My 7-Miles Endurance Training

Today was a true test of my strength and endurance for Stand-Up Paddling.  Coming into the Seaside Slide race this morning, I was more fearful about getting through the surf rather than paddling the 7-miles.  I guess it was a good distraction to start with because after I got through the surf unscathed I was feeling okay.

Check out the background.  You see why I was nervous having to get past those waves?

The first half wasn't so grueling. I followed everybody going way outside to the buoy.  It was a windy day and we got it from the back towards the buoy.  So you know what that means when we turned the buoy.  We had to take the next 3.5 miles going into the wind.  On top of that, I heard someone before the race say it was fastest to come back on the inside through the kelp beds.  This wasn't such a great idea for me.  It slowed me down big time having to deal with my fin and paddle sometimes getting caught.  Well, one time I tried to paddle through one of the kelp beds and it actually stopped me in my tracks, making me fall off my board.  I jumped back on with kelp in tow.  I also pulled up my leash that had additional kelp to make things more exciting for me.  It was disastrous.  I started to get frantic because I had a tough time getting all the kelp untangled.  I had to take a moment to compose myself as I almost broke into tears thinking, "What the hell do I do now?!"  I finally took a breather and patiently untangled the kelp one by one until I finally was clear.  At this point, I was over paddling through the kelp beds and went back outside.  I finished the race with a sore back from using a paddle that was too short.  I need to get another paddle for racing now that I have the raceboard because it sits about 4" higher above the water than my surfboard.

This has been the most challenging race thus far.  I learned a lot from it and will make some necessary changes to improve my game.  Miraculously, I finished 4th in the woman's division.  (Not bad out of 6 females and now I know why not many women enter this race but it won't stop me from coming back next year.)

Here I am with my contenders.  Terri Plunkett taking 1st place.

There's the Boga Board on the far right waiting to hit the water.