more success in pool than on river

Paddlers' Place
#1

We recently had a warm day (high in the upper 50s) here in wv. I tried kayaking on the cherry river (class II-III). I only lasted only 3 1/2 miles. I’ve been battling a sinus infection for a while (had sinus surgery about 10 years ago) and as soon as I hit the water I started coughing and hacking up junk constantly. I was dressed for conditions but the cold water acted as a trigger so everytime I got splashed I’d just start hacking again., also I was a bit short of breathe- perhaps cold weather exercised induced asthma. So I called it quits a little over 1/2 way on our run (road parallels river). No swims, rapids were well within my skillset, but just didn’t feel good trying to survive the day.

Three days later I headed to indoor pool sessions. This felt a lot better (nice warm water)- no hacking. I practiced hip snaps on the side of the pool, and also with a partner. Did some head dinks (high bracing toward rear of boat). Practiced reaching around the boat but never committed to actually rolling. I still have problems getting into a forward tuck and reaching to get my paddle in position. My backward mobility is good but still struggle with bending forward- Don’t know how much of this is psychological and how much is physical- as I’ve had both hips replaced (Nov. 2017/Feb. 2018). i was struggling with a roll before my surgeries as well.

I need to drop some pounds, do some regular stretching or yoga to help with my boatin’. It kind of makes sense that if bending to tie my shoes is still a bit of a struggle then rolling would be more difficult as well. My hipsnap is strong., I’m walking much better, and having much less pain since having hip replacements, Unfortunately, range of motion hasn’t really increased since before the surgery. I’m sure getting rid of the spare tire on my waist would help.

The good news is I don’t let any of this stop me from boatin’, I just drop my game back a bit- in this case all the way back to the pool. I’m Lookin’ forward to warm weather/water,

#2

Good for you. You definitely want a roll as a white water kayaker. Iam always amazed how many white water guys/gals cant roll. First class I took and I don’t really do white water much… Yes losing weight will sure help. Good luck.

#3

You probably are well aware of two options if you are having trouble setting up for a forward roll. Extended paddle Pawlata works every time if you practice it , even when you are in bad position. In surfing it’s pretty common to end up on the back deck, so much quicker to do a “back deck roll” protecting your face and head with the sweeping paddle. Both of these rolls work well for fat old guys who aren’t very flexible (me for instance) on waveskis, which are a lot harder to roll than whitewater kayaks.

#4

tcdaniel , " I just drop my game back a bit- in this case all the way back to the pool. I’m Lookin’ forward to warm weather/water,
Quote
I hear you Bro, but your cold run qualifies as EPIC after what you have been through with keeping the engine steaming.
Hit the 65 last month, I’ll need a combat roll to deal with WFTM a couple more years. I’m going to try to keep the recommended surgeries at bay until I hit critical mass, but I am going for the cataracts now.
I used to have to do everything epic, really glad I got some kayak epic adventures logged when I had the world on string.
Ice came in early this year. Last paddle was 26Nov. Launched/landed off the ice edge ,It was an EPIC 5 miles. Two days later frozen and snow covered :’(
Stay EPIC!

#5

I’m glad I also did a lot of hiking and paddling before my 70 yo body has made the really good trips difficult to impossible.

#6

Hey tdaniel, I like being able to put my shoes on too and for a while I had to roll around on my back to get my socks and shoes on (and I could not bend over to pick up a 35 pound canoe). Then I started doing core exercises and going to the local YMCA regularly and now everything is easier. In my experience all you need to do is to establish ANY regular exercise routine and stick to it for a few weeks until you start feeling benefits. Then you will want to change and refine your routine over time. Even one hour a week is a fine start…perhaps 20 minutes a day on M/W/F shortly after you wake up.

#7

thanks for all the encouragement and tips. WW is one of those sports where lots of people “climb the ladder”. Meaning that many measure personal success by paddling increasingly difficult rivers. When I got back into paddling I knew that wasn’t an option for me. I have focused on personal first time descents (another meaning for pfd) but on far less difficult rivers than what I used to paddle.

Perhaps someday I’ll paddle in all 50 states, I’ve already done over half. That was a goal for paddling self to keep things interesting. I’m also interested in freestyle but time on my knees has to be very limited or nonexistent. So I’m just not sure I could do it. In tems of craft, in any given year I’m likely to rec canoe, ducky, raft, or ww kayak. I tried the stand up paddle board and ocean kayak- those experiences define for me what flailing looks like. I’ll probably give the long skinny boat another go though, I bought a beat up used necky looksha. It has yet to find it’s way out from under the porch. Maybe this spring on a local lake. I’ll be sure sure to wear a drysuit, as swimming is likely to occur.

Paddling is part of my exercise routine. I measure goals in miles- stationary bike, paddling, day hiking. I try to do a little something every day. When the weather is bad and the day’s are short (like now) it is often the stationary bike. This past year’s goal was 1500 total miles. I met that in October and I just start over toward 1600 miles (400 paddling, 400 walking, 800 bike) . This is not increasing my range of motion. My daughter bought me a yoga book, maybe I’ll try adding some of that (stretching) in my annual goal. Outside of going to physical therapy (which ended a long time ago) I haven’t had much success with the gym. I just have a hard time getting motivated to go there.

The diet, well I have good and bad years. This past year, not so great. At least I don’t weigh more than after the first hip replacement surgery a year ago. A fair amount of sitting around and eating during recovery.

In terms of rolling, it would definately expand my paddling horizons. As someone who had a reliable roll when younger, I understand what I am missing. I haven’t let it keep me off the water though. Shallow creeks are more appealling now. Nobody wants to be upside down in that environment so it is kind of a level paddling field when I’m with my buds. ELF (extreme low flow) runs are a type of paddling I didn’t enjoy previously but do now. If I ain’t willin’ to swim it, I ain’t willin’ to paddle it. I carried a lot of rapids this summer in Maine that others ran. So it goes.

Thanks for the specific tips like extended paddle and back deck roll. I’m definately going to check out some youtube videos between now and the next pool session. Part of the whole roll process is being able to get into a nice tight tuck to protect myself in a ww situation. I’m struggling with that.

Staying within my abilities and using a big stable boat has meant I have cut down on swims on class II/III rivers. However, I’m wanting to ratchet it up a notch, and that means better fitness, swimming ability, and rolling. Foundation skills/fitness is what is holding me back. I don’t need to be a twenty somethin’ again, I just want to progress from where I am currently.

Thanks again, the river is keeping me humble, as I can’t afford to take a big beat down.

#8

@tdaniel
Paddling is part of my exercise routine. I measure goals in miles- stationary bike, paddling, day hiking. I try to do a little something every day. When the weather is bad and the day’s are short (like now) it is often the stationary bike. This past year’s goal was 1500 total miles. I met that in October and I just start over toward 1600 miles (400 paddling, 400 walking, 800 bike) . This is not increasing my range of motion. My daughter bought me a yoga book, maybe I’ll try adding some of that (stretching) in my annual goal. Outside of going to physical therapy (which ended a long time ago) I haven’t had much success with the gym. I just have a hard time getting motivated to go there.

At some chronological stage, none of us are going to get physically better. It is not about that, IMO, because that is “life.” You just keep moving however you can until you can’t anymore. That’s living life as full as you can. You are doing fine.

sing

#9

@sing said:

At some chronological stage, none of us are going to get physically better. It is not about that, IMO, because that is “life.” You just keep moving however you can until you can’t anymore.

sing

Not so sure that none of us can improve physically as we age:
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/ageresistUNM.html

#10

@Rookie said:
@sing said:

At some chronological stage, none of us are going to get physically better. It is not about that, IMO, because that is “life.” You just keep moving however you can until you can’t anymore.

sing

Not so sure that none of us can improve physically as we age:
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Articndle%20folder/ageresistUNM.html

That works “best” for those who start with a very low or no record of training routines. For these folks, at any age, any incorporation of physical exercise will show some improvement (the “reversing”) of aging/atrophy.

But, talk to any older athlete (who were high performers/competitors) and ask whether their workouts have “reversed” their physical aging, allowing them to be better than they were 5, 10, or 20 years ago… I know what the overwhelming majority would say.

sing

#11

I’ve now have made 3 trips to the pool, and I’m getting close to a roll again, hip snap strong, still have some difficulty leaning forward (tuck)reaching around the boat (set up) but I do eventually get in position. The paddle isn’t diving, my only hang up is bringing my head up a little early on the finish. I have practiced hip snaps on the side of the pool and bringing up boat first, and I do try to think about looking down on the shaft of the paddle when I’m finishing the roll. Still just trying to put it all together.

#12

Just stay at it. Enough successful and it’ll get thoughtless.

#13

I bike with a guy who can’t do really cold weather because of what it does to his chest / lungs. I’ve been blessed. It just makes my nose run. And run. And run. No cooties could possibly live in there with all the expulsion.

#14

@Rex said:
I bike with a guy who can’t do really cold weather because of what it does to his chest / lungs. I’ve been blessed. It just makes my nose run. And run. And run. No cooties could possibly live in there with all the expulsion.

Thanks for sharing. :s