|
Late last year, while attending the AGM, I was
asked to write an article on the race of the Classique de canot held on the
St-Maurice River, Quebec, every Labor
Day week-end. The purpose of the article was to recount how Dave Lewis and I
trained for the event and portray what we had experienced during the race.
Back in December 2000,
hosting the N.S.M.C.A.meeting, Dave and I initiated a conversation on “ racing
la Classique”. We were both keen on trying to practice for it. This race is to
my knowledge the highest level of competition in marathon canoe racing. It is
the last race of the Triple Crown in the professional circuit, and 125 miles long.
My reasons for wanting to
complete this race were my passion for canoe racing and even more importantly
to honour my heritage; being able to
compete back home at a level which I
never experienced when I lived there. My father had done this race when I was
10 years old. I was very proud of him.
I learned a lesson about perseverance, and being able to achieve goals of any
size. I wanted to give the same lessons to my son Ben, and return the
compliment to my father.
Getting the Wheel in Motion:
It was late in December, I
had to find information on the way to train, the food to eat. There were so
many questions on how to become fit and on how to peak for a race. I decided to
search for literature. To my surprise I found the most suitable book for me. It
was called “Workouts for working people
“ by Mark Allen. The book touched on
weight training, racing diet, training format, all related to triathlon racing.
The best part was how it kept me motivated and focused. I then decided to
purchase a paddling machine, and a heart monitor to measure the intensity of
training. January and part of February was spent running on a treadmill and
using my paddling machine.
The Start of Training:
Mid February saw Dave and I paddling the river
because all lakes were still frozen. As the spring progressed, the length and
the intensity of training increased. It was a must for us to have a minimum of
100 hours on the water by the end of
August to attempt the Classique . We also
needed to have long training sessions so that we could get use to remaining in
the canoe for hours on end and also
solve any issue that might arise. Knowing what to expect, and refitting the canoe to get maximum comfort for current
conditions were items high on the agenda. The importance of having a good set
up makes the difference when focusing on the race. The alternative is poor boat setup thus causing aggravation which intensifies as the length
of the race increases.
Training Highlights:
Training on its own is not
usually the most exciting deed, however we always seemed to enjoy it. One thing
that Dave and I needed to improve was our ability to cope with big waves .One
evening in May after work we met for a practice at Mill Lake, Hubbards . The
wind was blowing hard and the rain was torrential. I was not looking forward to
doing this. I realized that positive attitude had everything to do with
confidence, which both of us needed for our balance. We decided to go and play
on the waves instead of the hard
workout we usually endured. It was rough, but
fun. We did not flip even though the rain soaked us. I still remember
Dave`s words “the only way I would be wetter, is if I were bigger”. Wasn’t it the truth! The most part of our training was done on
the Lahave River and Mill Lake, Hubbards. Lahave River offered us great
similarity to the St-Maurice River. It was very wide, unprotected from the wind
and was plenty long to train on. Mill Lake on the other hand was a bit shorter
but good open water was to be found. The portage was ideal- it was a very long
steep hill, graded with loose stones, and was about 1.8km in length. That
portage was a challenge. I held Dave
back.
A day in July during one of our 3-hour practices on
Lahave River we found ourselves in the middle of a motorboat rally. There were
60 to 80 motorboats that took part. This was one of the most interesting
sessions we had. There were waves
coming to us from all directions, some as high as 5 feet tall. We were able to
stay afloat while my bailer was working to it’s maximum. Dave and I knew this
was a good practice for the St-Maurice, as there are many motor boats that
follow the race, creating big waves. Our longest training day was in late July-
we had scheduled 3 practice sessions of 5-hour duration each within one week.
Two weeks later we had the longest single training consisting of one 7-hour
straight practice. We then reduced the length and increased rest time between
intervals in order to peak for Shawinigan . We finished the summer with 160
hours of practice.
Race Preparation:
Arriving in Quebec one week before the race, Dave
and I completed our final preparation. Canoe preparations included installing Velcro for our food containers,
installing foam with glue to hold our boost cans, preparing lots of extra water
bottles, ensuring ample Gatorade on hand and all the little things that we
possibly would need during the race. As you know, while racing, there is no
stop break for lunch or washroom, so every team must outfit their canoe in such
a way that there is no more than one second lost when reaching for food, or
drink, and also the canoe has to be set up in a sanitary fashion, so food does
not become contaminated while racing.
Our Pit Crew:
In the middle of the summer Doug and Kris Archibald
offered to be our pit crew if we needed them. We could not have been luckier.
Not only that we had a pit crew, but Doug had experience in this race, as he
participated in it two years in a row. We also received a lot of information
from Loraine and Steve McAller about the logistics of pitting, and the time
required to travel from points A to B for the pit crew. It was unbelievable;
Loraine had it mastered to a science.
Boat Measuring:
All the teams arrived at La Tuque Friday morning
where boat measuring and the mandatory sprint took place. The measurement of
the canoe was done measuring the full length, then measuring the bottom of the
canoe at its widest point with a “c” type jig, and lastly measuring the top of
the canoe at its widest point again. To my surprise my canoe was 1/8 inches too
narrow at the top portion. The measurer had to wait for a top official. We were
so nervous as this was our only canoe available for racing. The official later
gave us a green light for racing.
Race Course:
- Friday afternoon 600-meter sprints were conducted individually
- Saturday morning the race start was at LaTuque to St-Jean des Piles- about 8 ½ hours, without portage
- Sunday the race started at St-Jean des Piles to Grand Mere with 4 big laps, then all the way to Shawinigan, with one loop. There were 3 portages that day
- Monday the race consisted of 5 laps around La Cite de L’Energie and Shawinigan with two portages approximately 600 meters each
- The total distance was about 125 miles
The Race Start:
Dave and I did our sprint the first
day. We finished 27th. After competing, our group from Nova Scotia
all meant at Doug’s campsite .We completed the final tuning for pitting, and we
had a wonderful meal that Sherry Archibald made. Dave and I also received our
official team hat that we both pampered.
Saturday:
Saturday morning we woke up early
and anxious. The race was starting at 8 a.m. and the morning had a cool chill
in the air. I was glad to see my father and his old canoe partner, a great
friend of the family; two of my brothers and my son were also present. We
proceeded to put the canoe in as we were getting close to start time, we had a
brief warm up, and then we lined up for start. The current was strong. There
were 72 canoes that lined up holding a cable.
We got surprised on the start as we thought there was going to be more
notice. Thus we started a bit behind. We proceeded to move up to position. We
turned the buoy, 8 canoes wide. We then went upriver, pushing hard to try to gain the position we should have been in.
We were about 30th when we crossed the river going up. Being tense,
the current took the front of the canoe
and to our surprise we were in the water, swimming. We tried and tried to empty
the canoe while the current was bringing us down, without success. We then swam
until we could touch bottom. We got back in the canoe and went up to the top
buoy. We had lost our drink, our food, but worst our spirit. I was so
disappointed to see all the hard training coming down to this.
We were 70th as there
were 2 boats that had flipped as well.
We could barely see the other canoes ahead, more than one km. away. The top
portion of that river has a lot of sand bars that extend almost the full width
of it. Not knowing the river, we were too far back to determine from the other
canoes where the good current was. Dave and I paddled for ½ hour before Doug
and Kris gave us our first pit. Without their initiative we probably would have
experienced dehydration. After pitting we did not gain on the other canoes.
Dave suggested we paddle similar to our training sessions “5 minutes at 100
percent, one minute relax” until we reach a canoe. One hour after the start we
finally reached a canoe. It was now that
our spirit returned. The adrenalin was kicking in and we started to pass
other canoes. Our strategy was to sprint to maximum until we reached a canoe,
ride their wave, catch our breath, and then exploding to another sprint. The
thinking behind this was that we did not want to bring other canoes ahead with
us, only to be beaten by them at the end. We endured this to the 6 ½ hour point of the race, where we caught
up to a group of 4 canoes. We pulled away, however one canoe followed us up to
the next group of 4 canoes, bringing it to 6. We rode wash for a bit and tried to go but without luck, all the canoes
were following us. We were becoming drained of energy. We decided to ride wash
for a while and eat some food.
We
stayed beside them for about ½ hour. Suddenly we found ourselves up one
wave from them. Dave not missing the opportunity laid the
hammer down. It was amazing how the canoe and the two of us became just like a
finely tuned machine. We were pulling away. I could hear the teams saying “come
on, go, hard they are pulling away”. But the voice was getting weaker as we
were going. At that point we went very hard for 15 minutes to discourage the
teams behind from catching us. At this point we had reached another canoe that
was on the opposite side of the river. In the distance we could see the finish
line. We pulled away from that canoe, and attempted to pull in one more canoe.
We sprinted for a finish with the last canoe, but could not pass them. I was so
pleased with my first day, even though we had a bad start. I did not think we
could have made such a comeback. When I got out of the canoe my legs felt like
rags. I had such a great feeling when I saw my son’s face, so enthusiastic and
proud, along with my father and brothers-they were all smiling. We ended
finishing 32nd.
Sunday:
Sunday morning, we started at
St-Jean des Piles. All the canoes lined up holding a cable. Serge Corbin pulled
his canoe beside mine. We started facing downriver, completed a buoy and raced
upriver past the start line, and then back downriver. Further on we passed an
island and experienced big waves from motorboats. The fact that we were in
shallow water made the situation worse. Before these waves we were sitting at
about 30th position however we dropped back about 7 positions. After
reaching deeper water we slowly climbed back up. Arriving at Grand- Mere we had
4 big laps to complete at about 4 km. each.
There was a bridge, which was crowded with spectators. With every lap
Dave and I were gaining, and passing crews
we had not seen the previous day. We were using a technique that we
learned in a clinic for climbing waves. After the 4th lap we tackled
the portage. Exiting the boat, we ran uphill, catching one canoe. We then ran
down a steep hill passing another one, on a flat where we tied up with 2 more
canoes. Our portage training on the summer had paid off. After the put-in we
paddled below the power dam riding wash with two other teams. We were nearing a
rapid above Isle Des Heutre –the next portage. We used the start of the rapid
to gain velocity to quickly turn in order to be first on the portage. Here
we pulled away spreading the distance
on the path. After a 2 km paddle we then arrived in Shawinigan .The last
portage was the boulevard. There were thousands of spectators cheering. Believe
me, neither of us felt any pain on this one. There was no canoe close; we
finished in 21st position for that day.
Monday:
Monday morning Dave, Louise,
Abigail, Beverley , Ben and I went for a rich breakfast. I was feeling very tired due to the race
being hard and a lack of sleep on the previous nights as a result of being too
nervous. We then prepared the canoe. I felt
like I had nothing left to give. Dave’s forearms were very tender. The
race was starting to take its toll on us. We went for a light run to check one
of the two portages. We went for a warm
up paddle just before the start. Dave and I knew this was going to be the
shortest day but the fastest day, as all paddlers would try to give everything
they had left to gain the best position.
We lined up at the cable on the outside as we thought it would be better
for us, instead of fighting the waves from the other canoes. This was a good
decision. The race commenced, and we had the best start of our 3 days.
We
completed the first lap passing some boats. We ended up catching a group of
four canoes where we rode their waves for a short time but then lost their wash
on a buoy turn. The portage was close, so Dave and I decided to conserve our
energy on the water and try to pass them on the portage. The four canoes had
the ramp fully used, causing us to wait a brisk moment. We then exited the
boat and began the run. We passed 3
canoes early on but the last team was persistent. The adrenalin kicked in, as
we tried to drop everyone. We pushed harder and started to lose the last canoe.
At the put-in, the team from Minnesota was in reach, about 5 waves away. We
then decided to use a combination of technique and sprint to catch that canoe.
It took us 11/2 laps to catch them.
This was a great accomplishment. We had a sizeable lead on the pack of canoes
behind, and we were riding the side wave of the Minnesota team. Dave asked them
if they wanted to work together to try and
reach the other teams ahead- no response. It was obvious they did not
want us beside them. We rode sidewash for some time before I opened the bailer
to rid the boat of extra water. The other crew noticed and gave their best. I
quickly shut it to minimize the drag and Dave and I barely stayed on their
wave. If they had known they probably would have kicked us off their wash.
We
then pulled up beside them again and
while everyone was recuperating I again opened the bailer even though they
could see me. I was playing a mind game with them. The Minnesota team kept us
on the outside of the buoys, as they were all counterclockwise. What pleased
Dave and I the most was that the last buoy before the portage was clockwise. It was to be ours. Nearing the buoy, the Minnesota team raced us however we did
not give ground. We experienced a light
collision, turned, got out of the water as I could see from the corner of my
eye the bow paddler dropping his paddle. This was a terrible mistake for them.
We ran the last portage again on the boulevard and the adrenalin did not fail
us. After the put-in we pushed hard to
increase our lead on the Minnesota team. We worked hard to close the gap
between us and the 18th and
19th teams however we finished 20th for that day.
Goals:
Earlier in the season I had picked
two goals- one that was attainable, and one that was not so realistic. My first
was to finish the race without being disqualified, as there is a time limit to
complete each day. My second was to finish ½ way through the pack. Dave and I
had achieved better than that. We finished in
26th position out of 72. It felt better than any win I had
ever experienced.
Support:
Some special folks who are dear to heart and kept
us motivated deserve mentioning- Louise, Abigail, Beverley Lewis, also my son
Ben, and my girl friend Jen. Thank you all for your patience and for allowing Dave and I to attempt the
race. Without you it would not have been the same. Also there are our special
friends Doug, Kris, Mary Beth, & Sherry Archibald who made the voyage to
Quebec to be our pit crew, and who supported us in any way they could. We must
also thank Steve and Loraine McAleer for helping us with all kinds of tips,
information and techniques for the event. Thank-you all again.
Jean Marien
|
