divegirl is still a badass

[cat in january]

FKNA go girl, keep us updated

[abraham]

Bummed we're not going to be at the finish line this year but we ran down to watch the start. Go divegirl!

[EWG]

47 miles in and sitting in the top half of the field. Nice work so far!

[SB]

So what board is she using?

[LegoSkier]

I believe it's a SIC bullet 14.

[SB]

They make that one in hard and inflatable. I take it she is on the hard board?

[divegirl]

Thank you so much, Lego, for this post and for all your support!! Thank you to everyone who commented here, I could feel all the positive energy during my race!

Holy hell that was hard. And beautiful and amazing.

I have not written anything yet…so I’ll write this here and then share it on my social media! Y’all are the first to know!

This year, I could write the book on what not to do before a big endurance race. My head was not in it like I was last year. Last year, I finished the race hydrated, fed, and even commented how I could keep going.

I had a mild low-grade headache at the start that I ignored, thinking nothing of it, and only realized later that my sauna session the night prior was a mistake, especially seeing that I did not rehydrate properly nor did I drink any electrolytes the day prior or day of the race.

There are so many really great lessons learned from this year and I’m super grateful for that. I only stopped on land once for 30 minutes at Blake Island before getting through the Port Townsend Canal as I was trying to beat the wind which picked up at 2pm Saturday (race started 7pm Friday). This strategy was OK but I should have put more Perpetuem in my water bladders and eaten more at that stop. I should have been farther out closer to the shipping lanes to make the most of the current. I didn’t need to veer over to Port Ludlow after Foulweather Bluff as I forgot about taking advantage of slack tide. These lessons would not have come to me had I finished.

I was 5 miles from the finish (some said 3, but we were going along the shore due to gale winds) when I bonked and had to quit. By that point, I was not “with it” and felt really loopy. Luckily I was with my friend Carl of team Big Deck Energy (haha, no kidding, and he wore a banana costume the entire time), and he said we need to call it at Fort Townsend Park, just before the Paper Mill at approximately 8pm Saturday.

The weather was perfect until the winds turned on. The moon above Mt Rainier at the start of the race, and then at 3am in its deep golden yellow glow before the sun came up was picture perfect poetry in the sky. My heart was the happiest seeing Lego and our daughter on the shore going through the Port Townsend Canal, and at my first stop in Port Townsend Bay at Port Hadlock, when I ran into my fabulous friend Sarah, who was cheering for me and providing much needed encouragement. Then, what felt like a miracle happened. Two awesome friends Carly and Tanner walk onto the beach and towards me, joining Sarah to wish me well. They had all been looking at the tracker! And THEN, Carl pulls up! Here is the awesome significance of this: Carly, Tanner, Carl, and I finished the Seventy48 together last year at 12:12am Sunday. Tanner and Carly pulled up at Kala Point in Port Townsend Bay and were going to call it, but Carl and I encouraged them to join us in the push for the finish. And so they did. So, the four of us on the beach together again a year later was the highlight of the race for me, and helped me realize that the joy of community brings more enrichment to my life and this race than my own individual effort. And for that I am so grateful!

They make that one in hard and inflatable. I take it she is on the hard board?

Yes! It is a carbon board, 14’ long by 27” wide at beam. It’s a SIC Bullet V2, an older model but I love it. It’s made for downwinding on big waves, and served me well last year when the southerly winds pushed us north for 21 hours before the winds shifted. This year, I would have done better on a narrower, faster race board. So I’ll have to evaluate my board choice better next year once we know if it’s a La Niña or El Niño situation.

[mcski]

Really impressive effort and trip/race report. Kudos to you. Definitely a badass

[EWG]

Yeah, great work. Cool read.

[gravitylover]

Wow, awesome.

FWIW I expect that we're heading into a moderate to strong El Nino that will likely last at least through next year.

[John_B]

Super cool DG! I remember being in awe last year after I read this then went for a 2 mile SUP paddle where my track taken likely resembled a series of half circles.

[divegirl]

Super cool DG! I remember being in awe last year after I read this then went for a 2 mile SUP paddle where my track taken likely resembled a series of half circles.

Aww, thank you John B! Well, if you make it to the PNW, I'd be happy to paddle with you, I have a few boards. Come to think of it, a maggot paddle day might be fun.

gravitylover - thanks for the info! This mostly likely means another drier spring, which means another year like this one. That's fine with me...I'll probably borrow a SIC RS for the race. That's more of a race board that could also do OK in a downwinder.

[SB]

Good stuff DG!

[Brownski]

Exciting tale, divegirl. Thanks for sharing it. You’re inspiring me to plan some bigger trips

[divegirl]

Exciting tale, divegirl. Thanks for sharing it. You’re inspiring me to plan some bigger trips

Whoohoo!

[detrusor]

That’s amazing!