2016 World Sprints here I come!

October 13, 2015Coaching, Kelowna Paddle Centre, Racingleanne

The stage is now set for redemption.

On Sunday, 10 ladies from the Kelowna Paddle Centre (KPC) travelled to the Canadian Outrigger Racing Association’s National Team Time Trials to see how they stacked up against the rest of the country and qualify for World Sprints in Australia May 2016. It was a beautiful day with sun shining and blue sky.

Before all the action started, we were on the docks rigging boats under beautiful sunny skies.

The V1 races were up first for the women and OC1 for the guys. I felt good going into the day. It was great to see all kinds of friends as people warmed up and were getting ready for their heats. I mistimed my warm-up so didn’t quite get as much as I had planned on but once I hit the water it was game time. I was relaxed but focused. I knew that the boats for the trials were easier to steer than ours at KPC.

Going into this weekend I knew that my biggest competition was going to be the clock. Early this year I set some goal times that I wanted to achieve. Coming down the course I felt fast, strong but didn’t even notice how close the finish was and missed part of my race plan. Clocked in with a 2:30.18, second fastest V1 time of the day (only beaten by a guy).

I had the chance to cheer on the rest of my KPC girls before paddling again in the OC1. I think I had more fun cheering them on then I did my own paddling! With hitting my goal time in the V1 I was ready to lay it down on the OC1. I knew that I’d have company at the front as our KPC manager and former National Team Marathon K1 paddler Tamlyn Bohm was in my heat. The cockpit C-Lions were uncomfortable with inconsistent steering but I paddled the race according to my race plan and even had some fun opening the throttle for a sprint into the finish line for a time of 2:33.17.

Overall the Kelowna women dominated! Open women – KPC ladies were 6 of the top 7 times and only 2 of us were actually open age! Masters women – KPC had 7 of the top 11. And our Senior Masters gals made up 3 of the top 6. I can’t begin to express how proud I am of every single one of these girls. They worked hard, put in the time on the water and it paid off! Now they have benchmarks and the experience to take into the trials for Tahiti 2018.

As for me, it’s time to find some funding to help with my expenses for Australia 2016. If you can help a girl reach her dream of being the fastest paddler in the world, contact me 🙂

Kal Classic – 2015 Edition

September 8, 2015Racingleanne

Wow, Kalavida Surf Shop put on one hell of a show this year!

With a new set up on the beach and a new format for the Wiki Holo sprint course, it was a blast (killer but a blast)! Since I’d been spending most of my time in outrigger this summer, I was quite nervous going into this weekend. A couple young girls keep getting faster and better and had been pushing me in every race this season and this weekend was no different!

The Wiki Holo had us racing a lap then a 5 minute rest after the first paddler crossed the line before doing a second lap, followed by another 5 minute rest after the first paddler finished again and then for the third round we did a lap with a short beach run followed immediately by another lap. Though my starts were pretty bad, I managed to make up ground on the first buoy turn and second one too if I was still back. I finished the first two rounds in second place behind superstar Shannon Bell. By the third round I was cooked, finishing in fourth which put me third overall for the Wiki Holo “points wise”.

Taking the inside line on the buoy turn to move ahead

Guess I dismounted a little early ... — Guess I dismounted a little early …

Day two brought the infamous Kal Lake crossing, 16.5km. We had high hopes of a downwind run as we got ready for the start as the wind was picking up from the south. I finally had a good start and was with Shannon all the way to buoy turn before she started to pull away in the waves.

Avery and I worked together for the first couple km on Kal Lake until the wind was strong enough to surf a few. I managed to surf away from her but veteran paddler Debbie Chadwick pulled ahead of both of us. The wind quickly died and it was a flat water race the remainder of the race. I spent the next hour trying to reel her in but with no luck. I finished third with a time a couple minutes faster than last year. But unlike last year, I felt good throughout the full two hours and even felt good the next day! The two third place finishes left me a second overall for the Queen of Kalamalka behind Shannon.

I’m stoked with my racing over the weekend. I have no doubt that if I spend more time on the SUP and improve my fitness, I can continue to get closer to the top women of Canadian SUP (who also happen to be top contenders on the World SUP stage as well).

I couldn’t have raced strong all weekend without my Vitargo. If you haven’t tried this stuff, you need to!

Echo Island Challenge

August 23, 2015Coaching, Kelowna Paddle Centre, Racingleanne

What a day for Kelowna Paddle Centre, with 42 paddlers and lots of family and friends there to cheer and support! All crews raced hard, challenged themselves and for many, conquered their first race!
I am so proud of how each of the Kelowna Girls crew! They stepped up to the challenge. Some of these gals are seasoned race veterans and for a couple this was their longest race yet.
An aggressive pace was set right from the start and we maintained contact with the strong Kelowna Master’s crew throughout the race. At 7km we were about 1:30 behind and came across the line (16.5km) just 2:36 behind. Each of gals dug deep, I could see, feel (and hear) the effort that they were putting in every time I called a push. These girls are hungry for more racing, I love it!

Kelowna's Open Women — Kelowna’s Open Women

Rick's longest race yet! — Rick’s longest race yet!

Gorge – Downwind heaven!

July 27, 2015Diabetes, Racingleanne

I just got home from one of the most fantastic weeks of paddling that I’ve had (and there have been a lot!). I had the privilege of spending a week down in the Hood River, OR area paddling the Columbia River Gorge. This place is a downwind mecca! #wavesfordays Rick and I got down to Home Valley, WA just as the sun was going down on Sunday night. Got our tent set up and crashed. Monday morning started with a stroke clinic with the one and only Johnny Puakea. It was great to work with him again and hear his insights into technique and of course ideas of how to make me go faster. It’s still sinking in some of the points he shared that have evolved since I last worked with him in 2013. After that, it was time for the downwind runs to start!

As the week went on, I got to paddle with lots of people from Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Seattle and all over. It was great to visit with old friends and make new ones as well. Sleeping in a tent for the first time in a lot of years worked out better than I could have hoped. Thank goodness for all my Diabetes supplies as an adhesive covering for my infusion sites/sensor sites worked as a great patch on my air mattress 🙂

The main reason I was at the Gorge was to paddle in the Gorge Paddling Festival’s North American Downwind Championships. The organizers had a wind window for the race and based on the forecasts moved the race ahead a day. So Thursday was the big day. Sadly the turnout for outriggers wasn’t near what it hopefully will be in the future but the surfskis started only a few minutes behind so there were lots of boats on the water to battle with.

I’m super stoked with my race, I changed my line from previous runs based on what I had learned and heard from others and managed to pass a few boats that way. I caught as many runs as I could but there was a stretch where it completely died out. But on the other hand, there were sections where I had some surfski guys doing double takes as I flew by. I finished as the top woman and seventh overall in outrigger.

The next day was the Wildside Relay where I teamed up with Vancouver powerhouse, Rob Magus. Again, the wind was kicking and I had some of the best rides of my career coming through Swell City. I didn’t want to pull in to the relay exchange as the rides were so much fun! Rob and I were the top OC1 mixed team and 8th overall in OC1.

It was sad to leave on Sunday and go back to work but I will get back down there next summer to defend my title and hopefully bring a ton of paddlers from Kelowna Paddle Centre with me!

Canadian Surfski Championships

July 19, 2015Kelowna Paddle Centre, Racingleanne

Another fabulous event put on by Bob and the great folks at Deep Cove Outdoors! The wind was kickin and the competition was stronger than last year’s inaugural event. I had a much better idea of what to expect this year. I was even granted a “special” yellow number thanks to my win last year. This allowed me on the front line for the start which meant less nasty wash to deal with.

Though it was my Epic V12 that crossed the line as the first Canadian Woman this year, unfortunately I was in my Epic V10 Sport as I had loaned my V12 to fellow Kelowna Paddle Centre athlete Tamlyn Bohm. She rocked it and beat me by a minute putting Kelowna 1/2 on the Canadian Woman’s podium! Next year we hope to bring more paddlers from Kelowna!

I got to meet a couple great guys from the Vancouver Sun, below is a video they did on the event. Click the link to find the page with the video. Piece from the Vancouver Sun

The Stanley Edge

Competence, Confidence and Fun

2016 World Sprints here I come!

Kal Classic – 2015 Edition

Echo Island Challenge

Gorge – Downwind heaven!

Canadian Surfski Championships