TEAM WATER MOCCASIN takes on the Colorado 100

TEAM WATER MOCCASIN  //  WATCH OUR BOAT FINISH THIS BAD BOY!

GO TO LINK BELOW TO SEE US COMPARED TO OTHER BOATS:
http://paddle24seven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=211&Ite...

OR TO VIEW US ALONE:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0qvjzTuq1z7MyDIQ6...

 
Sep 5 / 6:58am

Dear Kate Poss

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Img00393-20100905-0832

How much for each bleeding blister? Does this count?

 
Sep 2 / 9:35am

LIGHTS ON THE BOAT

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
They used to say, “bad warm up makes for a great game”.

Well if that’s truly the case, then Nicole and I are going to have a great paddle!

We went out on Tuesday for our last paddle and to test Lindsay’s podunk lighting system.  We paddled a bit and then docked and we began adjusting trying to find the best way to fix the lights and raise them higher.

Feeling confident that we can make the system work, we began paddling again towards Redbud.

All of the sudden I hear screaming from the back of the boat, accompanied by severe thrashing of the boat and lots of tipping back and forth wildly.  

The fear of tipping the boat was quickly demolished by Nicole screaming that there was a giant cockroach on her.  She began steering us back to the main dock at the rowing center.  I have never paddled so fast in my life; I was convinced the cockroach was crawling my way and the faster I paddled the better my chances of getting out of the boat before it got to my seat.  

I start squealing with fear as we made it about 100 strokes from the dock.  We both could not get out of the boat fast enough.   

We have declared that Benjie is in charge of thorough cockroach inspection in the boat the day of the race.  He was happy to oblige :)

I’m deathly afraid of the night portion of this race and Nicole and I each have our own system for dodging the bugs.  In 72 hours, we’ll know how bad the bugs really are.

FREAKING OUT!

 
Sep 2 / 9:28am

WE JUST BROKE $4,000

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Everybody on Team Hands4Hands,

The race is 48 hours away!  Lindsay is freaking out (naturally).  Nicole is too busy at work to notice (naturally). And we just broke $4,000 in donations!

Would love to get that last $1,000 in the bank and then rest assured that $5,000 was raised in our efforts.

That might carry me through those last 36 miles :)

Lindsay  

 
Sep 1 / 3:03pm

FOLLOW US!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Here’s our singular tracker...so you can see where our boat is along the race:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0qvjzTuq1z7MyDIQ6N3cUiiHq0v4IN3nQ


There is another tracker that we are on, that will track us next to other boats.  I don’t know how I feel about that one though.

Especially if everyone else with a tracking device is super fast.

See you on the internet!  Or hopefully in person!

Lindsay

 
Aug 31 / 7:31am

5 DAYS AND COUNTING!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
So...5 days until Race day.

Feeling kind of excited.  Excited coupled with horrible ADD and an inability to do any work.

Really want to test out the lighting system on the boat because I DO NOT think it is going to be enough light.  Worried about bugs. Bought 100% Deet to spray on the front of the boat so they don’t swarm the lighting.  I have ZERO idea if this will work.

Okay, enough about the race, MUST DO WORK!

Lindsay

 
Aug 15 / 9:15am

Lindsay's take on delirium (37 miles)

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Well...let's say this. The first 3 hours were a breeze. Red bull in the morning. Lots of bananas are the way to go!!! Our batteries in the iPod died at 4 hours though and that was really bad. We will have an amazing spreadsheet check list for the race with battery change out instructions and all that jazz. Nicole and I really didn't listen to our bodies and just went for the best time (because we are both urber competitive). We should have stopped more (we only stopped once in 6.5 hours). I had some signs of heat exhaustion (not good- people quit the race for that reason exactly). So we're instituting some stopping policies. Maybe even around once every 10 miles. Because on race day...it isn't about time, its about finishing! Big lesson learned. You know what else isn't the way to go? SALT PILLS. Was given this recommendation by a strong triathlon competitor and 50 mile runner. HORRIBLE idea for me. Here are the top 5 reasons why salt pills suck: 1) They make you sweat profusely. 2) Your profuse sweat is so much so that your eyes will burn regardless of wearing a hat or sweat band and you may be forced to take out your contacts in the middle of the colorado river. (Conveniently, you won't have any more contact lenses back at the house)
3) As you are sweating in copious amounts, your temperature is completely unable to regulate itself. 4) As your body temp rises, and hour 6 approaches, you start to get tunnel vision and feel completely nauseous. 5) You are then left for the next 48 hours with the need to urinate every 10 minutes. Literally, you are dehydrated, have no electrolytes and can't stop peeing. WORST IDEA EVER.. So...2 weeks left, still learning. Nicole and I do have a much better system of communication on the boat (head nods over talking) and we did flip over on a rapid but it wasn't bad at all. We wanted to go in the water anyway. Just did it a little differently than planned. Easy for me to say because I didn't hit the tree (hope Nicole's leg bruise doesn't look like her arm bruise!!)

That's about all. Recovering a bit today, not too sore. If you need me, I'm probably peeing. Lindsay

 
Aug 13 / 12:41pm

SPOT TRACK US!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Hey Everybody,

Trying out our new spot tracking system.  Come back tomorrow to see where we on on our 36 mile adventure!

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Df1vHn6IVLtMkf8u5gg69rXuX625CaWH

Hopefully it will work this time :)

Lindsay

 
Aug 11 / 10:46am

Jamie on the news TONIGHT!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Hello Dallasites and people with the internets (that’s everyone!),

Jamie will be on the 10:00 PM news tonight in Dallas.  WFAA feature by Janet St. James. Grew up watching this station so kind of excited.  Check it out tonight live or check the WFAA internet page for a recap.

Lindsay

 
Aug 9 / 7:37pm

Lindsay's take on the 35 miles

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Every time we paddle on the river, I learn a ton.  I think Nicole and I continued to learn about each other and what motivates the other one.  The 35 miles wasn’t horrendously difficult.  I got the same cramp under my shoulder blade as I did in the 25 mile trial, so I’m pretty worried about that.  I am going to get a massage this week and hopefully that will help. It just makes it hard to “pull” and it makes the repetitive movement of paddling difficult.  Every stroke feels like my shoulder blade is scraping a muscle.

The really cool thing was that we kept up with some strong paddlers this weekend.  Everyone that came by us was saying, “you guys are looking great”, “you are really together”.  I think that’s great to hear.  Nicole and I have put so much time into training together and being one unit, that having “pro” paddlers notice, is a real accomplishment and large sense of pride for me.  

We have a new speaker and sound system, so some awesome music definitely helped. (80’s and Madonna hour!)

  I was pretty sore Sunday but I think massages are going to be the way to go: massages and a lot of faith in why I am completing this physical feat.

The downer: I realized today that I only had 4 more weeks until race day and a real bout of sadness came over me. What am I going to do on Saturday?  I want to go out and paddle the Colorado.  I want to try out other rivers.  I want to learn how to steer. I want to buy a super awesome hand crafted boat from Jack.  

Basically...I realized that this race and learning to kayak changed a part of my life and that’s pretty cool.  What’s next?  Maybe a triathlon?  Maybe rock climbing?  Another kayak trip?  Only time will tell...

L

 
Aug 9 / 7:25pm

The J.A.M.I.E Group Event

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Hey Everybody,

Check out this event. I think it’s awesome, and I’ll be there.  Nicole will probably be there too.

Yay Jamie!
http://thejamiegroup.org/blue-cup-throwdown/

 
Aug 9 / 2:11pm

Why you making me cry?

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
I mean seriously folks...we’ve broken $3,500 – in fact, we are at $3,610.

Nicole and I can’t thank each and every one of you enough. I’m hoping to solidify someone to match all of our donations.  Wouldn’t that be crazy??!

Look for other posts from Nicole and I about our 35 mile time trial last weekend.

(download)

 
Aug 7 / 7:04am

Follow us today!!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Hey everybody, Go to Lindsay's facebook to watch us paddle 35 miles.
 
Aug 6 / 3:10pm

Look at that pretty rudder

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
Img00336-20100806-1707

You need a kayak or canoe to move like hell?? Call spencer canoes. Jack rocks!

 
Aug 3 / 8:33am

HOLY CRAP! I just broke the boat.

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
So, it’s not a secret that I’m not a great driver.  Spatial visual skills...not really a strong suit.  So it was only natural to strap a 24 ft. boat to the roof and see how I did, right?  

Here’s my confession – I’ve hit 4 different things with the back rudder.  The good news is, the rudder is just a piece of fiberglass and it moves.  So nothing is ever damaged. HOWEVER, the rudder was flapping in the wind while driving and Nicole and I thought...”that can’t be good, we should tie it down”.  So I slapped a zip tie on that rudder and it did absolutely nothing to stop the flapping.  It did do one thing though...

When I backed into a tree this morning, that zip tie made the rudder not be able to move, and then the rudder SNAPPED AND BROKE! I promptly lost my mind and the only thing I could think was, “oh my god, Nicole is going to kill me”.  Two pieces of good news... 1. Nicole is out of town.  2. I called the boat maker and on the second try he answered the phone.  Jack is the NICEST MAN EVER...and he said, “I’m here tonight, just bring it by.  That rudder was the original rudder, it’s about 20 years old”.  So, yay! A new rudder to make us super sleek. And he’s going to fix some other things he’s been wanting to “fix up”.  

So the bottom line and moral of this story is...what your kayak partner doesn’t know while she’s on a business trip, won’t hurt her.  The boat will be cheaply and easily fixed by Saturday.  That and I really can’t keep this boat strapped to the roof of my car anymore.  

 
Jul 25 / 2:37pm

Lindsay's take on the 25 time trial

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
  Aside from getting in or out of the boat, we were SOO bad ass.  We did 25 miles (our GPS said 26) in 4.5 hours.  That puts our time to finish the race around 3:00 AM.  Really hoping for a before 2:00 AM finish.  Gotta get out the next few weeks and really train.  But, if anyone can do it, I know it’s Nicole and I.  We were pacing ourselves but I think we can go faster. We kept trying to catch up to boats and we were passing people.  We were working as a team and trusting each other and rockin’ that river.  It’s raining right now, which is AWESOME, because rain makes the river go FASTER!  Faster = better.  And yes, Nicole’s bruise is rather large, and I do have an interesting looking bump on my hand.  No spiders and we didn’t flip at all!  Quite the run!
 
Jul 25 / 2:28pm

Training Run

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN
We successfully conquered 25 miles of the Colorado yesterday. Somehow we didn't flip. Everything kinda came together, and we were one with the boat. Until we got to the take-out and flipped the boat. Lindsay's hand hit some rocks pretty hard, and now she's growing what looks like a third arm out of the heel of her hand. And I have the biggest bruise I've EVER had on my arm. Genius.
Image
 
Jul 22 / 8:25am

Steering to Victory!

by TEAM WATER MOCCASIN

Nicole's training day with Phil After working all weekend, I (Nicole) took Tuesday off to paddle down the Colorado with Phil, just like Lindsay had done on Sunday. I was going to learn how to steer around sweepers, strainers, rocks, and weeds. I’d already heard Lindsay’s tale of collisions, flips and spiders and was hoping I wouldn’t meet a similar fate. As we rounded the first corner and headed into our first stretch of current, I successfully avoided the dead tree branches sticking out into the water, but sent us into some slow moving weeds. That happened once more, but after that, I got the hang of it. I never flipped us. In fact, Phil had to intentionally flip us so I’d be familiar with the sensation and how to recover. I learned how to pull the boat into the checkpoints. Over all, the day on the water boosted my confidence. Phil’s a great teacher. And we averaged over 6 miles an hour! If Lindsay and I can maintain that pace on race day, we’ll easily finish under 20 hours.

Now I can’t wait for Saturday! The first 5 miles of our 25 mile run is the most technical of the course. So if we can make it through that, then the rest of the race shouldn’t be so bad.