I won't bore people with all the paddling details on a blog that is primarily about triathlon, probably enough to say it was a fairly solid morning. About two hours of effort makes for a hard race. I was happy with the result though, I couldn't quite manage a win, but I was only a minute off the winner. We also managed to beat half of the kayaking field, which we were both happy with given that kayaks are usually way faster than paddleboards.
A few takeaways from the race which are largely applicable no matter sport you are involved in.
First up the conditions were tough. I was well aware that this course had some shallow water and I also knew that we would be paddling into an incoming tide, these conditions make for very heavy paddling, a bit like riding uphill into a headwind. While I was aware of these conditions, I am not sure I had accounted for them sufficiently in my race planning. The conditions probably added a good 10 minutes to my race. I am not sure I would have done much differently in my race, perhaps paced the first 5km a bit easier, but it is still a lesson worth noting. It always pays to know as much about where you are racing as possible, just in case there are any unexpected little surprises waiting for you.
I also made a few tactically poor choices today. One was a decision to jump off my board and run through some very shallow water, rather than persist in paddling it. This is akin to running through shallow water at the end of a swim leg rather than swimming. The running feels very satisfying, but in reality it is slower than swimming or paddling. Doing this meant I lost contact with a critical draft, which made the rest of the race that little bit more difficult. The other tactical blunder refers to my point above of knowing about the course and was actually based on some sound reasoning. During a familiarsiation paddle yesterday I noticed some very shallow water that I was keen to avoid. Avoiding it would mean paddling further, but I figured that the deeper fast water would make up for the extra distance. I was wrong. Turns out that paddling the longer course cost we probably 30 seconds or so. Not a lot, but when I was only a minute behind the winner, it certainly took its toll, particularly as it was during the last 3km of the race, so I didn't have much energy left to try and regain the lost time. The lesson here is that practice and familiarity makes perfect. The more time you spend practicing and training the more second nature these decisions will become and the less likely tactical mistakes will be in the future. I know I won't be making those mistakes next time around. Sometimes there is no substitute for experience.
The last thing I learned was pacing. Yesterday I mentioned that pacing was going to be my biggest challenge and it certainly ended up being that way. By the last couple of kms I was in maintenance mode. I am happy that I didn't collapse entirely and slip into survival mode, but I didn't have a lot left for the final 20 minutes of the event. Paddling is a tough one for pacing, as it is a bit like cycling, or draft legal racing, you go as hard as you the pack demands. However, just like those sports, sitting in a group that is too quick for you can be disastrous. In the end I effectively "sat up" at the 5km mark today and then raced at more of my own pace from that point on. It was a hard decision to make because I knew that by doing it I was giving up on the win, however, I also knew that I needed to take on some nutrition and that if I kept pushing there was a real chance I would fall in a giant hole. Was easing back the right decision? Who knows, perhaps I could have kept pushing for the line, but I suspect not. For me one of the challenges of paddling is learning the lesson of when I should push on and chase the pack and and when I should ease back, and where exactly that point is. From my experience with triathlon I know that one of the most effective ways to learn that pacing lesson is by doing. With more race experience comes better racing. The pacing today wasn't disastrous, just not perfect, the lessons learnt today will help make it just that little bit better next time.
So lots of take aways from the event today. All up it was hard and challenging and I am not yet entirely convinced I enjoyed it. What I do know though is that the event today will mean that my next event is goes just that little bit better so I will call that a win.
Now, just a quick bit of housekeeping. I am travelling back home to Perth tomorrow and so I may or may not get to writing a blog. The day tomorrow includes many, many hours of driving and so I may simply not have the energy to put together a blog once I am home, we will have to see how it goes. If there is no blog tomorrow then don't worry I will be back in business on Tuesday.
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