26. January 2010 by Vince.

Awright!  Raced my first oc1 race the other day… and I chose to do the short course instead.  Ya, ya, ya, i know, i know. But fact was I’d never paddled ten miles straight before so what was the point of trying to do it for the first time on a race day?  I’d probably end up in last place… and that was one of my goals (was to not do that!)  So I did the short course and came up 8th in the open men’s division.  Not bad.  Not too good, but not bad.  Pretty much right in the middle of the pack.  Considering the amount of training (once a week) that I do, it’s what I expected.  But that’s got me going.  Competitive fires are lit.  Time to get my ass in shape and get out in the water.  6 man training starts in a month and a half, so it’s now or never.  Let’s do this!

Posted in Paddling | No Comments »

20. January 2010 by Vince.

Today was a good, good day.  One of those days that makes you smile on the inside as well as the outside.  Woke up and cooked some delicious corned beef hash and eggs, then went and played some tennis with my best friend, as his wife and my most beautiful god-daughter cheered us on.  Afterwards, my friend Coral called up and asked if I wanted to paddle out to the Moks, and said that had waves today.  So I borrowed Felipe’s stand up paddle board, loaded it on the car, and drove out to Lanikai.  It was a beautiful, cloudless, 80 degree day, and the water temperature was not much lower.  We paddled out to the islands, taking some funny pictures along the way, and were pleasantly surprised to find only a few people, and some larger 3-4 foot (Hawaiian) sets rolling through.  I caught some sweet waves, and had a couple of gnarly wipe outs as well.  A few beautiful hours later we finally decided it was time to head back and proceeded to paddle back towards the shore.  Afterwards, Coral and I drove to Pinky’s to meet Chris, another one of my closest friends, and we enjoyed some nice happy hour specials, pupus, and local kine grinds!!  Delicious and nutricious!   However, I am now so damn tired that I lterally can’t keep mye eyes opeeeeeeeeeeeee

Posted in Paddling, Life | No Comments »

15. January 2010 by Vince.

Last year was my first season of outrigger canoe paddling and I fell in love with it.  During the season, I went to almost every practice (we paddled 3 times a week),  and was in the best shape that I’ve been in for a long time.  When the 6 man racing season ended, I made the significant investment of buying an OC1, with the intention of continuing to paddle regularly and racing in every one of the Winter Series races.  Well, it’s the middle of January now, and I’ve only taken my canoe out about a dozen times, and have yet to participate in a race.  As a result, I’ve fallen out of shape, and am not getting as fast as I dreamed of being.

Over the last month, I’ve been paddling once a week on Tuesday nights when our coach does speed training.  These nights involve sprints (400 - 1200 meters) and are designed for improving speed, not endurance.  Last night (Thursday) I paddled out by myself and went for 5 miles with no stopping at about a 80% pace.  I was definitely in the zone and it felt great!  You know that point where the hurting in your muscles fade to a dull throb and you just feel like you can paddle forever?  Ya, that’s it.  That’s where I was.  Now I know that 5 miles may not be a lot to most paddlers, but to me it was a sweet accomplishment.  Mainly because my team, Hanohano, is hosting a race next Saturday and I intend to pop my racing cherry.  The question is whether I’m going to run the short course (5 miles) or the long course (10 miles).  The short course stays inside the calm waters of the bay while the long course spends most of its time out in the open seas.  I’ve only paddled out of the bay once, and only for a short time.

The short course seems like the obvious answer, but I’m a guy and I need to prove something to myself.  My paddle last night let me know that I can do the short course, but I want to know that I can tame the seas and that I can last the long distance.  Go big or go home!  I’m kinda nervous because I’ve never paddled that long and I have no open water experience.  Oh well…. wish me luck ;)  I’ve got 8 days left to train…

Posted in Paddling | No Comments »