I've been bitten by the kayak bug (1 year now), and have been working up to
do longer day trips. Last saturday, I did a 32 km (20 mile) ride, but at
the end my heels were really sore. I've adjusted my foot pedals so that my
knees are just inside the cowling (for bracing), with the balls of my feet
on the pedals, and the heels on the floor. After the fourth hour, the heels
were hurting a lot, and I periodically had to straighten my legs (stretching
them between the foot pedals) to relieve the pressure. What's the problem -
the fit, my foot positioning, or something else?

On 1-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:

What's the problem -
the fit, my foot positioning, or something else?

What are you wearing on your feet? If you're barefoot, you may
want to get some closed-cell foam on the bottom of the kayak.
An old sleeping pad can be cut to size.

If your footwear is the problem, get something else. Something
with a decent heel cup and a bit of paddling should be fine.

I find almost any paddling footwear works fine. Reef boots (aka
dive booties or neoprene boots), paddling shoes (like a light running
shoe with mesh sides) or closed sandles with a heel cup work for me.

Mike

Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I was wearing neoprene water shoes (the
river bottom where I paddle has many very sharp zebra mussle shells). The
heel cup on those are about equal to my sneakers, so I think maybe the way
to go is to try out your suggestion of the closed cell foam.

I haven't had any pain problems with shorter paddles, so maybe the problem
is that I kept the feet locked into position for too long without relieving
pressure on the heels. However, I am curious what adjustments the
experienced paddlers make when they are doing paddles of 5 to 8 hours at a
time.

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...

On 1-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:

What's the problem -
the fit, my foot positioning, or something else?

What are you wearing on your feet? If you're barefoot, you may
want to get some closed-cell foam on the bottom of the kayak.
An old sleeping pad can be cut to size.

If your footwear is the problem, get something else. Something
with a decent heel cup and a bit of paddling should be fine.

I find almost any paddling footwear works fine. Reef boots (aka
dive booties or neoprene boots), paddling shoes (like a light running
shoe with mesh sides) or closed sandles with a heel cup work for me.

Mike

On 2-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:

I haven't had any pain problems with shorter paddles, so maybe the problem
is that I kept the feet locked into position for too long without relieving
pressure on the heels. However, I am curious what adjustments the
experienced paddlers make when they are doing paddles of 5 to 8 hours at a
time.

Don't lock yourself into the kayak. You should be able to move your
legs and feet around and it's a good idea to change leg positions
occasionally. If your feet are big and the kayak deck is low, you could
be jamming them in and putting excessive pressure on the heels - my WW
kayak is like that and I don't have the room to change it (footpegs are
all the way forward). Move the footpegs forward a bit and point your toes
forward more if that's the case.

I don't make any adjustments that are related to time spent in the kayak.
Mine is set up for comfort all the time.

Mike

Michael Daly wrote:
On 2-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:


I haven't had any pain problems with shorter paddles, so maybe the problem
is that I kept the feet locked into position for too long without relieving
pressure on the heels. However, I am curious what adjustments the
experienced paddlers make when they are doing paddles of 5 to 8 hours at a
time.


Don't lock yourself into the kayak. You should be able to move your
legs and feet around and it's a good idea to change leg positions
occasionally. If your feet are big and the kayak deck is low, you could
be jamming them in and putting excessive pressure on the heels - my WW
kayak is like that and I don't have the room to change it (footpegs are
all the way forward). Move the footpegs forward a bit and point your toes
forward more if that's the case.

I don't make any adjustments that are related to time spent in the kayak.
Mine is set up for comfort all the time.

Mike's advice is right on the money. A common beginner mistake is to set
the footpegs for too tight of a fit. A simple test is that you should be
able to straighten your legs with your feet on the foot pegs. That will
feel a bit loose when paddling with your legs bent, but all you need to
do is flex your feet forward to lock yourself into the boat when necessary.

Thanks again, Brian and Mike. I will carry out the adjustment and see how
that works out. Just another step in the learning process. When I started,
I was using only my arms (common beginner mistake) and was amazed at the
increase in speed and endurance once I learned to use the foot pegs to push
the boat forward and to rotate the body. A bit later, another person
pointed out that my death-grip on the paddle was fatiguing my hands and
arms, and again I was pleasantly surprised at the increase in endurance once
I relaxed my grip. Now I'm working on my forward stroke, trying to
eliminate the splash at the plant, and to finish my stroke at the hip (to
eliminate that sucking sound when it comes out of the water behind me).
Heh, the more I do this, the more I learn how much there is to still learn
and master. Probably need to sign up with a good school and have a
experienced coach help me eliminate (ok, slightly decrease) my bad habits
and mechanics. But since I have very little time (family, work, travel)
I'll just have to muddle along until the opportunity presents itself. Your
advice is much appreciated.

Paul.

PS. Since almost all my paddling to date has been solo, I've practiced the
wet exits, and re-entries with the paddle float and while the result is not
pretty, it works. In rolling, however, I haven't yet mastered keeping the
sweep paddle on the surface - it keeps on diving, probably because my hip
snap is more of a roll than a snap, and I have to fight the urge to get the
head out of the water first. While I'm very comfortable under water (many
years of snorkling), the right sequence for rolling has so far eluded me.
Probably pool courses over the winter will help me get closer...


"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
news:Q2YHe.3627$b91.2544@trndny06...
Michael Daly wrote:
On 2-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:


I haven't had any pain problems with shorter paddles, so maybe the
problem
is that I kept the feet locked into position for too long without
relieving
pressure on the heels. However, I am curious what adjustments the
experienced paddlers make when they are doing paddles of 5 to 8 hours at
a
time.


Don't lock yourself into the kayak. You should be able to move your
legs and feet around and it's a good idea to change leg positions
occasionally. If your feet are big and the kayak deck is low, you could
be jamming them in and putting excessive pressure on the heels - my WW
kayak is like that and I don't have the room to change it (footpegs are
all the way forward). Move the footpegs forward a bit and point your
toes
forward more if that's the case.

I don't make any adjustments that are related to time spent in the kayak.
Mine is set up for comfort all the time.

Mike's advice is right on the money. A common beginner mistake is to set
the footpegs for too tight of a fit. A simple test is that you should be
able to straighten your legs with your feet on the foot pegs. That will
feel a bit loose when paddling with your legs bent, but all you need to do
is flex your feet forward to lock yourself into the boat when necessary.

On 3-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:

I haven't yet mastered keeping the
sweep paddle on the surface - it keeps on diving, probably because my hip
snap is more of a roll than a snap, and I have to fight the urge to get the
head out of the water first.

Most paddlers who have diving paddle problems in a sweep roll are using
strength rather than technique. Women tend to be better at this, since
they usually have less strength and are more likely to rely on technique.

You have to emphasize sweeping the paddle and not pulling the paddle. You
probably aren't even trying to pull but are doing it instinctively. Since
you're comfortable upside down, try sculling the paddle and emphasize
keeping it at the surface. Then use the scull to bring your body to the
surface. Once you've done this for a while, you should be able to sweep
without the paddle diving - a sweep is just a single scull.

If you have trouble sculling, that's a sign that you need to work on paddle
control. Sculling is the best way to learn that.

Mike

"PG" wrote in
:
PS. Since almost all my paddling to date has been solo, I've practiced
the wet exits, and re-entries with the paddle float and while the
result is not pretty, it works. In rolling, however, I haven't yet
mastered keeping the sweep paddle on the surface - it keeps on diving,
probably because my hip snap is more of a roll than a snap, and I have
to fight the urge to get the head out of the water first.

A couple of things to try...

Make sure that your paddle is on the surface before you start to sweep.
When your paddle is parallel with the boat push it completely out of the
water.

Cock your waterside wrist forward. That will produce a climbing angle on
the blade which will cause it to stay near the surface.

A hip roll rather than snap will work fine if you're doing more of a sweep
roll than a C-to-C. In fact, it'll probably help you keep your head down
than if you're doing a vigorous snap.

Just concentrating more on rolling the boat over with your hips and keeping
your head in the water might help you forget about what the paddle blade is
doing. Cock your wrist forward as you sweep and the paddle blade will be
there to provide the support you need.

A little followup on the foot peg adjustments - I tried your suggestions and
after a bit of experimenting, found a position that allowed my legs to be
almost straight, but still sufficient to allow me to brace when I needed to.
So far no more heel pain. However, now with my legs more straight, my
stomach muscles (such as they are) are complaining. I keep telling them
it'll be good for them!

Haven't had the opportunity to try the helpful suggestions on rolling
technique... maybe this weekend if higher-order priorities don't intervene
(such as yard-care, taxi duty, Mr. fixit role-playing, etc.).


"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
news:Q2YHe.3627$b91.2544@trndny06...
Michael Daly wrote:
On 2-Aug-2005, "PG" wrote:


I haven't had any pain problems with shorter paddles, so maybe the
problem
is that I kept the feet locked into position for too long without
relieving
pressure on the heels. However, I am curious what adjustments the
experienced paddlers make when they are doing paddles of 5 to 8 hours at
a
time.


Don't lock yourself into the kayak. You should be able to move your
legs and feet around and it's a good idea to change leg positions
occasionally. If your feet are big and the kayak deck is low, you could
be jamming them in and putting excessive pressure on the heels - my WW
kayak is like that and I don't have the room to change it (footpegs are
all the way forward). Move the footpegs forward a bit and point your
toes
forward more if that's the case.

I don't make any adjustments that are related to time spent in the kayak.
Mine is set up for comfort all the time.

Mike's advice is right on the money. A common beginner mistake is to set
the footpegs for too tight of a fit. A simple test is that you should be
able to straighten your legs with your feet on the foot pegs. That will
feel a bit loose when paddling with your legs bent, but all you need to do
is flex your feet forward to lock yourself into the boat when necessary.

PG wrote:
A little followup on the foot peg adjustments - I tried your suggestions and
after a bit of experimenting, found a position that allowed my legs to be
almost straight, but still sufficient to allow me to brace when I needed to.
So far no more heel pain. However, now with my legs more straight, my
stomach muscles (such as they are) are complaining. I keep telling them
it'll be good for them!

Paddling with bent legs tends to work the hip flexors more and paddling
with straight legs uses the abs more. When I switch from my low volume
boats to a larger boat and have to paddle with bent knees, the pain in
my hip flexors is excrutiating.