And we’ve not exactly been going through the process with ritual precision during our sessions either. But we’ve only missed a few, and I can give a high level summary of how things feel to me.

Things that are going well:

* Speed - we’ve really come a long way, and we’re fairly racing up and down the tideway now

* Diet - having ditched the very high levels of protein I’m feeling better, and getting more out of my training

* Weight - Going into the endurance bit of our training I’m at about the right weight, although I need to maintain it to stay in good shape

Things that have been going badly:

* Work/Gym balance - I would call this a work/life balance but that would be a lie. My hours have creeped up a bit recently, and the key point is that I’ve not been going to the gym in the morning. I would have liked to have been doing two sessions a day throughout my training, but realistically I think I just need to make sure that the session in the evening is a really good quality slog.

* Logistics - We’re a bit wayward in logistics, and perhaps to clued up on the detail of training at the moment. We need to take a step back next weekend and make sure there’s nothing we’ve missed

Puzzles:

* We still need to look at what happens in Canada - accommodation etc, and make sure that doesn’t prove an issue

* Navigation - we need to ensure that our GPS knowledge is good enough to get us there

* Kit - There are a number of items of kit we still need to source including:

1) Spare Paddles

2) Long Distance BAs

3) Maps

4) Toon’s hydration system

5) A padding system for the boat

6) Thermal protection (sun and cold) inc. hats, warm jackets etc

7) Err……Bear spray? Suggestions welcome!

So we’ve come through the mid-season slump and got back together for our first endurance paddle yesterday; two 2hr sessions interspersed with a 2 hr break. As a first taste of the distance we’ll have to cover it was really useful to get introduced to the kind of sessions we’ll be doing over the next few weeks/months. It also provides a nifty comparison with previous sessions…

We watched some folks training for the Devises to Westminster race yesterday; they were cruising along the tideway seemingly effortlessly in boats that were almost submersible they were so sleek and low-volume. It was pretty agonising to get into the plastic tub and stare at the huge bow wave formed as we push our Necky through the water. I am really looking forwards to getting into the Canadian boat; hopefully it’ll be fast enough to make us feel a bit more positive when we get there about the distance.

As you may have guessed, I’ve bought the same heart rate monitor as Toons, and my colleagues can now tell I’m bored when they hear a high pitched squeaking as I sync up my watch to my PC. Over the past few weeks I’ve tried to use it for most of my exercise sessions, and it shows some really interesting stuff. It seems that I’m able to keep my heart rate higher, for longer, than previously.

Two weeks ago we went for a 2 hr paddle, and my HR looked like this:

I realised last week that I wasn’t doing enough Cardio during the week; I’ve done a couple of sessions this week of sprints. This, combined with a general improvement in my fitness through training has led to my doing two 2hr sessions this weekend at a higher heart rate as below:

Last week was a bad week for both of us.  Work commitments and just general tiredness really took its toll on our training.  I hit this during my DW training and never really managed to gain the same intensity I had previously achieved after the dip.  So the symptoms are ..

• The voice that says stay in bed, don’t go to the gym are louder.
• My diet has gone to pot, with an increase in refined sugar and ‘just a little treat’ becoming more common.
• My sessions are scaled down a bit, not been quite as high on the weights or running speed.
• Loads of late nights, this is a major problem and has to do with working on a project too late. It affects every element of my training.

After a weekend off.  This week has been declared “Get Your Act Together Week”, punishment rations, early nights and no excuses.  We will fill you in on Monday how the week went.

Interesting article on the use of caffeine as a stimulant.  At my current rate of two double shot coffees a day, with a diet coke in the mix, my tolerance is quite high.  Might consider ditching it with a month to go so I can use it to stay awake during the race.  The article is from trainharder.com, which I highly recommend checking out.

Thoughts on long Tideway paddle, aiming for 6 hours on the water: The timing throws up some interesting conundrums.
Given a following tide and a reasonable pace I’d expect you could get as far as the QE2 bridge or Tilbury area in 3 hours. Of course this could be an over estimate as conditions that far down could be choppy and slow you down, but your super tanker should cut through with ease!  Anyway there’s a tide timing point at Tilbury to get an idea of the timing.
so using Sat 4th April as an example
Leave Barn Elms midday 12.00 (11:00 GMT)
paddle 3 hours down river aiming to arrive at Tilbury for Low tide at 14:52 (13:52 GMT)
turn and come back on the flood tide 3 hours to Barn Elms

However, Low Tide at Barn Elms (Hammersmith Bridge) will be 17:30 (16:30 GMT), 2hrs after London Bridge at 15:30 (14:30 GMT). So you will be paddling back on the slack between tides - heavy and slow, so could take an extra 30 minutes or more. On a like for like 3 hour each way you would think you’d get back by 17:52, but I reckon that could be 18:30 or later because of the slack water affect - over that distance it could even add an hour, so total paddling time is now 7 hours, 1 hour more than intended - the last drag back would certainly test the stamina and resolve!!
Alternative would be to set out an hour later - downside would be the last section downriver will be against the tide in order to get far enough down to give a 3 hour return leg with the tide. As paddling time is the objective rather than absolute distance paddled, this should not be an issue and could help the mental side to have a mid session fight against the tide. So, leave Barns at 1pm and paddle for 3 hours. This should give you 2 hours with the tide and then the last hour against it, so you may only get as far as Woolwich/Thamesmead, rather than Tilbury, but you need to keep going until at least 4 pm and a bit. Then turn at say 4.30 pm (not forgetting to cross to the other bank!) and you should then get 2.5 hours with the tide coming back to arrive at 7 pm.

As the return should be quicker overall, you need to keep paddling out until at least 4:15 or 4:30 - the further out you go the faster the return as the tide will have built up speed and you shouldn’t catch up with the slack lo tide as LT Hammersmith is 5.30 pm so you’ll be 1.5 hours after that.
so choose a weekend with a middle of day low tide and off you go!
My head now hurts with all this black art calculation, so I’m off to lunch!
NB there may be a deliberate mistake in the calculations so do double check
NBB  you should check with PLA about transiting the Barrier

We have spent a while thinking about the big items: kayak; flights; big guns. Perhaps it’s worth thinking about all the other things we’re going to have to carry in our “Yukon Queen”. See below the official packing list (and extensive it certainly is…):

17.  Mandatory Equipment

The following items are considered mandatory equipment for each team starting the race, and are to be carried the entire length of the race course. Not carrying these items shall result in disqualification. Photos of many of these items will be available in a link on the race website:

1.  
   1. Each kayak must start with a double-bladed kayak paddle for each person in the vessel and a spare double-bladed kayak paddle.
   2. Each vessel must have a towline attached to the vessel.
   3. Each team member must carry a U.S. Coast Guard or Canadian Department of Transport approved Personal Flotation Device. This must be worn at all times when on the river or in the water (e.g. Swimming). The PFD must be equipped with a whistle. Self-inflatable PFDs are not allowed.
   4. Orange garbage bag (for signalling to be provided by YRMPA)
   5. It is required that a team wear a full coverage spray-skirt deck with snaps or tie downs while traveling on the river from Whitehorse to Lower Laberge and Carmacks to Rink Rapids. Lack of, or non-use of the spray-skirt on this section will result in disqualification. 
   6. A buoyant heaving line of not less than 15 meters (50 feet) in length and at least 1/4” diameter. It must be accessible to hand.
   7. Sufficient food and fluids to sustain team members throughout the course of the race.
   8. One Bailer (bucket or pump)
   9. River Map (available for purchase in Whitehorse or from yukonbooks.com)
   10. Race Bibs to be issued by YRMPA and signed by racers.
   11. Basic First Aid Kit (www.yukonriverquest.com/firstaidkit.htm)
   12. One emergency space bivy sack per person
   13. Waterproof matches/lighter and firestarter material on the person of at least 1 member of the team.
   14. One sleeping bag per person rated to -5C.
   15. A free-standing Tent(s) to shelter all members of a team.
   16. Watertight flashlight or navigation light for night travel and signalling (required by Transport Canada) – Petzel type LED either mounted on front of boat or in use as a headlamp on a solo kayaker or bow paddler of a tandem or voyageur team. Teams are required to turn on the light between dusk and dawn (midnight to 4 a.m.) and have adequate battery power for eight or more hours.
   17. 2 extra layers of warm clothing contained in a dry bag.
   18. Backpack stove and fuel with a pot capable of boiling 16 oz. of water.
   19. Sun screen

I hate to think how heavy our 40kg boat will be once we’ve loaded it up with all this…

Being the dilligent “Bigtime Consulting” employee that I am, I thought I should probably look through the bios of the teams who scratched to see if there was anything that would indicate why teams seem to scratch.

Initially I was looking for:

* What percentage of teams scratch

* What stage they tend to scratch at (early, late, mid-way through the race)

* Whether they have extensive experience of the race (or other races), or whether they are obviously novice crews

Looking at the data it’s difficult to draw conclusions (which in itself is actually quite good news) :-).

Of the 98 teams that started in 2008, a total of 19 teams scratched after leaving Whitehorse. This makes something like a 20% scratch rate. One team even scratched before leaving Whitehorse - I guess nerves or illness might be an issue in the immediate lead-up.

The key points that people tend to scratch are between Little Salmon and Fort Selkirk, with 17 scratches in that 24 hour period. Interestingly, most of the scratches seem to have happened during the day-time of the second day; presumably it is the effort of working through the night that causes a lull the next day.

Of the teams who did scratch, a total of 8 seem to have had previous experience in adventure races, but just 6 of those had extensive paddling experience (by my reading of their bios, however subjective that might be). 5 of these teams stated a time as part of their objective.

So we should:

Watch out of the second day; it seems like this is the time many teams crash and have to scratch their race.

Keep a wise head on, and avoid hubris; this is a very long and arduous race. It doesn’t seem to be the case that experience sees racers through; the mix of teams who scratched doesn’t indicate that they were those least likely to be fully prepared.

My parents are going to be providing support.  Found a useful post at the yukon river forum on their ‘duties’.  Sounds a gruelling couple of days for them too..

Vsupport writes….

Actually being the support person on the race can be a lot of fun. I’ve been part of the support crew for one of the voyageur teams for many years now and every race has been fun and very tiring.
Things to do to make it a good experience;

1. Show up for the pre-race check in and meetings and the get together the day before the race.
2. Everyone one needs a bit of extra help down on the launching site before the start of the race, so be ready to help not just your crew but others.
3. Once the racers are off get in your vehicle and drive too just past the Tahkni River Bridge and watch the teams paddle by.
4. After that take a leisurely drive to the Carmacks checkpoint/stop and if you are tenting find a good site.
5. The racers will start arriving in Carmacks early the next day and if you want to help at the landing site, volunteers are always needed, put have a lifejacket with you if you are going to be helping on the dock. Carmacks checkpoint is crowded during the day so getting things ready for your race can be a bit of an organizing nightmare. Lots of people from all over the world here so its interesting wandering around talking to people if you like doing that sort of thing. It can be very hot or very wet and cold in Carmacks so come prepared with adequate clothing.
6. Once your team leaves, you can break camp and easily be at Five Finger rapids in time to see them come through and if you still have the energy to drive to Minto landing you can watch them go by there as well. Minto landing is the last place until Dawson that you will be able to see the teams past by. If you have made it this, far you are probably dead tired and I would suggest sleeping here and then taking a leisurely drive to Dawson the next day were you could then catch some more sleep.
7. In Dawson, you wait and check times at the finish line, but you can also be down at the landing area helping teams get their boats and gear out of the water.
8. Once your team arrives, they will need your help so you will be very busy taking care of them.

It is all a matter of what you want to make of the experience, but if you do it, right you are as much of the race as the racers themselves. By the way it’s a balmy -29c here in the Yukon where I live.