This year was my second year participating. After last year being my first time, I was super eager to try again this year. Everyone thought I was crazy especially since Mother Nature kept pounding us with snow. Originally the race was scheduled to run April 7th, but as we all know we got a huge amount of snow/ice rain as a one last "hurrah" before Spring decides to kick into high gear. So, Sunday that just passed was our big day.
Last year +Robyn Poore and I were at the front of the line waiting to register and be boat #1 until some guy from behind us pushed his way through and left us with boat #2. (This wasn't a huge deal it was more or less the principle of the matter, you don't push through lines! Come on people!) In any case, this year we were determined to be boat #1 and we were. We did see that guy from the previous year, and me being me of course had to rub it in a little and shout "WOOO we are #1" haha. I was excited to be the #1 boat because realistically it was going to be the only #1 we were going to get this year. I think he caught on as to why I was trying to rub it in :) Im not too worried about it though.
We were all waiting in the yard at St. Andrew's school waiting to launch our boats into the water and begin the long 35KM journey ahead of us. Let me tell you something about nerves. No matter how much you empty your bladder before a big race like that....it seems like once you reach the point of no return your bladder plays tricks on you and makes you believe that you have to find a washroom immediately.
We had a decent start to the race this year. We were able to keep the boat straight and we followed the mantra "slow and steady wins the race". We didn't want to burn out too quickly as we had several ways to go still. At one point though I managed to lose my paddle and I thought for sure that our race was done. Luckily, the other participants are really nice and one guy through back my paddle to me. Thank you anonymous racer for not being a total douche and helping a fellow racer out :) Its nice to see community coming together for a common goal....winning a race! haha Right after losing my paddle though we came up to a large tree....on the most part the branches had been quite forgiving and bendable. You would duck one way or another to get out of the way. One tree didn't like me so much and as I tried to dodge and lift it out of my way, it decided not to move at all and throw me backwards onto my back in my boat leaving my feet dangling in the air. Tree branch 1; Lisa 0.
We eventually came up to our first set of rapids and my heart started to pound. I didn't realize that the entire time we navigated ourselves through it that I was holding my breathe. It was my first time going through any rapids like that. I felt like Christopher Columbus sailing the Ocean blue. You could feel the boat lift straight up with each wave and crash back down. Your whole stomach is doing somersaults, your heart is beating like crazy and your adrenaline is rushing through your whole body. What a rush I tell you. Robyn and I were both determined not to capsize. Although most made it through the first set of rapids, some unfortuantely fell in. Let me tell you something, when I lost my paddle earlier in the race, I was using my hands to paddle and within a minute I lost mobility in my fingers. I can't imagine being completely submerged in that ice cold water. Mother Nature decided she was going to play devils advocate by throwing everything at us. We paddled through wind, snow, rain, sleet and hail. What a ride I tell ya!
As we moved along the river, it was nice to see our families go bridge to bridge to cheer us on. It was also a way for them to keep an eye on us incase we did capsize. I found that because we were a female boat, the spectators would really cheer for us to keep on going. Its a nice feeling. Makes you feel important and famous :)
As we pulled up to the dam we were slightly disappointed as we remembered we weren't allowed to shoot it. It would have been a lot of fun but lets be safe rather than sorry. Besides, I had to work the next day and really, I wasn't interested in getting soaked to the bone. When we finally got out of the canoe, we had a brief moment of realization that we were half way done. It was a relief to know that we were half way there. Portaging a canoe with jello arms and legs is very difficult. My partner +Robyn Poore's mother met us at the dam and walked with us as we portaged. Robyn felt like she was in a marathon because her mother handed her a coffee to sip on for warmth and rejuvenation. It was fun to have the right away crossing the street as people cheered you on and shouted out words of encouragement to us.
As we set up our boat to launch back into the water, we were heading right into rapids. We had to take a moment to catch our breathe before we jumped right back into it. Its a little nerve wrecking when you have to jump right into it instead of having the time to prepare and set yourself up for it. There was a chance that we would capsize if we weren't careful enough but we managed to persevere. GO TEAM!
As we rounded up the final KM's of the race we were eager to be finished. We were absolutely exhausted because the rapids really demanded all of your attention, strength and focus to remain upright in your boats. One of the biggest rapids of the race as well as the biggest I had ever rode through was right at the end. It honestly looked like a big hole/whirlpool mixed with a wall of water/wave that we were heading right for. In my head I knew we weren't going to make it. Thankfully Robyn had the best idea to hang back for a moment to watch how the guys in front of us were going to maneuvre through the obstacle then make a hard left turn to get to shore to finally finish the race. Im not sure how we found the strength to get through it but we paddle as hard as we could using every last ounce of strength and stamina we had left and made it to shore finishing the race. I was super impressed with our team since last year we both fell in the water right at the finish line. Once we brought our boat to shore and collected our finisher medals, we watched some of the other participants paddle their way to the finish line. I saw how most capsized right at the end. The poor souls. What a heart break that would be. It made me realize how lucky we were to have been able to get to the finish line mostly dry. When everything was all said and done, Robyn and I placed 77th overall out of 153 boats and placed 6th place for women's rec.
This was one of the best experiences of my life. It really is quite rewarding when you get to the finish line. You think back to the endurance it takes to make it to the end of that race. You also get a really big sense of accomplishment. I highly recommend this race to all you outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers out there. You wont be disappointed. We will definitely be in it again next year and I hope to see you guys out there too.
