Today I paddled for 90 minutes. No strength work today--I'm doing that only three times a week.
I paddled out of the harbor and down to the trio of old bridges below downtown Memphis, then paddled up the Arkansas bank to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge before returning to the harbor. The weather report called for thunderstorms, but fortunately all was calm out on the river this morning. Or, I should say the sky was calm, but thanks to busy towboat traffic, the water was rather turbulent. Turbulent in a good way: I love bouncing around in the chop. It's not quite whitewater, but it sort of feels like the stretches between rapids on a big-water river like the New River Gorge. I enjoy the challenge of keeping my boat gliding in those conditions.
Mild winter or no mild winter, the Mississippi is cold right now. As I paddled through some big waves behind a towboat, I took a big splash that sent a stream of icewater down my neck and inside the tube of my sprayskirt. It took a good twenty seconds for the shock to wear off. If I had been on the surf ski I'd have been soaked to the bone for the rest of the session.
As I paddled back into the harbor and headed for the marina, I passed a bunch of people participating in some sort of polar bear swim charity event. Nobody was staying in the water for long. I didn't blame them.
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