Long Aerobic Distance

Long, slow distance days should really be called long, aerobic distance (LAD) because the goal is not to go slow but to stay within zone 2. Hopefully, one arrives at the end destination a little bit weary but not completely shattered. Finishing up completely shattered, I think, implies you got something wrong: too far, too hard, too little food or inadequate recovery time.

This week, the LAD goal was 40 kilometres. In case you are keeping track, that’s about a 10% increase on last week’s LAD day, which was about a 10% increase on the previous weeks LAD day and about a 10% increase, well you get the picture. The idea of limiting increases to 10% of previous volume is to prevent over-use injuries, which most commonly affect tendons/ligaments not muscles and are notoriously slow to heal. Yet another example of prevention being infinitely better than cure.

Yesterday I paddled 41.4 kilometres and Doug did 43.1 kilometres – there’s a story there. We went south, because the wind was southerly and the mental tactic for the day (these long days are as much mental as they are physical for me) was to rack up over half the kilometres on the way south so that returning back after a short break we would have the mental boost of knowing we had completed most of the goal distance. Accordingly, we followed the coast south. This meant some extra bumpiness off headlands, but also a bit of a break from the light headwind and pound, pound, pound of the kayaks into the southerly sea as we paddled into deeper bays.

We stopped for breakfast (for me), a snack for Doug, near Broulee Island. Our passage along the coast meant we were at 25 kilometres at this point, about seven kilometres more than the straight line distance. The problem I have on these LAD days is that I have no appetite and, if I bring along my normal daily food: mostly animal protein (eggs, meat, fish, etc.) with a few salad vegetables I am unable to eat, or, if I do eat, I feel queasy afterward. Conversely, I find it hard to give up my normal nutritional strategy and eat junky carbohydrate. This may make me as much a victim of ideology as the brain-washed vegan. In a nod to this conundrum, I had also brought a couple of low carbohydrate/high protein wraps. These Simsons Wraps are the first five star health rating food I think I’ve ever seen, which I would take with a grain of salt (an essential nutrient) as eggs do not get five star ratings. But, from a macronutrient perspective they are not too bad with 8.7 grams of protein per wrap for 5.8 grams of carbohydrate. They do crumble a bit. Anyway, I ate two of these with my usual lean meat, egg, lettuce rolled up inside.

And then we headed back north. The little wind that had been blowing was gone, but the sea was still a bit lumpy and a long period swell was running. From our home bay to Burrewarra Point always seems like a nice easy day out, so I thought that Burrewarra Point north would feel similarly easy, and it wasn’t too bad, but, as we approached Black Rock, the usual LAD day mantra “how much longer, how much longer, good grief I want this to be over” started running on loop. I’m tired, uncomfortable, sick of being stuck in my own head, cramped and my butt hurts. I just want this to be over.

I pulled up on the beach pretty much exactly 7 hours after we started (6.5 hours paddling), so a bit of a slow pace at only 6.5 kilometres/hour. My friend, Les, brought my trolley down from where I leave it near his garden shed and we chatted a bit. I was knackered, which really means I got something wrong. Too far? Not likely as I only paddled four kilometres further than last time although conditions were just a bit tougher – but only a bit. Too hard? Not likely, I was 0.5 kilometre slower per hour. Too little food and inadequate recovery: Probably. We had a hard – but fun – climbing day on Monday, and I had a hard strength day on Tuesday so those two things combined with not eating much are likely the problem. Interestingly, my heart rate track shows pretty pronounced cardiac drift over the last hour or so.

Today, for some active recovery, and because it makes me happy, I took the local bus south to Malua Bay and walked home on the Headlands Trail. Council was working on the track south of Wimbie, and there was lots of evidence of new trackwork along the southern sections of the trail with some new boardwalks, guard rails and stairs in place. Even at an easy pace I felt pretty weak and hungry by the time I got back. Another clue that I got something wrong.