T Minus 2

Alright.
Everything that I can do has been done.  Today is about getting my gear together and watching The Life Aquatic.  I have read all the scouting reports and dispatches.  I have studied the river through Google, and read all the info.  I am as ready as I can be I guess.

This is a new concept for me.  I usually don't like to prepare for these sporting events.  I like to just go.  But, and this is important, I have also never won a sporting event either.  There may be a correlation.  Regardless: I'm ready.

From what I can tell, this is going to be a tough go at first.
Shallow water.  Little current.  Hard to read.  Lot's of boats.  The first 20 miles will determine the line up as the pack thins to a line.  I predict a lot of grounding and so on.  The first checkpoint, then, will be important.  Here's my plan:

No weight in the beginning.  Meers and I have canoed the shallowest stream I can find and kept it going in less than a foot of water because we were light.  The Curve rides on top of the water pretty well, so I will not carry any extra water and only one battery until Wamego.  Once there, I will get my water jugs and extra battery.  I will try not to rig anything so having it set for fast retrieval will be key.

From then on we are on our own.  Won't see the crew again until the dam, but the river will be getting deeper as we go.  I hope I can read it well. This race is going to have a lot to do with the ability of racers to read the river correctly.  Like Cash said: muscle, guts, and luck.
I don't believe in luck, so I will have to make up for it in the other two.

The cut-off times seem to be generous, and if Meers and I keep our pace with a sense of urgency we should have a nice place toward the front. To get out front, we will have to see.  There are a lot of good paddlers in this with some really nice hulls.  I have a secret plan in the back of my head that we could attempt a sort of gambit:  Meers and I switch places half-way through.  I become the engine and I am fresh compared to him, so he gets a rest while I refresh our speed.

Not sure if that will work.  As with just about everything I do, I will adapt to what comes and just keep working.  One thing should remain at the front of all thought: I intend to win.

Talk to you after the race.