chargelife » surfski racing http://chargelife.com Brandon, Heather & Hayden Storm Nelson’s Adventure Blog Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:36:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Brandon, Heather & Hayden Storm Nelson’s Adventure Blog chargelife no Brandon, Heather & Hayden Storm Nelson’s Adventure Blog chargelife » surfski racing http://chargelife.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://chargelife.com/category/surfski-racing Ski to Sea Countdown!!! Are YOU Ready to THROW DOWN? http://chargelife.com/2011/05/ski-to-sea-countdown-are-you-ready-to-throw-down.html http://chargelife.com/2011/05/ski-to-sea-countdown-are-you-ready-to-throw-down.html#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 05:16:47 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1729 There are three weeks to go until Ski to Sea RACE DAY! Are you ready? Have you gotten your miles in? Pumped iron in the gym or torn it up on the trail for some cross training? Maybe entered a few races this spring? Then you are right where you want to be! Bring it on!

But, there is more! Come race day, if you are racing for 1st or 301st, when you are in a showdown with the racer next to you, you are going to throw down with all you have! And, there are always a few extra things you can do to have the edge you need to have the race of lifetime!

WHAT more could I POSSIBLY do, you ask!? With three weeks to go, this is the time to fine tune every aspect of your race. The kayak leg of the Ski to Sea is not just kayaking. It is a multi-sport endeaver where seconds or even minutes can be lost anywhere along the way.

Your race begins with a challenge that takes every bit of hand-eye coordination and timing you have. Your mountain biker comes in hot! You have your hand out, ready to receive the timing card. They throw, you miss! You are on your hand and knees, crawling to pick up the card. More racers come in. They hand-off cleanly. You fall back 5 spots, and you are still 1/4 mile from your kayak!!!

Talk to your mountain biker ahead of time about the hand-off! Practice, visualize. It really can save you time (and embarrassment!!!).

OK. You have the timing chip. Now, the RUN. Run, you ask??? Yes, now you run 1/4 mile down the walkway at Zuanich to where your boat is waiting on the grass. How do you pace this? The racer who sprints ALLLLL out typically gets in his boat red-faced, out of breath, muscles burning. Not a great way to start a 5-mile paddle!

Practice it. Pace it. Know how fast you can go and still begin the paddle comfortably.

Oh yeah… you have to carry your boat and paddle down a steep ramp, lower it into the water, then get in from a somewhat high dock and THEN you can begin your paddle. Another place to make a plan, practice and look like a champ! Do you want help with your boat? You can have someone carry the stern for you. Find that person before the race. Have them wait by your boat. When they see you running down the path, they should be ready! Or, if you want to carry it alone, practice practice practice!!!

Congratulations!!! You are finally on the water!!!

The kayak leg of the S2S is a zig zag zig of a course. If the winds are coming from the south as they typically do, I like to think of it as an upwind, downwind, upwind leg. This helps me chose my strategy and pace. Power into the winds then relax, recover and try to catch some surf on the downwind.

 Chose what strategy works best  for you. To do this, you should have an estimate of how long you will be on the water. Times range from 38 minutes for an elite racer to 2 hours for a recreational paddler. What kind of pace can you hold for that length of time? Do you need hydration or calories of some sort while you are out on the course?

OK, you have completed the 5-mile course with flying colors! You passed several kayaks, moving your team up 3 positions in their class! Now, the final leg!! You reach Marine Park. 1000′s of fans are cheering. The crux here, is gracefully exiting your boat and running up the rocky beach with wobbly legs and a numb behind and a heart rate of 180 from that final sprint you did to pass one last racer.

Do you know how to exit your boat? Do you have to pull a sprayskirt? Are your legs going to collapse the minute your feet teach the ground? Definitely practice your dismount!!! You are going to impress your teammates to no end when you gracefully hop out of your boat, glide up the beach and ring the finish line bell!!!

My main point here is, there are so many things you can do to give you that much more of an edge. To get more ideas, no matter what leg you compete in, DOWNLOAD 100 Speed Tips for Ski to Sea NOW! , where we asked about a dozen of the area’s most passionate and high-performance racers to contribute their favorite tips and techniques to help gain that extra mile-an-hour on race day.

Hope to see you at the Ski to Sea!!!!

Heather, Brandon, Hayden and Jazlyn

]]> http://chargelife.com/2011/05/ski-to-sea-countdown-are-you-ready-to-throw-down.html/feed 0 2011 Lake Whatcom Classic: How I Caught Greg Barton http://chargelife.com/2011/05/2011-lake-whatcom-classic-how-i-caught-greg-barton.html http://chargelife.com/2011/05/2011-lake-whatcom-classic-how-i-caught-greg-barton.html#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 02:55:32 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1724 My friend John Weed — who I partnered with in the 2002 Yukon River Quest – said a funny thing one time that I’ve never forgotten:

“I was ahead of Greg Barton once,” he said, “but the starter made me move back.”

To this day, that’s pretty much what it’s like racing against Greg Barton. But today, the usual story of racing Greg took a turn for me.

The 2X Olympic Gold Medalist showed up for today’s rainy, slightly windy (out of the south), and very well-attended Lake Whatcom Classic.

As has become the standard the past few years, nearly 100 boats lined up for either the 5-mile short course, or the 12.8-mile long course. At 10 a.m. sharp we were off!

Barton sprinted to an early lead, with a 1X rowing shell, Morris and Debbie Arthur in their tandem, DJ Jacobson, Eric Moll and me all following.

What’s so impressive about Barton is his apparent level of relaxation while he’s steadily opening the gap between himself and everyone else. His stroke is relaxed, long, smooth –  and extremely effective.

He’s probably holding one of the slowest cadences on the water, but he steadily walks away from the pack despite having no one to work with or swap leads, despite headwind, pouring rain, whatever conditions are present.

Our train of trailing surfskis put the rowing shell behind us by about mile 3, and kept the gap between us and Barton to no more than 100 yards or so.

The sky had opened up, and the deluge kept our engines cool while we cranked away. As we passed the Sudden Valley beach, I heard Heather’s “Hoooooo-WOO!”  from the shore, and I knew her, Hayden and Jazzy were cheering us all on!

Then, as Reveille Island came into view — the 1/2-way point of the race — one of my life-long racing dreams, stroke by powerful stroke, came true! I led the charge as our posse of skis reeled Barton in, and CAUGHT HIM!

As I pulled alongside and dropped into his draft, I gave him a sly “What’s up, Greg?”

“Oh,” he said in his typical, low-key way. “I just wanted to make sure I was about to round the right island, so I thought I’d wait for you guys.”

OK, it’s true. He’d basically stopped paddling for a minute or so and let us pull up to him. We then paddled together at MY race pace — his resting pace — for 3 or 4 minutes, until we’d rounded the island’s back-side. Then he was gone. Again.

By the finish line, Barton had relaxedly opened a 2-minute gap on us. The rowing shell climbed back in front of us, too, for an impressive 2nd place finish overall. I came in next, exhausted but feeling proud to have earned a spot on the podium next to Barton. Next were Debbie and Morris in their tandem, followed by DJ, then Eric Moll — all in the same order we’d kept the entire race.

I love, love, love the Lake Whatcom Classic, and 20, 30, 40 years from now I’ll tell the story of the time I caught Barton just before the island. I’m sure by then I’ll have forgotten the part about him stopping to wait for us. But hey, it’s those little forgotten details that make us legends in our own minds — and for me, that’s legend enough!

See you on the water!

Brandon

]]> http://chargelife.com/2011/05/2011-lake-whatcom-classic-how-i-caught-greg-barton.html/feed 1 Dan Harris Challenge 2011 http://chargelife.com/2011/05/dan-harris-challenge-2011.html http://chargelife.com/2011/05/dan-harris-challenge-2011.html#comments Tue, 03 May 2011 05:53:51 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1715 Over 100 racers gathered at Boulevard Park for the Annual Dan Harris Challenge (DHC) this past Sunday. The skies were blue, the sun high in the sky unhindered by even a trace of clouds. If you don’t live in Washington, this was the first full day of sun we have had this spring!!! Spirits were high as racers, spectators, walkers, joggers, cyclists, and picnickers all converged on one of Bellingham’s most popular parks to make the most of the day.

The Dan Harris Challenge is a 9-mile out-and-back race in Bellingham Bay. The course starts directly in front of Boulevard Park, then sends racers out and around Chuckanut Island, and back. There are categories for pretty much every human powered boat. This year we had rowing shells, surfski’s, sea kayaks, Stand-Up paddle boards, outrigger canoes, and the inaugural race for Bellingham’s brand spankin’ new 6-man outrigger canoe!!!! Other years have seen war canoes, marathon canoes, traditional prone paddle boards and peddle crafts.

Beyond the world class racing, killer park, and hot dogs as big as your forearm at the post race feast… racers are drawn to the DHC because it is the first race in the Think International Surfski Challenge. This is a two-race series that pits Americans against Canadians to see who comes out on top!! Each team needs 9 solo male surfski racers, 1 solo female, a junior racer who must be in a tandem, and a tandem surfski.

This weekend I was racing, while Brandon hung out on shore riding bikes, looking for crabs under rocks, flying kites, taking pictures, and having a fabulous time with Hayden, Jazlyn and a host of other happy kids-of-racers! Out on the water, I lined up with the racers, the gun went off, and I paced myself as we headed into a slight breeze.

Knowing I was tired from a night-time nursing routine with Jazzy and was low-on-miles in my training, I decided I better take a conservative approach or else I would bonk hard! I fell into a comfortable pace and as we approached the first turn of the race the breeze became stronger and we were all bobbing around in the choppy water. At Post Point Buoy, we turned south and the chop became a predictable head wind and 1-foot wind waves. We all put our heads down, paddled hard and formed little pelotons on our way out to Chuckanut Island. As we reached and rounded the island, the winds all but completely died and the slog back to Post Point Buoy began. We all seemed to separate, choosing the line we each thought was best. I passed a racer or two as I headed farther out in the bay to catch any possible wind that was left. The racers just ahead of me seemed to find a second wind, because they pulled further and further ahead.

After rounding Post Point Buoy the second time, we faced the home stretch, 1.5 miles of flatwater, totally calm and HOT. Races are won or lost here as you either realize your tank is on empty or you paced it right and you turn it up and bring it home! I was somewhere in between as I made out the bright green finish-line buoy in the distance marked by stream of racers ahead. Determined not to be passed by anyone at this point, I dug my paddle deep and pushed on being careful not to stare at the buoy in the distance that just did not seem to be getting any closer. For motivation, I set my sites on the racer just ahead of me who looked like he wished the race had finished about two miles ago. By the time I caught and passed him, the green buoy was only about 250 yards ahead! Yippee! There was crowd of spectators lining the park cheering on finishers. Above it all I heard Brandon’s signature “Hoooooooo-woo!” call-out, followed by a 3-year-old’s shout of “Go Mama Go!” Oh, and I think I heard Jazzy begin her cry for “MILK!” at about the same time!

All-in-all a FABULOUS race… with the Americans CRUSHING IT!!! From the American team, Tracy Landboe and her junior partner, Eric Roux took the overall. Don Kiesling won the men’s solo. And I was the first female finisher. In between were a ton of awesome races!!! Larry Bussinger stopped to assist a fallen comrade then went on to claw his way not only back to his pack, but, from the view I had from behind, he led them in! Kirk Christensen had an epic race, coming in second only to the master, Don Kiesling. Elana Ecker went from not knowing if she was up for the long course, to taking third overall for the women!

The next race in the International Challenge is two weeks from now at the Tour De Indian Arm race hosted by Deep Cove Canoe and Kayaks in Deep Cove, BC. We have to get our team out in full force to maintain the lead!

And, in between falls the Lake Whatcom Classic next weekend, which Brandon will race while I get the pleasure of playing with the wee-ones on shore!

Photos by Brandon Nelson or Mikyn Sygitowicz

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon, Hayden and Jazlyn

]]> http://chargelife.com/2011/05/dan-harris-challenge-2011.html/feed 0 Paddling Dynamics New Years Challenge on Seattle Channel http://chargelife.com/2011/01/paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge-on-seattle-channel.html http://chargelife.com/2011/01/paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge-on-seattle-channel.html#comments Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:45:31 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1625 Check out this link to the Seattle Channel story on the Jan 8th Paddling Dynamics New Years Challenge. Videographer Ian Devier did a fantastic job capturing the spirit of the PNW Paddling Community. And thanks again to Ernie Wong and crew for putting on a awesome event!!! We will see you next year! (Skip ahead to 15:30 in the video to get to the segment on the race…) 

http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3071103

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

]]> http://chargelife.com/2011/01/paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge-on-seattle-channel.html/feed 0 2011 Paddling Dynamics New Years Challenge http://chargelife.com/2011/01/2011-paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge.html http://chargelife.com/2011/01/2011-paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge.html#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:21:45 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1618 Every race I enter sticks in my mind as special for some reason or another. This weekend’s New Year’s Challenge in Seattle I registered for months ago as a motivation to get on the water and train when my belly was big, the weather was cold, and I needed a little extra kick in the pants to get out there.
What started out as personal motivation, became, I realized, an inspiration to at least one expecting Mom who just needed to see someone else out there paddling, training, racing and feeling great because of it. And, more than that, potentially an inspiration for many many mom’s-to-be out there.
The New Year’s Challenge, part of the Race For Your Life 5-race point series that began with the Deception Pass Dash last month, was a 7-mile paddle race that took participants from Lake Union into Lake Washington in Seattle. Temperatures dipping into the mid-30’s didn’t discourage the 130+ paddlers in Dragon Boats, Outrigger Canoes, surfski’s, kayaks, rowing shells, Stand-Up Paddle Boards and Traditional Paddleboards.
The Thursday before race day I got an e-mail from a videographer named Ian Devier from the Seattle Channel. He was doing a story on the race and was hoping to interview me, a 7-month pregnant racer, as a human interest part of the story. Cool! I agreed.
Come race day, Ian made the interview very easy. He is an adventure loving kindred spirit who does things like run the Pacuare River in Costa Rica, or hike the highest mountains in Switzerland while interviewing and filming guides at work or adventurers at play.
Anyway, Ian interviewed me before and after the race, filmed Hayden and Brandon running support, attached a GoPro camera to my surfski to film the race, and followed the pack by car, stopping to film at strategic points along the way.
This was all a very cool, a very fun experience for me. But, it was after a full day of racing, lunch of hot soup, and waiting for the awards ceremony to begin when I had the experience I will take home with me. I was standing with a sleeping Hayden snuggled in my arms when a woman introduced herself. She was a paddler, early in her first pregnancy, who had seen me racing and came over to talk. She was tired of ‘taking it easy’. Seeing and having the opportunity to speak to a 7-month pregnant woman, paddling and loving it, was what she needed to resume her active lifestyle she thought she needed to give up.
I went home from the New Year’s Challenge feeling like that was why I was there. If I could inspire one other woman to keep living the life she loves, to keep paddling or whatever that passion may be, while pregnant, it makes it all worth it. Because, yes, there are hard days! And to know me working through those hard days and getting out there and training is an inspiration for someone else… I guess that is MY inspiration.
And, thanks to Ian, I got the very special opportunity to maybe inspire a few others through his show. So, thanks for that, Ian!
And, thanks to Ernie Wong and everyone else who helped put on the New Year’s Challenge!!! I will see you at the Port Gamble Paddle the Dragon for  Race #3!

Happy Paddling!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

]]> http://chargelife.com/2011/01/2011-paddling-dynamics-new-years-challenge.html/feed 0 Ski to Sea 2010 is HERE!!! http://chargelife.com/2010/05/ski-to-sea-2010-is-here.html http://chargelife.com/2010/05/ski-to-sea-2010-is-here.html#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 17:13:36 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1403

A record breaking 465 teams (give or take a few)  will be racing the 7-leg, 90-mile Ski to Sea tomorrow! With 8 athletes per team… that is 3720 athletes racing in Bellingham tomorrow! Check out the Ski to Sea race website or Bellingham Herald website for good Ski to Sea Race news, view points and  finish line festivities!

Brandon and I are each racing the anchor kayak leg for our teams. Brandon joined Beavers Tree Service this year to battle it out with RunningShoes.com and some other great teams for the coveted Whatcom County Open Title. I am captaining Team Kulshan Cycles for the fourth consectutive year… and going for our 4th Whatcom County Women’s Title.

GOOOO Team Kulshan!!! You ladies are INCREDIBLE – you are such an inspiration! It is an honor to race with you!

GOOOO Team Beavers Tree Service!!!

See you on the water!!!!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

POSTED BY: Heather

]]> http://chargelife.com/2010/05/ski-to-sea-2010-is-here.html/feed 1 45 MPH Winds and USA Today at the Wednesday Night Races http://chargelife.com/2010/05/45-mph-winds-and-usa-today-at-the-wednesday-night-races.html http://chargelife.com/2010/05/45-mph-winds-and-usa-today-at-the-wednesday-night-races.html#comments Thu, 20 May 2010 16:35:30 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1391 Yesterday’s weekly Wednesday Night Race at Bloedel Donovan was nothing less than epic! Winds gusting to 45 MPH and solid sheets of rain coming down couldn’t keep the die hards away. And — to add to the fun, USA Today had chosen THIS day to come interview some of the paddlers about the upcoming Ski to Sea.

Carolyn Watson was also out with her camera catching some of the races powering through the chop.

The USA Today story will be out just before Memorial Weekend, and the Ski to Sea race. Will will let you know when it is out.

Thanks for the pictures, Carolyn!!!

See you on the water,

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

POSTED BY: Heather

]]> http://chargelife.com/2010/05/45-mph-winds-and-usa-today-at-the-wednesday-night-races.html/feed 0 Wednesday Night at Bloedel on Experience NW http://chargelife.com/2010/05/wednesday-night-at-bloedel-on-experience-nw.html http://chargelife.com/2010/05/wednesday-night-at-bloedel-on-experience-nw.html#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 14:23:34 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1385 Every Wednesday night, from start to end of Daylight Saving’s Time, dozens of kayakers and canoers gather at Bloedel Donovan Park on Lake Whatcom to socialize and RACE!

The race follows a 3.5-mile course around the edge of the lake in “Basin 1″ as it’s called. If you’re new, it’ll take you a time or two to really learn the turns (there are 7 of them) but it’s easy to follow the pack of sometimes 60+ boaters.

Most people get there about 5 p.m. and unload, then get a warm-up paddle before the race starts. At 6 p.m. the first boats take off, with faster racers leaving later and later — the idea being that there will be a convergence at the finish line, back in front of the park.

Heather and I have been racing Wednesday Nighter’s since 2004, and consider it some of the best fitness and race-strategy learning opportunities out there. Even if you’ve never raced a kayak or canoe before, bring your boat, come on out and meet the gang. It’s a bunch of great, outdoor loving people and I highly recommend it!

Here’s a video just posted on Experience NW with Deb Slater, featuring Heather and Hayden a good handful of our other friends out there at the races:

Wednesday Night Paddle from ENW Community Update on Vimeo.

]]> http://chargelife.com/2010/05/wednesday-night-at-bloedel-on-experience-nw.html/feed 1 Tour De Indian Arm and THINK International Surfski Challenge http://chargelife.com/2010/05/tour-de-indian-arm-and-think-international-surfski-challenge.html http://chargelife.com/2010/05/tour-de-indian-arm-and-think-international-surfski-challenge.html#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 23:11:24 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1381 We spent Sunday up at the Tour De Indian Arm in Deep Cove BC at the second and final race of the THINK International Surfski Challenge. The Challenge, created 3 years ago as an informal competition between neighboring British Columbia and Bellingham / Seattle surfski communities. In the competition, Canada and the US each have 10 surfskis per team. 1 tandem, 2 women, and 7 men make up the teams. The teams are not determined before the race, your fastest 10 skis in those categories make up your team.

After Race I, the Dan Harris Challenge, the 2-time defending champion, Team USA, was in the lead by 40 points. But, we knew we had to rally the troops for Tour De Indian Arm… because Canada wanted that trophy!!!

Brandon did some instigating on our local surfski chat group with a few You Tube videos and a little smack talking, trying to get the US talking strategy and fired up for race day. While the US kept mum, he did seem to light a fire in the Canuck camp who returned with a few videos of their own.

Brandon (USA)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iikKzQwgBJc
Adrienne (Canada) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lffkj9Xf8TY
Brandon (USA) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHAEqVmquk 
Kathleen (Canada) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SSTgr4Oe9M 

So, Sunday morning Team USA arrived for the 1PM race with no plan. We ended up having only 1 solo women (me), 3 tandems (one with a woman in it, Debbie), and plenty of A team men. Canada had a similar line-up, but, had their full quota of women.

So, here is where we could have strategized.

  • Because we only had 1 solo woman, we immediately lost 20 points.
  • BUT, if our fastest tandem had a woman in it, that woman would also get points for being the second female paddler on the team. But, Debbie and Morris were not the fastest this day, so, Debbie would not have gotten those points there.
  • We could have put two women in a tandem surfski (me and Debbie). If we were the fastest US surfski we would get points for being first and second women, and for being top tandem. But,  again we would not have been the top us tandem (as we had a lightning fast men’s tandem with Don and Gabe from Seattle  who won the overall.) 
  • OR, another option, had we strategized, we could have had Debbie race solo.
  • If you are not totally confused by now… maybe you can help us plan for next year!

Anyway, the fun part is… now EVERYONE is talking, everyone is contemplating the “What if we’d….” and “Where was…?”

But, who WON you ask????

Ahhhh… that little detail! The overall Tour de Indian Arm race winner was Don and Gabe in a tandem surfski racing for Team USA.  Ian McKenzie was the solo men’s surfski champion racing for Team Canada (with Brandon in a close second… which is all you could hope for when you are racing against Ian!)  For women, I took first racing for Team USA. You can watch for the full 2010 Tour De Indian Arm Results here.

But still…. Who WON????

It was close…. Very very close!

Team Canada won Tour de Indian Arm by about 20 points. BUT, Team USA had dominated Dan Harris Challenge by about 40 points!!! So, congrats go to 3-time THINK International Challenge Champs… Team USA!!!

And you better believe – next year is going to be FUN!!! Secret planning meetings, strategy, Lance Armstrong style pelotons and protected riders… and lots more smack talking!!  

Until then… see you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

POSTED BY: Heather

]]> http://chargelife.com/2010/05/tour-de-indian-arm-and-think-international-surfski-challenge.html/feed 0 Brandon’s 5 Not-So-Ninja Speed Tips to Racing Faster http://chargelife.com/2010/05/brandon%e2%80%99s-5-not-so-ninja-speed-tips-to-racing-faster.html http://chargelife.com/2010/05/brandon%e2%80%99s-5-not-so-ninja-speed-tips-to-racing-faster.html#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 20:58:44 +0000 Heather http://chargelife.com/?p=1373 Wherever you’ve been finishing in the pack at the latest races, if you’re not right up in front then there are a handful of pretty traditional but too-often ignored tips, tricks and techniques you can use to race faster and finish higher in the rankings. We’ve undoubtedly written about each of these Not-So-Ninja Speed Tips before, but a refresher is always useful.

1) Fuel. Whatever distance you’re racing, your fuel before and during the race matters in a big, big way. Is it a short race, like a 3.5 mile Wednesday nighter? Try eating your last substantial snack about 3 hours before race time, stay hydrated (ideally with Heed or something similar), then right before you head out to warm up pound a packet of Goo, ClifShot, Hammer Gel, or whatever high-maltodextrin, Goo-like product you prefer. Use one with caffeine, too. Wash it down with a little water or Heed, and see if you don’t feel downright bionic during the race. For longer races, I still like the pre-race, caffeinated Goo. But during the race I’m sipping on some Perpetuem or Spiz – more of a performance-oriented meal replacement. It’s rigged through a tube that stays put right in front of my lips, so I can sip without missing a beat. Now let’s be clear: I’m not talking about a floppy Camelback tube that I have to grope around for and grab, missing strokes while I’m doing it. And I’m not talking about a Goo-pack that’s strategically taped to the boat and will tear open when I grab it. I’m talking about NOT MISSING A SINGLE STROKE. I recommend you rig your fuel-delivery device so it’s 100% hands free.

 2) Drafting. If you’ve still got some obstinate, Freudian aversion to drafting for increased speed and/or energy conservation, my friend you’re truly missing out on one of the greatest (and fastest) joys of racing. I will openly admit to rolling my eyes at racers who draft 99% of a race then boogey by their host at the finish line. But working with another boat, or a pack of boats, giving each other periods of rest mixed with high-output speed-work to inch closer to the lead group… that IS the very definition of racing! And it starts when you line up for the start. Who will you position next to? Which side of them will you be on, and will that allow you to migrate to host #2 if they go zipping by? Will you be on the inside or outside of the turns? Think these questions through and have a plan, then measure the results and look to learn for the next race.

3) Dress. Comfortable is fast. Chafe, hypothermia, and over-heating are all slow. You can figure out the rest, and you SHOULD figure it out BEFORE race day. Have a race wardrobe in your car, but know exactly how you should feel during warm-ups and layer up or down based on experience, and for speed. My rule of thumb is, “If I’m not close to shivering at the start, I’m going to roast while I race.”

4) Rudder. The smaller the rudder, the less drag, the faster the THEORETICAL boat speed. But smaller rudders also mean tippier boats, and tippy is slow for a lot of paddlers. Error on the too-big side, though, and you’ve got unnecessary drag and a potential weed-vacuum. The main thing is that you don’t try a rudder for the first time on race day, or on new conditions for that rudder even if you’ve used it before race day. I’ve done that. I paid for it. (Heck, one time I lost a rudder mid-race, limped to shore, ran to my van for another rudder, swapped it out, and finished the race. And I wasn’t last! (Because I had some Goo-packs! ). If I could only have one rudder, it’d be about a 6-inch, swept, with a little weed guard bullet right in front of it. Wouldn’t be great for bigger-than-2-foot surf, but for most races in the PNW it’d be perfect.

5) Steady. It’s not written anywhere that starting like a freaking fighter jet off an aircraft carrier is mandatory, but almost every racer does it. That early-on, anaerobic burn consumes a TON of energy, especially if you carry it for too long before settling in to your cruising pace, and can leave you on “E” before the home stretch if you’re not careful. As an alternative, try calculating our your desired average speed for entire race, and holding that speed from the starting gun all the way to the start of the final kick. Be forewarned: It’s going to feel really, REALLY easy for the first 5 to 10 minutes, and you’ll be asking yourself why you’re not throwing down harder to keep up with the rabbits. Give it a shot, though, at an upcoming race. Let the rabbits go, and see if you don’t real them back on with your steady state approach. I’ve done this many times, especially on our weekly Wednesday nighters, and it almost always works in my favor.

Try each of these not-so-ninja strategies over your next handful of training sessions and races. Measure the results, and keep what’s working for you, and try some variations. The top guys and gals out there don’t keep getting faster and faster through osmosis. They’re always looking for the next trick to get an edge, and you can do the same thing with your racing!

POSTED BY: Brandon

See you on the water!

Heather, Brandon and Hayden

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