Overview — Ohana Paddle Club

SUP Race Prep — 13-Week Overview

This plan is designed to get you to the start line of the July race feeling prepared, fit, and confident — whether you're racing 2, 5, or 8 miles. It assumes you're already paddling regularly and are comfortable on the water, but want a structured approach to building race-specific fitness over 13 weeks.

The plan uses periodized training — a structured approach that varies the type and intensity of work across phases rather than doing the same thing every week. You build an aerobic base first, then introduce harder interval work, then shift to sustained race-pace efforts as the race approaches, then reduce load in the final two weeks so you arrive fresh. Each phase builds on the one before it.

Most sessions are solo and self-guided. Weekend group classes with Michael and Shirley provide coaching, technique work, and shared structure at key points in the program. The Tuesday group paddle can substitute for a solo mid-week session whenever you attend.

Sessions are prescribed using 5 heart rate training zones, described on the Training Zones page. A heart rate monitor makes it easy to track your zones precisely, but you can and should also learn to regulate effort by body feel and breath intensity — over time this becomes just as reliable.

Phase 1 — Base (wks 1–3) Phase 2 — Build (wks 4–8) Phase 3 — Peak (wks 9–11) Phase 4 — Taper (wks 12–13)

	Wk	Dates	Phase	Weekend session	Mid-week session	Land	Vol
Phase 1 — Aerobic base & zone familiarity
	1 May 2–9	Sat May 2 – Fri May 9	Base	Group classZone calibration · all zones	Z2 Steady60 min	Mobility + activation 30–35 min · 2 sets	Low
	2 May 10–16	Sat May 10 – Fri May 16	Base	Z2 Long75 min	Z2 Steady60 min	Mobility + activation 30 min · 2 sets	Low+
	3 May 17–23	Sat May 17 – Fri May 23	Base	Z2 Long80 min	Z2 + Z3 intervals2×5 min Z3 · 55–60 min	Mobility + band row 30–35 min · 2 sets	Mod
Phase 2 — Interval training & race-pace introduction
	4 May 23–29	Sat May 23 – Fri May 29	Build	Group classZ4 pyramid intervals	Z2 Moderate65 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	Mod
	5 May 30–Jun 5	Sat May 30 – Fri Jun 5	Build	Weekend classPivot turns + race technique	Z4 intervals4×5 min · Z2 recovery · 60–65 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	Mod+
	6 Jun 6–12	Sat Jun 6 – Fri Jun 12	Build	Z2 Moderate70 min	Z4 intervals4×8 min · Z2 recovery · 65–70 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	High
	7 Jun 13–19	Sat Jun 13 – Fri Jun 19	Build	Z2 Moderate70 min	Z3 sustained + Z4 finish20 min Z3 · 60 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	Mod+
	8 Jun 20–26	Sat Jun 20 – Fri Jun 26	Build	Weekend classPivot turns + race technique	Z2 Easy50–60 min	Mobility only 20–25 min · 2 sets	Reduced
Phase 3 — Sustained effort & race simulation
	9 Jun 27–Jul 3	Sat Jun 27 – Fri Jul 3	Peak	Group classPractice race · ~50 min continuous	Z2 long + Z3 blocks2×10 min Z3 · 85 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	High
	10 Jul 4–10	Sat Jul 4 – Fri Jul 10	Peak	Z3 sustained + Z4 finish40 min Z3 · 70 min	Z2 + Z3 blocks2×8 min Z3 · 70 min	Conditioning + mobility 30–35 min · 2 sets	Peak
	11 Jul 11–17	Sat Jul 11 – Fri Jul 17	Peak	Z2 moderateOptional Z3 blocks · 70 min	Z3 sustained + Z4 finish25 min Z3 · 55 min	Mobility only 20–25 min · 2 sets	Mod+
Phase 4 — Taper & race weekend
	12 Jul 18–24	Sat Jul 18 – Fri Jul 24	Taper	Weekend classFinal race prep + pivot turns	Z1–Z2 Easy30–40 min	Gentle mobility 15–20 min · 1 set	Low
	13 Jul 25–26	Sat Jul 25 – Sun Jul 26	Race	🏁 Race weekend			Min

Distance modifiers: 2-mile — shorten Z4 efforts by ~30%, compress peak to wks 9–10. · 8-mile — extend long Z2 paddles +15–20 min in wks 6–10, add one long-distance session per peak week. · Tuesday group paddles substitute for whichever solo session falls nearest that week — don't double up.

13-Week SUP Race Prep