Well, once again it's been a while since I've posted here, but I've been trying to keep at least a remnant or two of training activity going. I spent most of this past week in North Carolina with my sister's family for the Christmas holiday, and I didn't have a boat with me, but I did do my December strength routine Wednesday and Friday. Joe and I got a 70-minute session in on Monday, just before I left. As we move into a new month, I hope to increase my paddling from twice a week to thrice a week.
With a new year starting this coming week, perhaps it's a good time to look over my possible racing schedule for 2015. Here's a list of events that are on my radar at the moment:
March 28: Battle on the Bayou. About 9.5 miles on a flat coastal bayou at Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
April 11: Bluz Cruz Canoe and Kayak Race. About 22 miles down the Mississippi River from Madison Parish Port, Louisiana, to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
April 18: Top of the Teche. A race of about 7.7 miles on Bayou Teche from Leonville to Arnaudville, Louisiana.
April 25-26: French Broad Classique. Two races on the French Broad River near Asheville, North Carolina. Saturday's race covers 18 miles from Blantrye Access to Westfeldt Park in Henderson County. Sunday's race covers 16 miles from Westfeldt Park to the Asheville Outdoor Center.
May 2: Osage Paddle Sports Spring 12 Race. A 12-mile race on the Osage River near Osage City, Missouri.
June 20: Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race. My hometown race since 1982. About 5000 meters down the Mississippi River from the mouth of the Wolf River to Mississippi River Park on the downtown riverfront.
July 19-25: Gorge Paddling Festival. Columbia River near Hood River, Oregon. A series of elite-level surf ski competitions including a 21.5-kilometer downwind race and a 40-kilometer relay race.
September 6: The Paddle Grapple. A 10-kilometer race on Lake Fontana near Bryson City, North Carolina.
September 26: The Gator Bait Race. A race of about 5.5 miles on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson, Mississippi.
It is very unlikely that I will do every one of these races. The races at Ocean Springs, Vicksburg, and Memphis have been fixtures on my schedule for years and I will probably make each of them this coming year. Whether I do some of these other events will depend largely on my physical health, my obligations at home, and my appetite for travel. The Gorge Paddling Festival is no more than a "sorta-maybe" at this point. Even if I am in excellent shape I would likely be in the bottom quarter of the field there, so if my fitness is anything shy of excellent I'll probably pass. It's been quite a few years since I have taken a big trip out West and I would love to take another one, so I'm listing this event here as one possible carrot to lure me out that way.
Anyway... for now I'm just going to take one day at a time and get my paddling and strength work in. With any luck I'll have laid a strong foundation once the end of March rolls around.
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