As October approaches, colder weather sets in, and a lot of kilometres are on the horizon. In the world of paddling, summer is peak racing season. You’re always prepared to race; most workouts focus on training for race speeds.

Fall serves as a reset for the upcoming racing year. It’s all about returning to the basics and making vital technical corrections (one of the big things I’m working on is the location of my top hand right before the stroke to maximize downward pressure on the water). This is the ideal season for it since there’s no pressure from important races, and you have plenty of time on the water to make these adjustments.

Autumn also brings longer paddles. Since it marks the start of the next racing season, the more kilometres you accumulate now, the more it will benefit you next spring and summer. Many of our practices during this time include extended steady paddles and middle-distance intervals to maximize both aerobic and anaerobic work.