Deep Cove #6 - Rain, Rain, and More Rain

I got to Deep Cove a little on the late side, with only 30 minutes before the race. It was raining out and traffic as usual was a nightmare. I did not have a lot of time to prep for the race.

As per usual lately, I was tired from the running workout two hours before hand. The course was from Deep Cove to Lone Rock, across to Raccoon Island and back to Deep Cove, about 7.43 kms. Starts are always good, with Bob on my left and John and Lina in the Mark 2 double on my right. As we were accelerating, I heard Bob say he was tired. I think he was messing with my mind because he just kept powering up and off he went to catch up to the front group. I managed to stay with him for the first 150 meters or so.

As we approuched the 5 km can, the front group was making a big gap on the second group. I was now behind, Micky, Matt, Rod, Kiran, and Ty and Terry, with Katja on my left and Jodi behind her. I had fallen off the side wake of the second group and was sort of on my own. I should have jumped on Katja's wash, but I wasn't thinking, just trying to get back on the group in front of me. I could see that everyone was drafting Ty and Terry. Both Katja and Jodi past me as we were getting closer to Lone Rock, just as the safety / camera boat came up on my left. I tried to get on its wash, but had a hard time of it, so I backed off.

I watched the boat catch up to the second group, and off went Micky on their wash. He is the king of wash riding. I almost thought he was going to catch the first group, but he did not quite make it. Too bad he was really going. So now he was stuck between both groups. As I turned at Lone Rock to head off to Raccoon, I saw that Micky had picked a line farther north than the second group, so I decided to do the same. At first it looked like the right move to make, as I thought I was catching Katja and Jodi.

The closer I got to Raccoon the harder and harder it got to just keep up, let alone catch the girls. I had hit the wall. 25 minutes into what would turn out to be a 43 minute race. UGH. The rest of my race was going to be a act of survival. Just paddling to get back to the Cove. The rain was still coming down fairly good at this point, and when I had turned behind Raccoon, I stopped paddling to clean off my glasses. I was having trouble seeing at that point.

I could see both Katja and Jodi about 150 meters in front of me, and I tried to speed up a touch, and try to catch up. No such luck. I said to myself if I could catch Jodi by the 5 km can, that I might have a chance of having a sprint finish. Again no such luck. I did managed to cut the distance in half by the time I had crossed the finish line, but that was about it. Good thing to, because I didn't know it but Brian Wong was trying to catch me.

As with every race, I had fun, but I hope to go faster as my endurance builds in the coming months.

Bob's new web site is very nice and should be up tomorrow. www.deepcovekayak.com Go have a look. All the race results are now up to date.