200m.info

1. Train hard - Race easy. My old coach Trevor Wetheral always used to say this to me. Do the work in the training and the racing will take care of itself. Before the Nationals especially, I already knew I was capable of a win because my time trial results at Richmond on the runway told me so.

2. Structure your regatta weekend and race build up sensibly - for example if you have a particular ritual in place in training don't change it on the day of the race. Competiions are not the forum to change any aspect of a routine.

3. Eat well, sleep well, play a little and train bloody hard - If you are going to be a winner you are going to need to look after yourself and at the same time train hard + smart !!

4. Be comfortable with all of your race equipment - Rather like the bit on routine above, always try to avoid changing equipment (paddle, seat, clothing) if at all possible at an actual regatta. You need to be able to sit on the start line and have the confidence that: 'the paddles are good, the boat is running well, my feet won't slip etc. Don't bring unknowns into the equation like wearing a new pair of shorts on the day of the race only to find your bum is sliding around the place before the start - you may laugh but I have done it and it only adds to the pre-race nerves.

5. Relish your victories and learn from your defeats but above all love the whole experience ! - The majority of us do not get paid to race and even those who do can hardly retire once they hang their paddles up. Enjoy it and take everything from the overal experience. You are doing it because you want to - the pain, the glory, the disapointment and the elation. Rather like the ingredients in a recipe, mix them together and they make one hell of a dish !!

It is very important in any race to keep paddling to the finish line. Apart from anything else it is the only way to complete or win a race but at what speed you cross the line is also very important as well.

In an event like the 200 any ease off before the line can be the difference between first and last. We are not talking about consciously slowing down before the finish but basically you need to be concentrating on flying through the line on a 200 and easing off 5 metres after the line.

This is not a complicated thing to do, simply go into your 200 metre races determined that however much the lactic acid is stacking up you will still be going at warp speed when you cross the line.

Hit the line hard every time !!!

However temping it might be in a 200 metre race to look sideways at the people/person in the lane next to you during the race, this is not a wise thing to do. 200 metre sprinting demands tunnel vision and this means not allowing yourself to be distracted by any movement or colour to either side of you. All you need to be aware of is the runway in front of you and that elusive yellow line of buoys!!!!!

All looking sideways will do is slow you down and tap in on your concentration, this action will always slow you down. Only look across once the finiish line is crossed.

6-January-2005 Gavs current training plan

Training For Australian National Championships – March 2005.

Saturday:
AM: Gym - Full Weights Session
PM: Boat – 10 x 5 second standing starts (2 mins recovery).

Sunday:
AM: Boat - 4 x 20 secs (5 mins recovery)
PM: Curls – 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5

5-January-2005 Johns Favourite sessions

One of my current favourite training sessions 100m maximal efforts from standing starts will full recovery. If you want to be successful in 200m you must have an explosive start sequence followed by a rapid acceleration in the first 50-60 meters. If you can destroy the rest of the field and pull a length out in this time you have a physiological and major psychological advantage over your fellow competitors (see Steve and Gavin).

100m effort from standing start. (alternate between head/tailwind) x 10. Recovery = full

paddle 1-2 KM at a moderate intensity with a few explosive bursts and increase in stroke rate. it important to make sure the muscles are warm, or else you will most likely cause yourself an injury.

These must be executed at about 120% (faster than your 200 pace) Aim to be dying within 70 metres to ensure maximal muscle failure. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU PADDLE BETWEEN EFFORTS

A nice gentle 1-2 km paddle at a low stroke rate (40-60) will ensure most of the Lactic acid is broken down.

Aim to do this session once a week, I like to add 2 bungees to my boat for the first 5, just to help build power generated on the blade, when the bungees are removed..Prepare to fly.

17-December-2004 Gavs Latest 200 Tip-The Importance of a Good Warm down after your 200m Race

To all the elite paddlers of this world I am preaching to the converted but for those less experienced and who don't already practice it, a good warm down after your 200 metre race is absolutely essential.

During your race whether it be in K1, K2 or K4, tremendous amounts of lactic acid are built up in your muscles. This is due in the main to the massively explosive nature of the 200. Lactic acid explained simply is a bit like smoke from a fire a waste product that is created as a result in this case of highly intensive activity. Whilst Lactic Acid is in the muscles they cannot function as well as when it is not. When you feel that burning at the end of the 200, it is being caused for a big part by the build up of this acid in your muscles.

The only way to quickly and effectively clear this from your muscles is to go for a 5 -10 minute very steady paddle. If you paddle too hard or too slowly your body cannot start to flush out the waste. Paddle steadily and allow all the body to recover. By the time you have paddled 500-1000 metres or so you will start to feel refreshed and everything will start to flow properly again.

The lactic acid has now started to break down, setting you on your way for your next race.

The way the Nottingham regattas are set up means that you will do up to three 200 metre races with only 45 minutes between each race. If you do not 'flush out' properly immediately after each race your performance will be affected the next time you get on the runway.

Anyone wanting to know more about building in a proper warm down into their competition schedule should speak to their coach accordingly.

The next article I will be putting together will be on how to structure your time and what you need to do from about half an hour before your K1 race to the end of the K4 race at a regatta. This is a period of some 2.5 hours and it is critical that you look after yourself physically and psychologically during this time, in order to maximise your potential for that good result. I know a few useful tricks etc and would love to pass them on to the young 200 warriors out there.

Gavin Turrell - British K1 200 Metre Champion

24-September-2004 Gavs Latest 200 Tip. - The Wake Up Call.[Gavin Turrell - Great Britain]

For the 200 especially it pays to be really alert before a race. Sometimes when you have been sitting in a car waiting for the time to pass and then get up to prepare you feel a bit sluggish.

Stand up straight on any surface (keeping your legs and feet together) and start to jump up and down. Jumps should be as high as possible but it is important to keep your legs straight and to bounce on the balls of your feet. Imagine the way a boxer does speed work with a skipping rope. Your stance should be similiar. 30 repetitions followed by a short rest and then a further 30 repetitions will suffice.

What the above does is give your nervous system a jolt and gets all your systems firing. Tom Egan (Irish Sprint Team Manager) showed me this technique at the Paris World Cup in 2001. I have incorporated this routine into into my preparation plan ever since then.

27-August-2004 Gavs Latest 200 Tip. - Visualisation Techniques.[Gavin Turrell - Great Britain]

One of the visualisation type techniques I used whilst racing the 200's was as follows. It worked for me time after time and certainly helped me piece together a good race.

When I had got to the regatta course and settled in, I would plug in my walkman and stroll up to the 200 metre starting point and then sit down by the starting tower looking down the course. I would then visualise myself through the different stages of the race, the start, middle and the gut wrenching finish. As I imagined these different components of the race, I would actually be able to see the specific stretches of water involved. By doing this you are also facing what can be a daunting race. You are living and breathing the race before it has started. By the time I got onto the start line, I had no worries or anxieties. I had already raced the race several times in my mind. I am a strong believer that you need to believe you can win in order to do so. You have to want, need and desire it and when

you get onto the line nothing else must matter. Your mind needs to be totally clear of all other thoughts except that narrow stretch of runway in front of you!

There are lots of visualisation techniques around but this is just one little gem I wanted to share with you. Sitting on the start line and measuring up the race was something I first saw Gerard Shappard (Belgiums No

1 200 paddler) doing at Seneffe in 2001. I thought it looked like a good part of a race preparation programme, so decided to incorporate it into my own pre-race plan.

I shall shortly be doing a detailed piece on my wieght training programme and general philosophy towards strengh training over the years.

17-June-2004 Tapering for your 200 Metre Race [Gavin Turrell - Great Britain]

It is important to come into any regatta 'fresh' and when focusing on the 200 metre event it is of paramount importance that you are very explosive on the day! To achieve this requires some form of taper in the final days before the competition.

A 'taper' in sport basically means a period of reduction in workload leading up to a competition that still allows an athlete to stay sharp but at the same time the body is given the chance to recover because the daily 'workload' is less.

My own preparation for each regatta involves cutting my workload to 50% of the norm from the Sunday before the regatta, through to the Friday (the day before the regatta). I sill do my 8 sessions (which is what I would normally do in a 6 day period) however the workload significantly reduces.

By following this regime although you will still do the same number of sessions; since each session is cut in half, you should come off the water actually wanting to do more. This is a good feeling to have. You need to be 'chomping at the bit' on the start line, not lagged because you have put in a hard week of work immediately before the regatta.

Speak to your coach before altering your training however if you follow the above basic principles you should feel fresher, sharper and more powerful when you race and thus should achieve better results.

I only weigh 72kg, but i find this as an advantage to me in the 200m event due to it being easy to build up my power to weight ratio, there for allowing me to be able to have a really fast start, which i believe is psychologically one of the most important factors in the 200m...

Bearing in mind Iam ALOT lighter than all of you, you will have to increase the weight, but don't make it too heavy that your repetitions cant be high.

You work off three set times of 20minutes (an 1h15 in total) between each 20minute set there is 5minutes rest...

You will start on the bench, doing repetitions as fast as you can for 30seconds, then rest for 30second, and on again for 30seconds, rest for 30second, and on again for 30second, you then use the next 30seconds rest to move to the next machine ie: Bench Pull and so on...

You continue this circuit for the full 20minutes, take 5minutes rest and start again where you left off, another 20minute cycle...

Trust me this session works!!!!!
By using lighter weights, an high repetitions, it increases your speed and endurance levels, lowering you lactic acid levels, allowing you to keep high speeds for a lot longer...

This session also helps increase the "fast twitch fibers" in your muscles, due to the explosive an fast repetitions.

At senior nationals i went up against guys much older, heavier and far stronger than me, however i was able to blast out ahead of them, and maintain that speed due to my low lactic acid levels...

A good warm up will be required ( 1 - 2 kilometres with 4 high speed bursts) before the actual session commences. You must already have a strip of water picked out and know approximately where the start and end point of your 200 metre distance are. If there are no natural markers, ie a tree, boat or mark on a wall then a couple of flags can be used. Have your watch on an 8 minute repeat countdown setting and ensure you are on the line for the first one with a minute to go. Sit there in position and imagine you are at the start of the race, focus down the course to the finish and channel all your emotions into the effort ahead. Total focus is of paramount importance. One mistake and you are just another statistic. When the watch states five seconds to go get into the start position. On the beep hit the water with everything you have got. Explosive starts are essential for winning performances. Treat the time trial like a race and only check your watch once your nose has crossed the line. From the finish of each time trail you will have a good 7 minutes to flush out, paddle along lightly to allow sufficient recovery and focus on the next effort. Repeat the above format for all four time trails and once the session is over, warm down for 1 - 2 kilometres.

This session gets you in 'race mode'. In my opinion nothing is better that trialing over the race distance. Producing good, fast time trails in training does not mean you will definately repeat the performance at Nottingham, but at least when you get on the line you will have the confidence of knowing that that you are flying in training. Focus and confidence on the start line of a 200 goes a long way towards producing a good performance.

I would recommend doing this session once a week, especially in the summer season. In the week of the regatta, a single time trail should be done on the Tuesday/Wednesday - no later, you don't want to produce your best
performance before the big day! Although you are doing one trial rather
than four, follow the same physical and psychological appoach.

1. Always trial over the same stretch of water. This will allow for a consistent comparision of time from one week to the next.

2. The course should be a few seconds long rather than a few seconds short. Nottingham predominately provides a brisk headwind. Therefore a stretched out 200 in terms of time in training, may do you a favour at Nottingham when the arms are screaming at 180 metres in !

4. If you can get someone else to sit at the end of the course in their boat/on the bank and take your time then this can be good for really accurate timing.

5. Each trial should be approached and executed as if is the most important race of your life - 'train hard - race easy'.

03-February-2004 - Mental Preparation On Event Day [Gavin Turrell - Great Britain]
200 metre racing is a very short explosive race by comparison to it's compatriots the 500 and 1000 metre events. There is no room for error and one mistake will in most cases cost you the race. For this reason being mentally focused before and during the race is crucial. I always say that one 'lazy second' can be the difference between first and third. What this basically means is that if you allow your concentration to lapse for even a second let's say due to the boat in the next lane to you making a gain, then you will lose focus on your efforts. Ultimately this will result in a loss of boat speed and thus potentially your position in the race. When I race with Steve this will be my mental build up (which starts on the bank - not on the water) !

40 minutes before race start. I will get changed into my race kit. I will be excited and nervous about the race. I know in my mind what I am trying to achieve and try to stay calm. At this point don't physically rush around too much. You need to conserve energy at this point. The Americans talk about 'being in the zone'. This just means not pumping too much adrenaline through the system and staying calm.

30 minutes before race start Steve and I will check the K2 over and go over our race plan. We need to be sure that we both are on the same wavelength. We will discuss the conditions and how we will approach the race generally. Another important thing we will do at this point is reassure each other that whatever happens on the way down we are a team, we can win and we will keep going. This is important in a race this quick and explosive. If we are half a boat length down after 50 metres we don't want to panic - rather keep the pressure on in the confidence that we are the fastest crew and can still win!

15 minutes before race start. At this point we are near the boat and near the water. I tend to step back literally from the situation and have a quiet moment. I focus and remember all the pain, sweat and graft I have put in. I want to feel strong and powerful at this point. I want to have the attitude that if there was a brick wall in our lane we would paddle through it, that nothing can stop us. You need to find this attitude. We now put the boat on the water and check we are comfortable. Our coach Allan Bennet will have a few final words on the warm up and the race and then we go.

15 to 2 minutes before race start - At this point we are going through our warm up routine, talking to each other about the race, constantly re-enforcing to each other what we need to do to win. We are alert at this point and although we can see the other competitors we keep ourselves to ourselves and apart from the odd grunt from me as another boat comes near by that is it in terms of contact with other people in our race. This is not a time for social chit chat. Mentally I am totally focused I want the race and I want to win - for me and for us. We have bust a gut to get here and we have to go out to win no matter what - these are the thoughts going through my mind.

2 minutes before race start We are being called up to the line. It still sends shivers down my spine to hear my name and lane being called. We look around as we drift slowly into the blocks. No words are needed. Steve and I have been racing for two years now and put in countless hours of 200 metre specific training. We know the time is upon us and couldn't be more ready. As the starter settles the line. I only focus ahead - Steve's back and the line of buoys ahead. My attitude is that we are going to eat the buoys up at an awesome speed. Close down the finish line. 0 - the beep sounds and we are off. There is no thought process for me here. I hear the sound and react in that split second. I am now on auto pilot. My job is to follow Steve stroke for stroke, providing every ounce of power I can down the 200 metre strip of water. My advice as you are going down the course is do not look around, even if you sense someone is near you do not turn your head. Try not to let other competitors distract you. As we cross the line I will look left and right. If we have won everybody knows. My roar represents months of early morning paddles, gut wrenching weights and teamwork getting a boat to fly.

06-November-2003 - Power Start [Gavin Turrell - Great Britain]
Session: 5 seconds on/going every two minutes X 15 - 4 bungees on boat.

Goal - To achieve all out explosive power off the line - massively important in K1 - critical in K2 & K4 !

How to run the session: Secure 2 bungees forward of the cockpit and two behind the cockpit - with the balls on the bottom of the boat. A good warm up of 1km should proceed with a couple of 40 stroke efforts - just tapping it along. You are now ready to start. Each effort should be from a stationary position and the boat needs to be stopped with 30 seconds to go. Stopping the boat with 30 seconds to go allows you to sit stationary and improve on your balance! Have the watch set up to go beep on a two minute countdown. Don't look at the watch in the final few seconds - simply focus on putting as much power into the first and second stroke as possible. All starts should be with the starting blade submerged in the water!

Tips/Focus - The focus of the session is to develop your explosive power and in addition with the bungees present you will have a massive resistance. This session hurts and it is not satisfying from the aspect that you cannot get the boat to run smoothly (hardly surprising). Don't be disheartened, stick at it. My main job in the season is in the back of the K2 and this type of work in the winter gives me the raw power to make a difference to the boat off the line come competition time!

08-August-2003 - Start Training [Vitas - South Africa]
8-10 x 15-20" @ 95% with full recovery makes everybody a little bit younger!

07-August-2003 - K1 - Lactic Tolerance

10 seconds on/10 off x 6 X 4 sets (6 minutes recovery between each set).

Purpose of Session
To build lactic tolerance, which is extremely important as the boat starts to slow in the final 20- 25 metres. By training your body to paddle hard with lactic in the muscles, you will find you are able to cope at the end of the race better. You will not lose so much speed and in a close race situation, hang onto your position!

How to run the session
Always start with a good warm up, paddling for 1-2 km, with a few short bursts of 10-20 strokes thrown in, at around 80% intensity. Once ready, set your watch so it is running on a ten second countdown, This means you will have ten seconds of beeping and then ten seconds of silence, Race on the 'ons' or the 'offs' - whichever you prefer.

Intensity of session
This session must be attacked at 100%, so even though you are dying on the last couple of efforts in each set, you are still going as hard as possible. The rest between the sets is for light paddling focusing on technique and allowing muscular recovery before the next set.

When to do this session
I personally would recommend that this session is done 1if not twice a week, all year round. Don't do it regatta week though! We will talk about effective 200 metre regatta tapers later.

End of Session
At the end of this session you will be extremely fatigued. To aid recover on this and all sessions, paddle lightly again for 1-2 kms before, coming off the water.

09-July-2003
Standing Start efforts should form an important part of your training. At top level a 200 race is won or lost in the first 5 seconds. Practice a set of start (5 x 10 second efforts should be ample) 3 times a week. Stop your boat and sit in a stationary position for at least 30 seconds. Imagine you are in a pre-race situation. Use a countdown facility on your watch and when there are 5 seconds to go do not look at the watch any more, just get your paddle in the start position and as the watch beeps for 0, bang you are off. Hit the start with everything you have got.

09-July-2003
Often at the end of a 200 K1, the lactic hits hard and you begin to shake. At this point don't try to speed up or throw the boat around. Stay calm and focused and above keep the paddle movement smooth. This way although you may feel you are losing speed, you won't be.