It is important to note that other than the resources provided and the Facebook Live Q&A, Sam cannot provide any individualised coaching. This is due to his commitment to his athletes that he coaches full time on his comprehensive training plan. These plans has been created to ensure that all athletes of all abilities have access to the information they need to make the most of their Coast to Coast campaign at an incredibly low cost. You be able to talk with Sam and ask as many questions as you like during the free monthly Facebook live in a private Facebook group.

Please limit this. Feel free to show others what you have been doing occasionally over your shoulder while viewing on your phone app or laptop. Certainly no screenshots on social media. As simple or complex as you may find some of the workouts, SMC needs your help to protect his work. You cannot load the program to another account and therefore only one person can sync their training to the program. If your team mate wants an individual account with the same training program so they can sync and record their training they should contact Sam to purchase one. The programs are a very affordable price. More on copyright in your resources files.

Ensure you have a high quality heart rate strap. I recommend the Garmin HRM Pro. Ensure you follow the instructions that come with the strap. Typical mistakes are:

1)The strap isn’t making good contact due to too loose or no moisture (wet your strap and chest lightly before each session).

2) You are not cleaning the strap. Rinse after each session and scrub with soap every 10 sessions, especially if in salt water.

3) The battery is low. If replacing the battery be very careful and ensure you leave the battery out for 15mins prior to new one to allow the unit to reset. I do not recommend wrist based heart rate (optical sensors on GPS watches). Wrist based Heart Rate is only accurate around the house, NOT during training.

Rest! You must let your body recover. See if there are any key sessions that you may have missed, especially ones that you know you need the most e.g you have insufficient river kayaking skills or rock running skills and missed a river or rock session, or you have missed a long endurance session. Look ahead in your calendar and see if there are lower priority sessions you can replace with the ones you missed. In some cases you just have to move on, forget about the sessions you missed and just focus on getting back on track!

You need to become competent in the kayak you have bought on grade II rapids. Show good, safe lines and maintain control. Show that you are capable of self-rescuing yourself in a rapid, that your wear correct gear and use appropriate equipment. Show that you are sensible, take the right amount of safety gear and emergency gear with you and make safe decisions. This is all covered on a Grade II Certificate course. However, some people will not become competent at paddling grade II rapids by the end of the course. This is common when learning something new and 3-4 days is generally not enough. Practice is what you need, more time in your boat on rapids. Then, prove your skills and you will be signed off! You should do a grade II course ASAP once you have decided you are doing the event, the sooner the better. Anyone who has done the race before will tell you they wish they had learned to kayak earlier and spent more time on the river.