So Cam2Ham paddle race is on Sunday. Excited? Bit apprehensive? One way to reduce some of that natural apprehension is to prepare for the things you can control. There are quite a few of those …..
Your Body
Hydration
This is super important. Why? A lack of hydration makes our blood thicker, which makes it harder work for your heart to pump blood (and with it oxygen) around your body. Your heart will be working hard for a couple of hours on Sunday so help it out by starting and staying hydrated. That means making sure you drink water through the week and avoid drinks on Saturday and Sunday that will impact hydration. Alcohol is your number one enemy there and coffee on race day isn’t the best idea either.
On event day, have a 1-2 litres of fluid on you. A hydration pack (Camelbak or similar) is the easiest way to do that for SUPers. For an event of Cam2Ham’s duration, I’d use a sports hydration drink like Pure Sports Nutrition. These have important minerals your body needs to keep working effectively (e.g avoid cramp) and carbohydrate to fuel muscles. Carbohydrate is your muscles’ #1 energy source. Having said that super carb-loaded drinks aren’t necessary and may in fact not hydrate you as well as those with a slightly lower carb content. If you are prone to muscle cramps, look at taking magnesium supplements in the days before the event. And from a practical point of view, have something you enjoy drinking little and often through the paddle, that agrees with your digestion.
Sleep!
Much under-rated, however sleep is when your body does most of it’s repairs (recovery). So do what you can to get good sleeps during the week and have an early night on Saturday. Remember to set an alarm for Sunday morning that gives you plenty time so you aren’t rushed! From bitter experience, that’s when things get forgotten :-(.
Training
There are a lot of factors to consider here including your level of fitness and strength. Irrespective of all that however, limit your exercise immediately before an event. You won’t get any fitter or stronger in the couple of days before and you’ll be stressing your body plenty on Sunday. So work with your body and don’t start in a fatigued state. Stretching, foam rolling, yoga, pilates are all very good activities to gently prepare your body and give attention to any areas that feel tight. For busy people the message here is a comforting one … less is more before events.
Nutrition
I’m in great danger of standing on a mine here because nutrition is a hotly debated subject with lots of different opinions and interest groups. So let’s keep it simple. Eat a variety of quality, fresh food across all the main groups: fruit, vegetables, protein and carbohydrate.
A good breakfast is absolutely essential. Your body’s energy reserves are depleted after 8 or so hours asleep, without food. So be good to your body and fuel it. My go to is porridge, yours might be eggs on toast, smoothie or a good quality cereal. If a really early breakfast is more than you can stomach, bring your breakfast with you and if you are getting a lift, eat it in the car. Eating while driving probably isn’t that advisable!!
After breakfast you’ll need to ‘top up’ before you start the race so have a few snacks you know agree with you to nibble on until race start (nuts, bread with jam or peanut butter, bliss balls, snack bars). A mix of carbohydrate and a bit of protein is good for active women. Race day is never the time to try out new nutrition options so your go to’s should be ones you know work with your body.
During the event, you’ll have plenty hydration and some small, light snacks or squeeze gels to give your muscles a good carbohydrate supply. If you are using squeeze gels, follow the product instructions because often they are best taken with fluids. A squeeze gel just before race start and roughly every 40 minutes is a good formula to follow. With snack bars it can work really well to cut them into bite size chunks and have a bite every 30 minutes or so. That way your stomach doesn’t have to cope with a lot of food at once. This is another reason hydration packs are a good idea because they have easy access pockets to stash food away.
There may not be a whole lot of food available at the end of the race so bring a protein shake or a packed lunch so you can get the protein and carbohydrate you need to speed recovery after the event. And you may well be hungry!?!
Your Mind
A bit of apprehension is very natural before an event. So chances are that you’ve got some inner dialogue going on and those voices will be saying different things. Your inner coach will be encouraging, telling you you can do this. Your inner critic will be cautious and probably reminding you of what might not work out for you. The good news is both your inner coach and critic love you! Your inner coach is encouraging you to achieve new goals and your inner critic is trying to keep you safe from harming yourself (physically, emotionally or socially). One of the best things to do is recognise these voices and prepare well so you minimise your level of tension and anxiety. And have a chat with someone … we are here to help!
Conditions and Weather
The mighty Waikato is running high (in flood) and fast. That’s good in that there are fewer of those swirly, tippy things everyone’s heard about and it means more current and going faster. On the flip side it does mean you should stay in the middle of the river because there could be branches and other obstacles under water at the edges that you can’t see.
As of Thursday, the weather is looking good, with light winds and clear skies.
Equipment and Clothing etc
It’s always a good idea to get all the things you need together the day before. There is nothing worse than scrambling around in the morning trying to find that hydration pack or PFD. I go so far as to put most things in my car the night before.
So what stuff do you need?
Board, paddle and a PFD
There’s no leash required for Cam2Ham because we are paddling in fast moving water. If you do fall off your board will move with you and you don’t want to risk your leash getting caught in anything on the side of the river or underneath the water.
Food and hydration
List out what you need if it’s helpful and try getting it all into your hydration pack so you can see how it all works. Don’t forget your after race lunch.
Clothing
Light, quick drying exercise gear and layers of it (especially tops). Avoid cotton because it doesn’t dry quickly. Booties are still great at this time of year and a cap or visor to keep the sun out your eyes. Look at the weather however it’s unlikely you’ll be cold when you are paddling so its good to have the option of taking layers off. If there is a good chance of rain, you’d want a light rain jacket. Have something warm to put on at the ‘finish line’ when you stop – you’ll cool off quickly.
Lastly, leave yourself plenty time to get to where you’re going. You don’t need the stress of racing the clock before you’ve even got started. See you all on Sunday!! And have fun, that’s what it’s all about.
