What's next?

Now that one race is in the books for 2016, I realize that I haven't said much about my plans for the rest of the year.  Here are the events I hope to participate in:

April 30: 13th annual Bluz Cruz Canoe and Kayak Race.  Starts at Madison Parish (La.) Port on the Mississippi River and finishes 22 miles downriver at the Vicksburg Front.

May 14: Osage Spring 12.  A 12-mile race down the Osage River at Osage City, Missouri.

June 18: 35th Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race.  A 5000-meter race down the Mississippi River at downtown Memphis, Tennessee.

June 25: The Great Chickasawhay Race.  At 21-nautical-mile (that's what it says on the website) race down the Chickasawhay River from Shubuta, Mississippi, to Waynesboro, Mississippi.

July 30: USCA National Championship for downriver kayak.  A race for boats that meet ICF wildwater specs.  Held in conjunction with the Aluminum Canoe Nationals.  White River at Batesville, Arkansas.

August 6: The Paddle Grapple.  A 6-mile race on Lake Fontana near Bryson City, North Carolina.

August 12-14: USCA Marathon National Championships.  A 13-mile course up and down the Connecticut River at Northfield, Massachusetts.

September 17: Gator Bait Canoe and Kayak Race.  A 5.5-mile race on Barnett Reservoir outside Jackson, Mississippi.

Of course, I might not make it to all the races on this list, and I could end up doing something that's not on this list.  But this is a pretty good outline of what's to come.

Last weekend's race gave me some idea of what things I need to work on, and with the next race a whole five weeks away, I'm heading back to the drawing board.  I spent most of the race in Ocean Springs afraid to push the pace, and it cost me at the end; so some pace work is in order.  Also, at least four of the races on this schedule are what I consider "long" (and I'll just point out here that I do not do ultra-distance events).  So some training of commensurate distance is in order.

Saturday's Loosahatchie Bar circumnavigation is part of that plan.  Yesterday's workout is another.  Yesterday I paddled to the south end of the harbor and did six repeats of a course between the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and Beale Street Landing.  Paddling at about a 10-kilometer race pace, I aimed for a time of about seven minutes.  I rested for 2-3 minutes in between pieces.  There was a pretty good south wind blowing, and it made about a 20-second difference in either direction--that is, my time was around 6:40 with a tailwind and about 7:20 with a headwind.  This was a tough workout.  Already tired from Saturday's long paddle, I was feeling it by the end of the first piece and I just had to grin and bear it through the next five.

And now I'm ready for some recovery time.  I'm taking today off and I'll do an easier paddle tomorrow.