On Wednesday morning I was doing my normal run up the hills in my neighborhood. Just after starting to walk down the last hill heading home my head started pounding just as though someone was taking a 2 by 4 to it. I could hardly walk, and sat down on the pavement until a neighbor passing by noticed my predicament and called 911.
After a while the pain subsided, and after a visit to the emergency room for a CAT scan, spinal tap and blood test I was feeling almost normal. All tests were negative.
The next day I had such a pain between my shoulder blades that there was almost no position I could place my body without suffering, except face down on a bed or in a recumbent position with something supporting the back of my neck. A visit to the doctor's office provided no clues except for either viral meningitis or some weird sort of muscle spams. Great!
At least the doctor was able to prescribe some muscle relaxants and pain killers.
Friday was the first day I could (barely) walk my kids up the hill to school, and walk them back after school was over. Later that day I was able to do some basic chores around the house, as long as I kept my head and back straight.
Saturday arrived, which was the day of the Lake Samish Salmon Roe race near Bellingham, WA. Of course I had to go!
With the help of my son I loaded the car with everything for the race, and a supply of pain killers. So far that morning, however, there was not much pain to deal with, so I was hopeful for the race. In any event, I at least wanted to take photos even if I couldn't actually do the race.
Unlike the day before, where every little bump in the road was painful, the drive to Lake Samish was uneventful. I even managed to pass a couple of other racers en route to the event to snag one of the last parking spots in the lower lot. At least I wouldn't have to drag my boat too far to and from the water!
Registration was inside the park lodge. My Cadence was the only pedal boat in the race this year, but there were plenty of other boats. Some were from as far away as Oregon. There was quite a contingent from British Columbia as well.
This race is so popular, unfortunately, that there was barely enough room inside the lodge for the meeting. In addition, the bathroom facilities were definitely oversubscribed. The lawns outside were completely filled with boats ready to be carried down to the water. In addition, unless you had a cart or dolly and could wheel your boat down a long path to the docks (which is what I did), you had to carry them down some steps to a narrow beach. There you would have to deal with the ropes and floats marking the swimming area before reaching open water.
On the other hand, the docks were quite nice. The edges were lined with plastic strips to reduce scraping the hulls of boats that were slid over them into the water. Many racers took advantage of them, as did I, and did not have to bother with sand, water shoes or the ropes.
So far my back was doing fine. The air was a cool 55 degrees F, and there was a light fog over the lake. Pedaling towards the starting line at about 6 mph my body felt good.
Since there were so many boats we ended up being very close to one another, and in several rows the entire width of the lake. It took a few minutes for everyone to form a line as well as to get out of each other's way. After a few minutes, the starting official was satisfied and the signal was given. We were off!
The formerly calm, placid waters of Lake Samish were now quite choppy. The strenuous paddling and rowing of all the racers made quite a mess of the water, and with such close proximity many of the racers ended up splashing each other with their paddle strokes. Several times paddles clunked against nearby hulls as boats maneuvered into position. Luckily for me I did not have to worry about that. My propulsion device was under my boat!
Since I was not planning to work exceptionally hard this time I made a point of taking lots of photos of boats around me. The GPS indicated my speed was about 7 mph. At the start of a race my speed would normally be in the 8 mph range, settling down somewhat later. Still, when a couple of boats going nearly my speed came by, I decided to hang onto their tails for a while.
That strategy seemed to work for a while. However, my temples started pounding which told me that I had better stop working so hard. I was also starting to sweat considerably, so it was probably time to take it a bit easier. With the GPS registering somewhere close to 7 mph, and my head not hurting too badly, I just let the boats pass on.
An older gentleman in a rather slender sea kayak was keeping pace with me. Sometimes he would be to my side, and other times he would be just ahead of me. We stayed pretty much together until the first turn at the south end of the lake.
Thank goodness it was cool and overcast. I was going through my water bottle pretty rapidly, and my clothes were getting soaked from sweat.
The boats were still somewhat bunched together as we approached the first turn. Those who could turn sharply did their best to take the inside track closest to the buoy and gain some distance on those who couldn't. I was able to make up for a little time and caught up to a couple of boats that had passed earlier.
The guy in the yellow boat continued to pace me to the second turn. I decided to put on a little more speed, and gradually dropped him shortly afterwards. My head was not pounding too badly, and my legs were doing just fine.
Unfortunately, however, I discovered that the weight of the camera hanging from its rope around my neck was starting to cause my back to ache. I took it off and held it in one hand, steering with the other. This helped a bit, but the weight of the camera in my hand was still causing me grief. Rats!
As I approached the bridge a paceline consisting of a canoe, an HPK (or surfski) and some other boat managed to pass by. My speed had dropped slightly, as I was starting to hurt. #^%&#($ camera! I tried following in their slipstream, but could only manage it for a quarter mile or so before dropping back.
A couple of kayaks caught up and passed just as I reached the bridge. People on the bridge were cheering us on, but I could only managed a weak smile in return.
Just after crossing under the bridge I got something of a second wind. The pain had subsided a bit, so I started pedaling harder. The guys who had just passed me were now slipping behind, and I managed to catch up to another boat right at the third buoy. Ok, so I cut him off a bit - sorry!
Right about this time the GPS batteries died. I knew I should have replaced them before the race!
I was making up distance on the canoe paceline, approaching the fourth and last buoy. With a sharp turn around the buoy I began pedaling even harder. The dastardly canoeists, however, decided to sprint and I was unable to catch them.
By the time I neared the finish line, my head and back were telling me that I really shouldn't have done that. I practically coasted across the finish, and ever so slowly pedaled back to the dock. Time for some pain killers!
I let some folks that expressed in interest in the Cadence try it out while I laid flat on my back on a bench. They seemed to take a real liking to the boat. Afterwards, they and a few other Sound Rowers members assisted in taking the boat up to my car and placing it on the rooftop carrier. Thanks a million, guys!
After a while the muscle relaxants and pain killers kicked in. The muffins, cookies, fruit and soft drinks were welcomed by all, though I only had a cookie and apple juice.
The awards ceremony was held in the lodge. I missed the announcement of my award, apparently while I was slowly and stiffly walking with some equipment back to my car. Afterwards I found that the fastest racer completed the course in 39 minutes 8 seconds. I took 56:10 this year, which is not too bad. Last year in Bob Stuart's Lilac with no camera and no pain I was only about 19 seconds faster.
The drive home was no problem, nor was the unloading of everything. Hopefully I'll be able to do the full 14 mile race around Mercer Island next week!
Total distance traveled: about 6.8 miles.
For the full set of photos, take a look here.