10k Kayak Race Recap

Yep, Saturday Sunshine and I participated in a 10k kayak race. This is one of the races I was really looking forward to including in my 40 by 40 goal, but I didn't think I'd be able to do it this year. It's a point to point race, which means shuttles have to be arranged, which can be a problem if Mr M is working like he was this past Saturday. My original idea was to include this race, a triathlon, biathlon, etc, in my goal but I've had to abandon the triathlon and biathlon idea since I just don't have the time for the swimming and biking that I'd need to do to prepare properly.

trying out our rental kayak

Fortuitously, I happened to check the race website about two weeks ago and discovered that a shuttle was, in fact, being offered (it hadn't in previous years). There was also a link for a local river company that was offering cheap boat rentals for the morning. That settled it- I was going to participate in the kayak race.

Never mind that I hadn't been in a kayak in years......

Sunshine yawning as we waited for the start of the race

Since Mr M had to work I had to arrange for a babysitter for the kiddos, but only the boys ended up hanging out with her. I realized the race would be an excellent opportunity for Sunshine and I to have a mother-daughter outing since it'd been too long since we last had one.

first heat starting

There were long skinny racing kayaks, short stubby white water kayaks, recreational/fishing kayaks, tandem kayaks (sit-in and sit on top), and canoes. Such a fun mix of boats and people. Ages ranged from kiddos out with their parents to grandmas and grandpas out for a morning paddle. Once River and Ocean are a couple years older (and can sit still for an hour or so) they can come out with us.

The weather was great. We've had rain almost every day for the last month, so it was super nice to have sunshine that morning. It was a little cool, but as long as you stayed dry it wasn't bad :) However, there was some white pollen/plant crap/something floating around and my eyes were gritty, itching, and watering the entire time. Other racers mentioned the pollen as well. The one up-side of it was that it made it super easy to see where the current was- white crap just sitting still on the surface meant the water was still as well.

waiting for our heat to start

Sunshine loved the rapids! This stretch of river was fairly calm- only class 1s and two class 2s, but Sunshine milked them for all they were worth. We're going to have to take her white water rafting one of these days. She paddled most of the way, though she did take some breaks. I paddled the whole way without any problems other than tired arms.

the finish was right after the second class 2 rapids, which added a bit of difficulty, but wasn't too bad

I had planned on just taking an easy, leisurely pace, but I should have known better. That just doesn't work for me, as I've seen multiple times in road races. I'm too competitive for my own good. Not that I'm competitive with others really, I just hate to go slow and don't want to be last. Since I wasn't planning on racing, we went in the second heat. Despite that, we finished third in our division (tandem kayak). So next time we're starting in the first heat. Our time from the first heat's start was about 1hr 55min, so I think our actual time was about an hour and a half. The winner (in a racing kayak) finished in 48 minutes- much faster than us.

the people running the race are very low-tech and at first thought we placed first, 

though we actually placed third

Our rented tandem kayak performed well enough, but I do wonder how much difference the body style makes in speed. The kayak was long, heavy, and clunky, so definitely not the speediest boat on the water.

All the rain we've received meant the river was high, and all the regulars said the finish times would be fast as a result. Not that the river was running fast (it wasn't), but it was a lot easier to go over rocks that normally wouldn't be submerged.

Sunshine and I had fun, though she didn't appreciate sitting in the water that splashed into our non-self-bailing kayak. I can definitely see the benefit of a self-bailer, as well as having seats that are suspended a bit, rather than just molded plastic seats integrated into the boat. Good to know as we look for kayaks to buy. We've wanted to do so for awhile now, and I think we might get more serious in our search. The boys are too young right now, but Mr M and I can take turns taking Sunshine out on local reservoirs and rivers. And we're both looking forward to next year's race.

22nd race towards my 40 by 40 goal

	Date	Event	Distance	Event Type
1.	July 2015	4th of July 5k	5k	Pregnant
2.	August	4 Mile Fun Run	4 miles	Road Race
3.	September	All Terrain	5k	Mixed surface
4.	October	Hill Valley Half	13.1 miles	Virtual half marathon
5.	October	Corn Maze 5k	5k	Corn Maze
6.	October	Kilted Trail 5k	5k	Kilted race
7.	November	Trail Half	13.6 miles	Trail Half
8.	November	Turkey Trot	5k	Road Race
9.	December	Veteran’s 5k	5k	Mixed surface
10.	December	Army Virtual Marathon	26.23 miles	Virtual marathon
11.	January 2016	New Year’s Day 5k	5k	Road race
12.	February	Frostbite 5k	5k	Cross country race
13.	February	Mud Run	4.8 miles	Mud run
14.	March	4k Walk	4k	Walk
15.	March	March 5k	5k	Road race
16.	March	Pi Day Virtual 5k	5k	Virtual 5k Walk
17.	March	10 mile race	Not applicable	Water stop volunteer
18.	March	Obstacle Race	5k	Obstacle run
19.	April	Glow Run	5k	Glow Run, 1st of 2 races in 12 hours
20.	April	April 5k	5k	Pushing jogger, 2nd of 2 races in 12 hours
21.	April	Evening Run	5k	Evening run
22.	May	10k Kayak Race	10k	Kayak race