Results and Thanks

It has been brought to my attention that I forgot to actually publish our time and position.

Just before getting to that Steve and I would like to thank our support crew of Martine, Kim, Ali, Shaun, JP and Steve, who were brilliant throughout the race, and also to all of those who supported us on bridges and river banks.  I also want to thank Paul, Cherry and Craig at Marsport who were such a help throughout. Finally, thank you to the organisers and volunteers of the DW race.

 Just for the record Steve and I finished in a time of 24:10:21, positions were: 

·         Veteran Class: 24^th out of 58 finishers (75 started)

·         Civilian Class: 41^st out of 98 finishers (132 started)

·         Senior Doubles (all doing the non-stop event): 62^nd out of 135 finishers (176 started)

 

Given that neither of us had paddled for 18 years, we are really pleased and proud of our result.

 

Our true final thanks go to our wives, Martine and Helen, who have had to put up with us training for the event and having little else to talk about for the last six months.

Karl & Steve

Devizes to Westminster for MND research

I have been away for the last week on holiday (DW recovery).  During that time I was trying to work out what to put for the final blog post.  If you have read this blog you will be aware that Steve and I were doing the DW for the Motor Neurone Disease charity, spurred on by a friend, Harry who has MND. I have just received this from Sally, Harry’s wife.  I think it probably sums up the race weekend better than anything I could write.  Karl

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My husband Harry was sadly diagnosed with MND back in November 07 at just 40 years old. 6 months ago a friend of Harry’s, Stephen Scutcher, contacted Harry to say that he would like to take part in the Devizes to Westminster canoe race with his friend Karl and that he hoped to raise some money for MND research through sponsorship. Until recently, I hadn’t realised the scale of this event and was stunned when I learnt that they would be canoeing 125 miles in 24 hours. They hoped to raise £12,500 (£100 per mile) which I must admit I thought was a tall order. However, seeing the donations coming through over the months on Justgiving.com and all of the lovely motivational comments from family, friends and colleagues it soon became clear that they might well make their target. But the physical task Scutch and Karl had ahead of them still hadn’t really hit me.

 

Harry was of course keen to follow the race on Easter weekend so we drove down along with our youngest daughter and her friend who both spent much of the time colouring in supportive banners for the boys! When we arrived at Devizes we met Scutch and Karl’s two support crews who would be meeting up with them at various points through the day and night with food and energy giving, hydrating drinks; seeing all of the kit and organised food packages in their cars made me realise how much effort a number of people had put into this. When the boys set off there was quite a sense of excitement and I must admit I enjoyed studying the many fit bodies around, including that of double Olympic rower James Cracknell who set off just before!

 

We then drove to various points along the route to cheer them on and watch their support crews stuff bite size pieces of food into Scutch and Karls’ mouths now and again. I think it was around the 30 mile mark that I could see how much this was taking out of them. They looked exhausted and they weren’t even a quarter of the way – I just couldn’t imagine they would be able to continue through the night and much of the following day.

 

Harry thankfully is still able to walk albeit a little unsteadily and I’m proud that he insisted on continuing to track the boys through the night to encourage them – quite a feat in itself for someone suffering from MND.

 

The girls and I took to a Travelodge for 6 hours sleep and I woke a number of times feeling sure that by now they would have given up the challenge. Amazingly when I spoke to Harry at 7am he had stayed awake all night and Scutch and Karl were still canoeing! When we saw them at Teddington Lock at around 8.30 (they had been going for over 21 hours at that point) I couldn’t believe what I saw. Sorry Scutch and Karl, but you both looked 15 years older, pale and wrecked. After taking on some food and fluids they were off again, leaving their two tearful wives hugging on the river bank. They were on the last stretch now but they looked so ill I still felt that they may have to abort at any moment. Harry was amazing in his support for them – he may not have been able to shout for them but I’m sure that him being there spurred them on to complete the challenge. The last miles on the Thames were incredible. We rushed from bridge to bridge to cheer them on and when they finally came under Westminster Bridge it was unbelievable. But I will never forget the moment Scutch and Harry hugged – it was just so emotional. Scutch and Karl were yellow with exhaustion and both had suffered a lot of pain along the way. They and their support crews are absolute heroes and managed to raised a staggering £17,000 +.

 

Thanks to them, a big boost to MND research and to Harry an event he described as “probably one of the best weekends of my life”.

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Final Countdown

We are now in the last week of a six month programme.  At another time I will work out how many miles we have paddled, run, rowed and spent on the cross trainer, how many weights we have lifted and how many hours we have trained for – maybe something I can do with all the spare time that I will now have. 

Last week was a good final week for training – three days in the K2, plus an hour’s interval training on my road bike (on the rolling road), a 7.5 mile run and a 5 hour walk.  Steve did a 14 mile run for the glycogen depletion on Saturday.

We held a full team meeting on Sunday – all six support crew members were there – Martine, Kim, Ali, JP, Steve and Shaun – it is fantastic that people will give up their Easter break to help, it is really appreciated.  The meeting was a couple of hours and we all feel much more comfortable for the race; the time spent was definitely worthwhile.  The planning wasn’t just for the crew but also included the needs of the support crew as well (apparently they need food and drink); portaging, eating, drinking and boat repairs were all covered. There are some last minute purchases for this week, most of it food.  I have also been driving to some of the Thames portages not previously visited by Martine to assess if any further instruction is necessary, e.g. finding the footpath for Hambledon in the dark.

We will keep the training light this week with Thursday and Friday as rest (or active rest) days; our last paddle will be on Wednesday, but it will only be for 45-60 minutes.  The cars will be loaded on Friday for the trip across to Devizes early Saturday morning.

Good luck to everyone participating in this year’s DW, and see you at the finish.

Waterside D and 2 weeks to go

Firstly, a big thank you to the organisers and other volunteers that make the Waterside and Thameside races happen.  It may not always seem it, but I am sure that all of the participants are grateful for all of your time and effort.

This was my first Waterside D; Steve had done it as a junior 25 years ago. Due to the early start we stayed with Shaun in Bath – thanks for the hospitality and the excellent pasta meal.  However, I didn’t bring a decent blow-up bed and spent most of the night waking up, not helped by the clocks going forward.  I also didn’t have my usual breakfast and just had a bowl of Shreddies – my fault entirely – and didn’t realise the impact this would have….

I have to confess, I hated the bit up to Wooten Rivers (Steve had a similar experience).  By the time we had run Crofton I was feeling quite knackered and not looking to the rest of the race, let alone DW.  However, the food taken on at Wooten and end of Crofton started to kick-in and the second half of the race wasn’t too bad.  In fact, we seemed to get stronger towards the end; the benefit of the last six month’s training.  The moral will stay with me on Easter Saturday – make sure you eat enough before the start.  Physically, our shoulders were sore, but that is just to be expected now.  Today, neither of us feel too bad, a bit stiff and general sense of having used the body, but overall quite good.  Our final time was 6:11:22 and we came 9^th out of 20 starters.  Our status of being middle of the Vet pack remains.  We don’t have a series time as we missed the first Waterside due to injury, but it would have been around 15:25.

Estimate for the DW. Using Brian Greenaway’s guide of multiplying the Waterside D time by 3.5 we end up with a projected DW time of just under 22 hours.  This now allows me to plan all of the portage times for the support crews (more of this next week).  If you want a spreadsheet that calculates all of your portage times based upon expected elapsed time or expected MPH, drop an email to Marsport and they can supply you with a working model.

Last week’s training was excellent.  Three really good days in the boat – Tuesday steady state for 9 miles, Wednesday long intervals and Thursday short intervals.  Monday we both did a light run and Friday I was on the X-Trainer for an hour whilst Steve did a light run, X-trainer and then some weights.  Saturday was just a long walk for me.

We will continue the regular (hard) training for this week and taper the week after, focussing on VO2 improvement, Lactate Threshold and general CV conditioning through the use of intervals.  We will also try for as many as we can on-water sessions for technique and conditioning. 

Leading up to Sunday when we undertake a glycogen depletion and “soft” carbo-loading session.  I have solicited various opinions on carbo-loading and also looked at what I have done for other long distance events (good and bad).  The basic idea of the carbo-load (for those who don’t know) is to deplete the body of its glycogen reserves and then stuff it full of carbohydrates with the end result that the body builds up and retains more glycogen – the stuff the body needs for long-distance events.  The glycogen is depleted by doing around 2.5 hours of fairly intense aerobic activity whilst take no nutrients on-board (water is allowed) – the actual time to deplete varies by individual, but you know it once you hit it (cyclists refer to it as ‘bonking’).  We dismissed the traditional (and extreme) version of following the depletion with only eating protein for 3 days and then eating lots of carbs.   Brian Greenaway recommends a similar ‘lighter’ set-up where protein is only eaten for 36 hours after and then load up with carbs.  The extreme version can make people quite ill and can be counter-productive, the lighter version is OK, but can be difficult for some people.  We have decided on a “wuss” version and to do the glycogen depletion and then just stuff up on carbs.  It will not be as effective as the other versions, but as we are not going to break any records, it will do for us.

This is also our week for final preparation.  The remaining items need to be bought, e.g. power bars, some repair kit for the boat, etc.  On Sunday (after the depletion training) we have the whole support team together – Martine, Kim, Ali, JP, Steve and Shaun.  We will go through the race schedule, portages, locks, who will be where, food, drink, kit, the rules, how to repair the boat, their own welfare (food, drink, clothes, sleep), general logistics and anything I may have forgotten.

This week’s training (another week of just one good session a day)

Monday:          Rest and recover from Waterside D

Tuesday:          K2 – steady state with the emphasis on technique; total 85 minutes (Teddington Lock to Hampton Court Bridge)

Wednesday:    K2 – long intervals (about 8 sets in 7-8 miles) plus warm-up/down; total 85 minutes of which 50+ minutes is work

Thursday:        K2 – short intervals (about 24 sets of 100 strokes on/50 off); total 70 minutes of which 30+ minutes is work

Friday:             Some sort of cardio work, X-trainer, ergo or run

Saturday:         Similar to Friday, although I will be walking in the Brecon Beacons

Sunday:            No race.  Glycogen drain for 2.5hours and then eat lots of pasta!

A Race Free Weekend

A reasonably good week’s training for last week.  Monday was a rest day (enforced due being too busy at work), Tuesday I did a rowing ergo and circuits for 90 minutes , Steve was on the X-trainer, Wednesday K2 long intervals 90minutes, Thursday k2 short intervals 70 minutes, Friday I did an hour X-trainer, Steve did 90 minutes Run, X-trainer and weights, Saturday K2 Aldermaston to Marsport (~11 miles)  and Sunday Longridge to Runneymeade (~19 miles).  Sunday was obviously a busy day as we saw quite a few crews out training. No support on Saturday or Sunday, so just isotonic drinks and power bars.

An unusual incident at Fobney lock had me up to my waist in the canal (very smelly mud – Paul at Marsport knew exactly where it was from) and Sunday we managed to miss the portage at Boulters again!  This time rather than the tricky put-in on the right-hand concrete ledge (as experienced previously) was avoided as a very helpful support-crew-member showed us how to get over to the island and we were then able to investigate properly by running back up to the weir.  We now know exactly where to get and put in!  So far we have paddled the course from Pewsey Wharf to Putney and feel reasonably confident about the portages; this weekend did highlight how important it is to practice on the whole course.

This week is the penultimate week for hard training.  It will continue on the theme of the last couple of months – Intervals for VO2 improvement and general CV conditioning; with the on-water sessions for technique to help allow for a (slightly) less painful DW.  Of course, Sunday is Waterside D, giving us an early start made worse by a lost hour of sleep.

This week’s training (work is only allowing one session a day, but they are all good ones)

Monday:          Light run of about 30 minutes

Tuesday:          K2 – long intervals (about 8 sets in 7-8 miles) plus warm-up/down; total 85 minutes

Wednesday:    K2 – short intervals (about 24 sets of 100 strokes on/50 off); total 70 minutes

Thursday:        X-trainer and run (or rowing ergo) for, at least, 60 minutes

Friday:             K2 if work allows otherwise another X-trainer

Saturday:         Rest, possibly something light, plus drive up to Bath to stay the night

Sunday:            Waterside D, 34 miles, about 6 hours for us.  Martine and Odette (my daughter) in support.  We will try eating some proper solid food, but may end up on isotonic drinks, powerbars, cake and bananas as usual.

 

 

Waterside C – And a Support Crew

Last week’s training didn’t go quite to plan in that we had to juggle the sessions to different days in the week due to work commitments. Although we only managed two on-water sessions, they were both very good. The missed water session was replaced by a 75 minute rowing ergo for me and a X-trainer sessions for Steve.

It was then onto Waterside C – this was going to be just about our longest session to date. An early start from London got us to Pewsey Wharf for a start of around 9:20. In comparison to Waterside B, the earlier start seemed to work well, the main bottleneck was at the tunnel due to the (very sensible) ‘no overtaking’ rule. We did the full run at Crofton locks, which went quite well, but forgot to run at Froxfield – that’s part of the reason for the practice runs. There were two really good points: the first was that we had two in the support crew and this allowed them to meet us 4 times, I don’t know whether it was psychological or physiological, but the extra food and drink really helped; secondly, we had the best technical paddle of any of the races, comfortably sitting on a fast wash for a mile or so courtesy of a very good Richmond mixed double. We finished on a high. Of course we had the obligatory sore shoulders, but even this happened late on. We finished 15 out of 34 in the Vet class and so maintained our mid-table contender position.

This week will be a change – no racing. We have decided not to do the Royal K2 marathon, for the main reason that we know the lower part of the Thames quite well. Instead we will do a run from Aldermaston to (at least) Dreadnought Reach, on Saturday (we missed the first Thameside due to injury) and on Sunday we will paddle a 2½ hour stretch on the Upper Thames, just not sure where yet. This will be a good run out for the ‘camel backs’ and gels as we won’t have a support crew at all – the worst bit will be having to leav cars at the start and finish and all of that faffing around.

On top of this:

• Monday: either rest or light run

• Tuesday: X-trainer or other cardio for at least 60 minutes, possibly a circuits session later in the day

• Wednesday: K2, long intervals, total time 85 minutes, work time is over 50 minutes

• Thursday: K2, short intervals, work time is also around 50 minutes

• Friday: K2, undecided on exactly what, but will be some sort of interval paddle

• Saturday and Sunday: long(ish) paddles at DW pace – as described above. Hopefully back in time to help on Mother’s Day

Have a good week.

Thameside 2 (not an original title)

Having missed the first Thameside through injury, the second Thameside was much more what I remembered for a canoe marathon event.  Blustery, threatening rain, not too warm and difficult hotel managers wanting to clamp the cars with V-bars on – oh and difficulty finding a toilet.  The mass start of the (so called) slower K2’s was worse than that at a Nottingham 10k (do they still have those, I wonder).  The highlight was that Harry – he who has Motor Neurone Disease was there at the finish to see us.  He was looking a bit battered (a symptom of MND and not being able to stop himself when he falls over, see www.justgiving.com/stephenscutcherandkarlwills for more details) but amazingly cheerful – it was great for him to be there.

We didn’t do too badly, 10^th out of 19 in the Vet Class at 2:34.  However, in comparison to my fellow Marsport blogger, Owen Peake, this was not too good.  Owen and Dan stormed past (after starting about 30 minutes after us) before Hurley and looked very impressive – “smooth and efficient”, definitely Owen.  I think they should change their target from sub 18 hours to a new DW record; otherwise I don’t see it being a challenge for them J

Steve and I need to wait for the remaining Watersides and other Thames runs before we can work out what our target time should be.  I think we will be OK from a cardio perspective, but shoulders etc. still seem to be the weakness.  This is inevitable after such a long break from paddling – regardless of how much physical conditioning may have been done over the last 18 years, it is not the same as paddling every week, no matter how hard or fast. Having said that, the view from the bank is we look OK on timing and technique, so the last 5 months hasn’t been a waste of time!

Training last week was close to plan, although I injured my trapezium on Tuesday and didn’t do any further weights or circuit sessions, just cardio work and a row in an eight with my old friends at Molesey on Thursday evening.  

Training for this week:

Monday:          Run 5 miles (running machine)

Tuesday:          80-90 minute on water session (Teddington Lock-Hampton Court Bridge), long intervals, at least 50 minutes of work

Wednesday:    80-90 minute on water session (Teddington Lock-Hampton Court Bridge), long intervals, at least 50 minutes of work

Thursday:        X-Trainer/Run in the morning and rowing Ergo later if time)

Friday:             60-75 minute on water session (Teddington Lock-Hampton Court Bridge), short intervals (100 strokes on, <50 strokes recovery)

Saturday:         Walk in the Brecon Beacons

Sunday:            Waterside D – 24 miles, too many portages.  Our first experience of Crofton and Savernake for many years.  Martine and Kim will be supporting (Martine is pleased to not have to do it on her own).  Lots more experimenting with food types, e.g. gels, SIS drink, sandwiches, etc.

Waterside B

Last week’s training was quite close to plan.  Thursday’s K2 on-water session had to be cancelled due to pressure of work, but was substituted by a 60 minute hard X-trainer session.  Friday morning’s short sprints – 24 sets of 100 strokes effort with 40-50 stroke recovery, total time including warm-up was 70 minutes – went very well.

St. David’s day saw our first Waterside, Newbury to Aldermaston and back.  This allowed us to practice lots of portaging under pressure, get fed on the move (bananas, fruit cake and weak lucozade) as well as learn another part of the course.  There was quite a flow on the Kennet & Avon, which made for a quicker downstream stretch and a hard upstream return.  We finished 14^th out of 33 in the Vet class and would have been in a similar position in the Senior class; overall, we were pleased by the performance and the result.  The only downside was that we both had sore shoulders at the finish, but that may have been more to do with the upstream paddle.

This week’s training will be a little different as Steve is off skiing and returns late afternoon on Saturday.  The next time we will be in the K2 will be for the second Thameside.  Our friend Harry hopes to be there to see us start – for those who aren’t aware, Harry has Motor Neurone Disease and we are raising money for the MND charity – see http://www.justgiving.com/stephenscutcherandkarlwills

This week’s schedule for me (although I would rather be skiing too):

-          Monday – Run (on a running  machine) and possibly X-Trainer; not too intense, but to aid the recovery from Sunday’s race.

-          Tuesday – A circuit session using moderate weights.  Probably 12-15 exercises at 10 reps per exercise and three circuits, plus a cardio warm-up, total time is just over an hour.  If I can do this early in the morning, then I will also do a 40-50 minute rowing ergo in the evening.

-          Wednesday – Run and X-Trainer for 60-70 minutes.  The run will be on a hill circuit, again on a running machine, to provide interval training.  If I can’t get to the gym then it will be the rowing ergo at home for at least 60 minutes.

-          Thursday – As Tuesday’s circuit session using moderate weights.  Possibly reduce the exercises and increase the reps; if required I will sub in a rowing eight in the evening or do a rowing ergo for 40-50 minutes using a VO2 interval exercise.

-          Friday –  As Wednesday

-          Saturday – A moderate walk in the Brecon Beacons.

-          Sunday – Our first Thameside, although it is the second one this year.  From Caversham to Marlow, 19 miles with 8 portages, but all downstream. As with last Sunday we will have two support points dividing the course into three.  Hopefully, we will have more than just Martine in the support crew as it is really hard work doing it alone.

 

Back into the swing of things!

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a downer due to a combination of Steve’s injured shoulder, me getting a heavy cold (not, it wasn’t man flu) and the Thames continually red boarded due to snow, sleet and rain.  The only good thing was that it all happened at the same time.  We have not paddled for the last three weeks, but (other than last week for me) made up for it with lots of cardio training.

We had to make a decision about the first Thameside and decided that the risk of both Steve’s shoulder flaring up due to the portages and that I hadn’t really got rid of my cold that we were best not doing it. The good news was that we did get out onto the water on Sunday for the usual 8.5miles to Hampton Court Bridge and back. There was still quite a strong flow and we didn’t bust a gut, just a steady state session trying to focus on technique – one of the main reasons for the on-water sessions. I haven’t looked forward to, or subsequently enjoyed, getting out on the water as much as this in a long time.

This week’s schedule will see us back on track.

-          Monday will be a circuit session using moderate weights.  Probably 12-15 exercises at 10 reps per exercise and three circuits, plus a cardio warm-up.  It should take around an hour. See below for more detail.

-          Tuesday – K2 intervals on the usual Thames route (Teddington lock to Hampton Court Bridge and back), long intervals, total about 85 minutes paddling of which around 50 minutes will be “work”

-          Wednesday – Circuit session as Monday or around 60mintes cardio (x-trainer and/or running)

-          Thursday – K2, similar to Tuesday

-          Friday – K2, usual Thames route, but shorter intervals with reduced rest in-between (we find that these keep the concentration together, something of a problem on Friday!) still for 85 minutes though.

-          Saturday – active rest (there is an oxymoron), for me a walk in the Brecon Beacons and for Steve a light run.

-          Sunday – at last, our first Waterside.  Better known as Waterside B – from Newbury to Aldermaston and back, 17.5 miles and 19 portages. This will be the first real test for some of the support crew; Martine, my wife, who does have experience as a first class support crew member will be there, but not sure who else yet.

It’s amazing how losing time drives the motivation.

Don’t forget you can always help us to help Motor Neurone Disease by donating at http://www.justgiving.com/stephenscutcherandkarlwills  

Injury and a missed Waterside

Steve has injured his shoulder (technically it is more to do with his back with the main symptom being a problem with his trapezium).  This stopped what little chance of on-water paddling there was.  However, with the snow and the fast stream – red boards along the whole of the Thames – it was unlikely that we would have got out onto the Thames anyway. 

The main impact was that we had to miss the first Waterside.  As this stretch is covered in the later races it doesn’t hit the logistics too hard.  Steve and I were both disappointed, but we always knew there was a high likelihood that one of us would get an injury over the winter.  It is better now than nearer the DW.

So as not to make Steve feel too bad, just as he is recovering and we are looking to get out on the water this week, I have developed a cold.  I will focus on light weights for a couple of days and back off the cardio.  The jury is out as to whether we will make the first Thameside on Sunday, we want to, but don’t want to make Steve’s injury worse or that I don’t recover quickly enough from the cold.

Fortunately, Steve has been able to do some long sessions on the cross-trainer – which has been good for the cardio element of the training and provides gentle exercise for his back and shoulder.  I mainly did hour long cardio sessions last week, alternating between running, the cross-trainer and rowing, all at 85-90% of MHR.

Here’s to a swift and complete recovery!