 |
| Finish...Maui Paddleboard Champs |
Saturday Andrew arrived and it was my day off from the water... Infact, my first day off the water since I arrived onto Maui.... I haven't taken a break because I wanted to take advantage of where I was and figuring out the skills of downwinding.... its been good.... Saturday I went for a walk and to the coffee shop until Randy and I went to pick up Andrew... SO amazing to see him again... felt like forever. We picked him up and then straight to Charlie's in Paia for the some pre race pizza and friend gathering.... nice to finally feel like I know the community around here....and luckily it is a great one! We then got Andrew settled in and had a nice house dinner with Tomo and Randy! What a loving place to be! I feel so lucky!
 |
| Waiting before the start of Maui Paddleboard Champs photo: jeremy Riggs |
Sunday was race day.... Maui Paddleboard Championships.... Lots of people.... lots of great vibes and good wind! It's funny in these downwind races I don't get the "normal" race jitters of the pressure and nervousness of trying to win.. Although I am trying to "win" downwind racing for me at this point in time is about learning and enjoying and if I do well its a huge bonus and motivator.... Of course the competitiveness in me out on the water comes out but its different in downwinding as you can't just power through everything. More often than not that pure power will not lead to faster time but good technique and knowledge of the water will... its about patience, skill, timing, and fitness..... Anyways, its kind of nice to not have that huge nervous bug in me.... So I was happy go lucky at the race start talking to people and just taking in the vibe of it all.... My goal was to get under 1hr30min.... and to smile and connect some glides....
 |
| Just after prayer start of Maui Paddlebaord Champs photo: 808photo.me |
The start was a little nutty as it was an outside start which meant that we had to paddle into the side chop and then into the wind for about 20 minutes.... and try to sit on our boards in a line behind a boat.... tough in ocean swell and strong winds but somehow it worked out better than I would have ever imagined... I got out there with the earlier crowd as I was nervous not to make it to the start line.... I found a spot I liked: nice and close to the support/start boat and on the edge of the crowds. And we were off... I caught a wave right off the bat but unfortunately so did a prone guy and another SUP but luckily we all stayed up right and only lightly touched each other's boards....phew...
I stayed kind of in the middle of the line... I tried to go outside but whenever I would focus back on where I was going I seemed to have shifted towards shore.... I wasn't too upset with my line... I was feeling good physically throughout... I fell in once and had a good little wipe out.... got my visor all crooked in good Lina fashion..:) I connected some glides and caught some bigger ones. I struggled a little before the harbour entrance and couldn't really catch anything... I was trying to stay calm and wait for them but maybe I should have just motored through? More experience in these waters would have helped in this situation.... The harbour was easy as the wind was in our favour which was nice but not an advantage for being on a rudder system... :) I finished in 1 hr 27min something.... which I was happy about. I was 8th female SUP and 5th in the UNL 30-45 category (a very highly competitive category). I have some more learning and practice to do in downwinding but for my first 1.5 weeks I feel happy with my results...
The next two days I took off from the water and hiked and camped up in the Haleakala Crater with Andrew. This is something he really wanted to do and I had no objection.... other than I wanted to do it early on in the week so my legs could rest afterwards and not be sore for the big crossing. The crater was pretty surreal... We hiked 10 miles into the Paliku campsite where we crossed different terrain about every half hour from black lava rock to lush fern land and everything in between.. It was a dreary day with heavy fog, rain, sunshine,..pretty much all sorts of weather... gave it all a spooky atmosphere. We set up camp and enjoyed some cold pizza and better evening weather. We woke up at 5:15 am the next morning and started our hike with the sunrise... it was beautiful and gradually got pretty HOT. we were above the clouds and could fully take in the magical scenery of the crater.... We hiked out at about 11am and headed for the Twin Falls along the Hana highway for a jump and dip over the waterfalls into pools.... it was lovely. We then enjoyed a lovely lunch in Paia before heading back to Wailuku. We had a lovely dinner at friend Peggy's place in Kula.... the high country is very peaceful!
A couple of pics from the crater hike.... Andrew will put together a better album I am sure but wated to post a few quickly now...
Today is my last downwind before the big race..... I am also taking Andrew out for his first downwind run..... (later in the day) He made it! 10 miles in the ocean.... He did well for his first go! Yay Andrew! The board is off to Molokai and we have one more day on Maui before we head off to Molokai.....
live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina
No comments:
Post a Comment