Go Beyond

Preparing for the 2013 Texas Water Safari

With the Texas Water Safari only a few short months away, Doyle and I remain committed to our training regimen. We agreed to meet at 6:00 AM to load our gear and head for the river. The plan for today was to paddle the almost 26 miles from Palmetto State Park to Gonzales, two of the checkpoints on the race course.

The only problem is that I woke up feeling absolutely crummy. I have been battling sinus congestion since I returned home from Jordan late last week and hardly slept a wink last night. About 4:30 this morning I turned to Cheryl, groaned, and said, “I feel awful and I have to get up and go do another training run with Doyle.”

Cheryl turned to me and said, “Fantastic. This will be a good day for you to train. You will just have to paddle through the pain, just like when you are doing the safari.” With that, she rolled over and went back to sleep! “She’s right,” I thought to myself. “I just have to get up and get going.” No excuses — especially since the safari is fast approaching.

On the San Marcos River en route to the confluence of the Guadalupe River.

Today turned out to be one of the most beautiful days we have spent on the river and one of our best training days. The weather was perfect and we averaged a little more than four miles per hour in our Alumacraft canoe. One of the best parts of the day was reaching the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers.

Reaching the Guadalupe River felt great because this is the river we will paddle all the way to San Antonio Bay and then on to the finish line at Seadrift, Texas. It is a significant milestone on the race course. Someone described the Texas Water Safari as a race to Gonzales and a death march to Seadrift. We will definitely have to paddle through the pain from the confluence of these rivers near Gonzales, Texas all the way to the finish line.

At the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers. Finally!

So, as bad as I felt this morning, I am tired but feeling much better after today’s training run. Doyle and I know that we have to make the most of every training run between now and the race. There is a reason why the Texas Water Safari is billed as the world’s toughest canoe race. Every competitor has to paddle through the pain if they expect to make it to the finish line. We are certainly prepared to do the same.

Portaging around Gonzales Dam.

Portaging at Gonzales Dam.