I Kicked Ass Today

I had intended to hit the sack early last night, get a good night's rest before the race. Some idiot pulled a fire alarm at 10:30 pm, moments before I was to bed. Sigh. The shrill, piercing alarm was just special. Thankfully, the fire department has a pretty darn good response time, makes me feel better should we ever actually have a fire or some such. Unfortunately, it took them over an hour to get the alarm turned off. Oh well, the race was in Tacoma, so I could sleep a bit later than usual.

Got down to SSP to load the boats at 7:30 am, Diane was to arrive at 7:45 to help and the plan was to be on the road by 8:15. The tricky part was loading the OC2 on, not so much the boat, but the ama (the outrigger part). The OC1 ama fits inside the car and since we couldn't get both amas tied down properly on top we put that one inside. Finally got the OC2 ama tied down and off we went ... to Top Pot Doughnuts. Leaving this late they were open and we could grab a blueberry glazed and coffee for the road. It's 8:45 and we are onto the highway. We were five minutes from the race site when Ed called to give me a hard time for not being there yet. I am notorious for being overcautiously early, ya well, not today. We even missed the pre-race meeting. Didn't feel so bad about that since I've raced this course before.

Got rigged up and on the water and was thinking about my discussion with Doug during the ride home from the last race. He said I needed to sprint off the start for as long as I could before settling into my race pace, that way the pack wouldn't drop me so completely as they had during the last race. I got lined up with everyone else and when the go was sounded hit it as hard as I could for as long as I could. I could see Stan out of the corner of my eye, slightly behind me, gotta stay in front of him, must stay in front of Stan! I just tried to stretch it out and pull hard, my technique was feeling much better, too. On my way to the first turn I passed one or was it two other competitors! Made it to the first turn (it was a two lap course) and headed back towards the start. I could see Darcy a little bit ahead of me, my main competition in the master women's category. I dug in even deeper and tried to close the gap between us. I did creep closer to her and at the turn to finish the first lap I was right on her tail, called out "I'm doggin' you Darcy!" Then I lost a little distance following the turn, maybe 30-40 feet or so. I had to stop watching her, so I just focused on the next bouy turn and hit the zone. Reach, twist, dig, pull, and again. Next thing I know I'm even with her! I kept at it, she made some comment about someone having eaten their Wheaties today, I laugh and then left her behind me! It was so awesome! I couldn't let her catch me again, I just couldn't. I stayed focused and aimed to pass the next guy in front of me. I made it to the last turn, struggling to put more distance between me and Darcy, digging deep and hard, really pushing myself. I came very close to catching the guy in front of me. In the end he was able to stay ahead of me, though. I could hear people cheering me from the cliff, calling my name, then the horn sounded and I could stop. There was a guy behind me and then came Darcy. I did it, I beat her by shear strength!

There were more people behind me in this race than any other so far. That was a huge confidence boost, too. One person behind me is good, many is better. A few minutes later along come Diane and Minnie on the OC2. They were pushing hard to the finish, I hear Diane call the change and then switch sides only Minnie didn't switch sides. Sploosh! Over they went a mere 20 feet from the finish line, the collective gasp could be heard on the shore. A few guys paddled over to help collect paddles and make sure they got over and back up ok and finally made it across the finish line. A wonderful thing about outrigger is the ohana or sense of family, gotta make sure everyone is safe and ok, then worry about the racing. They were both plenty warmed up from the paddling, but the water was quite bracing. Time to head in and get dry.

So, today's finish gave me my third 2nd place finish. Darcy has a 1st and two 3rds. If I can keep her in 3rds and me in 2nds I will be very happy. The next race is March 8 in Vancouver, BC, then March 29 in Portland, and the last race will be April 12 in Lake Washington. I just plan to keep on doing what I'm doing, paddle hard and take names! Maybe pick Doug's brain a little more.