Spring
Training '09
Spring
Training '09
Frustrated with your race results? Wondering if improved technique will improve your speed? In workouts, do you have difficulty applying 100% of your body's power to forward speed? Spring Training may be for you. Spring Training helps intermediate and ambitious kayak racers apply focused technique work to advance themselves to the next level of achievement.
While a one-time video-coaching session will expose your paddling flaws and target areas of improvement, it takes time to change long-term habits, and change is accelerated by continuous feedback and coaching. Spring Training is based on the philosophy that habit change occurs over time and is accelerated by regular on-water coaching, periodic video feedback, exposure to a variety of drills and techniques, practice in simulated race conditions, regular time trials, and cohort-based workouts. The expectation is that participants will engage in between-session racing and year-round on-water training, applying what they've practiced in calm waters as they continue to train between sessions in their usual race conditions.
Why do we train on flat water? Practice on flat water increases a paddler's focus on form vs. balance, as new techniques are always destabilizing at first. Flatwater "rehearsal" builds powerful techniques that can transfer to your usual race conditions. If you doubt this, consider how many of today's surfski champions also invested thousands of hours and miles in flatwater training, and often continue to do so in their off-seasons.
Training starts in October and takes place on the Petaluma River on Saturdays (other than race weekends). Nine three-hour sessions, October 2008-April 2009, $175 (includes USACK insurance). A couple of optional sessions in fresh- and salt-water current will also be scheduled in other locations.
Please email inquiries about Spring Training 2009, starting in fall 2008. All applicants, including returning paddlers, should apply by emailing or mailing (Box 1722, Sebastopol 95473) a brief statement about your winter on-water training goals and your future racing intentions, as well as either or both of the following:
A minimum of two race results from the previous twelve months (send all the results, not just your time), or
four time-trial results over the same distance
The group will include five to eight participants and admissions close when the course is filled and a 50% deposit has been received from eight admitted participants or the start date, whichever is sooner.