Aloha nō kākou,
Yes indeed, it is me – I am back, of sorts. I know it has been a long time (the last post went up on June 27th) and I felt guilty every week that I did not write, but life at times takes its own turns and you just have to go along for the ride.
It all started after race number 6 on June 23rd, which we won against Puna. Training went well leading into week 7 with the upcoming race on June 30th. Two days prior to race day, I received notice that I had to tend to some business on Saturday, June 30th at the hotel, which could not be postponed. As hard as I tried to figure something out, I couldn’t and I had to tell the crew that I was not available to race that weekend. It really wasn’t all that bad, as the plan had always been to rotate paddlers in and out, but it did hurt a little bit as we had some good races and good wins.
June 30th was a good race, and the crew did well and won in a time of 3 minutes 42.83, 2.69 seconds ahead of Puna. This was the third win in a row and certainly put the pressure on Puna to do well as there was still a first seed at States up for grabs.
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With George Szigeti, President / CEO of Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association
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All of that forced me to be really creative in my training, with Tuesday and Thursday evening reserved for the canoe club, and almost every morning either in the weight room or running or bicycling. When Saturday came around, I once again was not paddling on the crew, leaving room for another paddler to experience Hilo. While I didn’t like to be off of the team for a second week, it actually felt ok as it afforded me some time to get my life organized and catch up on various tasks (business and personal), that fell to the side during the week. Race day, July 7th, didn’t turn out all that great for my crew as Puna won the race in 3 minutes 41.61 seconds, 2.38 seconds ahead of us.
The week of July 9th included a new training element for our 50’s crew. Our steersman and coach Spence decided that we should work out on Monday afternoon on a Concept 2 paddling Ergometer, basically a land-based training machine that would give all kinds of feedback on each individual’s performance, including wattage produced (wattage is a measure of how much power somebody can produce in a given period of time, which is important for the forward movement of the canoe). Power is also a function of weight, as somebody who is heavier will have to produce more power just to move the additional body weight along with the canoe.
Unfortunately I was on Maui that Monday afternoon and missed the first session, where a few of the crew put down some wattage numbers. I knew that this test would be used to determine future crews, so later that same week, I snuck into the clubs halau under the cover of darkness and did a test myself just so I had an idea what I could do. The actual impetus for doing so was my friend Jack, who paddled quite a few races with me this season, who supported my efforts to be back in the boat and really wanted me to do well. I was able to produce 145 watts over a period of 4 minutes (race length), which was short of some of the others performance (high was 157 watts), but adjusted for my body weight of 172 lbs, the wattage was actually at the top of the list.
The rest of the week, we had our normal paddling training, but at the end of the week, I was again excluded from the crew for the final race, the Moku Nui Big Island championship race. I took it in stride and was perfectly fine knowing that I paddled six out of nine race days, more than most on our crew.
When Saturday, July 14th came around, Puna won the final race and therefore the title of 2012 Moku Champion with a time of 3 minutes 49.82 seconds, 1.65 seconds ahead of my crew. While the title of champion is a nice one to have, our crew retained the most wins over the entire season, which means that we will have first seed at the State Championships and will be able to race in lanes 1 through 6, where the water is calmer and probably faster.
Head Coach Eddie stirred things up the week of July 16th when he announced that we would not paddle OC-6, but would all get together on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for OC-1 (One Man) time trials. Many of us do not own one-man canoes, but with Jack and Dane’s assistance, I was able to borrow a few canoes (with a range of very old and heavy to state-of-the-art and feather-light). I wanted to make sure that I was there and able to show what I can do, as time trials are races of truth and depend entirely on someone’s own individual effort, without assistance, nor ability to place blame on someone. On Tuesday, it took me a while to get used to the old, bright-yellow Viper canoe (with a seat that moved around as the glue lost its traction). I hung in there, though, and finished “age-appropriate”, particularly since many of the 50’s crew didn’t show. On Thursday, we did a downwind run in very choppy waters off the coast of Kona, which gave me some trouble in the old Viper, but I finished once again (with again many of my peers missing in action). Finally, Saturday’s run went from Honokohau Harbor north to the airport and back, a total paddling time of over 2 hours, broken up into 30 minute segments. I did quite well there on a beautiful Kai Wa`a Scorpius canoe (mahalo braddah Dane for letting me borrow that – wow) and while very hot, it was actually a lot of fun. On Sunday, we went out with two OC-6 for a good 90 minute run, and again, I did quite well.
This week of July 23rd, we are back to regular training, regatta style in the six-man canoe. On Monday, we went once again to the Ergometer, with the same routine taking place and each one of us putting a good effort in over twice 4 minutes. I performed once again quite well with 145 watts, which based on my weight should help move the canoe quite well. Tuesday we were back on the beach, and the rest of the week will decide on who is going to race on August 4th in the State Championships.
A hui hou!
Chris
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