And this year was about redemption at this race. I didn’t fare so well last year, I swam a lot so I’m proud to say that not only did I stay dry this time but I also felt a lot better during my races than I have in recent memory. I started a new supplement after last weekend’s Outrigger Nationals called Vitargo and with the guidance of Dr. Susan and team we are going to see what happens to my training, my performance and especially with my Type 1 Diabetes by increasing my carbohydrate intake. I love Science! 🙂
Anyways, after roadtripping to Van in a van with Gypsy and Matt, I got to catch up with amazing people that I met at this race last year and also met some new folk that I’m super stoked will be in Vernon in a couple weeks.
Racing wise, I was 2nd all round. In the 5km 14′ race. In the 3km (which thanks to the superbuoy was actually 3.6km) 12’6′ race. In the sprint race. And 2nd in the relay race as well with my wicked team of Peter and David. I played it safe with my buoy turns this weekend since they burned me here last year and it paid off. I was able to set up wide and cut inside on the end of turns and stay away from a lot of the carnage that was going on.
This past weekend was the Howe Sound Iron Outrigger Race which served as the Canadian Outrigger National Championships in beautiful Gibsons, BC.
Saturday was the OC6 (6 person outrigger canoe) race. It was listed as a 26km course but thanks to my team’s amazing steersperson, Christine, our route was only 23km. It was an exciting race right from the start! There was an island about 250m from the start that all teams had to turn around before starting their journey up the shoreline. With 14 boats on the line, we knew things would be tight coming into that turn but we were not expecting to be cut off by an experienced crew beside us as they were pinched as well. Our Kelowna boat stopped in order to prevent the boat that cut us off from going into the rocks and also running into two other boats. This meant that we had to restart after the team ahead got straightened out and out of our way. From here we had to play catch up. We knew that we had a lot of distance ahead and stuck to what we’re good at … making every stroke count.
First we passed my former club from Toronto, Wai Nui before making our way past the Comox women. That left three boats ahead of us. Following the buoy turn at the 6km mark we managed to pull in the False Creek women and make the pass. We spent the rest of the race chasing down Gorge from Victoria (team that we had to stop for). Words can’t even express how proud I am of my Kelowna teammates for digging deep and coming within 5 seconds in a 2 hour 10 minute race. We were 32 seconds behind the first place crew for a third place finish.
This is what 5 seconds looks likeReceiving our awards for 3rd at Nationals
Sunday’s small boat race was exciting on so many levels. My good friend Ron let me use his Ehukai which is the same boat that I’ll be getting next month. Lolo Wiki (Crazy Fast) did not disappoint! Though she did throw me into the ocean twice during the race, I still managed to reel in a lot of paddlers to the point where there was only one other OC1 ahead of me. I almost had him before the second swim but alas, I was the top woman.
Winning the Pulling Water Smallboat Challenge, aka Nationals!She was crazy fast on this day
I attended this race last year and had an absolute blast! I met so many amazing people, got to sleep in a park on the waterfront and then race with many of the best paddlers in the Pacific Northwest. Scott and Kim totally outdid themselves this year with a bigger and better event for the 3rd Annual Semihamoo SUP Classic.
I picked up a new race fin for my board on Saturday afternoon before making my way down to the waterfront to check out the festival. There were vendors, live music and lots of yummy looking food. I had time to kill before dinner at Uli’s and ended up having a nap on a park bench in the shade only to wake up to the train blowing its horn right in time for dinner 🙂
The 10km race was up first on Saturday. I raced my 14′ THINK XoR with my Quickblade Magic. After getting caught in the start line chaos last year, I decided to start wide. I had clear water for a lot of the race which made reeling in the guys ahead a little less exhausting. The course had three arms, one of which took us out around a marker that indicates the 49th parallel. In the final couple hundred meters was a zigzag that we had to go around before heading into the finish. After the last buoy I managed to pass one last racer in front of me. I finished as the second woman.
Afterwards I was debating about doing the 5km race. After having a recovery drink and feeling a little less beat up I figured “Why Not!” Any day on the water is a good day, so why waste the beautiful day. The 5km course was designed to be “spectator friendly” and to have “a lot of carnage”. In other words, there were a lot of buoy turns very close together. I’m proud to say that I managed to stay on my board for the whole race, avoiding most of the drama at the turns worked in my favour as I managed to pass a few boys in this race too and finished as the first woman.
People are starting to post up their pictures so keep checking Facebook for pics.
Oh, and to top it all off, aside from the sweet tiki mug and hand carved paddles, I got to come home with an amazing door prize ….
Rick and I got to head back to where we got married to celebrate our anniversary, the cottage.
It was an amazing week visiting with friends, racing and spending quality time with my parents and Rick. The time always goes by too quick when I’m back home with so many people to catch up with and visit.
Luckily with a race each weekend I was able to hit most people within my old paddling circles in Toronto. Thank you to the wonderful folks at Wai Nui O’Kanaka for making me feel welcome and to Wendy for letting me use her OC1 to win the women’s race and take home the golden cookie.
The second weekend held the Eastern Canadian SUP Championships. This is a race that both excited me but also scared the crap out of me due to the shear distance of it. Even though I had completed this race last year and have done the same distance in other races, it is still daunting for me to think about racing 15km on a SUP. On a OC or a marathon canoe, no problem! I managed to get a few long paddles in prior to leaving Kelowna and a couple 10km ones while at the cottage on my Naish 1 inflatable so I knew I could make the distance.
My phrase going into the day was “just keep moving forward”. The weather turned mild and it was a rainy morning. The course had been changed from a downwind point to point to an out and back style of race to due weather/safety concerns. Much to my surprise we were to start with the downwind section first, turn at a buoy and return into the head wind. This would have been easier to handle if there hadn’t been waves coming from the open water as we paddled up and down the shoreline. The women started 10 minutes ahead of the men. I had a clean start with good acceleration. I settled into my grove pretty quick. There was one other gal, Ariel, that was out front with me. She had a bit of a lead at the end of the river as we turned onto the lake. I settled in on wash behind her, working my way closer wave by wave. Around the 3km mark, I found that I was catching some waves and felt that I could pass, so I made my move on the outside, settled on side wash briefly before catching two waves and moving ahead. The waves from the lake were growing and making riding the waves from behind more difficult. It was one of these waves that must have caught Ariel as I heard her fall in. I asked if she was alright but she had headphones on, so when I turned and saw that she was getting back on her board and standing up, I knew she was ok.
The waves grew as did my worry that I had no clue where the buoy was! I really wasn’t expecting to be leading the race and thought that the men would pass well before the buoy. I fell in as I was trying to look around for the buoy and a wave from the side caught me. I knew that it was supposed to be inside a pier so once I spotted the pier and the gps distance seemed about right, I aimed for the middle of it hoping that the buoy would appear. Since most SUP races have giant buoys that are usually near 5ft high, that’s what I was looking for. It wasn’t until I saw a flash of bright orange in between the waves that it dawned on me that I might actually beat the boys to the turn. As I approached the buoy that was right in my line, I could see the men’s leaders, Larry Cain (1984 Olympic C1 Gold Medalist) and Tomas Buday Jr, closely followed by Ariel, coming up from the shoreline. Larry and Tomas rounded the buoy just in front of me but I maintained my lead on Ariel.
Into the head wind, my phrase for the day kept me going, “just keep moving”. The waves from Lake Ontario continued to grow as the rain came down. My toes were numb from the cold water but also from gripping on to the board, my left calf was cramped. As I would try to relieve the pressure on my calf or toes, I would lose stability and have to do a strong brace or in two cases, fall in again. More of the men started to pass as I chased Larry and Tomas back to the river. The men all race on 14’ boards while the women are restricted to the 12’6 so it was not a surprise that the men were gaining ground. As I rounded the corner into the river, I managed to catch a few bumps and pick up the pace for the finish. I could hear Rick calling for me to pick it up even more as I approached the dock. I also saw my mom and dad there with the timing crew.
It felt so good to come across as the first woman and claim the Eastern Canadian SUP Championship title. After taking 4th last year, this was a huge win for me. I have no doubt that if reigning World and Canadian Champ Lina was there this year that she would have given many of the men a run for their money, luckily for me she was off in Germany winning another World Cup title.
Eastern Canadian SUP Women’s Champ
Reflecting afterwards, there is no way that I could have done that race a year ago. I did not have the board control and stamina to paddle a course like that. Goes to show what time on the water can do!
So Rick and I have been here in Calgary for the past few days as I have been on the World Sprints race course with my Open Women’s 1 crew and out in V1 as well. Competition starts tomorrow with my V1 heat followed by my V12 heat.
This World Championships I’m seeing with a different perspective. I’m not just a no-name like I was in 2008. Or a medal hungry gal that gave up life in Ontario to pursue a dream in 2010. This year I was set on individual gold; that gold would be the ultimate determinant of success. Little did I know that watching six master women grow as a crew, as paddlers and as individuals would inspire me to think more about my Open 1 crew then about myself and to take pride in how the masters girls perform.
Watching the girls experience this event has given me a fresh perspective. It’s refreshing to watch them relish in the festivities and still focus on their jobs in the boat. They are helping me remember the fun social side of paddling which often gets overshadowed by the paddle-tics (politics). All year they have been inspiring me. From early mornings in the gym with lots of giggles to shopping with the group in mind and getting Cdn flags painted on our toes.
No matter what happens on the race course for me over the next five days, I know that when I get home to Kelowna I will be happy with the event. Win or lose I prepared the best I could. The accident on July 13th definitely made me re-evaluate what I wanted to accomplish here in Calgary. Going from ‘two a day’ workouts to ‘two a day’ treatments was a big adjustment. I have not been publicly honest regarding the extent of my condition, only those closest to me know what I’m going through. No matter what I’m going to “give my everything” and whatever happens happens. As long as I paddle the best that I can and do my best, that’s all I can ask for.
Check out my old BLOG for more info about the Kelowna Experience at the World Sprints as well as check out Kelowna Outrigger website for updates on our paddler’s results!
Usual stuff:
I’m loving my job here in Kelowna but still miss my Boylen kids even though it’s been a few years. Thanks to those that have caught up with me on facebook and twitter (@type1kanu).
Over the winter I was named coach of Kelowna Outrigger Club. We started the year with some members of the club doing Tues/Thurs Dryland training at Okanagan Peak Performance for three months and many that continued on in the gym as we hit the water with regular practices in April. Currently we run two programs: Novice/Learn to Paddle and Race Groups.
I have been using my KayakPro Mulitstroke since the start of the the new year as well to train new and experienced paddlers (as well as myself). This is a great training tool as I can manipulate a paddler’s body and paddle to give them the feel of where their body should be and what it should be doing at each phase of the stroke. Also it’s handy on those cold days when I just don’t feel like getting cold, soggy and wet!
I’ve had the pleasure of running paddling clinics in Penticton and Kamloops already this season as well as a training camp in Kelowna. If you or your team is looking for a guest coach or a clinic, I can definitely fit that in to my schedule!
Also, Levas paddles are available in the west! Marathon paddles (8″ blade width) and outrigger (9″ – 10″ blade widths available) blades in stock. The lightest, strongest full carbon blade you’ll find with palm grip and an unbelievable catch! You have to try it to believe. Contact me for a free demo!
