Quick Workout Routes - Follow the Markers

With our days getting shorter and windows of decent weather becoming less frequent, I often find I just want a simple workout that I can do in less than an hour. By knowing the distance and repeating the route, I can compete with myself for time. One route I like to follow is along the channel and hazard markers north from Swantown Marina and back. I through in a little zigzag from Priest Point to the old floating log on the return for a little extra time too. It's just over two and half miles of paddling and depending on your goals and tempo, can be a 35-55 minute workout. Perfect for those days when you spot a little break in the clouds on the double doplar radar.

The Route in a Clockwise Fashion

Looking North with the Arc of Markers

Nearing the Turn Around Point

The Turn Around Point and Towards Priest Point

Impressive Ship, Still Proppant Cargo

A few posts ago, I wrote about the Port of Olympia receiving cargo from China that is destined for fracking in other places in the country. Well, it wasn't a one time incident. The Star Kilimanjaro is here, unloading more ceramic proppants. Sure it's bringing two day shifts to the Port, but again I ask, does our community want to participate in the potential enviromental disasters of other communities?

M/V Star Kilimanjaro

Someone Finally Turned Off the Faucet

We went from an amazingly dry extended summer to a drenched fall overnight. It's as if someone turned on a faucet and forgot to shut it off. Okay, maybe it hasn't been that bad, but after the summer we had, if feels like it. That's why it's so nice to be able to sneak out on a paddle with dry skies whenever you can.

Fall Colors at the Marina

Changing Leaves and Gray Skies - Fall in the Northwest

An Abundance of Jellyfish Remain -
this island stretched for fifty feet or more!

An Incredibly Dense Mat of Jellies

Homework, Pt. 1

Now that the rainy season has returned to the Pacific Northwest, it's time to start thinking about indoor conditioning for paddling.  I want to start introducing you to some SUP-specific movements you can do without a lot of equipment on those days when the weather takes a turn for the worse. 

The first two are both very similar movements and engage the shoulders, chest, and lats. Imagine the movement of your top hand as you complete a forward paddle stroke. Both of these movements simulate that. And the pulling of your lower hand as you paddle; these movements complement that as well. These two movements are essentially reverse pullovers. 

Exercise Number One: Position your hips and torso on the Fitball. Keep your core engaged. Start with a good stretch and reach. Pull your upper body through your arms while using your shoulders, chest, and lats. Return to the start by extending back on the ball. Eventually try to build exposiveness on the positive, return part of the movement.  3 sets of 10 - 15 repetitions.

To Start - Pull the Body Through

Finish - Return to Start

Exercise Number Two: On your knees, with your core engaged, slowly roll outward with the handwheel. Roll only as far as in comfortable. As you build strength you can extend further. Use your core, lats, and shoulders to return to the start. Do 2-3 sets of 8-15 repetitions.

Start - Keep the Core Engaged

Middle of Movement - Use Slow Control,  Extend Only as far as Comfortable

To Finish - Engage Core, Lats, and Shoulders and  Return to Start of Movement

Rowing and Stand Up Paddling

After talking with some local rowers, we came to the conclusion that stand up paddling is the perfect complement to the art of rowing. Using movements that complement  rowing, build balance, strengthen and stretch the hips, and the ability to work out when the weather and seas are rough are all reasons why cross training with a paddleboard is great for rowers. It seems that men in particular have a difficult time using their hips to 'roll' their shell over broadside wind waves and boat wake, and by forcing them to loosen their hips, paddleboarding in particular, helps them when in their rowing shell. Rowing is considered one of the best all around sports and activities, and with so many similar movements, stand up paddleboarding has to be a close second. Depending on your workout, both can require aerobic and anaerobic endurance, power, and balance, all while on the water. So for those of you who crew or enjoy sculling, when the weather is rough, I'd suggest going for a paddle while standing up. I promise it's better than looking at a wall while rowing on the Ergo. You'll just have to get used to not having to continually look over your shoulder. 

Baselines & Outliers

Because I hold a Master's degree in Clinical Nutrition, I hear it all the time. "You'd hate to hear what I ate yesterday." I may as well be a priest holding confessional. I find myself reassuring folks all the time,  it's not what you you every once in a while, it's what you do most of the time. I'm talking about your baseline - what you typically do 90% of the time. Do you typically eat well, get enough sleep, exercise regularly? If so, then that extra piece of dessert, late bedtime, or missed workout isn't going to be the end of you. I encourage folks to think of it in this way. Try not to hold yourself to an impossible ideal, just try to support your life's goals and values 90% of the time. Set and maintain your baseline in a way that feels in line with your lifestyle and values. Then the outliers won't seem so out of control. It's when the outliers become the norm that trouble begins to surface. And most of us know and recognize it too. Think of yourself as a high performance machine that needs high octance fuel and a lot of care and maintenance. You can get away with a little neglect now and then, or run some low-grade fuel, but if you try to do that all the time, your engine will start to sputter and stall. And you don't want that. Most of us know what we need to do to take good care of ourselves, whether as athletes or not, it's just taking the time and care to ensure that we do it.

Why Not an Omnium Race?

In the world of stand up paddleboard racing, there are sprint, circuit, and long distance races. Each requires a different set of strengths and skills. Sprints require raw power, circuit races demand paddling skill, while distance races necessitate both aerobic and anaerobic endurance. So I've been wondering, hasn't there been a race weekend that involves all three? A race series that awards points based on race placing and acknowledges the 'best' overall paddlers.

Sprint and circuit racing are both incredibly spectator friendly and would fare well in a waterfront-based city, perhaps one with a marina. I've never organized a race, but now that I think of it, Olympia seems like the perfect place for an omnium weekend. Between Portland and Seattle, two stand up racing hotbeds, and right off of I-5, maybe there is room for an omnium.

200m or 500m Race

Circuit Race

Distance Race

Omnium Potential?