This summer I took up the sport of paddling. When I say paddling, I mean laying on my stomach or on my knees using my arms and shoulders to move through the water. Paddling is grueling, boring and at times brutal, but I absolutely love it. My friend "rainbow" has been paddling for a few years and she suggested that we train for the Hennessey's race. The race is held at Redondo Beach and this year the race was shortened from 14 miles to 9 which in itself I still consider a lot. I can't even run 9 miles so to paddle with my arms for that distance seemed impossible. Rainbow and I had about a month and half to train and there were days when the conditions were so bad that I often wondered why I was putting myself through the torture. My friends would ask what it was about paddling that I enjoyed so much and why I would put myself through that kind of pain. To this day I haven't been able to give anyone a clear cut answer. I don't even think I know. Being in the water brings me a sense of calm and peace. I'm the biggest chicken when it comes to sea creatures (even creatures we refer to as humans), but somehow none of that matters. While I'm paddling my shoulders and traps (or my trapezoids as I like to refer to them) burn, my low back hurts, legs are cramping and once I'm out of the water it's done. The pain stops and I go on with my day. My body is sore, but it's a good reminder that I worked hard.
The race was held on July 11 and a few days before the race I was in bed sick and fighting an infection. I had a little too much fun on 4th of July and I spent the week paying the price. Rainbow and I spent sometime preparing our rig for our paddleboards and up until that point, I was still excited to do the race. Come race day I still wasn't feeling well and was told that the race is now going to be close to 11 miles instead of the 9 we were originally told. This was the turning point when I wasn't excited about the race anymore. Rainbow and I had two training days when we paddled up to 8 miles and even though the difference between 9 miles to 10.6 didn't seem like a lot as in terms of numbers that distance is equivalent to going pier to pier. To top it off, the course was a triangle course and we needed to complete 3 laps to finish. The race was a water start and there were over 300 competitors all starting at once. I took my time at the start and ended up being at the very end of the pack. I stayed there through the race and did I the best I could to get through the race. My first 3 miles were the worst. I was dehydrated and with every stroke I felt like I was going to vomit. I finally found my rhythm the 2nd lap of the course, but by then everyone was so ahead. My original goal was to finish the race, but my ego was telling me I couldn't be the last one to finish. Through the duration of the race I was switching leads with this guy and on our final lap he asked me if I wanted to finish the race with him. Teaming up with Frank was the final push I needed to finish. At this point my shoulders were giving out and my low back was hurting like crazy. I was too afraid to fall in and waste time so I didn't even bother trying to get on my knees to paddle. Laying on my stomach and paddling for that amount of time was hellish.
The race ended with a beach finish which meant we had to ride our boards onto shore and run to the finish line. I was so tired that I tried to catch a wave in to save some strokes, but ended up tumbling over losing my hat and board. To make matters worse my legs were jello and weren't working. I would take two steps and fall. Frank literally had to drag me to the finish line. When we got to the finish line I pretty much collapsed and just sat there. I recall the judges asking for my number and being surrounded with my friends and had no clue what anyone was saying. The only thing I recall saying was that I wasn't the last one to finish. I was the last girl to finish, but beat out some of the guys. In the bigger picture it didn't matter whether I finished first or last. I finished the race and that in itself was a huge accomplishment.
Rainbow #42 2:43:25
Me #45 2:58:45
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