RE: [Paddlewise] objective paddle test

From: Michael Daly <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 17:50:25 -0400
On 16 Sep 2004 at 12:42, Steve Brown wrote:

> Also, I think these things must measure oxygen (input - output) being
> consumed rather than air intake. This is a little more sophisticated
> than just measuring volume of flow since oxygen and/or carbon dioxide
> content must be measured.

O2 uptake would be much more meaningful than air intake.  

As well, you'd have to make the test long enough to eliminate the 
effects of anaerobic energy production.  Yesterday, Adam van 
Koeverden, the K1 500m Olympic gold medalist, was a guest on a local 
radio station.  He said that up to 100 seconds, the kayak race is 
just raw power and he could literally hold his breath.  Over 100 
seconds forces him to be more attentive to pace, since by that point, 
anaerobic energy production is mostly used up and lactic acid limits 
performance.

I forget how long the two O2 uptake tests I took were, but it was 
something like 5-10 minutes.  That means that you're looking at a 
course of over one kilometer for a recreational speed paddler and 
over 1500m for an elite athlete.  Two to three kilometers might be 
useful for an advanced rec paddler.

That will also allow enough time for minor kinks in technique to be 
averaged out.  However, it does bring up the issue of repeatability 
in tests.  I'd like to know how one measure energy out accurately.  
While a knotmeter and GPS combo can give decent speed estimates, 
they'd have to be integrated over time and compared to O2 uptake over 
time as well.  Then you'd have to know the speed vs resistance 
characteristics of the hull.

This time interval will make wind/wave characteristics harder to 
control.  Great if you can get an indoor moving-water tank.

Mike
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Received on Fri Sep 17 2004 - 05:56:57 PDT

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