Winter should be the "offseason" for paddlers according to every article written about training, or at least these cold months should be the time to take it easy and ease up on those muscles that were put to work throughout the race season. Personally, I wasn't feeling it. I felt good this fall and wanted to keep training but then I kooked out surfing my 12-6 in October and knocked some things out of whack in my right shoulder. Time off became mandatory and I took 6 full weeks off from the water. My doctor prescribed me a 15 day stint of Celebrex in December. (Isn't that arthritis medicine for old people????) The geriatric anti-inflammatories helped but the pain still comes around at the weirdest times…like when I plug in the power chord to this laptop I am currently typing on. That hurts. Putting on a compression shirt can ignite the pain. I held my hand out to stop my dog when playing on the beach and the pain when down the back of my arm to my elbow. I did not grab Eli; I karate-chopped the air to show him where to stop. That simple motion made my whole upper arm tingle. At least Eli stopped on command and sat down, which made the pain almost worthwhile!
Rather than go to Physical Therapy the doctor let me do my own. I found a great set of exercises online that are really helping. These exercises combined with the TRX movements geared toward strengthening the rotator cuff have been helping me get back out on the water nearly pain free. Paddling doesn't seem to hurt save for the occasional switching sides but I do not like a nagging anything so training sessions have been very boring and very low impact. I do highly recommend these exercises to anyone currently dealing with a nagging shoulder issue or to anyone wishing to take preventative steps as that "12 weeks to the Carolina Cup" is just a couple short weeks away. Here is the link to the exercises: Mind you, these steps are boring and at times frustrating but who wants shoulder pain?
http://orthoinfo.org/PDFs/Rehab_Shoulder_5.pdf
Now that I am getting back on the water I feel my stroke is way off. I am not sore in any of the places that I should be. Time away from the water means a need to re-focus on proper technique. Here are links to Larry Cain's blog and his YouTube channel that provide some of the best coaching I have ever come across while scouring the internet for help. These drills will get your body inclined to the movements that will make you WANT to pull yourself past where you set your paddle. I spent a few minutes doing all of these drills in order and felt a difference when I went further out on the river to put in some mileage. And, I look forward to doing drills for a few more weeks. These definitely help! All the blog posts are excellent reading but my favorite with the drills is from July 20, 2013 titled "Some Useful Technique Drills for SUP":
http://www.larrycain.ca/blog.html
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-_xJ-9mF9grAKZtYT34Bmw
Now to an issue that really hits close to home…bootie stink.
Back in 2003 I did an Outward Bound excursion in order to try to get my life together. At the end of the trip I had fallen in love with my hiking boots but soon found out that I probably wouldn't be able to keep them around due to the smell that had developed after 28 days in the woods. I thought that smell was bad but then I became a year-round paddler, who had to wear booties for 6 months out of the year, and only then discovered what a truly horrible smell could come from feet. My booties smell like tooth decay, as in the tooth decay that derives from serious neglect. This kind of tooth decay makes one apologize to Dr. Heaton after his valiant attempt to save a tooth that eventually needs to be removed from the mouth. I'm talking some serious vibrations on the stink Richter Scale. But there is hope to reverse this adverse effect on the home life, especially when said home life is in very confined quarters…
After coming out of the woods I was headed to South Carolina to go visit my friend Daniel and his family. On the drive down, my hiking boots, double wrapped in Hefty garbage bags, stunk up my car. I didn't want to throw away my beloved foot protectors but I was also worried that Daniel would move me to a hotel if I brought my shoes anywhere near his property. I pulled over in a panic and found two bars of Dove soap leftover from a package I had purchased before leaving on my excursion. My green Dove soap smelled awesome so I stuffed them in the boots. Within an hour I no longer had to drive with all the windows down. Two days later I could take the boots out of the trash bags. This trick was not a temporary fix. I was able to use the boots for another year or two before the tread ripped off of one toe and they HAD to be thrown away. The 28 day smell went away completely thanks to the stuffing of soap down inside the boot.
The same holds true for DRY booties. Gracie and I drove to the beach and my booties had stunk up the back cab of my truck. Where we are living is pretty small so wetsuits and booties really do more damage than the two of us and two river-soaked mongrels. I can keep my booties inside the condo thanks to the green Dove soap stuffed inside the cavity of booties that are COMPLETELY DRY. Now, I can even pack my booties in the same bag as other wetsuit gear instead of tying a plastic grocery bag to one of the handles. {Although I almost 100% guarantee this to work I would never put booties in with a shirt I would wear after a paddle:)} If my booties can recover from use yours can too, but it may take a winter-long application. Try this and you will never forget to carry soap on a trip ever again…at least in winter months!
Winter is really getting on my nerves this year. I look forward to the Cold Stroke Classic for a well-needed SUP vacation. This year the whole family is headed to Wrightsville Beach so be on the lookout for Gracie and I getting pulled to and fro by the mongrels. Can't wait to see everybody down there in the balmy 50 and 60 degree weather!
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