Any Dragonboaters out there?

[sstewart]

I started Dragonboating last year and am thoroughly hooked! Anyone else here into it? Tried it? (If you haven't, you should! )

My biggest issue is energy/endurance - after about 20 minutes of steady rowing I feel weak and shakey. After a race I can barely walk. I carry peanut butter crackers in a baggie on the boats and nosh during breaks, but I'm thinking maybe I have bigger issues than immediate needs? Granted, it's much worse during early morning rows than later in the day when I have more "fuel" in me.

I am also sugar intolerant (can only do around 7 g at a time), so most of the "energy bars" on the market are not do-able for me. (I guess I should mention that I had gastric bypass surgery almost 4 years ago, so I've been doing the 6 small meals/day since then - can't eat large amounts of food). I have only been vegetarian for about a year - before that I was a low-carber, so lots of meat - it was a big change for my body, most of it positive, but I do notice a distinct difference in energy level - much lower now. Any thoughts?

[ultra_whippet]

Cool, a dragonboater, I don't believe it I did dragonboat racing for a couple of years, although it's about 5 years since I gave up now. My problem was always that my shoulders started to burn and ache so badly after about 10 minutes of paddling, so my energy levels were the least of my worries I used to take a bottle of sports drink with me on training sessions and that was usually fine. On race days I'd take flapjacks, sandwiches, pasta salad etc. etc.

As for the energy bars, have you tried making your own? You could use oats, chopped dried fruit/nuts, carbohydrate powder such as maltodextrin or fructose and maybe some protien powder too... should give you lots of slow-release energy, and much cheaper than buying them, too.

If you feel like it, you might consider starting a food/training log in the "Training Logs" forum.....

[sstewart]

I do make my own kind of raw trail mix/granola-ish kind of thing that I take along on hikes and stuff - guess that's boat friendly too Wonder what I can use to make them glom together into a bar...?

Did you have a shoulder injury? I can only row on the left side of the boat because of an injury to my left shoulder - it can move low but not high. But there isn't that much strain on the shoulders (other than picking up and dropping the paddle - most of the stroke comes from the torso and some from the legs. I found a small (and very angry at being roused!) muscle in my hip I didn't even know I had LOL!

I wish I could run (bum knees prevent it) - it would make endurance conditioning easier. During the season we condition on the water for endurance but I like to keep in shape during the off season so the first few weeks of Dragonboating aren't so brutal.

[fredrikw]

I do make my own kind of raw trail mix/granola-ish kind of thing that I take along on hikes and stuff - guess that's boat friendly too Wonder what I can use to make them glom together into a bar...?

try these, I have used these in rather humid conditions and they stick together fine.
http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=589

[ultra_whippet]

Yeah I can vouch for those Rune bars, they're good!

I think my problems were just down to having relatively weak shoulders, most of the exercise I do is lower body so my torso & legs were fine, just my shoulder that got sore from keeping the paddle up there....

Any other exercise you could do for conditioning? Bike, swim, cross-trainer etc??