2011 South Dakota Kayak Challenge And Reflections From 2010

This weekend will mark the 2 month countdown to the Second Annual South Dakota Kayak Challenge. A challenge primarily and a race secondary, that will see about 100 racers line the shore of Riverside Park in Yankton SD and with the sound of a gun, start their journey along a 75 mile (120km) section of the mighty and historic Missouri River, crossing into three states and finally finishing in Sioux City Iowa. As such, I have dedicated this entry to the challenge in an attempt to answer many questions for people that I have talked to that are interested in taking part in this great event.

THE COURSE
As stated, the course is approximately 75 miles (121km) in length, for which each boat will have 30 hours from the starting gun to finish. This 30 hours includes all breaks, naps and calls-of-natures there may be.

The course has 4 check points, Myron Grove, Mulberry Bend, Bolton and Rosenbaum which can divide the race into 5 spearate legs. Below are descriptions of the race based on my experiences last year and from talking ot the organizers and other fellow competitors.

LEG 1
The first leg between Riverside Park and Myron grove is a 17.5 mile (28km) downstream stretch of river that is channeled by numerous large islands and many more smaller islands, however, the flow is relatively unimpeded and the water deep. Last year there were a few sandbars along this route, but nothing major. The only real concern that I would say there is in this leg is a branch in the river after about 5 miles (8km), a smaller branch will flow north while a second brach flows south. I advise all would be paddlers to take the southern branch as its the more direct route and the northern route will lead you through what appeared to be a narrow, shallow channel that has its fair share of small islands you'd have to negotiate around before rejoining the main channel - it also adds about 0.6mi (1km) to your overall distance. I didn't hear about anyone taking the northern route last year - probably because you can still follow the crowd of paddlers, but it wouldn't be hard for a person to take it.

LEG 2
The second leg of the race between Myron Grove and Mulberry Bend is 11.5 miles (18.5km) in length. About 0.5mi (0.8km) after the Myron Grove checkpoint, the river becomes divided by Goat island, an island about 4.5 miles (7.2km) long, forcing you to choose one of two channels - a northern channel and a southern channel. Last year we we pulled into Myron Grove in a group of about 5 boats all within 7-10 minutes of each other. Of those boats, Tyler and I were the only boat to take the south channel. In retrospect, I would still recommend paddlers to take the southern channel. From accounts from volunteers and other racers, the northern channel is more channelized as it is divided even further by smaller islands. When the two channels merged, we had actually made time and distance on a few boats that left Myron Grove before us and even passed one or two. About 0.8miles (1.3km) the Missouri River will start to have fun with you - the river flows around two islands creating 3 channels and water levels drop. Last year the southern channel had many downed trees and some sandbars that were visible. We opted for the middle channel which for the most part was decent, however we pulled too close to the first island and quickly found ourselves bottoming out - coming to a complete stop in the middle of the Missouri River. As we quickly found out, the middle channel has a large barely submerged sandbar that sticks out about a quarter of a mile from the north shore of the island. In retrospect, we should have hugged closer to the southern shore of the second island as I believe the water was deeper. After these islands the river takes a sharp turn to the south where these sandbars are pretty much part of the scenery for the last 5 miles (8km) before Mulberry Bend. It is also around this time the headwind wind really started to pick up (20-30mph, 30-50kph).

LEG 3

The third leg of the race is about 12 miles (19km) from Mulberry Bend to the Bolton checkpoint. I stongly remember a strong channelized current along this section, one that is not hard to miss and if you can ride it, can propel you through the bend in quite a short amount of time - I do also remember som very large boils that threaten to derail your run if you happen to slip out of this current. Just over 3 miles (5km) after Mulberry Bend, the river will fork into three channels. I remember the south channel being filled with shallows and sandbars, the same with the middle channel, however, if you stay river left in the middle channel you should miss the shallows and the sandbars. From the sounds of it, the northern channel is completely clear of sandbars and might be worth attempting this route as the length difference is less than 0.2mi (0.3km) and might mitigate the decrease in speed caused by the sandbars and shallows. Immediately after the shallows two large sandbars are present and highly viible in the middle of the river - avoid them - though if you need a break, I did see one boat pulling over on them. The river channel will then squeeze past a peninsula before flowing around a small treed island - I'd again recommend river right around this island until the Bolton checkpoint.

LEG 4

Bolton checkpoint to Rosebaum comprises the fourth leg of the race. This 14.5 mile (23.3km) section sees the river gradually taper into a more narrow even banked single channel river. About 1.5 miles (2.5km) after the Bolton checkpoint wingdykes begin to appear on the right bank. These are worth crossing the river for. Wingdykes are fabulous inventions, built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, they are rock structed that are built out into the river perpendicular to flow and they force water away from the shore, narrowing the river and creating quick channelized currents as water flows around them. Be warned, they also produce extremely large boils behind the structure, but behind them the water is calm and is a good place to rest if you need to. Be careful about not hitting one though as the force of the watter hitting it can pin and/or capsize a boat - this is more important at night or in low visibilty conditions, normally they are easy to avoid. I have heard stories of this happening (not in the SDKC though). If you are a confident paddler these currents can really be beneficial. The first set of wingdykes will last for about 0.8 miles (1.3km) - enough to let you know if you want to use them. By staying river right you will avoide major channelization and shallower water on the opposite bank as the river turns southwards towards Rosenbaum. The rest of the leg except for the 2.3 miles (3.8km) before Rosenbaum is fairly straight forward paddling with no obstacles. Near the end of this leg wingdykes will again appear, this time on the left shore before stopping and picking up on the right shore. Good paddlers in good conditions iwll be able to skirt across the river and use these to their benefit, at the same time, this is were recreational motor boat traffic will wreak havoc the most - and it will only get worse.

LEG 5

Once you hit Rosenbaum you are 16 miles (25.7km) from the finish line in Sioux City and in the last leg of the race. Technically speaking, this is probably the easiest section of the race, however you have just paddled over 55 miles (88km) through shallows, strong headwinds and around islands and sandbars. From this point on, wing dykes will line the shores of the river (they will be on the outside of every major bend), so confident paddlers will find this helps a lot if they can ride the current. If conditions exist it could be worth skirting the river and riding the wingdykes, I know several paddlers did this. However, the recreational boaters might make this almost impossible. Last year the biggest complaint (after the headwinds) were the boaters throwing huge wakes at the racers - many not really caring and several doing it on purpose. Be very careful around the boaters you can see them, they may not be able to see you. About 11.5 miles (28.5km) after leaving Rosenbaum you will be able to see some extremely large mansions on the left bank, at this point you will probably be riding the wingdykes on that side as well (or avoiding them like the plague) and possibly flipping off some motor boaters, but take pleasure in seeing these, you're less than 5 miles (8km) from the finish and on the second last set of wingdykes. A mere 3 miles (5km) futher you will come to the confluence of the Missouri River and Sioux River on the left shore, but at this point you will probably be fixated on the Sioux City Bridge (Veteran's Bridge). From here make sure you get to the left shore and follow it to Bev's, turn sharply into the marina and bask in the knowledge that you just finished the South Dakota Kayak Challenge.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2010

When most people hear "75 miles (120km)" and "30 hours","paddling" in the same sentence, it usually summons visions of herculean trapezius muscles and biceps or just an impossible combination - this is not the case. This is not an impossible task, 75 miles (121km) in 30 hours is doable if you put your mind to it and practice, all you have to do is believe in yourself and know what you want. There are three kinds of people that will enter this race in my opinion, (1) ones that want to compete to win, (2) those that want to challenge themselves and finish, (3) those that want to just paddle regardless of the outcome. Its easy to know which one you fall into, just believe in yourself and train for that division.

For those people coming this year, the biggest thing that I can pass on is don't let the wind, recreational traffic or other hardships get you down. If you really want to finish but are finding the wind and traffic too much and are thinking of pulling out, get to the shore or into one of the checkpoints. Get ot of your boat and take a breather and a break and talk to other paddlers, they're likely having the same experience as you. A brief timeout or conversation can do wonders and get your mind and body back into the game. If you do decide to pull-out before the finish, don't be hard on yourself, just do it safely. There is always another year and lessons to be learned from past experiences, after all, no competitor in the race would hold it against you or think you lesser or doing so. Ultimately this was set up to be a challenge which by definition is something that summons special skill and strength (both physical and mental) to complete.

If you have competed in the SDKC or plan too, feel free to leave comments or questions below.

Texas Water Safari -The First 100km

Have you ever wondered what the Texas Water Safari was like? The next few installments of the blog will breakdown the race, providing you an opportunity ro understand the race better and what the participants go through.

On Saturday June 12th at 8:50am, over 100 boats will put into the water at Aquarena Springs in San Marcos Texas and pull into their starting positions. For the next 10 minutes, the armada of canoes and kayaks will gently bob in Spring Lake. The temperature will already be in the mid 20C (75F) range and the humidity will be rolling in.

At 9:00am, a single gunshot will send over 250 paddlers thrashing across the lake, crashing into each other and jostling for position en route to Joe's Crab Shack Dam a mere 400m (1/4 mi) away. Once the boats have traversed the little lake, the paddlers will jump out into the mud and water and start a downhill running portage through dense bush, roots, sharp rocks and other racers. Hazardous rocks threaten to twist ankles, tear flesh and damage boats en route to the mouth of the San Marcos River, a river that will take them to the Guadalupe River, out into the Gulf of Mexico and onto Seadrift 421km (262 mi) away, and that is just the first kilometre of the race.

Over the next 3.5km (2.2mi) there are two more dams and 3 portages (2 mandatory). The Rio Vista Dam, a mere 1.2km (0.75 mi) from the race's beginning provides a opportunity to run the small spillway if you don't feel like portaging, however, many boats that attempt are thwarted in their effort and end up capsized with their paddlers scrambling to catch their boat and gear as it floats down the river and then upright it so the can continue as the spillway descends into a 4ft (1.3m) standing wave

In fact, this section of the river is often considered the most difficult part of the race. Aside from the 7 portages, 4 low clearance bridges and 2 rapids, this section contains what is locally known as the "Gnarly 40". Forty miles (64km) of tight, tree clogged and log jammed river channel between Staples Dam and Palmetto State Park. In years of high water, log jams can be nearly a mile long, being unable to paddle them the racers have to traverse across the log jam with their canoe and gear, being careful not to breakthrough or have their boats swept underneath. These "logjam portages" often take more than one trip eating up valuable time. These trees are also prime habitat for black widows and cottonmouth snakes, both highly venomous.

This section also contains the Cottonseed Rapids, a long stretch of rocks and white water with a narrow chute exit which is a favourite spot for many spectators. Many boats that attempt to run this section are swept into rocks, paddlers are tossed from boats, canoes and kayaks capsize and fill with water and gear is swept downstream, if lucky the boats sustain no damage and the paddlers can meet up with their boats and gather their gear further down. Those that are not lucky can find their boats pinned or even rupture their hulls which can either end their race a mere 16km into the race or spend critical time repairing the damage which can be moderate or severe taking up to an hour to repair. Boats pinned to rocks by the force of the water often find themselves in the way of boats shooting the rapids and can cause significant collisions.

If that wasn't enough, the portage at the Ottine Dam is considered one of the hardest by many racers in this race. Due to the strong current of the dam, you must pull over well above it or face the chance of being swept over, you then must pull the boat out of the water and up a steep slick river bank and down a slippery clay slope covered in dense trees, prime location for poison ivy, fire ants, and venomous snakes and spiders, a bite from either can prove fatal to a human in an exhausted and stressed state. Not to mention prime real estate to drop a canoe or injure oneself.

To top it off, racers have to finish this section by 10AM Sunday, a mere 25 hours after the race starts.

This is the first 100km of the Texas Water Safari, "The World's Toughest Boat Race". Stay tuned for the second 100km.

100 Kilometres Of The Beautiful And Weir-d Bow River

This was a big weekend for Team Chinook, it marked the two week countdown to the inagural South Dakota Kayak Challenge and four weeks to the Texas Water Safari. It was also the second 100km (61 mile) trial run for Team Chinook and the first in temperatures exceeding 20C. It was also our first practice run where anybody with internet access could track our progress virtually live through our SPOT unit, as we paddled the world famous Bow River from Bowness Park in Calgary to Carseland Alberta.

Being mid-May, the water level in the Bow is still relatively low, as such the flow volume is low and the speed is slower than normal. This section of the Bow offers relatively little in the realm of dangers for paddlers and is very straigh forward, there are a few class 1+ rapids and numerous ripples. The only real dangers are the two weirs that are along the way, on in downtown Clagary and one just to the east as you enter Carseland. Each providing a mandatory portage due to their trecherous hydraulics. I've heard and read before that the weir in Calgary is responsible for a number of deaths, one of them not to long ago. As you approach both weirs, signs warn you of the danger ahead and a string of bouys delineates the safe zone from the danger zone.

The weirs were created for aeration and diversion of water to irrigation channels and produce an amazing hydaulic cycle that if you get caught it, it would be impossible to get out of. It also provides a habitat for pelicans as they wait in the wake of the water looking for fish that get swept over. Due to the construction of Harvie Passage in Calgary and the removal of the Weir, we ended up having an 800m portage, although I must admit that it was an easy one, along the Bow River Bike Path. We did run into an older gentleman who was familiar with the Texas Water Safari through readings and wished us luck.

Below the construction, the water level dropped dramatically not even allowing us to get the entire blade of the paddle into the water, after a few hundred metres the water deepened, then would shallow out again. This pretty much was the course for the rest of the urban paddle. As we approached south Calgary we finally found life in the river, people were out at the dog park and the fly fishers were out in full force. We managed to see some impressive trout being reeled in, one was easily in the range of 24 inches, which to me is a big fish.

Over the next 30km (18 miles) we passed easily two dozen fishing boats and easily twice as many fly fishermen/women than we did boats. It was our first time having to share the river with watercraft or person this year, and from our numerous and brief conversations, it was many of these people's first times out as well. Its amazing what happens once the temp hits the mid teens.

After running a few class 1+ we were greeted by a big white warning sign telling us to stay to the left channel to avoid the weir in Carseland and prepare for a mandatory portage. At this point our average speed fell from 10kph even to about 3 as we had to exit the boat numerous times to ferry it through shallows, rock gardens and wet gravel bars. Thankfully after 40 minutes we were at the portage and the end of our route. Total time was 9 hours and 32 minutes and total distance was 101km (61 miles) for an average moving speed of 9.9kph (6.1 mph), providing a food warm up to next weekends timed 360km (225 mi) practice run.

A Game Of Inches And Ounces

If you wanted to win or even be competitive in the Boston Marathon, would you wear a 25lb (11kg) backpack and 3lb (1.5kg) hiking boots? My guess is that you probably wouldn't, you'd probably opt for light shorts, light comfortable runners that provide contorsional support and maybe a ball cap to keep the sun off your head. As a runner, you'd try to be as light and efficient as possible. Ultramarathon canoe racers and runners actually have that in common.

Outside of technique and physical endurance, canoe racing over extremely long distances is a game of inches and ounces, a race where when you look at the physics, you can reap major benefits from minor sacrifices.

A MATTER OF INCHES

All other dimensions equal and paddling being equal, which canoe do you think will be faster, a canoe with a 17' waterline or a canoe with a 16' waterline?

The fact is, what many people (recreational canoeists included) don't realise, is that if you have a canoe with a longer waterline, you will actually have a faster theoretical maximum speed compared to a canoe with a shorter waterline. Let's look at a boat with a 17' waterline (Canoe A) and a canoe with a 16' waterline (Canoe B).

Without actually deriving the formula, the equation to determine the theoretical maximum speed of a canoe/kayak in miles per hour (mph) is 1.55 x SQRT(wl) where wl is the waterline length in feet.

Boat A: 1.55 x SQRT(17) = 6.4 mph (10.29kph)

Boat B: 1.55 x SQRT(16) = 6.2mph (9.97kph)

This may not sound like a lot, a mere 0.2mph (0.32kph), but over 1 hour, that amounts to a distance of 350 yd (320m) or almost a 2 minute lead. In typical marathon races that take 5 to 6 hours to complete, that distance can increase to 1mi (1.6km) and be a time of 10 -15 minutes. In an ultramarathon race such as the Texas Water Safari, over a time of 80 hours, the difference in distance can be 16 miles (25.6km) and a difference between boats of almost 2.5 hours. This scenario is of course under optimum conditions with a zero-sum flow and not accounting for fatigue.

However, races are never under optimum conditions and fatigue is something that everybody has to deal with as well as the fact that with each stroke, the canoe is pulled/pushed forward, but unfortunately the power from each stroke is applied off-centre at an angle to the centreline as such, the canoe will not track perfectly straight as energy is lost and distance is gained as the canoe angles off centre. So what can you do to minimize lost energy?

A MATTER OF OUNCES

Without changing to a canoe with a minimal rocker or keeping synchronized and equal power strokes, you can mitigate energy loss and thus increase endurance by shedding weight, and the weight doesn't have to be much.

If you opted for a carbon fibre paddle that weighed a mere 6 ounces over a wooden paddle weighing 18 ounces, you would find yourself lifting 12 ounces less per stroke. But these 12 ounces equate to 2,025lbs (919kg) less per hour. Over a typical 5 hour race you would be lifting 10,125lb (4,595kg) less. In the Texas Water Safari, a boat finishing in 80 hours would lift an astonishing 810,000 lbs (367,600kg) less.

One of the better ways though, is to actually have the racer lose weight. If a paddler gearing up for a race can lose a mere 5lbs, over the course of 1 hour and holding 45 strokes per minutes, the paddler will be pulling 13,500lb (6,124kg) per hour. Over a 5 hour race that's 67,500lbs (30,620kg) and a boat finishing the Texas Water Safari in 80 hours would be pulling 1,080,000lbs (489,900kg) less through the water. That's over 1 million pounds.

This weight savings also comes into play when portaging, lifting the boat over log jams and of course minimizing friction. As more weight is placed into a boat, it sits lower in the water causing greater displacement of water and greater friction, meaning more force (and energy) is needed to move the boat. If you want, you can calculate the force needed to move a boat of different weights by using the following equation. Rf = 0.97 x Cf x Sw x V^2 where Rf is Resistance in lbs, Cf is the friction co-efficient, Sw is the wetted surface, V is the velocity is feet per second and 0.97 is the fresh water constant.

This weight reduction can be added to almost any aspect of gear you can think of taking, from sleeping pads, to pfd`s, to food. And don`t worry, we`re keeping all this in mind as we prepare for Texas.

Announcing Two New Sponsors

With only 42 days before I embark on the World's Toughest Boat Race, I am proud to announce that Spirit West Outdoor And Adventure Store has agreed to become an official sponsor of Team Chinook. Spirit West is a store specializing in outdoor adventure and are one of the largest carriers of Mammut and Navarro in Calgary as well as in-store outdoor books and maps. Spirit West will be contributing specifically designed and measured dry-bags that will be function as a back-pack. Having looked at the prototype, these bags will be fast to put on and fast to take off and will benefit in long portages by removing weight from the canoe. The padded straps and adjustible hip belt will provide stability when running with a canoe overhead. Created from a lighter-weight rugged vinyl, these dry-bags will be able to withstand scraping, pulling, and tugging that foliage of rough portages can provide.

They will also be providing lightweight, gusseted, fast drying white leggings that we will wear during the race. These leggings will be made of a high-performance microfibre-polyester material and will prevent sun-burns. The colour will provide a cooling effect as light will be reflected as opposed to absorbed by the fabric and the fast dry-ing action/fast wicking, will ensure that we remain comfortable. The gusset will provide a more natural fit and will help increase mobility when we are on land.

Spirit West is responsible for presenting the Calgary Outdoor Festival as well as providing an online community for adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts. Although mainly local to Calgary and Southern Alberta, Outdoorspirit.ca site provides blogs, forums, user-entered trail reports as well as an online gear swap.

I am also pleased to announce that Out There has agreed to help Team Chinook. They have donated two Thermarest Neo-Air sleeping pads to minimize weight and bulk during the race. The Neo-Air is the world's lightest sleeping pad available (weighing just 14 oz while being 2.5 in thick). The patent-pending internal triangular core matrix creates an internal truss system that produces the most stable inflatable mattress allowing you to sleep on uneven terrain and not be kept awake by twigs and little stones. When we are done our few short naps, the Neo-Air will pack down to the size of a 1L (1 quart) water bottle an be virtually invisible while canoeing.

Started by Jamie Clarke (Professional Adventurer and Everest Summiter) Out There has grown to have the largest selection of the premier outdoor brands such as Arc'Teryx, North Face and Mountain Hardwear in Calgary. It is also the home of liveoutthere.com, a growing online community of avid adventurers from around the world providing live updates, stories, photo albums and videos of their travels via integrated twitter, facebook and login features as well as soon to come gear reviews and contests.

I would ask everybody to check out the two communities that these companies offer and if you are ever in Calgary and need gear. These two stores come highly recommended from me for their levels of professionalism and quality of gear.

42 days until the start of the 2010 Texas Water Safari.

How's The Water Up There?

So I'm going to pose a question to you. What do you do when you are 2 months behind on training and counting with one of the hardest endurance and adventure races in the world looming less than 3 months away?

While our southern counterparts have been canoeing in preparation for the TWS for the past few weeks, or in some cases months, we've been in the grips of winter with an average temperature from December 16th 2009 to March 16, 2010 of - 11C. Mild by winter standards, but still cold enough to freeze water fairly quickly.

In fact, up to three weeks ago, the Bow River running through Calgary was fairly covered in ice, but over that time temperatures have been well above seasonal, setting record highs three times now we are seeing some quick progress in the thawing process. Unfortunately, not all rivers are at the same stage of opening up.

This past weekend my wife and I drove up to Edmonton to relocate a domesticated painted turtle to a co-worker. Along the way we drove over the Red Deer river. Now, Red Deer is a mere 150km north of Calgary, yet the river showed no signs of thaw. Ice coverage was 100% and I could have probably walked from one side to another without much worry of breaking through. This poses a bit of a logisitcal hurdle for our training as the Red Deer river is to be the staging ground for our endurance training, the reservoirs being flat water are still further behind the rivers.

So you might be thinking to yourself, what about the Bow River? Why not do some paddling in there

and get out sooner? I can't say that hasn't been ruled out yet, but what we have to remember is that the Bow River is a mountain fed river, meaning that even though it is open, its flowing at a quick pace, in some places I'd estimate the flow to be close to 10kph (7 mph). Add to that an average temperature of likely less than 2C (5F) and abrupt ice bridges we have a recipe for disaster. It gets really frustrating knowing that you are doing all you can in the gym, but reading about other teams who are in the water already. This makes you question how your performance will stack-up, but I remain optimistic, I've been sticking to a regimented work-out, increasing my endurance, and testing my body in different states of fatigue. But cue Yoda to remind me "there is another."

Lake Okanagan, nestled in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of B.C. is a large, deep, glacial relic of a lake. It measures 145km (90 mi) in length and in some places 5km (3 mi) in width...and it never freezes. Okay, maybe not never, but I think it has only frozen over twice in the past 150 years or so, and the lake is only 600km to the west. Yes, sadly, the only place that is paddleable is a 7 hour drive through the Canadian Rockies. Now for the good news, this month ends in a long weekend and I already have confirmed free room and board in Kelowna, so the only hurdle that exists is finding a canoe to rent at this time of year. With the weather in Kelowna being above normal this year and the water being fairly calm, the lake becomes very enticing.

Whatever happens in the next little bit, there are signs all around that dry-land training is slowly coming to an end. Both my partner and I have agreed that when the waterways of Alberta become navigable, we'll have to be out every weekend to compensate for our glaring major disadvantage...a below freezing winter.

Now my answer to the original queston: Train harder, keep positive and don't sweat the little things. When the time comes that you get into water, you'll find your other training will have helped dramatically.

The Road To Texas - 3 Months To Go

Last spring I announced that I was going to participate in this years Texas Water Safari, a 421-kilometre (262-mile) ultramarathon canoe race from central Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. That was 292 days ago, and now today, the Texas Water Safari looms a mere 3 months away, a paltry 92 days.

For those unfamiliar with the Texas Water Safari (TWS for short), it is, as stated above a 421-kilometre (262-mile) ultramarathon canoe race. The race starts in the central Texas town of San Marcos and follows two rivers (the San Marcos and Guadalupe) to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the course, paddlers will encounter and have to negotiate around venemous snakes, venomous spiders, alligators, carniverous fish, fire ants and portages through poison ivy infested foliage. T hat doesn't include the battling of physical and mental exhaustion, capsized canoes, log jams upwards of 1.5 kilometres (1 mile) long and paddling through the summer Texas sun.

Did I mention that the TWS is ranked as the 6th toughest race in the world by Peak 100?

So the realisation that there isn't much time left has finally set in, other teams in our division have been canoeing or even racing for the past few weeks or even months. But with our waterways finally beginning to open, hopefully out dryland training will be coming to an end. Being out in the mountains all winter workin on cardio can only get you so far, you need that water component, soon, we will have it, and then training will really take off.

Stay tuned everybody, only 92 days left until the Texas Water Safari. Go Team Chinook!