I like to simplify things, rather than complicate them. There are a lot of posts on this blog with a lot of training information, based on research and years of experience. Coaches like to make things complicated with lots of talk of macrocycles and aerobic and blood lactate levels and things.
But in our sport, to get good, you really only need to do 2 things. 1. train. and 2. do race-like training on artificial courses. That's it.
I have covered number one in this blog about how to train. Most people do not have regular daily access to artificial courses, but if you do, that is great. Most of the world's top racers live and train on artificial courses most of the time.
Artificial courses are different. The eddies move upstream quickly. There are walls on the sides, rather than a gentle slope next to shore. The force of the water is strong and relentless and there is no let-up. The features are different than those found on natural rivers.
If you don't have regular access to an artificial course, you need to go to one and train there as often as you can. You can't just show up and race on an artificial course without extensive training there ahead of time. On a natural river, intimate knowledge of the course is less important, but on an artificial course, you need to know it inside out, or you will be ceding the advantage to those who do know the course well.
For those of us who grew up paddling on natural rivers out in the woods, this feels like a loss. We love the beauty of nature and don't feel we should have to pay to paddle a river. But that is the sport now for better or worse. Almost all of the big races are on artificial courses, so you have to know them and spend a lot of time training on them.
You can still do well if you train at home on your easy training course, as long as you can frequently go and train on an artificial course. But I don't recommend just training at home on easy water and then going to a big race on an artificial course without spending at least a week there ahead of time.
So, it's hard to make the transition from easier races on natural rivers to the big races on artificial courses. You need to do frequent training camps at the artificial course before you try to race there.
That's all there is to it. Train hard at home (see the other posts on this blog for info. on that) and get on artificial courses as often as you can. Two things.
Hi Ron,
Do you have any suggestions for people who have very limited access to whitewater?(I'm talking 3-5 times a year for 2/3 days each time).
Cheers
Posted by: Lucy James | 07/21/2015 at 03:50 PM