Today the first day of the B.C. Masters at Whonnock Lake in Maple Ridge. One of the first races to go was the masters K1 500 meters. I was in the first heat of two. The progression was going to be the first three to the final and the next three fastest times of the heats to the final. I was in lane five, just looking to get third place or better, so I could move on.
My start was a little shaky, but I recovered quickly, and soon found myself sitting in forth. So I started to pull harder to try and move up. as I was doing this I could hear the referee start yelling at boat two. He was telling him to move to the right, that he was out of his lane. Then I heard the guy on my right yell to him that he was in his lane, but there was no stopping him. He came flying across all of the lanes. Seeing this I knew that he was going to be disqualified, and I was heading to a third place finish.
Sure enough I managed to come in third and boat #2 was disqualified. I felt bad for him because two years earlier, I had done the exact same thing. If you look just a little to the left, it looks like your lane and you follow it. You don't realize that you are crossing lane, and the referee is yelling at “you”. After the second heat, and the times were posted, I checked to see if the DQ hadn't happen would I have still made the final. It turned out that my time would have gotten me in anyways.
Next up for me was the K4 500 meters. This was about an hour and a half away, so I had lots of time to relax and eat. Since it was cloudy and cold, I made sure that I was dressed warm. We got our boat setup, and headed out for a warm up. I was in seat four, which comes in handy. People can't see how badly I am paddling. So the order in the boat was Jeff, Dan, Hugh, and myself. We practised a couple of starts. Six hard slow power strokes , and then smoothly building the stroke rate up.
Our start was a little rocky , but after about 50 meters we got into sync. We held our own, but could not catch Victoria, and came in second. It was a good race. After thanking everyone for a good race, it was off to the beach, and some warm clothes. Another hour plus wait before the 500 meter final. The sun actually managed to come out, and the warmth was appreciated after a cold morning.
I managed to get some sleep before the final. For the final, I switched the high seat for the low seat in the Super Lancer, which would help me put more power on the blade without having to deal with balance. I was in lane two, for the final. After a brief warm up, I headed for the start line. I looked down my lane and made sure that I had the correct colour of buoy on my right side. That way I would not cross into the other lanes.
My start was ok, but still needs work. Right from the get go, I was about four boats down on the start. For some reason I could not concentrate on technique and was basically flailing around. This does not make for speed in the boat. I think I came in sixth or seventh.
So I managed to make my goal of making it into the finals of the K1, but I was hoping to be closer to the front at the end. Being that regattas and racing against guys that are faster than you, helps you determine how much training you need to do. In this case, a lot. Also you get to observe the technique that makes a boat go fast. By watching the younger and faster paddlers, you can see what works and what does not, in terms of boat speed. It is helpful just to sit back and watch.
Next up was the 2000 meter race. I was number 10, but the order really doesn't make I difference. No one really line up in order on these races. The starter tries to get it right, but the paddlers are not really helpful, by lining up before being called to the line. My self included.I moved over to the middle of the start line, to get a better line to the turn at the end of the course.
The start was fast, with Jaden and Garth blasting off. By the time I was almost at the turn, I think I was sitting in 8th or 9th. The whole time I just kept concentrating on putting the blade in vertically and pulling hard. I was behind Karol the whole 2000 meters, and could not get any closer than about three boat lengths. I did manage to keep other people behind me from passing. I could hear Steve behind me, and it acted like a motivation thing, to keep pushing.
It was a good hard race, and I am happy with my performance.
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