grinding....

Tomorrow is the day of DaGrind, the long canoe race that our club puts on at Alki Beach. It's roughly 10 miles long and should take about 2 hours of paddling. Because this is our club's race, we have to be at the beach at 6.30a to help set up and be ready when the other clubs arrive by 8a.

The women paddle first (around 9.30a) and the men about 2 hours later. Each race is 2 laps around a course that runs along the beach and around buoys at both ends. In between laps, one paddler from each canoe has to run up the beach to a flag and back. Just to complicate things and give spectators something to see.

I'm hoping this will be the first long distance race I complete (see my post about the Gorge). I'm excited and nervous and hoping I manage to pull my weight (and more, literally). But right now I'm all alone in the house (M and the girls are off in AL, and the beast is doing a playdate with K&S&C), with plenty of empty space to fill with wondering how it will go and what I'll forget and reminding myself that since I live about 5 minutes from Alki Beach, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I have to run home. I need water, food, my paddle, sunscreen, some stamina... what else?