Category: Kayaking

As in, “I should be”, I think.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of participating in the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta kayak race. It’s a 10 miler (Dan says it’s closer to 9 miles, but I’m not sure I believe him). I was doubtful about doing such a long race, but he said that if I tried 3 times a week between now and then, I could do it. I was torn between trying it this year, or waiting for a year and giving myself time to get used to such a long distance. And there was a Hugger’s Ski Club clambake that same day – Vicki and I were doing that sort of “well, if you want to do A, I don’t mind skipping B” dance, and again I was thinking the clambake would be a good excuse to miss the race this year.

But at the same time, Vicki and I have talked about taking a couple of weekends away at a nice hotel or B&B. And then I discovered that the start line for the regatta is on the beach in front of the “turn of the century” Adirondak Hotel. Suddenly it seemed like things were swinging the way of doing the race – Vicki and I can have a nice weekend away at a nice hotel, and I can have my race, and Sunday Vicki and I can go for a nice leisurely paddle together. And they have a vacancy with the room with the queen sized bed and the private bathroom. SOLD! I just hope they have a hot tub to recover.

I wonder if Frank will let me borrow the Looksha?

I think I overdid it a bit. I went kayaking, and because I left it so late, the parking lot at Bay Creek was full, forcing me to launch from the public park across the street. No dock, just a lot of very horrible sucky mud.
Continue reading “I’m sooooo tired”

Today was quite a departure for me. Normally I avoid paddling on the bay like the plague, both because of the waves and because of the power boaters. But there is a race coming up in a few weeks that’s the culmination of the kayak racing season, and it’s nearly 10 miles up and down “Long Lake”. So I figured I needed to do more distance, and I also needed some experience on lakes. I thought I’d try paddling up to the Bay Bridge and back, since Dan says that’s 5 miles. (It turns out that Google Maps Pedometer shows it being more like 5.3 miles.)
Continue reading “Long Slow Distance training”