Lessons to Learn

Got my wee paddling race tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how it goes as the forecast looks questionable. Not bad, just not great. But then most of this week the forecast and the weather that has actually shown up have only had the barest of similarities, so who knows what we will actually get tomorrow. In the end the race is on a bit of water that I am very comfortable with as I paddle it pretty much all the time, so it should be fine no matter what turns up.

As I sit here the night before the race I am pondering what my objectives for the race are. Perhaps the night before the event isn't the time to be figuring this out, but there you go. Really it is a B race so the purpose is practise. I am still pretty new to this style of racing and so it is a case of practise makes perfect. 

Some of the things I am looking to practise in this race are pace control and race tactics. Last time I did a race like this I didn't pace it very well and so I faded in the last few kms, the result was okay, but it was done the hard way. For this one I would really like to get the pacing right, even if it means a result that isn't as good. Slowing it down at the start, racing my own race and finishing strong are some of the things I would like to get right for this one.

With regard to tactics it might be a bit of a non event depending on the conditions. But if the conditions are reasonable then drafting is going to play a big part tomorrow. Drafting in a race environment is still pretty new to me, so the more opportunity to practise the better. Drafting makes it hard to race your own pace, but at the same time it has huge advantages in efficiency so it can be worth the risk. Making the decision whether to draft or not and then getting the drafting right will be another outcome that I will be looking for tomorrow. 

One thing I have found over the years of racing is that you never stop learning if you are willing to hear the lessons. Every race provides an opportunity to learn and improve. I am hoping to continue that with the race tomorrow.