Driving home through Washington State I thought I felt good until I had to do a 3-point turn and realized that my arms hurt too much to spin the wheel and my back was screaming when I had to turn around to shoulder check.
I hope I'm not the only one who felt like that after this weekend's races. First event of the season for me and we had a great turnout of top local paddlers and not just one race but two distance races and two sessions of multiple heat knockout sprint races.
10km buoy course on Saturday morning, 4 heats of 200m sprints Saturday afternoon, 7.5km buoy course on Sunday morning and 3 heats of 100m sprints on Sunday afternoon. It was a great way to kick off the season and great to see so many paddlers back out on the water.
It's definitely a testament to the growth of the sport when we start seeing that many paddlers in good shape this early in our season. Maybe it was the relatively dry, mild winter we had and lack of snow on the mountains but it seems like more guys have been paddling and paddling hard throughout the winter.
I felt the benefits of my early start to the season at this weekends race. The extra attention I put onto general fitness and cross training definitely helped me get through 2 days of multiple races. The on-water training through some cold, wet ugly days definitely helped me hold off a few really strong paddlers (with some help from some capsizing OC's and swimming Matt Parkers)
Huge credit to Mathew Abbott who was able to squeeze out two victories on thee distance races this weekend. We had some great back and forth position changes on both days and it made for a fun and exciting finish. Both races though we benefited from a quick start and a bit of bad luck for the racers just behind us. The 10km race saw a previously named paddler fall at the first buoy turn creating some mayhem at the corner allowing Matt and I to get a clear break off the start which me managed to hold for 10km with Matt outsprinting me at the finish. The 7.5km race featured a mass start with sprint kayaks, sprint canoes, outriggers, sups and surf skis. It was mayhem, but again due to a quick start and a bit of luck I managed to stay ahead of a capsizing OC1 which held back a few of my competitors.
It's too bad when a race is almost decided on the first buoy because of carnage but that's racing. It really shows how much importance you should place on how you start your race. Being even 1 board length ahead of the majority of the pack reduces so much chop and gives you a clear lane to paddle in. Starts become to crucial in SUP because catching up to a paddler in front of you is very difficult. Unlike a running race or a cycling race, your sprint speed on a SUP is not considerably faster than your race or cruising speed and so closing gaps is difficult if not impossible.
So practice your starts! and if you need or want help I'm always happy to offer my tips, tricks and suggestions at the next race or through a private lesson.
Great weekend of racing and I only have to wait 2 more days until the next one. Our Tuesday Night Races in Deep Cove start up this Tuesday April 8th and will run every Tuesday until September so come on out and get racing!
The races are always fun but I can't say enough about how great the whole SUP community is here in BC and Washington. I've made some amazing friends who are also wicked competitors but the vibe is still so positive and fun. I cant say enough about how great it is to race within such a fun, positive and excited community.
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