My dad was right – Michigan in January is cold. Really cold. It’s 2 degrees outside…but I have managed to train this past week… the nearby gym is unbelievable – it has everything you could possibly need (including a heated swimming pool – which is the closest thing to paddleboarding that I will find out here!) I am on my way to Trinidad and Tobago later this week – hoping to find a board to train with there…we’ll see! At least it will be warmer 
Good luck with the training Morgan – I’ll be back soon enough!! – Jenny
Feb 02, 2010 | Dispatches | Leave A Comment »
Those of you who know Jared Vargas know that he likes a good challenge. He is the first guy who isn’t Laird to paddle from Avalon to Baby Beach in Dana Point. As if this isn’t enough of an accomplishment, he did it with wind in his face. I met Jared briefly in California when I was in town for the Rock 2 Rock paddleboard race between Catalina and Palos Verdes. He dominated that race along with his good friend and training partner Tyler Anderson who won the prone race. Anyway, without going into all of the details of what has happened since then (and there are A LOT of details…really, you would barely believe the story even if I told you), Jared is now living in Hawaii with my good friend and training partner Nicole Madosik.
Jared lives just down the street from Wet Feet where I work, and against his better judgement, he answered the phone tonight when I called him to see if he was interested in working out. “But it’s dark!,” he exclaimed as I told him that attendance was mandatory. After minimal convincing, Jared was standing next to my car, board in hand. Little did I know that inviting Jared into my little workout routine was probably the worst idea ever.
- we had better get used to night paddling
Scott Adams from Surf Stronger has been helping me out with my training. He wrote out this interval workout that almost killed me. Really, you don’t know how much work you have to do until you do 8 reps of a running and paddling combination that would make your favorite Olympian burst into tears. After round 5, I tried to cheat. I tried to con Jared into letting us stop and he pulled out the old “you are only cheating yourself” line. Super. Who knew that Jared was a hard worker? How annoying.
- “Morgan, seriously, we are finishing this”
Anyway, thanks to Jared, we made it through all 8 rounds. There may or may not have been some compromising on the running part, but no one will ever know for sure. Several times throughout the workout, Jared jokingly said “I never should have taken that phone call;” although I think that the more appropriate statement is that “I never should have MADE that phone call.” Lesson learned, if you want to cheat, take the sneaky way out because no one will ever know, cut yourself short, or whatever, don’t invite Jared Vargas to train with you.
Thanks Scott for the workout and Jared for the support. Same time next week??
Feb 02, 2010 | Dispatches | Leave A Comment »
It’s finally playtime. After what has seemed like an eternity of contacting companies, pitching proposals, and jumping in and out of the “special basket,” we got a big yes. Destiation 3 degrees is a testament to the saying that you will receive a hundred no’s before you get just one yes. And although we can’t give out details until the dotted line is signed, we have an oral agreement that says that this crazy trip is most likely going to happen (don’t get me wrong, it is still a long road ahead, but my faith in the project has been restored).
So, to celebrate, I went for a paddle. After two sweaty hours, the majority of which being upwind, I was so happy to be out on the ocean again. There is something special about being out there alone with the water, as proven by the huge goofy perma grin that had stretched across my face the entire time.
Tomorrow the Surf Stronger (www.surfstronger.com) guys have me doing some beach runs and hard paddles. Should be fun!!!
Feb 02, 2010 | Dispatches | Leave A Comment »
For the past month, I have been home in Southern California visiting my family. It has been great to be home, but Hawaii has spoiled me so badly that water in the low to mid 50s no longer seems as appealing as it did when I was in high school. Back when I was a full time Californian, I was the girl in the t-shirt and board shorts no matter what. Now, when I come back to California, I am the girl in the jeans and sweatshirt no matter what. It is kind of sad, really.
I had every intention of surfing and paddling every day while I was here. Two surf sessions, a few laps around Dana Point Harbor, and one impromptu freedive session to retrieve my car keys from the harbor floor later, I have begun to grasp the reality of that Oahu to Kauai channel (and most of the others for that matter…). I definitely didn’t get as much water time in here as I had hoped to.
The good news is that this time away form the water has given me the chance to miss paddling. After Molokai this year, I was somewhat burned out on the distance standup thing. Going in a straight line for hours at a time had lost it’s appeal. The Battle of the Paddle was a really fun race, but apparently was not fun enough to make me want to wake up at 6am every Sunday to paddle for 4 hours. However, in the spirit of wanting what you can’t have, I now want to paddle again. In fact, I am really looking forward to it. I am excited to do some downwind runs and to start the process of re-learning how to read the ocean and to connect the waves. There really is nothing better than getting a few long bumps in a row.
The other bright side is that, because of support from Todd Walsh and Scott Adams of Surf Stronger, I am not completely out of shape. When I first arrived in California, I met up with the two of them. They took me down to the beach where they walked me through some of the fundamentals of the Surf Stronger workout. It was a perfect fit right away because the TRX that they have built many of their workouts around allows me to train anywhere I feel like. Somehow training next to the ocean makes pushups a lot more likeable. I have been doing strength training, running, and abs the entire time, so I feel pretty ready for those long paddles. Jen Holcomb, our writer even toughed it out with me on a cold, stormy morning (Thanks Jen!)
Other than the cold, California has been awesome. My dad and I did some road tripping up the coast (FYI, Elephant Seals are so cool), spent some time lobster hunting on Catalina Island, and did some dolphin and whale frothing around the Dana Point area. Chris, Jen, Jenny and I spent most of our time making proposals and contacting companies about helping us make this adventure happen. We owe so many thanks to Barrett Tester as well, as he has helped us so much and for no other reason than because he is awesome.
Long story short(er), the plan is to his the ground running. I am sitting on a plane just now about an hour away from Oahu. Training starts in the morning (see you tomorrow Nicole and Jared). Wish me luck, these next 2 weeks are going to hurt a little =).
Jan 21, 2010 | Dispatches | Leave A Comment »
Week 1 of intense training begins… 4 hr endurance paddle this morning. Thanks Stacy for keeping me company out there! I feel good so far (although I did have to take a nap today because I could barely keep my eyes open). 3 hrs of strength training, 41/2 hrs of cycling and 10 hrs of paddling… not to mention some surfing here or there. Looking back, it doesn’t seem like enough!
Earlier in the week we had insane winds. It was one of those days that only comes around once in awhile and when it does you have to take full advantage. So, with a building northwest swell and the 25mph winds, we loaded up the Mana (which wasn’t easy given the conditions) and took off. We got dropped off 3-4 miles upwind and took off. It was unbelievable. The swells were easily 8-10ft. I kept wishing I had taken my camera but it’s hard to paddle and take pictures.. the ground swell was rolling in to my right but the wind swell was pushing directly behind us… you had to catch the wind swell and surf into the bigger groundswell… it was so fun out there. Based on what it was like we decided to do a longer (12 miles) downwind run in town. Unfortunately, by the time we loaded up boards, drove there and launched, the wind had backed off and what we thought was going to be an easy downwind paddle ended up being a lot of work… but it’s training, right?
Jenny
Jan 16, 2010 | Dispatches | Leave A Comment »
