Seventy48: If I were to do it again..

Seventy48 wrapped up this past weekend. I went into it estimating i’d finish around 24 hours if weather conditions were good and ended up hitting the finish line just under 27 hours feeling tired but good. Having never taken on any type of ultra endurance event i’m pretty happy with the way my first journey turned out. Before jumping into what I would do differently in the future, i’d like to acknowledge two things I think I did pretty well..

1. Minimum Effective Training Dose

   I did not go all in on my physical preparation for this race. Through part necessity and part planning I think I pretty much nailed the minimum effective dose of training necessary for myself to finish the race in close to the time I aimed for. In the 6 weeks leading up to the race I strength trained 2x per week, hit 2 conditioning (in the gym) sessions per week, and 1-2 on water paddling sessions per week. Prior to that 6 weeks I was finishing up a training cycle for the Gorge Waterfalls 30k, so there was work being done, but it wasn’t specific to paddling for this event.

2. Mental Preparation

   I took time and intention when it came to packing my safety kit and nutrition kit, so it makes sense for me to prepare a mental tool kit. I’m going to expand on this more in its own post, but for now I will say I nailed the metal preparation and executed it with consistency over the course of the 27 hours.

Now if I were to do it again (which i’m open to) here are a few things I would do differently…

1. Get More Time on the Water

   If you want to get better at the thing, then you have to do the thing. So this should be an obvious one, but if I could go back I would prioritize more training on the water. In the 12 weeks leading up to the event I never hit a paddle that was over 12 miles and I only got on the water 1-2 days per week. Ideally I would aim for 3-4 days on the water with some longer paddles (working up to 8-12 hours) in there.

2. Invest in Technique Coaching

   Even if it was just one session or a few, getting an experienced set of eyes on my technique would have helped with my overall efficiency. And when we are talking about paddling for 20+ hours that inefficiency adds up.

3. Add On Water Interval Sessions

   I’ve spent the majority of the last 9 months focused on building up my aerobic threshold. The different between that and my anaerobic threshold classify me as “aerobically deficient” So all of my on water (and off water) conditioning work focused on staying at a heart rate around 140 or RPE of 5-6/10. Which in a slack tide meant I could keep a pretty consistent 4mph pace. However, had I spent more time on the water I would have made at least one of those sessions a threshold interval session.

4. Program for Strength from a Kneeling Position

   And this is why & where I was the most sore in the 2-3 days following the race. Having spent 6-8 hours in kneeling in some rough conditions my lower hamstrings, upper calves, and quads were toast. Adding in some isometric knee flexion work, nordics, reverse nordics, and rotation work from kneeling positions would all be included in my strength training.

5. Program Higher Volume for Lats and Triceps

   Overall my lats and triceps felt pretty good in the 2-3 days after. A 3/10 soreness level at most. But I would have benefited from more work in to 1-2 minute time frame in exercises like hangs, pull downs, pull overs, elbow extension isometrics, dips, etc

6. Program for Increasing Neck Flexion & Extension Strength

   This is an area that felt fatigued during the race and has been sore since the race. This may be negated with more time spent doing the sport specific action of stand up paddling with correct technique. Regardless I think some direct strength work to neck flexion and extension would would make a difference.

7. Nutrition

   Since I never spent more than about 4 hours on the board I never got to experiment with a fueling strategy that would hold up past that. In theory I knew I should consume 50-80g of carbs per hour and 250-500 calories an hour. I was packed and prepared to do that with a mix of sports nutrition (tailwind drink mix and Gu gels) and an array of high calorie snacks of various textures and flavors. And it served me well for the first 10-12 hours, but eventually my stomach turned away from anything I had on board. It may have been mostly the electrolye mix (because I didn’t practice with it enough) or it could have been that I was eating the whole night and my body was not used to it. Either way by hour 12/mile 35 all I could think about was a ginger ale ha! So I stopped at mile 40 to get whatever my body asked for. And as I left the gas station I had a bag full of soda, snickers ice cream bars, and gummy bears. 10 miles later I took a planned stop at the Hansgrill in Hansville for a cheese steak! That along with soda and gummy bears fueled me the rest of the way. If I were to do it again I would keep to a normal regular big meal schedule with plenty of small, high card snacks in between.

I’ve been asked a lot since finishing if I would do it again. And that answer is maybe. I don’t feel a need to do it solo, on a paddle board but i’m open to doing it in a tandem kayak or rowboat with someone else. There are so many other places i’d like to explore via paddle that I don’t feel a need to come back right away. Race 2 Alaska and Yukon River Quest come to mind :).