Round the Rock - part 1 - What was I thinking?

Round the Rock was the race that started it all for me. Thanks to Brandon Rambo that encouraged me to go for it - 2 years ago marked my very first SUP race - I signed up for the distance race - 13 miles. I had no idea what I was going for at the time, being so new to it all - but I was up for the challenge. 

 Round the Rock 2011

 Pics: David Yang

13 miles is a long way on open water. It is not for the faint hearted, but I learned a lot about mental strength, equipment, met many amazing people, and realized back then that this community was where I wanted to be and grow with. Now that we're a paddling family - we came back to RTR with a completely different pair of eyes. This time I was doing the 13 mile race with Coli the Stoke-O-Nut! was I crazy to even suggest that we did this race tandem? what was I setting myself up for?

It was a while after the "Stroke the Slough" race when Coli and I were paddling together on Beaver lake, enjoying the sunshine and chit chatting like we normally do, when suddenly the idea of doing "Round the Rock" tandem with Coli popped into my head - my first internal response was   "What was I thinking?"

Coli's first response to me was "Daddy, are you crazy? " She had a point, perhaps I was, but I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it was doable.... somewhat doable at least.

Joel: well, you're right - perhaps I'm just a little nutz...but I think we have a chance at it
Coli: seriously? wasn't it super crazy last year with bad weather and everyone hating it? and I'm not so sure how I feel about open water - and didn't you say that the beginning was totally chaotic? what if we totally fall in??
Joel: so....what do you think happens when we fall in?
Coli: .......you get back on the board?....
Joel: so what would scare you about a race like Round the Rock?
Coli: I dunno really.....the open water maybe?..falling in? it all really doesn't seem so scary now that we're talking about it.... but 13 miles is a long way...what if I bonk out and we can't finish?..let me think about that one and maybe there's a reaaally reaaallly teeenie chance we could do it........

The thought that we even had the slightest chance to do it was rather exciting - but we had lots going on that surrounded that particular weekend: the beginning of school, Coli's 9th birthday, Maia's birthday (on the day of Round the Rock), the fact that RTR was on a Sunday, and Coli would have school the day after..... and it's really not that far away.

Ironically I think I was more nervous about it than Coli was....and if she said yes, was I really able to follow through with it all?

Coli: So daddy - I've decided that we will need to practice some rescue drills to get me familiar with what to do if we're sprinting and I get knocked off...
She took one look back at me and cried "Oh no daddy!!!" and leapt into the water mid paddle stroke!

We practiced her falling, both of us falling - same and opposing sides, if I fell and she stayed on - This was awesome - she was into this! We must have both leapt off approximately two dozen times when she turned to me and said "Okay daddy, now that we got that out of the way, I'm ready to do this!"

 

Coli and Byron up to something at Laird Standup HQ

Round the Rock was literally....just around the corner. Byron at Laird Standup was nice enough to let us take our pick from several boards we thought would be most appropriate, so up to Bellingham we went to go figure this out.

Coli and I went through the pros and cons of each board and how we would need to modify the one we pick to optimize her standing area since she will  be standing on the "hood" of the board. We used board wax to provide her with some light traction for the test. We took several laps on the very beautiful and glassy lake Padden and tried our best to simulate choppy water and to narrow down which board would suit us best for the occasion......

"Daddy, are there going to be buoy turns at the race? remember how awful the buoy turn experience was at Stroke the Slough - we would really need to practice for buoy turns and I don't think I'm ready to do open water and a ton of buoy turns too......" I could feel that feeling of doubt sneaking up on the both of us now.... "Well, there aren't going to be any buoy turns ... but if you think about it...Mercer Island is like one gigantic buoy!" she responded with peals of laughter as I tried to keep her confidence on task.

Although Coli felt that we gave up acceleration and glide on the board we decided upon, we ended up choosing the Laird "Big Boy" board which was a nice and stable 14' x 32" prototype in case we hit some "serious wicked chop ruckus"

that night - when we got home - I started putting together some EVA deck pad scrap I had to see how I could optimize her "navigator's cockpit"

Coli woke up and saw it the next morning and was really stoked to go test it out!
The result? It absolutely sucked. The particular material I used was a smooth texture (which I thought she'd like) and during a practice run, she actually slid off, leaving her very discouraged afterward.

I had to keep a positive attitude about this - but I could see it affecting the both of us.
"Daddy....how come this deck pad is worse than just the plain board wax we used the other day???" I was determined to fix it for her - but this also meant hours of peeling and scraping ahead of me. I took a deep breath and went for it. Peeling off EVA deck pad is just about one of the most tedious things one could possibly punish themselves to do. It took some seriously painful hours of the night and lots of scraping....lots.... finally I pushed through it and re-did it all. This time I went a little technical with the areas so she had visual indicators to see where she was standing.

By this point in time, school had already started, her birthday was in a couple of days, followed by race day..... but it was necessary to squeeze in a final test run to see if we could get our confidence back for the final "thumbs up" for RTR.

   Coli's fave Floral Bat fin - by Larry Allison

We went out to Lake Sammamish for a mellow run to have Coli familiarize herself with the new and updated wild navigator's cockpit, and to go over our drills and strategies. 
6 miles passed fast and we were both in good spirits. 

 

It is always a plus when you have packages that arrive with impeccable timing - thanks to our friends John and Katie from Distressed Mullet - this totally added to Coli's Race Confidence

Thursday night hit us hard with lightning and thunder - it continued through Saturday morning....but the forecast predicted super nice "best ever" conditions - really?..... I briefly exchanged a few words with Jeff Underwood, he was stoked we were paddling tandem on his 13 miler......now if the weather was really going to do what we all hoped.... 

I tried not to pace about it all - but I was not going to take Coli on a 13 mile paddle through a storm. I waxed the board down with Onit pro, and made sure it was all good to go, got both of our paddles waxed.....and paced some more......I could not believe how nerve wracking this was making me - I was checking the weather report compulsively.....
I could have probably put myself to good use and waxed pretty much every board in this neighborhood with the nervous energy I had......this was getting irritating....

Since I got Coli into racing - I have always tried to keep her stoke going by making reminder trophies - for the effort that she puts into it all.... I barely finished this one on time..in stealth mode too!

We decided to pre-pack everything the day before - Maia helped make all of the food and made sure all scooby snax were packed - this is an area where she is particularly amazing at, and I fall short quite a bit - so I'm always thankful.

I triple checked the hydration units....... and still I was pacing like more still needed to be done... Coli had a very quiet and mellow "indoor camping" birthday this year as she knew race day was Sunday and didn't want to be totally exhausted. However, she was so excited about everything she managed to stay up most of the night with her cousin, and was very exhausted the day before the race......... 

This year for Coli's birthday, instead of a cake, she requested a rack of ribs with a birthday candle in the center - which sounded like an excellent plan to me. How could any dad refuse that one?

Our friend Renick shared some words of encouragement to keep our stoke up before race day. We were all exhausted so we wound down early in hopes to get a good night's sleep as we had a very early wake up call. As exhausted as we were - it was just about the worst night's sleep that we all had in a long time......the last time I checked the clock - I had to get up in 2.5hrs..........

Stroke the Slough - Part 3 - Perspectives from the Stoke-o-nut corner

Stoke-o-nut Corner : Racing & Stroke the Slough

What got you interested in racing?

I was curious about doing it because my dad was into it and I wanted to experience what it would be like being there with him during a race.

   

What do you like about racing?

I get a lot out of it.....
I love all the experiences – the magic of the moment, the glide…. & passing someone in a race (Hahaa – roaring with mischief laughter)

The Stroke the Slough 12 miler (2012) was a huge race for me – it was sooo long – my feet felt like concrete bricks after completing that, but completion was one of the most amazing feelings I’ve ever felt. It made me realize that if I believe I can do it – I can.

Photo: Kathy Greisen, Stroke the Slough 2012

Last Year:

Racing was a difficult thing for me - and really out of my comfort zone - because it was so new and there were so many things that were different about racing compared to the usual touring style paddling that we do. The starts were the hardest thing to get used to and it was hard to stay on. I got tossed around a lot and clacked paddles with my dad, and we both had to work really hard to stay on and paddle together.






When we go out and paddle together we work on things like - Timing, cadence, speed, and simple drills like if my muscles are sore and I need a break, water breaks, if I need to adjust my stance, if I need to re-fuel, so we don't end up becoming this mess where I'm trying to do something as he paddles and because we don't know what each other is doing - we'll get the board all tippy.


My favorite new thing we worked on is called a "Power-Punch"
I am not strong enough to paddle hard for very long, so it is our special drill where I focus on form, and short intense paddle strokes. I love the feeling I get when I drop into it - we go fast, even though for a short time.

This year compared to last year - I feel so much stronger and it is such an awesome feeling. Last year I didn't have the same focus, or the ability to stay paddling that long, it was hard on my body, and I've really worked hard to get better at it, to get stronger.....to be a warrior

The thing I really like about Stroke the Slough is that it is a really beautiful race. The scenery is just awesome, you don't have to compete with power boats and jet skis blasting around you.... once you get past the choppy start - it is you and the slough, and you get to go for it without having to worry about power chop coming from some wake boarder coming up right beside you during a race.


 I enjoy watching other people tandem race and regular race. It was cool to see all the other kid racers that were out there and parents paddling tandem with their kids.





It also makes me happy to know that you can encourage a friend to try it out and give racing a shot.

Like my friend Josie Ask - who went for it and did the Elite 7.75 mile race as her first race. I am very proud of her for doing it and completing. It was a very hard and tricky race....especially for her first.

 





It's always fun making new friends (other racers) like my friend E11 (Dave Raney) He was a super nice guy - I also learned that this was his second race and that his first was Round the Rock....just like my dad.



I learned that there are other beginners out there that are adults, it made me feel very lucky trying this out as early as I am right now. I think it is awesome that I am seeing more and more people that are beginners to try racing - and it makes me happy. I want to encourage everyone to try it because it has done so much for me.



Even if it's hard - never give up - keep trying!
Someday you will meet your goals and feel accomplished and proud of yourself.

Thanks to Sara and everyone that put Stroke the Slough together - I will always have amazing memories to this race!



      

Thanks to Rick Ask for making these awesome trophies to remind us of  these amazing memories

Stroke the Slough - Part 2 - The Race

Preparing for a race is no easy thing, especially when you have to account for your co-pilot, amazing wife that will be jamming beside us on a bike on the parallel trail,  and make sure that we have all of the necessary gear to make it happen. It can actually mentally fry you....but in our case - Coli made a checklist to help us all stay on task.

Making sure we get to the venue early is also something that is necessary but not always easy to achieve. Parking and loading are not always your friends during a race event. Usually when we arrive - I take care of the board unload, and Coli installs the fins, transports the paddles, and makes sure that they are nicely waxed (since sunscreen and sweat work well together as a paddle droppin lubricant). 



Coli had a very special "Floral" Bat Click-it fin made for her by uncle Larry Allison that she was very excited to use for the race. Larry's Click-it system makes it a breeze for Coli to install and remove the fins allowing her to be an active part of setup and breakdown.

Checking in is always fun - we get our numbers scribbled on our limbs, we get to scope out the competition, slap high fives with our friends and get stoked!!

Getting to the start was interesting. We had to cross a busy bike path with our boards, get into a very schloppy muddy shallow area, hop on, then get into position. The start is narrow, shallow, with hardly any elbow room. 

Last year, there was a staggered start - which really helped with the amount of chaos that can happen when you have a stampede of wild frenzy chickins blasting down a tube...

This year, while Coli and I were setting up in the back of the pack - we glanced up and all of a sudden - everyone was going for it and the chaotic stampede began!!!! 

 Joel: What we've started already?? What the...?
Coli: Daddy.....Power - PUNCH!! 
Joel: Go - Go - Go!!!
Coli: Daddy - how are we going to get through these guys?? everyone's so close! It's super choppy and a giant mess....and I...need a snack!
Joel: What? Seriously?
Coli: Sorry daddy, I'm hungry!!!
Joel: Uh, bad timing hun - I thought we fueled up before - now we gotta get through these guys first
Coli: Yeah, we need to get through this madness so I can have my Shot Blox...





It was an interesting motivation to get through the snake train of paddlers splashing through the slough, but nonetheless it was motivation and it wasn't as intimidating for her this year as it was last year.



Coli: 
"In the beginning there was a small island, on one side. It was shallow with rocks, the other side was deeper but narrower - so all the racers were hearded to the deep narrow side - it was chaotic and awesome.

I thought we were going to stay in the back for most of the race, but since it was super choppy and uncomfortable, and I was hungry and wanted some shot blox, I decided that we needed to punch through the snake train and get out of the madness - so we could get our own pace going....and I could eat. So we started moving through the crowds. Passing other paddlers felt awesome and exciting. I actually felt sorry for them for a moment - but it felt so exciting as well....and...a race is a race"


Pushing through stormy soup bowl waters, paddles clacking, competitors yelling to get out of the way, trying to stay out of the shallows, through the narrows, rocks to the left, logs to the right, overhanging branches - quick, duck - watch those weeds!

We passed quite a few elite racers that were NOT so stoked that we did, but mostly we exchanged many Coli style vocal high fives as we passed them, Coli mainly saying "Awesome job!!! Keep up the hard work" as we overtook.

After we broke from the pack and figured out our handing Coli her re-fuel routine - we glanced up ahead and saw a wolf pack we set our sights on. Last year we spent much time clacking paddles, not being in sync, learning lots how to paddle with each other - this year we worked on cadence, pace, and simple commands - mainly to keep our sanity, and learn how to optimize our energy output better. We focused on pace and slowly started moving up the pack...with the occasional upward glance to see if we could see mommy at one of the bridges.... 




As we moved through the wolf pack Coli noticed that the racers ahead of us were keeping the same pace, and she was trying figure out why....

Coli: Daddy - I think those guys are stealing our cadence!!!
Joel: They don't want us passing them
Coli: Oh that does it - I am going to go Savannah STEALTH MODE
(*Savannah Baus is a paddler that Coli really looks up to~more about her shortly)
Daddy just follow me - I am not going to call out commands...

She mentions to the camera (which unfortunately did not record this) "Savannah - this one's for you!!!" and starts dropping into her paddle stroke and we start booking.........

Coli: Daddy - it's working it's working!!!! we're going Savannah Stealth mode for the rest of the race

We arrive at the 5 mile marker at Red Hook (which is where the finish line will be when we paddle back upstream) we smell the BBQ and know that there are 3 more miles to go. We hear cheering and many cries of encouragement - it was awesome!! when all of a sudden I hear "P-O-W-E-R----P-U-N-C-H!!" belt out and Coli is DIGGING IN super hard!! Wow, what a time to pick to do this, we were funneling through a ton of weeds and alongside several paddlers....either way - as the co-pilot, if she calls "Power Punch" we're doin it. It was messy, lots of weed whacking, and paddlers jostling, people cheering - but we punched through and ....passed them!!!! Coli was ecstatic!!! "LOG to the LEFT, WEEDS to the right!!! Medium Speed center - GO!" 

It was awesome to feel like Coli really is beginning to understand how to utilize the techniques we've been working on for a while in context now.

As I was feeling the burn - a second wind hit Coli and she was now taking lead into the last 3rd of this race. I was very proud of her - milemarker 6 and she's still holding up!

Charging ahead we saw the Elite racers paddling back upstream!!! The guys as always are so full of encouragement, shouting props to Coli and exchanging vocal high fives as we pass each other!!! It is such an awesome community we have here in the PNW!!

Alas the buoy turn!!! - We hit it disastrously!!! both of us on our last bit of steam trying to make this turn with my frankenturning skills was a bit of a challenge, Coli fell onto the deck and as I tried to quickly switch sides, I strike her achilles and there is a scream of terror that could have made the fish all jump out of the water.

I felt terrible, we had paddlers right behind us waiting to take this opportunity to pass us... this was the part where we paddle upstream and my co-pilot is down.

Joel: Coli, I'm so sorry hun, are you going to be okay?
Coli: I'm okay daddy - that really hurt me but it mostly startled me!
Joel: I need your help.... this is the hard part - can you get up?
Coli: I'm going to be a warrior and pop back up!

Coli pops back up and goes warrior style for the remainder of the upweed section of the race. Maintaining her rhythm, pace, and we stay stealth and steady!!!

We pass by our friends Rick and Josie heading downstream as we paddle back up, Coli still has the energy to belt out "YEAH JOSIE!!!! Way to go, keep up the hard work - you got it!!!" Coli was really looking forward to checking in on Josie during the race and was constantly asking if she was okay - It was good to see her.





Here we are - the final stretch - we have a visual on Red Hook!
We do our last "Power Punch" with all that we have left in us to the end.... we make it through the finish line - slap a paddle high five and just about collapse at the smell of BBQ food..... we look up and mommy is there - relief, we did it - wow, what a race!



It took us 1:37 to complete 7.75miles - 37th place, I think we did quite alright!



This is the first year that Coli is going into the races as a competitor. She has really stepped it up this year with her outlook on race events. Paddling and race events have become a very intrinsic experience for her, and it has in turn become a very worthwhile experience for the both of us paddling tandem together. We are extremely proud of her!

-Joel

Our friends Josie and Rick Ask - rolling into the finish of the Elite 7.75 mile race - Well done the both of you 

*this was Josie's first race!

Our friends Luciana (blue hat), Linae, and Art Aquino pulling into the finish of the 5 Mile race!  *This was Luciana's first race!! 

Coli: There were many friends I was happy to see at Stroke the Slough this year - many of them first timers I am very proud of - way to go guys!!! Keep up the hard work and I'll see you all on the water!


Stay tuned for Stroke the Slough - Part 3, by Coli