The Art of Falling

All summer long I have been telling myself..."you need to practice falling off your board, getting back on, and paddling to try and maintain momentum."

I heard about Danny Ching at the Orange Bowl back in January who when he fell looked like he hit a springboard underwater as he hopped back on his board so fast it didn't look like he missed a stroke. Mother Nature can be your best friend on the water or she can completely humble you. To compete at an Elite level you have to be ready to paddle in all conditions. I was feeling a little too confident on the MHL yesterday...

I have been in a few races that crushed my spirit due to the number of times I fell in (Surf to Sound 2012 and Miami Orange Bowl 2013) and knew that with a narrower board this would become an even bigger issue. Who wants to practice falling in and crawling back on their board? I certainly don't but I certainly should have leading up to the Skyline SUP Series event in Chicago yesterday. I had gone three races in some chop and not fallen off the MHL so I thought I was ready and wasn't worried about the fact that I had not practiced what I told myself I needed to practice...OOPS!

During my warm-ups I was having a blast out in the conditions!! There was a steady 2 foot chop and the occasional 3 foot boat wakes coming through and although I was falling in I was feeling good! The water was so refreshing that I would even say I felt great! This was a race in downtown Chicago to take place in front of family and friends and the course was super cool, close to North Avenue Beach with plenty of buoy turns so people could actually watch the action. With buoy turns there usually is plenty of action. The Rec race was super fun to watch and was the hardest Rec race I have seen anybody ever paddle in! Big congrats to those folks!

The Elite Race started off okay. I fell at the start but managed to stay with the lead guys for a short while...then came the falls...lots of them. At first I didn't care because there were 6 grueling laps so there was plenty of time to make up for mistakes. I wasn't huffing and out of breath like usual after a start; I was in a pretty good place...then came the falls...lots of them.

I fell a ridiculous amount of times! I'm saying close to 50 falls and I fell in every which way and in every direction. I even did a one-handed handspring off the nose of my board! After one fall my sunglasses were off to the side, my paddle was off to the other side and my board was way out in front of me. You cannot make up time while you are trying to gather accoutrements off the surface of the water all around you! By the end of the race my PFD was hanging off my butt and my sunglasses were bent completely out of shape. My will was being crushed with a steel-toed boot.

It stopped being a race for me on lap 3; it became a practice session then a battle of the mind. For the first time ever I thought about quitting a SUP race. I look back on yesterday and I really don't think I would have been upset with myself for a DNF. On lap 4 I could not get back on my board to stand up after almost 5 attempts in a row. It was a battle not only physically but mentally. I would have quit but Rob Patton offered words of encouragement early on and watching him persevere helped me persevere. Crossing the finish line was humiliating and I can only blame myself. One friend asked if it was the board. I wish! Yesterday was 100% operator error!!

I was angry after the race. Today, I'm still angry. I'm angry at myself for racing poorly. If you want to achieve good results you have to be able to stand on your board in ANY and ALL conditions. I like traveling around to races all over the east coast and I would like to be able to keep up with the Florida folks and the California folks. I'm not upset about getting lapped yesterday or being far off the podium; I'm upset about not being able to perform to the standards I have been working so hard to try and achieve. Those guys that made the podium deserve it because they were awesome out there in really really REALLY tough conditions. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Ross, Kevin Joseph, and Matt Lennert who kicked ass in the 12-6 division and took the spots on the podium!! Westy had a great race and won 1st overall and I was with Westy in Miami for the Orange Bowl and let me just say...he looks like a brand new paddler and kicked that course's butt! Dimitry raced the rec course then hopped on a 14 and did the Elite course and placed 2nd! Awesome job! Rob Patton took off on the last lap and grabbed the 3rd spot on the podium to round out the winners. They all deserve high accolades for doing well yesterday, as does Windward Board Shop in Chicago for putting on a great event and setting up a really cool course!

Today I would go out on the lake and practice falling off and hopping back on but my body is so sore I can't even drive to the store to get a six pack of beer to help drown my sorrows! Today is about accepting a poor performance and learning how to properly respond to it! I am going to do some mental work first then I am going to get out on the lake and fall in love with my beautiful narrow MHL all over again! At least I hope I do!

Remember that review I wrote on the Starboard 12-6 Touring board??? That board won the 12-6 class yesterday and came in 2nd overall! I told you it was a good board...should have kept the one I had :)!