After rigging my board and hydration system for the Round the Rock SUP race a few weeks ago, I had about an hour to wander around. I took advantage of the time to check out other racers’ boards and paddles, any neat systems they had rigged on their boards, what footwear they chose and how they dressed. This is part of the fun of entering a new sport: meeting the new community and coming to understand the culture.

One thing that jumped out me was that I saw almost no GPS’s. This registered as slightly bizarre, my coming from a community of racers who might consider going home rather than race without what has become their 6th sense.

As I mulled over this absence of GPS’s, I went and sat on the grass near my race-ready SUP. Within a few minutes three different groups walked by my board and, looking at my GPS, made comments like, “Whoa… they must be hardcore!”

Whether I am racing or training, paddling a SUP, outrigger, sea kayak or surfski, there is a waterproof GPS secured to the deck of my boat where I can read it.

As a training or racing tool, a GPS can offer you a ton of information.

Stroke Efficiency: Play around with your stroke, try a faster cadence or a slower, more powerful stroke, try what you think are good entries or exits and watch your GPS. Which is faster?

Strategy: Are you fighting the current or is it helping you along? Should you be hugging the shore, or paddling in the middle of the channel? Watching your speed can give you an edge by giving you the information you need to you choose the fastest lines.

Weeds: Did you pick up some weeds, or did you ‘hit the wall’? If you see you speed suddenly plummet, you probably picked up a seaweed salad.

Distance: When you are on a 13-mile race course you have never seen before, it will feel like you are out there forever! Especially on a SUP averaging less than 4 MPH! Knowing how long you have been out there, what speed you are averaging, how many miles you have gone and have left to go is all invaluable information. Take that 411 and decide how hard to push, when to eat, when to back off, when to fall into a comfortable pace you can hold for the next couple hours beating into a headwind, and when the finish line is close enough that you can ramp it up and bring it home!

Interval Training: I often do workouts that include intervals or going a certain distance where my goal is an end average speed of, say, 7.0 MPH. My GPS, once again, gives me all the info I need including current speed, average speed, time on the water and distance. Or, whatever I set it to display.

There is so much more you can do with your GPS: download your workout or race info to your computer, download maps, enter GPS coordinates, some have a heart rate monitors, etc, etc. My point is: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE HARDCORE TO USE A GPS! Think of it as an incredibly helpful, brutally honest training partner who is going to make you a better paddler.