San Marcos Olympic Qualifier

3 days in Texas + 3 Missouri Girls = serious fun!

Yesterday was the San Marcos Olympic qualifier. Di and JoJo were wonderful enough to join me on my trip south. After getting the Big Red Van out of the snow and ice in Ironton, we drove all night through Texarkana towards Dallas. We arrived in San Marcos early Friday afternoon with enough time for everyone to get on the water. Di and JoJo explored upriver while I jumped right on the slalom course.

Saturday was rainy and "cold." All the locals were complaining about the temps in the upper 50's. The water temp was a constant 72 degrees, which made steam rise dramatically up from the whitewater. JoJo and Di went on a long paddle (7+ miles) with some Texas friends, while I trained all day in the rain with friends from Colorado and Charlotte. Big storms came through -- went sent them on to Missouri to fill up the Saint Francis.

The course featured a drop with a sizable hole below it. As a righty C1, I was comfortable getting in the hole and ferrying across on my onside, but getting into the hole on my offside (bracing on the cross) freaked my out! My goal for the weekend was to get though that hole on my cross. The first few times I dropped in from river left I immediately got flipped. With some great advice and encouragement (thanks, Chris) I nailed the move a few times.

JoJo in the hole:

Sunday was warm and sunny. I came in 3rd in the C1 class in the race. I still felt slow and sloppy compared to where I want to be, but I am improving each time. Next weekend is Glacier Breaker on the Nantahala, which promises to be a much colder race. The 72 degree water was awesome. It's much easier to push myself when flipping feels like taking a bath!

Thanks so much to Di and Jo for coming with me! They both had their own reasons for going to Texas, but the trip was so much more fun with three.