Start surfski paddling - Advanced tips for the pros

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Sunday, 07 March 2010 00:00

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pro tips

Michèle Eray's pointers for a multi-day surfski event:

Before the event:

• Know what you are getting into, and prepare accordingly.
• If it’s a multi-day event, make sure you string together the same amount of days in training as the actual race will take place over.
• Go long and steady, but don’t forget the quality speed sessions.
• Try and test all your equipment repeatedly and over similar distances to that which you will race over (blisters don’t always form after 2 hours, but after 5 hours…you’ll know if that piece of foam will chafe or not!)

During the race:

• Nutrition is key! The more you eat and drink in the race, the easier recovery afterwards will be.
• Know your race plan and stick to it. If everyone takes off at the start, and your plan was to ease into it, do so.

• Sunblock on your face, not your hands! Don’t forget to put it on before you leave the house so that you can wash it off with soap. Slippery hands lead to squeezing the paddle too hard, leading to cramped forearms and possible injuries later on.
• Use a long sleeve Rash vest with UV preotection factor to keep your arms safe from sunburn. Not only will this prevent skin cancer, but you will feel much better the following day if you aren’t suffering from mild sunstroke and painful sunburn.

After the race:

• Recovery, recovery, recovery. You will only be able to perform the next day, if you have recovered sufficiently from the previous day’s hard work.
• Find a recovery technique that works, in training, and use it when you race.
• I find that nutrition plays a big role, with the time period directly after the event being most crucial. I try and have a drink that has mainly mainly carbs, a little protein, and with all the necessary electrolytes straight after I finish, followed by a more substantial meal after a few hours. I generally used
• Ignite from PVM as a recovery drink.
• Keep drinking water throughout the day as well, especially if it was a hot and sweaty paddle.
• A warm down paddle is usually the last thing I feel like doing after 3-5 hours of racing, so a good stretching session, a massage and an afternoon nap will also do the trick.