Ray Frechette Jr Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Tomorrow morning I am entering my Diva Kayak in the 13th annual Chief Worumbo race on the Androscoggin river. http://www.active.com/outdoors/lisbon-me/13th-annual-chief-worumbo-androscoggin-river-race-2011 First time ever entering a kayak race for me. 6 mile race past years winners made it in 42 minutes. Longest times are 1.5 hrs roughly and under an hr appears to be a respectable showing. I am shooting for under an hr. Anxious to see what sort of current assist I will be playing with tomorrow. I spent some time reading up racing tips on computer last night. Issues such as stroke efficiency to not splash water, drafting behind competitors to take advantage of their moving water etc. My daughter gave me one simple tip to follow. "If you see someone in front of you paddle faster and pass them." Past years have seen some pretty intense athletes in surf skis run it. I don't expect to beat them. If I can keep in front of all the injection mold recreational kayaks I will be happy. Quote
Ray Frechette Jr Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 In a field of 104 boats entered I finished #11. Some surfskis and other hot boats finished in 44 minute 10 seconds opn a 6 mile course. I finished at 58 minutes 17 seconds. I beat all the plastic molded kayaks. I finished 4th place in the recreational male solo kayaks. the kayaks that passed me were fiberglass precisions with men obviously in much better shape than I am currently. I tried drafting them but that only gave me a small boost as they pulled away too soon. All in all I met my goal of beating the plastic molded boats and finishing in under an hr. Given that this was the first time out in my kayak for the summer I am pleased with my performance but I know I am going to be feeling it tomorrow. Heck I feel it right now! Next year I hope to personally weigh 50 lbs less than I do now and will plan on getting some paddling time in to train. I think I can be a contender for placing in top three solo make kayak class next year. Mine was the only marine ply kayak of the bunch and received a fair amount of attention. The Apostle of speed designed a good Kayak... Quote
Kudzu Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Way to go Ray! I am impressed with anyone that races, and to place that well is outstanding. I am just not into pain and suffering (racing). Quote
Ray Frechette Jr Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 A few hours after the fact I do have some pain in my right rear shoulder area... I have never entered any sort of physical race at all ever. It was a first time experience to approach any finish line to a cheering crowd and it does certainly cause a flood of adrenaline to push harder... Next year I may very well be entering in a Vardo as my chariot in the race. Of course Fireflies numbers are quite attractive too.... Quote
Designer Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 Great job Ray, I am leaving on Thursday for Maine. I will see you in a couple of weeks. Quote
Ken_Potts Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 Congratulations Ray! You set the bar higher than I would have and you still met both challenges. I think I would have put a motor on that kayak... Quote
Frank Hagan Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 Next year I hope to personally weigh 50 lbs less than I do now and will plan on getting some paddling time in to train. I think I can be a contender for placing in top three solo make kayak class next year. I am impressed with your results! As to losing weight ... I tried to lower my triglycerides and ended up losing 50 pounds in the process. Never got hungry. (To lower triglycerides you go on a low carb diet, and it certainly worked for me ... eliminated my GERD in the process too). Quote
Ray Frechette Jr Posted July 11, 2011 Author Posted July 11, 2011 I have already lost the first 50 lbs. Lost the GERD also and BP is down about 20 points diastolic and systolic and resting pulse rate has also dropped 15 Beats per minute. I have cut sodium to 1200 mg a day tops, eating 3 cups of vegetables a day, 2 cups of fresh fruit and no more than 6 ounces of meat and three servings of dairy a day. No simple sugars or artificial sweeteners and precious few simple carbs. I hike an hour and half 5 days out of 7 up and down the highest elevation in town for about 1200 ft net gain every day I do hike. Losing around 2-3 lbs per week. Final goal is to lose somewhere around 70-80 more pounds than I have already lost. I have no idea what my blood chemistry looks like now but no doubt it is improving as well. I am tired of being overweight and simply do not wish to proceed to diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke... 50 lbs more weight loss will be a pretty big milestone for me as it will be lower than I weighed on my wedding 24 years ago. After that the hurry to see it fall off will diminish. I will still want to lose 20-30 lbs but I won't be quite so frantic about seeing it off. Without a doubt less weight will mean less wetted surface on the kayak in the next race! Quote
Frank Hagan Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 I have already lost the first 50 lbs. Lost the GERD also and BP is down about 20 points diastolic and systolic and resting pulse rate has also dropped 15 Beats per minute. I have cut sodium to 1200 mg a day tops, eating 3 cups of vegetables a day, 2 cups of fresh fruit and no more than 6 ounces of meat and three servings of dairy a day. No simple sugars or artificial sweeteners and precious few simple carbs. I hike an hour and half 5 days out of 7 up and down the highest elevation in town for about 1200 ft net gain every day I do hike. Losing around 2-3 lbs per week. Final goal is to lose somewhere around 70-80 more pounds than I have already lost. I have no idea what my blood chemistry looks like now but no doubt it is improving as well. I am tired of being overweight and simply do not wish to proceed to diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke... 50 lbs more weight loss will be a pretty big milestone for me as it will be lower than I weighed on my wedding 24 years ago. After that the hurry to see it fall off will diminish. I will still want to lose 20-30 lbs but I won't be quite so frantic about seeing it off. Without a doubt less weight will mean less wetted surface on the kayak in the next race! Great progress, Ray! It sounds like you found what works for you. Plus you get to buy all those new clothes (or break out the old ones!) Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.