Coast Guard Race Recap by Robert Stehlik

The Fallen Guardian Memorial race was held on Sunday Nov. 1st 2009.
The race was open to all kinds of watercraft, check out the traffic jam at the finish.
It was all for a good cause with entry fees going to the Fallen Guardian Scholarship Fund. The shuttle bus was a great idea, as we were able to leave our cars at Magic Island (and my camera, too).

There was some confusion at the start as they started everyone at the Canoe Hale in Hawaii Kai. They said everyone had to paddle upwind to the inside boat channel marker then out to the blinker buoy, except paddleboards, we would not have to go around the blinker buoy after rounding the inside channel marker.
I was using a Dennis Pang 17'6 unlimited SUP with rudder that Dennis was kind enough to let me use for the race. This board has great history as Guy Pere won the Duke's Race on it in 2008 and Aaron Nopoleon won the 4th of July 2009 Hui race on it. My goal and mission, of course, was to win this race and continue the board's winning streak. So, I took off fast into the light trade wind that felt pretty strong coming head on. Doug Lock and Jeff Chang were on my tail and I opted to head out in the channel around the break as I wanted to reach the bumps sooner. Jeff and most of the rest of the pack headed downwind inside and cut through the breaks in a more direct line to Black Point. Once I got to out the bumps, the board was working well and I was going at a good rate, catching as many bumps as I could and resting while cruising in the troughs and making little adjustments with the rudder to follow the bumps. The board is fairly narrow at 27" (I think) and a little tippy for me at 6'2 and 190 lbs but it worked great for the moderate conditions and I was able to stay on the board and connect many rides all the way to Waikiki. I reached Black Point in 55 minutes, not as fast as I have done it on a windy day but the lifeguard on a jet ski told me I had doubled my lead to 100 yards or so to the next paddlers, which were Doug Lock and Jeff Chang. As they started us before the canoes and surf ski's, no one was in front of me for the first hour or so. Two OC6 teams passed me past Diamond Head and the second team almost flipped over and got spun almost 180 degrees by a breaker outside the lighthouse just after they passed me. After Kaimana I headed toward the beach to avoid the offshore trades, catching waves and dodging the reefs that were exposed with a fairly low tide. Once I got outside Queens, the water was calm and the wind was pretty much blocked by the Waikiki high rises. It got hot and sweaty and now lots of canoes and kayaks were passing on the outside. I went inside threes and caught a couple waves and fell in twice. I would have probably been faster going around the breaks but I finally made to Ala Moana and finished first in 1:48 ahead of my friend and training partner Jeff Chang who was on a Bark unlimited board. I was stoked with the first place finish and another win for Dennis Pang's racing machine.

Herbie Titcomb sitting on his 14' Naish board

My wife, Sharon Stehlik only started paddling this year. She did the race on a 12' C4 Holoholo and finished in third place in the Women's SUP, good job sweetie!

For here for overall SUP race results
more pics:
First place women's SUP Nicole Madosik also did the Molokai race this year

Second place women's Barbara Bumatay came in 3 minutes later


Here is a google earth map of the race course, the path I tracked came to 11.99 miles. You can click on the map for a larger image.

Aloha,

Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

Cali SUP trip part 2- Battle of the Paddle by Robert Stehlik

Battle of the Paddle pictures courtesy of Doug Hopkins and Jeff Warner

Battle of the paddle 2009

Saturday, October 3rd 2009 was the big day that many of us had been training for- the second annual Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle. Probably the biggest SUP event of the year with four races, a SUP expo and $25K in prize money. Sparky, the owner of Rainbow Sandals had a great vision and this second event was great. I did not make it to the first BOP and was excited to be in Dana Point for this event.
The first race in the morning was the age group race. This had to be the biggest field of SUP racers ever, with hundreds starting in each division from the beach in a staggered start. Mark Raaphorst had the fastest time and Zane Schweitzer came in first in the Stock division with a 5th place overall, beating a lot of guys on unlimited boards. My training partners Jeff Chang and Edmund Pestana got 1st in their divisions- good job guys!
Follow this link for complete race results. I did not enter in the age group race as I wanted to save my strength for the Elite race which started at 1:30 pm.
There was a big crowd of people on the beach and many companies had demo boards available to try. Check the video I shot of the race, pretty amazing to see that many people racing.

Battle of the Paddle 2009 age group race video from Zen Waterman on Vimeo.


The Elite Race
With a $25K purse and a spectator friendly format this invite only event has established itself as the most important SUP race of the year. I did not go to the first Battle of the Paddle last year and was not on the invitee list for the Elite race but I really wanted to be part of this ultimate SUP race. I e-mailed and called organizer Barrett several times with my race results and asked to be allowed to enter with no replies and was getting worried. I finally got a message a few days before the race that I could enter- sweet! Just being part of the event as one of the Elite racers made me feel pretty darn good.I printed out this map and spent some time studying it before the race but was still confused by it. The route turned out to be easy- just follow the other guys!
I was so pumped up and ready for the start. I had visualized and practiced the start many times and my heart would start racing just thinking about it. I really tried to stay cool and keep my heart rate down as we were standing close to each other on the beach, holding board and paddle, ready to charge into battle...

BOP 2009 elite race start

Doug Hopkins took this picture, I'm in the middle just about to get up. I got off the beach and on my board quickly and had no paddlers next to me in my peripheral vision for the first few strokes. Then I saw Aaron Napoleon leading the charge and a bunch of guys appeared all around me- the pace was frantic. The waves were fairly small and gentle but during the Elite race there were some pretty good size sets coming through which made the race super exciting. After passing the outside buoy, the course was M shaped with the third buoy marking a 180 degree turn inside the surf break. With many racers on each wave approaching this turn, the announcer was having a field day with collisions, pileups and just general mayhem at "the hammer". I kept hearing things like - "Ooooooh, they're having another yard sale at the bone yard!"
The Elite women division was launched a few minutes behind the men. Candice Appleby on the left getting ready to launch.

After completing the first round, we landed on the beach, had to run through the "chicane" with the crowd cheering us through the 75 foot beach run and launched back into the surf. Jeff Warner was my board handler and had the 12'6 Everpaddle board I was using ready on the other end. The low tide made the launch tricky as my fin touched bottom quite often. Next time I'll bring a fin that's not as deep.
Jeff in the Legends "sweeper" uniform did a great job handling my board and keeping me going.

Everything went fairly well and I went into the third round close to the lead pack probably in 15th place or so. I kept thinking I should have trained harder as the level and speed of the paddlers around me was fast and furious. I usually try to be relaxed and focused while I race but that went out the window, I was going all out and relied on my instincts to get me through the race. As we came down the outside stretch in the third round, Ekolu called out one of the day's biggest sets approaching. I turned the buoy just in time to catch the first set wave from all the way outside and started riding it towards "the hammer". Other racers took off on the wave and we were angling towards the inside buoy. I somehow angled too much and as the wave jacked up and broke, I was not able to straighten out in time to control the board and got flipped off. Without a leash, the board took out the rider next to me as well and got washed inside with the whitewater. I started swimming in with my paddle, hoping to body surf the next wave to get to my board. The next wave came full of racers hollering at me to watch out as I actually considered body surfing between the out-of-control boards and wide eyed racers but opted to put safety first and dove under the wave. By the time I reached my board, more than 10 racers had passed me and I could not make up the lost time. I finished in 24 th place and in one piece, the battle was over.

It was the most exciting SUP race I have ever been in and I have compared it to riding bumper cars, gladiators, ice hockey, windsurfing slalom racing, and demolition derby. The format and close interaction with the crowd on the beach made for a highly charged event. Respect to the impressive top two finishers Jamie Mitchell and Slater Trout and congratualtions to all finishers. Thank you Sparky for the vision and Rainbow Sandals for putting together an amazing race.

Evan Leong of standuppaddlesurf.net took this picture of Hawaii racers Kainoa Beaupre, Edmund Pestana, Zane Schwietzer and Robert Stehlik after the distance race on the day after the Elite Race.

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

California SUP trip- Hennessey's and Tahoe races posted by Robert Stehlik

The crew from Hawaii before the start of the Hennesey's race that would take us around Alcatraz Island (L to R): Kevin Seid, Carlos Gillis, Robert Stehlik, Kainoa Beaupre, Morgan Hoesterey, Nikki Gregg, Honora Kalama and Eloku Kalama

Travel Report: 10 day Stand Up Paddle racing trip trough California. Sept. 25th to Oct.5th, 2009:
It started when my friend Kainoa Beaupre told me about the trip he was planning with Ekolu Kalama to participate in three SUP races and asked me if I wanted to come along. Of course I wanted to go, I was not sure if I could pull it off but everything came together. Here is the story.

Hennessey’s International Paddleboard Race 2009

I arrived in San Francisco on a red-eye flight from Honolulu early Friday morning before the race, took the BART subway and walked from the station to Fisherman's Wharf. I got to the beach and ran into my friend, Jeff Warner from Legends Surf in Carlsbad. We decided to rent bikes and head to the Golden Gate bridge.

When we got to the bridge it was covered by fog and overrun by tourists so we headed back to have lunch.
This is Jeff heading back to Fisherman's Wharf.
Kevin Seid from Everpaddle arrived in the afternoon with three brand new 12'6" Stock race boards that we were excited to try out before the race. We did some sprints in the bay and tried to pick the fastest boards for the next morning. All three boards were fast and it was almost impossible to tell which one was fastest.

Kevin Seid, Jeff Warner and myself with the pier and Alcatraz in the background. I loved the jailhouse themed race jerseys.

To my surprise, there were plenty of swimmers in the bay, training without wetsuits. The water was cold, especially compared to Hawaii, but it was not a cold as I expected.

After a night in a crowded hotel room shared with my friends from Hawaii, we made it to the beach. I was worried my friend Robby Ellingson from Boardworks would not make it to the start on time, he was bringing a C4 XPR race paddle for me to use. He spent most of the night driving up from Encinitas and just slept a few hours in his van, but he showed up bright an early.
Robby and Carlos unloading the van. So, I had a paddle but Kevin had the boards and he was not answering his cell- was he still sleeping? He showed up last minute with the race boards and we were all set for the start.
The sunrise was awesome and we lucked out with nice weather. The ground felt freezing cold but as soon as we started paddling I warmed up. Since we were all paddling, I have no pictures of the race, sorry. The Unlimited race started first, with a nine mile course around Alcatraz and Angel island. I was in the 12'6" stock division with a 6 mile course that took us towards the Golden Gate bridge, then back to Fisherman's Wharf then out to Alcatraz, around the island and back to the finish. I was under the impression, like most people seem to be, that the waters around Alcatraz are treacherous with ripping currents and patrolled by great white sharks, making an escape from the old prison next to impossible. To my surprise, it turned out to be a pleasant, scenic paddle (or would have been if I was not battling for position with some of the fastest SUP racers in the world). This is probably one of the most scenic urban settings to have a paddle race.

The stock race:
I got a decent start and soon found myself drafting behind TJ Saeman with Shakira Westdorp and Brandi Baksic following close behind. We were following TJ like ducks in a row. I tried to pass TJ a couple of times but he would pick up the pace and I could not pass him so I kept falling back into the drafting position. This was the first time I drafted in a race and I was surprised by how much much less energy it took to draft than to cut through the chop. I think the water coming back together behind the leading board creates a small bump that you can actually ride, also the water gets smoothed out and pulled forward by the lead board. This drafting effect seems to be even more pronounced in the third or fourth position. The tricky part is to maintain a close distance to the board in front of you without bumping into the tail and without going off course. I focused on the tail in front of me and usually switched my paddle one or two strokes after the lead paddler. I had to constantly adjust the power of my stokes to maintain the right speed. I would estimate that I used 15 to 20% less energy when drafting on the stock board, which is significant. On longer unlimited boards with their smooth water entry, drafting is probably less effective.
Coming around Alcatraz, a ferry boat bringing tourists to the prison was churning up water, which was tricky to navigate, around the next corner, TJ was cutting it super close to the rocks; his fin hit a rock and he fell forward off his board. I took the lead for a little while but TJ got up quickly, caught up and passed me again. In the final approach we all put in a last ditch effort to pass each other and Brandi pulled ahead on her thick Brian Syzmanski/ Starboards prototype, those boards seemed to work great for the conditions. I ended up behind TJ and Brandi but my 8th place overall finish time was enough for a 3rd place in my division, so I was stoked. Hennessey's put together an awesome luncheon party at a fancy restaurant overlooking the race course.

Big smile, this is the first time I ever won money in a race, so I was excited. Next to me are first and second overall finishers- Byron Kurt and EJ Johnson- those guys are fast and proved it again at the distance race at the Battle of the Paddle the next weekend- good job, guys!

The top three SUP Unlimited 40+: Thomas M. Shohinien, Thomas Gallagher, and Chuck Patterson- these guys were PUMPED UP.

The top three SUP unlimited under 39: Jared Vargas, Ekolu Kalama, and Dolan Eversole. Next to them is Mr. Hennessy himself in the white jacket- thank you sir, for the great contest, parties and price money!

I did not get a good shot of the other top finishers, sorry. Congratulations to all racers.
complete Hennessey's race results

When the luncheon was over, it was time to pack up the gear and head to Lake Tahoe, the site of the next race on the itinerary. Kevin Seid and I drove his rental van to South Lake Tahoe and checked into a cheap motel. Jeff and Robby ended up staying in San Francisco and left at 3:30 am to drive to Lake Tahoe to meet us at the start. The rest of the crew from Hawaii decided not to do the Tahoe race although they ended up going to Reno to gamble and met us at the finish in North Lake Tahoe.
We got up just in time to get to the start and I was scrambling to get some food in my stomach before the race. I did not take my camera with me during the race so I have no photos from the Tahoe race at all, bummer. If anyone has pictures, please e-mail them to me so I can post them.

2nd Annual Tahoe Fall Classic Paddleboard & SUP Race

2009 Tahoe Fall Classic

I took this picture of the start from the Tahoe Paddle and Oar website where you can also find the complete race results.
The start was at Camp Richardson, the air was clear and you could see the other end of the lake where the finish was at King's Beach. The air, ground and water felt freezing cold but it was a beautiful day but once again I warmed up as soon as we started paddling. There was no wind and the water surface was completely smooth and glassy with only a few boat wakes disturbing the glassy water. I was concerned about the altitude and SUP'ing on fresh water for the first time, but neither turned out to be much of a problem. The race started fast with the lead pack breaking away quickly and keeping a fast pace. I meant to draft behind my buddy Robby Ellingson on his unlimited board but after a few strokes his tail started spinning out. He stopped paddling and as his board slipped into a turn said "I don't have a fin!". He forgot to tighten the fin plate screw, so he had to turn around to put in a new fin. Despite getting a 15 minute late start he still passed most of the field and finished in the top 10. I could not catch up with the fastest guys on unlimited boards but found a fast local paddler on an unlimited board (the guy in the black shirt in the middle of the picture above, I forgot his name but he has a construction company in Tahoe). I was able to draft him on my 12'6 Everpaddle stock board for about an hour and a half without a break. I had a water backpack lying on the board at my feet and wanted a drink badly but did not want to stop and loose the good draft, so I had to wait for him to take a break. He finally did and I had just enough time to put the Da Kine waterbag on my back and keep going. The drafting was working great and I was hoping I could draft across the whole lake for the 22 miles. Unfortunately that strategy did not work out but the drafting made it easier, for sure. The water in the middle of the lake was beautiful with the sunlight making cool patterns in the deep clear water. I focused on my breathing and synchronized it with my strokes, exhaling with each pull. My mind went completely blank a few times in a trance-like meditative state. I drafted behind Lance Erickson from Dana Point for a while and had a good chat with him until he got tired and needed a break about three hours into the race. The finish looked pretty close by then and I thought I could finish it in another 30 minutes or so and started paddling all out. There were some boat wakes going in the right direction and I tried to time my strokes to use all the push I could get from the tiny bumps. Even though the finish looked deceptively close, I still had quite a ways to go. I finished the race in under 4 hours and was stoked- first place in the stock division! I did not fall in the whole race and finally took a cooling dip at King's Beach after finishing. We got to meet some of the friendly locals at the finish, and Kainoa and the gang from Hawaii stopped by too, on their way to Reno. We were served a nice lunch and had an outdoors awards party before catching a ride back to the south end of the lake.
My request for Tahoe pictures was answered:
Jeff Warner sent this shot of the awards luncheon at King's Beach: Dan Gravere, Robby Elingson, Robert Stehlik, Jeff Warner and Kevin Seid.

Kevin Seid sent me this one he took right before the start, check out the clear water and beautiful scenery. The Tahoe Fall Classic was a great, memorable day.

After getting back to South Lake Tahoe, we went to a Thai restaurant and ate lots of good food before heading back to San Francisco. The next morning I headed back towards Encinitas with Robby. We had to pick up some C4 Waterman demo boards he left at the Log Shop in Pacifica, they had a big party (and surf contest, I think mostly as an excuse to get a permit) at Ocean Beach the night before. The Log Shop is one of the coolest surf shops I have seen with indoor skate park and graffiti walls in the huge space they occupied. Check out their my space page for skate videos.

I was wishing my shop in Hawaii (Blue Planet Surf Shop) was that big.

Robby with his computer shape
at Segway Composites

We drove most of the day to pick up Robby's computer shaped blank at Segway Composites. He designed a 12'6" race board on his computer and wanted to use it in the Battle of the Paddle six days later. The owner, Ken spent several hours educating us about surfboard construction, very interesting.
We ended up driving to Robby's hometown, Mt. Baldy, the closest ski area to L.A., where his dad owns the Mt. Baldy lodge. He was celebrating his birthday when we arrived and we had a few beers and shot some pool in the bar.

Altitude training at Mt. Baldy

The next morning we got up early and drove to the top of the ski area to do some altitude training, we went running at 8000 feet and I quickly ran short of breath following Robby up a steep climb. This time I definitely noticed the thinner air. We were hoping to boost our red blood cells for the Battle of the Paddle. Later that day we dropped the computer shaped blank at Casey McCrystals shop in Huntington beach and watched him finish shape the board.

Casey McCrystal shaped, glassed and finished in only 3 days for Robby to use it at the Battle of the Paddle.

On Wednesday I met up with Jeff at Cardiff for a morning SUP surfing session in decent waves. We were catching the waves to the right of the main break. There was an outside peak that would back off and if you could connect, jack up again for a fast inside closeout section. I tried the new 9'6 C4 SubVector model for the first time and was impressed by how stable yet manouverable it was.
We then went by Donald Takayama's shop in Carlbad to drop off a paddle Jeff had borrowed. Donald was in the middle of a business meeting with his Japanese partners pouring over spreadsheets, so I just expected a quick handshake. To my surprise, Donald excused himself from the meeting (he was probably bored by it anyways) and took about half an hour of his time to show us around his shop and talk story about his design ideas for Stand Up Paddling boards and Hawaii. I was amazed by the stoke, energy and enthusiasm he had after so many years in the industry. He still has plenty Aloha, too.

With the legend: In Donald Takayama's shaping room with a wooden blank

Afterwards we went to Jeff's comfortable store in Carlsbad, Legends Surf where I hung out in the recliner for a couple of hours.

Jeff Warner at Legends Surf Shop in Carlsbad

Jeff in his super cool hangout shop- Legends in Carlsbad, where he also runs Warner designs on his computer in the back behind the big fish tank.

On Wednesday I visited the Altered electric skateboards warehouse in Lake Forest. I distribute their boards in Hawaii through Bionic Wheels.

Altered Electric Skateboards

I checked out their latest (still secret) prototypes, went for some test runs and talked business for a while. I checked into my hotel in Dana Point and went for a paddle at Doheney state park that evening.

On Thursday, I met Zane Schweizer, a 16 yr old from Maui who was staying at the same hotel. Zane's grandfather, Hoyle Schweitzer, invented Windsurfing. When I started windsurfing, all the gear had to be "licensed by Hoyle Schweitzer" as he held the patent. We did some training runs to get ready for the big race, practicing the transition from running on the beach to launching into the water and back out. In the evening we went to a talk by Jamie Mitchell, the 8 times Molokai race champion (prone paddling) at the Cardiff Patagonia store.

Jamie Michell's Molokai training program:
Here is what I learned about his training regimen: Jamie, his coach Mick and his Aussie mates prep for the Molokai race with three paddle training days a week, with one long run on the weekend and two shorter ones during the week. They work themselves up to doing more than the race's 32 miles on the weekend run and more than half the distance during the weekday runs for a total of more than twice the Molokai milage per week. In addition Jamie swims several times a week- over 3 miles each time and does some strength training and running as well (he did not even mention surfing, SUP or tow in surfing). In addition he talked about the importance of nutrition, recovery (rest, sleep, taking days off) and having a training group that pushes each other. There you have it- now you know why he is so fast.
When Jeff Warner asked him if he plans to Stand Up Paddle race competitively he said that if they held the Molokai race on two weekends with prone and SUP held on separate weekends, (which is a possibility in the near future) he would do both but for now he will stick with prone paddling. Jamie said he entered the BOP race "for laughs". For those that don't know, he won the Elite race against most of the fastest SUP racers in the world two days later, for more on that see the next blog entry.

On Friday I walked down to the beach to find a buzz of activity and a big group of my friends from Hawaii. I talked story for a while and helped some of my friends set up their tents for the Battle of the Paddle SUP Expo, had dinner with Doug Hopkins and his friend from North Sports whose Aquaglide boards I also distribute in Hawaii and then went to bed early.
The Battle of the Paddle SUP Expo. For more on the BOP, check Part 2 of the California SUP travel story

Please watch the Zen Waterman interview with Kevin Seid at the Battle of the Paddle Surf Expo below


Kevin Seid, Battle of the Paddle interview from Zen Waterman on Vimeo.

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

2009 Molokai Channel Crossing - Mental notes- by Robert Stehlik

My wife asked me after the Molokai race: "What were you thinking about for those six hours?" My reply: "I was trying not to think about anything."
'nuff said...

I had several more people ask me what was going through my head during the Molokai crossing, so while it is still fresh in my mind, I will write down some thoughts on the mental aspect of the crossing. So, if the short answer above is not enough for you, read on.

Focus:
One of the most important aspects in Stand Up Paddling is maintaining balance. To achieve peak performance it is critical to stay focused. Keeping my focus sharp for the 6+ hours it took to complete the 32 mile race was a big challenge for me. Focus is important in every sport. In surfing for example you need to be fully focused when you are catching and riding the wave but when you are paddling back out or waiting for the next set you can let the mind wander, daydream, talk story or whatever without major consequence as long as you can turn off the chatter and fully focus when you swing the board around to catch the next wave. When you are racing on a SUP you need to stay focused the whole time, which is easier said than done.

Training:
When my mind starts to wander I slow down, miss bumps and/or loose my balance and fall in. One of my goals in training was to work on keeping focused and balanced. Doing long distance paddle sessions for five or more hours prepared me for the race endurance wise but was also important to train the mind to stay focused for a long time.

Music:
Many paddlers use waterproof MP3 players to allow them to relax. I have tried this and found that it makes the session more fun and does help me relax. I decided not to take music with me for these reasons:
1) It's more equipment to deal with- I like to keep things as simple as possible.
2) I found that it can be distracting- for example: songs can trigger memories, the earphones get loose or start to be irritating, I'm in the mood for different music, batteries go dead, etc.
3) It's a crutch- I find that although it helps, I don't need music to relax and focus.

I know that it works for others. Jamie Mitchell, 8 times Molokai champion cruises to his itunes and it obviously works for him- so don't take my word for it, try what works for yourself.

Relaxed Focus:
This was my mantra that I kept repeating to myself during the race. I tried to keep my mind clear and when I noticed I was losing my focus or having distracting thoughts, I would repeat this in my head along with some other words I would repeat to myself.

Relax Plenty
It was the first time I did the Molokai crossing and I was not sure exactly what to expect. I started out at a steady pace that I knew I could keep up for the whole race. I kept thinking about something Aaron Napoleon said about going downwind and catching bumps. He said something like- I see some guys paddling so hard non stop, when I ride bumps I relax plenty.
I have a lot of respect for Aaron, he is one of the fastest guys in the water, low key and a super tough waterman. So I have this recording of Aaron in his pidgin saying: I relax plenty and kept playing it to myself.
There were lots of bumps to ride and the easterly winds made for good bump riding. I kept taking a few hard strokes and then relaxing, getting long gliding rides and making good time. I felt strong and relaxed and I actually thought I should push harder or I would not feel totally exhausted by the finish line.

Glide:
I did not repeat this word to myself but it was my goal- to glide, so I'm putting it in here.
I think this is the key to doing well in the Molokai race. If you counted all the strokes each paddler took, I'm sure that the winner, Ekolu Kalama, crossed the channel with less strokes than any other paddler by gliding more and paddling less.

The last 5 miles:
Todd Bradley told me- The race does not really start until the last 5 miles. Although I had trained for the tough finish and paddled around Portlock Point many times, I did not really understand what he meant until I had to do it myself. The water got choppy, there was a current and it became more and more difficult to catch bumps. Dave Parmenter described it as going through quicksand which is exactly what it felt like to me.


Distractions:
I did not see any other solo paddlers (we had white shirts) for the whole race until right before Portlock point, when Jenny Kalmbach from the Big Island caught up to me. She was paddling strong and I was running out of steam. I lost my relaxed focus and just tried hard to keep up with her pace. My forearm muscles felt tight and started cramping. Negative thoughts started filling my head. I fell in and as I got back up on the board my abdominal muscles cramped up, something that has never happened to me before. I hit myself in the stomach to loosen up the cramp, then tried to stretch. I finally loosened up and kept going. I knew I could not keep paddling at Jenny's pace but I also knew that once I got close to China Walls I would be able to catch some waves and stay close to shore, I had practiced this many times, so I just had to get there. I tried to relax and just focus on catching bumps. The waves were disorganized and choppy but there were still some bumps to catch and by focusing on using every little push, I was able to make steady progress while conserving the little strength I had left.

Relief:
I got to China Walls and was pushed in by a couple of waves, then snuck through the reef pass without losing my board and felt a great sense of relief. Almost there. I caught a couple more waves and stayed close to shore. I did it, just a little more! Finishing this race was a huge accomplishment for me and it felt great.

Now What?
Another interesting thing is how I felt a couple of days after the race. I put so much time and energy into this goal and finally accomplished it. So now what? I had neglected many things in my day to day life (yes, I work and have a family and am not a professional athlete) to prepare for the race and now was the time to get caught up with everything. I was stoked and proud but I found myself feeling tired and frustrated, I did not feel like getting caught up on my to do list at all, or anything, really, I just wanted to be a couch potato, which made me feel worse. Luckily that did not last long. I started training for the Duke's race which is coming up soon and am applying some of my energy and persistence towards work and the goals I have for my business. I'm also setting a goal for next year's Molokai race, maybe I'll see you there.
Aloha,
Robert Stehlik

For more on my experience on standuppaddlesurf.net
click here for overall race results
click here for Stand Up unlimited results

Check the video below, filmed by my friend Len Barrow at the finish of the race featuring interviews with the top finishers- Jamie Mitchell, Ekolu Kalama, and Kanesa Duncan.


2009 Molokai channel race finisher interviews from Zen Waterman on Vimeo.

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com