"Adventure" fitness

Well, another month has drifted on by with no new posts put up here.  If there's anybody left who hasn't given up on me yet, I appreciate you checking in.

It's looking pretty likely that I won't do a single race this year.  There are reasons that I've rehashed here numerous times, but the biggest one is that I just don't feel like getting out and racing these days.  I'm still paddling plenty, but it's more for general exercise, adventure, and enjoyment of the outdoors than to satisfy competitive urges.  And I'm preparing for a pretty significant paddling adventure that embarks just three months from tomorrow: a trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

And that's not the only big adventure that's on the calendar.  A couple of weeks ago the Mocke brothers announced the dates for their downwind camps on South Africa's Western Cape, and I decided to sign up for one next February.

So I don't lack for motivation to get in the boat.  For the Grand Canyon I'm looking to build general fitness and stamina to withstand sixteen days in a challenging desert canyon environment; after that I'll need to put together a more specific training plan to produce the high-intensity efforts that riding the ocean swells in South Africa demands.

The Grand Canyon preparation includes no small amount of organizational work: communicating with the other fifteen people in the party I've put together; filling out paperwork for the National Park Service; figuring out all the equipment and provisions both I personally and the group as a whole will need; transportation to and from Flagstaff, and accommodations there before and after the river trip; and so on.  As far as the fitness training goes, I'm trying to get in the boat four times a week and also do some strength work and some running and some bike riding on dry land.  So far I've just been paddling the surfski, but when the hot weather arrives I'll break out the whitewater boat that I plan to use in the canyon, and do lots of rolls and other drills.  Hopefully I can work out at least one trip to paddle some whitewater, too.

Again, thanks to those of you who are still checking in to this blog.  Since I'm not doing a lot of formal race training it feels like there's not so much to write about, but I'll try to keep something going here as summer sets in.

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