 |
2014 was the 5th annual 2DamDays Paddle Marathon put on by Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance (LOWA) along with over 50 sponsors. It is becoming one of the top annual events at the lake. LOWA is a citizen based group who work to preserve, protect, and improve the Lake of the Ozarks, its watershed, and its natural resources, while maintaining the areas economic, social, and environmental health. As a Missouri Master Naturalist, much of my volunteer hours are associated with LOWA. This year, I participated in the race one day and volunteered to check in the racers on the second day.
My husband and I checked out the Dam2Dam Race for the first time in 2013 by supporting all the racers while learning more about the big picture. We drove to all the sites the kayak racers put in beginning before dawn at the Truman Dam at Warsaw which is only about 30 minutes from our home in Hermitage. We watched and learned from the experienced kayakers as we had just got our own kayaks but were not ready to actually participate in any race in 2013. We got caught up in the excitement and vowed to be ready in 2014. Use the "Search this Blog" tool on the right and type in "Kayaking in My Backyard" and you will see last year's blog article if you want to see our first year experiences as kayak owners. I volunteered at all the monthly Kayak Meet-ups at Ha Ha Tonka put on by LOWA in 2014 and am involved in the newly forming Big Niangua River Trail which I blogged about recently and can be found just below this article or use the search tool. Unfortunately, Keith hurt his shoulder during the summer of 2014 and was unable to train himself for the race but he was a good coach and my support!
So I started to train on my local Lake Pomme de Terre which is just five miles from home. Each Tuesday in August and September, Keith would take a part of his day off work to drop me off at the dam and pick me up 3-5 hours later when I called. I started going from the dam to the Nemo Bridge. Then I would go as far as the Pittsburg Marina and return to the ramp at Nemo Bridge. When I got up to 14 miles, it was time to kayak the other arm of the lake which is longer. Lake Pomme de Terre is shaped like a horseshoe with the dam at the north end about in the middle of the horseshoe. The longer west side of the lake was about 16 miles from the Wheatland Ramp to Bolivar Landing and return to the dam and back to the Wheatland ramp. There were very few motor boats during these times and sometimes I was all alone for miles and miles. It was so peaceful and I got stronger and more skilled as the different weather conditions provided challenges. My best time was 3.63 mph. Average for my size kayak is 3.0 mph. I'm as ready as I can be!
 |
| Pomme de Terre Dam |
 |
| Nemo Bridge on Pomme de Terre Lake |
 |
| Wheatland Park Boat Ramp on Pomme de Terre Lake |
 |
| Turkey Vultures…don't stop...keep paddling! After two months, I hoped I was ready for a much bigger Lake of the Ozarks challenge...  So race day was here. The weather had been in the 80s when I practiced with only one day of 15-20 mph winds in one direction which was difficult and then I learned how much fun it can be to have the wind at my back and ride the waves on the return trip. That practice day turned out to have given me more confidence which I really needed as race day was 12-15 mph with 30 mph gusts of wind and only 47 to low 50 degree weather. I had to be brave for this challenge. I was anxious and didn't know if I could go through with it up until I got in my kayak minutes before the race started. I found my courage and decided I should at least finish the race. |
 |
| Ready…Set….Go and Just Finish the Race!!!!! |
The evening before, there was a dinner and safety meeting in Warsaw for all racers. There I met everyone and sat and ate with an Extreme Woman Solo Racer, Susan Tretter, who had done this race last year. She assured me that there are plenty of support boats and she never felt abandoned. Come to find out there was one support for every two racers. That helped me a lot to feel reassured! I had never kayaked Lake of the Ozarks and was unfamiliar with it other than by map. It was at this time that the entry was closed and I found out I was the ONLY woman solo racer in the under 15' kayak race for the Sweet 16 portion! I was sure to win as long as I finished the race. Susan was one of two women in the Extreme Limited race which was for the 2 days and the full 80+ miles. On the day of the race, her opponent didn't show so Susan also just needed to finish the race. There was one other solo woman in the Extreme Unlimited and she was unopposed. The only other women in the main two races were part of tandem teams with a men. There were at least a half dozen 'no shows' on race day.
You can click on the 2DamDays Paddle Marathon link to see the race specifics but here is a summary:
There were 3 different races with a total payout of $10,914.58; the average payout per racer at $682.16:
1. Extreme (Limited and Unlimited each broke down further by Solo Men, Solo Women, and Tandem) - 80+ miles in 2 days. Speeds were 4.76 to 7.72 mph. The solo man who won did 7.72 mph and his name was Carter Johnson from Sausalito, California. Mike Herbert from Rogers, Arkansas was the reigning champion and was a three time Olympic and World Champion. He came in seconds behind Carter. This is where most money is won and brings competitors worldwide. This year racers came from seven different states for all races. The differences has to do mostly with kayak size and types. There was only one woman in each of the limited and unlimited races so they both won 1st place unopposed with speed averages of 4.76 and 4.90 mph.
2. Sweet 16 (Unlimited, 15'-18', Under 15' each broke down further by Solo Men and Solo Women; I was the only woman) - Actually 15.5 miles in about 3-4 hours. There were 10 actual participants as 2 solo men didn't show up; the solo man in my class was unopposed (Gary Wiggins). Of that 10; 4 were in tandems so actually there were 6 separate solo racers. Gary and I came in at the exact same time at 4.12 mph and the other 4 solos ranged 5.53 to 5.85 mph. So it seems that I raced the same as a solo man in my Under 15' and only about an hour behind the other solo men in much bigger kayaks. The Unlimited included one of the tandems and the other tandem was 15'-18'. I won 1st Place Woman Solo Under 15'. I got a certificate and a little money and a whole lot of fun!
3. Anything Goes (Solo Men, Solo Women, Tandem) - 3.5 miles in about an hour or two. 12 showed up out of 14. Some kayakers dress up themselves and their boats for fun. There are even some other crafts such as tandems, canoes, and paddle boards. The speeds were 1.49 to 3.23 mph.
I did my personal best in speed as 3.63 mph was the best I could do in practice. The wind helped a lot this day and combined with the added adrenaline of the race, my time of 4.12 mph was more than I expected especially when my goal was to just finish the race and get to the finish line at Captain Ron's Bar & Grill by awards ceremony! I didn't need to compete with anyone but myself and the harsh weather conditions. For fun, I would paddle along and visit with Gary who was also just wanting to finish. We were not competing against each other and would each be 1st place in our own classes just by finishing. Still, that was easier said than done!
My challenges were to keep my kayak from capsizing in the 15 mph winds with 30 mph gusts by mostly steering it in the right direction. The WNW wind, when caught just right, moved me faster than I could ever paddle so a lot of the time I held my paddle up over my head to keep it from slowing me down in the waves. That was the fun part and the safety boat was filming Gary and I as we rode the waves. I hope I get to see that video sometime. My direction was west but also north and south on this winding lake. Definitely had to pay attention all the time and missing a few strokes at the wrong time could easily get the kayak hit with a wave and over I would go!
I had my cell phone alarm set on each hour so I would be reminded to eat and drink. Being diabetic, I figured out what I had to do to keep up my energy for an insulin resistant condition in a high stress racing mode. It was not easy balancing the paddle with granola bar, banana, energy drink, and water all the time trying to ride the waves and not get capsized! Then the final 3.5 miles, the wind was from the west and I turned straight south to the finish line. There was no eating/drinking as it was hard work the whole way just to keep moving and not getting blown over! I somehow managed to call Keith as I was going under the bridge about 15 minutes before turning into the safe cove with the finish line at Captain Ron's Bar & Grill. I almost crashed into the bridge piling in the few seconds I made the call to be sure Keith was at the dock to greet me. I was coming in much earlier than we had expected!
 |
| Victory is Mine! |
 |
| 2104 2DamDays Sweet 16 1st Place Women Solo Under 15 Feet |
 |
| 2014 2DamDays Day 1 Awards (all kayakers that were in by ceremony time) |
My musical photo album continues to the next day at Beavers at the Dam where I worked as a volunteer for LOWA helping to check in the Extreme Racers for the finals. It starts with several photos of the top two Extreme Racers, Carter and Mike, who were only seconds apart! I took photos of most of the racers as they came in, the final awards, and packing it all up. Every photo is in the correct order of events. You can follow the whole story from my perspective by clicking below…
No comments:
Post a Comment