"Explore and Enjoy"
A year is long, but paddling season is short.
This time next year, I’ll be on my way. So, I have just 12 weeks of summer to train in the kind of conditions I’ll encounter on my Lap around Ireland. Sure, I’ll be training all winter, but summer is the time to expand my comfort zone in warmer, calmer water and long hours of daylight.
Working with expedition coach Mike Jones—who did his own solo Lap in 2012—I’m breaking the year up into training “seasons” each with a different theme to focus on. As a theme for July-September, Mike suggested: “explore and enjoy.”
“Exploring” can be as simple as seeing a new place from my boat. It’s about getting acquainted with unfamiliar geography and conditions.
Some of the most challenging and committing stretches of coastline on the whole trip are right in my backyard. This will be my training ground for open crossings, rough water, and tidal gates.
“Enjoying” means balancing these studies in seamanship with having fun. There'll be plenty of time to obsess over heart rate zones and training minutiae on grey winter days on land. It’s time to savor paddling in a thermal and picnicking in hidden coves.
But it’s not always picnic weather out there, even in July. “Enjoying” the North Atlantic means coping with unfavorable conditions and learning to be comfortable with fear, uncertainty, and boredom.
Next week, I’ll get into the mindset side of training and talk about some of the strategies I use to remain calm when the sea isn’t.
Aloha,
-Charlie
A word about fundraising: I’m working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to get my fundraising page up and running later this summer.
Thank you to Mike Jones for coaching and guidance.
Kokatat is the official gear sponsor of The Lap.
The lap will be fueled by Resilient Nutrition’s Long Range Fuel and bars.
Expedition coffee by 3fe.
