The last two times I've been to Kona to paddle, I've suffered through the race and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the weekend. This year the events were a little more evenly matched. I really, really enjoyed the race.
I sat seat 1 in our 5th crew. By far, the hardest seat to sit, especially in this race. But I had an awesome crew and went into the race determined to stay strong through the end. We completed the race in 2 hours and 33 minutes which is pretty darn good. I think we came in 34th (but I don't know how many boats there were overall). I paddled consistently and strongly and am really proud of myself. About two-thirds of the way through my energy dropped a bit and a bunch of boats passed us which was crazy frustrating. My entire team was really supportive of me and it made me realize how far I've come in this sport. Two years ago I really barely completed this race. This year, I led my boat. Rock on Jenni.
Of course, as much fun as I had in the race, the rest of the weekend is really what it's all about. I met my friend Jaisy for lunch, napped a little, cruised Kona a little, and then hit the town with the team for drinks and dancing.
The next morning I jumped in the ocean, cheered on our team in the doublehull, rehashed crazy stories from the night before, and took it easy until it was time to fly home.
Also, big kudos to our team. Our womens first crew won the race, a first for us.
Here I am enjoying Saturday night:
1 comment:
18 miles!! Oh yeah - rock on Jenni!
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