"Working Man's SUP Racer/Surfer"

This is my new title...
Dad, Husband, Regional Manager (for a large global surgical device manufacturer) and...a Waterman.
Open any of the new crop of SUP specific journal's and you will see much of the same...pictures of exotic locals, amazing surf, globe trotting athletes all enjoying the amazing growth of this new obsession we have all fallen in love with...Stand Up Paddle Boarding.
As with any new love though, there comes the "reality phase"...how do you keep the stoke when "real life" rears its head...
This is the plight of the "Working Man's SUP Racer/Surfer".
Or what I am coming to know as "The Juggle"...lol
Back Story:
In 2006 I had no idea where this would all go. I had been a surfer for many years, played on an NCAA National Championship football team and grew up competing in one design sail boat racing from the age of 5 on. I tend to "create" competition in almost everything I do...guilty.
Spring of 2006 I read an article about Laird Hamilton biking from Paris France to the English Channel and then crossing the channel on his new signature SurfTech Laird SUP. I had never seen it before and no one I knew had heard about it. So I dove into the internet to explore. A month later I laid down a deposit at my local Surftech shop for an as yet to be produced Laird 12'1" SUP.
After many delays, in January 2007 I finally took delivery of one of the first 6 x Laird SUP's to ship East from Santa Cruz.
Fortunately I had already found Todd Bradley with the then virgin C4 Waterman company and after several calls with Todd had secured a new paddle as the originally promised "paddle included" price for the Laird, did not materialize upon delivery (I was told last minute negotiations between Laird and Surftech did not leave room in the Pre-order price to include a paddle anymore).
The next 3 weeks I was a Grom again...laughing, falling, noodle legged...the works...lol
Then came "the glide" and I was hooked...forever.
Late summer of 2007 I learn of an Innaurgural Paddleboard Race to be held on the Indian River Intracoastal Waterway in Cocoa Beach, FL. 22 miles from the Cocoa Causeway to Pineda Causeway and back (11 miles each way).
3 weeks before the event I begin training.
My sister had been battling Ovarian Cancer at that point since 1999 and I immediately saw an opportunity to do somthing else by competing in this race.
In October 2007, I completed the now annual 22 Mile C2C Challenge...paddling the final 11 miles into a 20 mph headwind, finishing 3rd place in 6 hrs 52min (all of the other SUP paddlers behind me dropped out and were picked up by chase boats 10 minutes into the 11 mile headwind return).
I personally raised $2,000 for LIVESTRONG that first race through my watermanforhope.org site. (Over the past 3yrs, I have raised for LAF a total of over $7,000 personally competing in the C2C)
I was also hooked on SUP racing...but the boards for racing...well needless to say needed improvement.
From there I switched to the first 14ft C4 Waterman Vortice (epoxy version) for the 2008 paddleboard race season taking 2nd Place at the Florida State Championships, 3rd at the Eastcoast Championships and 1st or 2nd in additional races that year.
I then met Jamie Mitchell and Kyle Mochizuki during a Quiksilver Edition clinic tour through Florida the summer of 2008 and that led to talks with Joe Bark and his Unlimited race SUP designs.
I won the 2008 22 mile C2C on my first 18ft custom carbon fiber BARK race SUP (finishing in 4 hrs) and that led to more top two podium finishes in the 2009 race season and a 2nd BARK design upgrade board.
So why the "back story"?
Because at 43, father of a beautiful 5 year old daughter, married to an AMAZING beautiful wife, a Covidien Regional Manager overseeing Florida, Louisiana and Texas...how do I stay competative in this exploding sport with new "Young Guns" coming up everyday who have tons of time to train (not to mention the raw talent).
So 2010 for me is the birth of the "Working Man's SUP Racer/Surfer".
In the coming weeks I will explore what this means more and provide some tips as to how I get around "The Juggle".
See you in the water, - Aloha