I have added a countdown timer to remind me of how little training time I have until the Classic.
Yes, It is true, there is only 14 weeks to go before the 2012 HCC.
On friday afternoon, I checked the weather report and tides on the BOM website. Sunday looked to be the best day, weather wise, so then a quick look at the tide so I could decide on the best time/place to paddle to.
Today’s paddle took me from the boat ramp in Angus Inlet, out into Barker Inlet (outgoing tide providing a bit of flow for me), when I hit the Port River, turned right and went all the way up to Bower Road, which separates the River from West Lakes. Once I get to Bower Road, I turned around and headed back.
Very little wind, maybe up to 10km/h so the effect was almost non-existent on my paddling today.
Paddle on 20120722 from Garden Island Boat ramp to Bower Road and Return
- Distance 19.2km
- Time 2:27:20
- Avg Moving Speed 8km/h
- Tide: 0.6 Low / 2.2 High
Speed and distance profile
The Garmin Basecamp Software lets me see a profile plot of my speed and the distance, and in the software itself it is interactive – I can move the mouse along the plot and see on the map where I was at the time. The plot shows me a lot – the tidal influence on the first 3km was far stronger than I realized while out paddling – and it was really the only time that there was any significant assistance. The rest of the time, whilst I was padding both with and against the tide, the flow was nowhere near as strong as that section.
Today was one of the best days I have ever had on the river – there were dolphins everywhere! I saw at least 30 of them today, where usually, I might only see up to 6 or so. A couple of times, I had them swim towards me, then swim with me for a minute or so – swimming on their side just off to one side of the boat about a metre deep, just looking at me.
The path I took today is one of my benchmark paddles that I do. I like to keep a bit of a track of how long it takes me to complete. Today, was the fastest ever time I have done, and the first time for me to crack 2h 30m. The last 2 times I have done it my time was 2h 31m. When I was paddling my plastic boat, my target was always to complete the 19km in under 3hours!
Now I just need to keep up the training, mix it up and supplement it a little with some cardio work and as soon as it starts warming up a little, ramp up the distance I am paddling by 5-10km.