From Coach Dave: July 8/02
VRCC OPEN WOMEN RACE STRATEGIES
Q: What is the most important part of the start?
A: Don't get caught cold or not paying attention. Have your steersperson double
check at the meeting for the precise time of the start. Plan your warm ups so
you can come to the line no earlier than 10 minutes and no later than 5 minutes
before the start. Know where you want to line up and have an alternate spot
picked in case your first choice is unavailable. Steersmen make sure your crew
is finished fidgeting with their gear and paying attention when it is getting close
to the gun. You don't want to be left with paddles in your lap when the gun goes
off! Some crews even try to be gliding into the start anticipating the starters
signal. This is a bit risky and an advanced move however.
Q: Where should we line up?
A: Your coach should pick a spot in the line depending on wind, current and tide
situations. If he/she is not there things to watch for are:
- Stay away from novice boats to prevent pile ups.
- Pick a line that will give you the most direct route to the first turn point.
- Adjust this line based on wind or currents that could help with your speed.
These must be fairly significant for you to chose a less than direct route.
- Decide on your crews start ability. If you are fast off the line it doesn't matter
much if you are middle or outside. If you are a bit slow and pick up speed later
perhaps it would be better to stay outside and away from other boats.
- Of course it is always a reasonable choice to pull up right beside the race
favorite as they will probably have all strategies wired. (Unless of course you
are the favorite!)
Q: How hard should we go at the start?
A: It is important to get the boat up to speed as fast as possible. You will probably
practice various race starts however the standard approach is to have short
changes for the first three, usually 10 strokes per side. The strokes start off
very deep and very dynamic then build in stroke rate as boat speed comes up.
You should have the boat up to speed by the third or fourth change. At that time
go back to your normal change number and start finding your race pace.
Q: We have often heard we need to go like hell during the first 10 or 15 minutes of
the race to get out front. Is this what we should do?
A: Don Irvine one of the most experienced paddlers in the game calls this "The
Vernon Fly and Die" strategy. The team goes out so hard they burn out one
third or half way into the race and slowly watch the other top crews pass them by.
Once you fill your pool of Lactic Acid you are hooped and need to rest before
carrying on at any pace. Yes you want to be going as fast as you can go,
however that pace is dictated by what speed you can maintain throughout the
race. You should be spent at the finish line not half way into the race. If you
hear crews describe their race as "Man, we were really flying for the first ½ of
the race and then the other crews just walked away from us." This usually
indicates the crew was running at a pace higher than they should have. Would
they have stayed with the other crews if they paced themselves better?
Probably not as the story would indicate the teams they were playing with were
better able to maintain the pace. They most likely would have ended up with a
better overall time however that could result in a better placing in the pack.
Q: What about using "Ups" during the race?
A: It is important that we describe what an "Up" is. I consider an "Up" a significant
increase in effort by the crew, similar to a sprint. "Ups" will do the same to you
as the "Fly and Die". They wear out your crew and serve no beneficial purpose.
Eventually every one is toast or even worse you have some people who still have
the energy for one more Banzai up and your boat smoothness has gone right out
the window! Long distance canoe racing on moderate to flat water is no different
than any endurance event. You don't see the top ½ marathon runners doing
sprints during their race and you should not see an outrigger crew doing them either.
Q: OK I understand the analogy of the half marathon runner not doing sprint however
they change stride length and speed during a running race don't they?
A: Yes they do. Up hills, down hills, corners, in a pack of other runners, all of these
require different techniques by the runner. Like the runner your stroke will play
with stroke length and technique changes. Shorter strokes, longer strokes, more
power up front, more body movement, less body movement. These are all
strategies that an experienced stroke will use to get the maximum performance
from her crew. These technique changes are often used to adjust for things like,
going into waves, into wind, changes in current, or even the crew becoming stale
with the stroke rate and style they have been using. Often a stroke will change
their stroke length or technique to give her crew a break in sections of a long
race. Effort stays the same however muscles are stressed differently allowing
for the sensation of a "rest" while
paddling with a slightly different style.
Q: Isn't there any time where an "Up" is appropriate?
A: Yes there is however they should be used cautiously.
- When your boat speed falls off. In some cases your crew may have lost focus
or something has caused you to fall below your cruise speed. This coincides with
our reference to your optimum boat speed for your crew as referred to in our
Technique instructions from the VRCC web page. (Please read this if you have
not yet done so www.vernon.com/vrcc ) This is were you may have to put above
race pace effort in to get your boat speed back up, then settle into your
comfortable race pace to keep it there. If you have to keep repeating this
throughout the race and there is no outside cause for loss of boat speed like
power boat wake then you are probably trying to run your crew at to high a race
pace. Someone in the crew or all cannot maintain the speed and the boat keeps
falling off.
-When trying to put a boat length or two on a crew that you have been close to for
awhile. When you do this you should only try it once or twice at the most and it
must be done with "secret calls" and very little outside appearance of extra
effort. The idea is to make the other crew think you are faster than them at your
normal pace. Rick Nu'u used to like doing this in what he called an "under
stroke them" fashion. He would like his crew to go for a long strong slow stroke
rate that picked up boat speed and yet gave the outward appearance of not
working hard to the opposing crew. The other team would think things like
"holly shit they are only at 60 strokes a minute and we are at 69 and they are
pulling away!" There are other methods of increasing boat speed and whichever
one you chose you must make it look "effortless" to capitalize on the impact.
- When you are catching waves. If you know what you are doing the extra effort to
catch the wave pays off with the free ride you get from the wave. Once on the
ride you may be able to reduce effort to maintain a very high speed and recover
from the burst. The effort may be worthwhile just for the overall boat speed you
will end up with and then you can slow your pace a bit after for recovery.
- When passing through a very shallow area (less than 4 or 5 feet of water). If you
are coming up to a shallow section of water and you know that it is not long to the
deep stuff it may be worth the effort to pick up the pace. Shallow water sucks
boat speed down and the only way to maintain the speed is pick up the power and
stroke rate to try and keep the boat up. Again this is only for a brief period of
time and can not and should not be sustained.
Q: What should we do when the boat starts feeling slow and the crew not together?
A: The natural reaction to this is to call for "Go harder girls" "Come on pick it up
the boat is dieing" You have heard these before. They are not the best solution.
It is unlikely that anyone in the boat is dogging it. If the reason for loss of boat
speed is a timing issue or team members are just running out of gas. Trying to
"go harder" will not solve either of these issues. What I usually recommend to
the stroke in these situations is to go through a pre determined "rebuild"
routine. On a signal from the stroke "Rebuild ladies" "Build it again ladies" the
stroke will then bring the rate and effort down slightly for 6 strokes or one
complete change. As she feels the crew start clicking together she will start to
bring them back up to the maximum pace and speed that is comfortable for them
all. Remember your crew race pace is the pace "All" of your team can maintain,
not just the pace a few of your fittest paddlers can maintain.