My First Outrigger Canoe Race(s)

Last Thursday, I showed up for practice with SOCC, and before I knew it, I was signed up for my first outrigger race. This past Saturday, at Lake Spanaway, was the first day of sprint races in the Pac NW. I was signed up for 4 races: 1 - 500m, 2 - 1000m, and the final race of the day...1500 m! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. After a week of rain and cool weather, the sun came out on Saturday in spectacular fashion with highs reaching about 75, though, sometimes it felt like 90! It wasn't Hawaii, but it was dang close - with ample spam musubis to nosh on in between races. Aaahh....love the island people.

I really had no idea what to expect other than a lot of hurry up and wait. And, in true Hawaiian fashion, we were running on island time. Had I known, I could've slept in a few hours. I showed up at 7:30 am, but my first race wasn't until close to noon. Oh well, it was a great time to take in the atmosphere, take in some much needed Vit D, and get to know the other club members. The day started off with a prayer and lei dedication - I wish I had taken a picture, but that's the time we all head to the beach with paddles in hand and raise it in the end of the prayer. The "proper" way to hold a paddle is with the blade up and the handle down - the idea is that if you point the blade down, then all the energy and power drains out. We also do a cheer while touching the kanu after each race (actually, after each session the boat is out on the water) for good luck and part of the outrigger tradition.

Unlike other sports I partake in, there's really no time to get out to warm up and practice your stroke. My first race, a 500 m sprint, was the warm-up. And, it was too short to really get a rhythm - my strokes had to be quicker and faster and by the time I really started to engage my full body and began to feel the proper rhythm, it was over. Oh well....more waiting time for my 1000 m races. I really enjoyed the 1000 m and 1500 m races because not only did I have more time to get my timing right, and full body into my strokes, we also got to do some turns which is hella-fun....each seat has their own responsibility on that turn and the steerman's calls. Being a novice, I was in seats 3, 4, or 5 so all I had to do was paddle, but one day I will be in seats 1 or 2, and, who knows, maybe a steerman because I love barking out commands and can't keep my mouth shut.

I wasn't in a boat that finished first, but managed a 3rd place finish in the OC-6 open - holy cow, it was amazing how fast we were going with 3 powerful men in the boat. My last event was the longest of the day which was an 0C-6 1500 m open women's race which meant we had 5 turns to do on the course. I can't remember how we finished (4th?), but after that event, as I had guessed, long-distance races are going to be my thing. I love digging in and finding that sweet rhythm where you have every muscle engaged in your movement and fine-tuning things to ensure you're not only going at maximum, but also moving your body in an efficient manner to ensure you're using your bigger muscles like your back and quads so you have enough to last the race and with enough reserves to make that final push. So friggin' fun and the good news is that I am not sore today!!

I'm going to miss next week's sprints at Green Lake because of a hockey tourney I had signed up for in N. Vancouver - sigh, it's that time of year again where there are so many things to do and just not enough time. I can't wait to get back out on the water and I am going to sign up for as many races as I can - maybe be in shape for the long distance/change-out races in Catalina later this summer. Sweet!! Here's a link to more pics from the races at Lake Spanaway. Aloha!