"O" Dark 30 paddle - experience it

Thunderstorms rolling in today. Made it out early and caught this sunrise in a break of the clouds.

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Winds were out of the south east and building. Did some wave bashing on Rock Lake and paddled into the marsh for an hour and a half.

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Goal today was to recover from that two hour float trip I had with the MadCity Paddler's last night.

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I had never paddled during the week with the club. It was very slow and I felt like I was wasting valuable training time. So I then switched gears and used the experience as mental training. I think it worked? :-)

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Anyway I was in the wrong boat thinking we were going to be on a river... and it was much more like a creek with sweepers, syvs and mossy green water. I did see a tiny baby fawn deer with all its spots by the waters edge... days old I suspect..now that was cool.

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Not complaining... just reflecting-- The Capt'n

Training and more training secrets

I love it! I have been talking to so many different people on endurance training in preparation for the MR340. I gotta finish... too many people know I am doing it!!

It's crazy, all have their own training and preparation rituals, but they have quite a few things in common worth mentioning.

1. All train no less then 20 hours a week in their given sport.

2. All cross train for over all fitness

3. All lift weights only in the off season

4. All did at least two months of base training in a 50 60 % heart rate in their chosen sport

5. All were into core strength, respiratory management, and stretching.

6. All manage rest days as part of their training.

Then I talked to Mark and he has confirmed my findings and offered "tweak" training specific to endurance expedition paddling. It's pretty cool, as Mark has taken numerous notes on discussions he has had with Verlen over the years, so we definitely have an edge for preparation..

Tons more information on the WaterTribe Website and even more information on Wayferer's website.

I got a good run in this morning... or should I say shuffle (bad knees) in. What a great morning on the trail!

Lets light this rocket- Unknown

Summer has arrived for the Capt'n

Cranking it up...

Got in a good work out this morning... 2 hours moderate 4.5 pace. It was so nice being out on the water after the holiday hoopla. Long live the “O” Dark Paddle!!

I got my motivational phone call from Mark this morning. We both feel like we are on track for the MR340. How does one prepare for a 340 mile canoe race? Paddle paddle paddle… cry and paddle some more. Nothing else will suffice. you got to spend time with the paddle.

The makings of a logistal nightmare!

More pressing is the HAC adventure on the Wisconsin River. I really need to get some call backs from parents and get a more accurate head count. It looks like 34 kids and adults on the river. Why do I torture myself like this…

No free weekends no free lunches -

June 1st and 2nd - 90 miler on the Wisconsin River - tentative solo
June 8th 9th 10th - MadCity Paddle with the club - confirmed tandem Emily
June 15th 16th 17th - Callie Rohr Race - confirmed tandem Marissa
June 25th -29th - HAC confirmed paddle the Wisconsin River
June 30th - confirmed paddle sailing rendezvous Lake Mendota - Madison

55 days till the MR340!!

I feel the need to paddle, a lot and then some – The Capt’n

"O" Dark 30 Paddle - Marissa

Marissa and I got out on the Rock River this weekend for her longest paddle this year. We got in a brisk 3 hour paddle in perfect paddling conditions.

We paddled the Sawyer Sumersong. We have been paddling the Bell Mystic, but we thought we would try a boat a little shorter and a lot narrower. We really got it moving during some intervals. Marissa's smile tells all.

Now this is my kinda training, Marissa takes a little nap as we head it back to the put in. Tough on a little kid, up before the dawn and paddling into the heat of the day.

All smiles, Marissa awakes from a very short rest. It could have been the paddle drip on her head or my salty pirate songs. Either way she was back in the stoker seat giving it her all.

We are undecided on which boat to paddle in the Callie Rohr. Both have their benefits. I think we'll get back in the Bell Mystic and give it another try. Larger boat more comfortable but harder to trim the boat.

Another treasured moment - The Capt'n

Black River pictures and insights

Here is a shot of a very young Bald Eagle. I couldn't believe how close I got to him. He never flew off, just stood his ground. We saw numerous pairs of bald eagles on our paddle.

Here is a picture of Hotel Kruger. Luxury camping with all the bells and whistles. It was really nice being sand free and really cozy.

In preparation of the Callie Rohr and Missouri 340. We're getting focused, setting goals. Here are a couple of inspirational quotes.

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. -Andrew Carnegie

Communication is the common denominator to all successes and failures. It is so important to have the same vision and goals for any competitive endeavour. - The Capt'n

Great morning - again

Where the heck am I? The Bahamas?

The weather has been outstanding. Light breeze in the morning to keep the bugs down to a manageable hum, Glass like conditions and temperatures in the mid 70’s… perfect!

The Captain of the “O” Dark 30 lives as I was on the water before the sun came up. Another 2 hour paddle before work with some speed work thrown in… Paddled the Rock river in between Jefferson and Fort Atkinson. Not a soul on the water, but a few ducks and geese.

Alert the media! Marissa (daughter 10yrs. old) has a sleep over birthday party and Emily (daughter 15 years old) is stepping up to paddle the Mad City Paddlers’ 3 day paddle on June 8th 9th and 10th. With me!! This in un-presented – I wonder if she knows she can’t paddle with a cell phone stuck to her ear?

Emily says she reads my paddle blog. We’ll soon see. :-) – The Capt’n

Great couple of mornings

Monday: Great paddle on the Crawfish river. I did an hour and a half at race pace. Felt really good. The boat felt like it was flying once I got all the gear out of it from the weekend on the Black River.

Tuesday: Another gorgeous day. Paddle the confluence of the Rock and the Crawfish rivers. Ground out an hour up- river and did a series of intervals on the way back to the put in. I started to get a little sloppy with my stroke near the end, so I slowed and got back on track with technique. It was a really good work-out. I really felt like I met my goal today.

I’ll take Wednesday off from paddling and will get back in the boat on Thursday. I’ll do some long hikes with the dog (load my day pack) and walk the hills around the Waterloo River basin Wednesday after work.

I had issues loading up all my Black River pictures from the weekend. I’ll give it another try tonight.

Check out the M340 race website. The field is starting to fill out and there is some good banter on the discussion board.

Mark said our new Kruger Cruiser is almost finished… He and Jack C. will be doing a 100 miler in it in a couple weeks to break it in. I plan on doing a 90 miler + on June 2nd down the Wisconsin River scouting the Hardcore Adventure Camp route.

Mark shared with me some notes that he had taken while discussing long distance expedition paddle training with Verlen.

I'd share them with you, but I need all the advantages I can get!! Here is a quote that will give you a hint of what Verlen suggests. :-)

Time to hurt a little - The Capt'n