Sluggish off the start

Today I did four laps of the April strength circuit and paddled for 130 minutes.

Joe and I paddled up to the mouth of the Wolf and did a workout that we try to do a couple of times each season.   Starting at the power lines that mark the starting line of the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, we did five pieces out onto the Mississippi and down to the boat ramp about a quarter-mile down the course.  The recovery was the paddle back up to the start.

I didn't feel at my best today.  I normally try to do these pieces at sub-maximum intensity (i.e., not quite all-out, but pretty darn close), but today I was struggling with my balance a little and just couldn't paddle as hard as I would have liked.  The river, though smooth, felt awfully squirrelly, and we had a breeze swirling around from multiple directions.  On top of that my digestion was a little off this morning, and it all added up to a less-than-satisfying workout.

Oh well... there will be days like this.  I haven't done many workouts at this point and I don't yet have the "pop" off the starting line that I hope to have later on.  In June I'll have a couple of short (5.5 miles or less) races with strong competition where getting good position early will be very important, and the purpose of this workout is to develop the ability to paddle hard off the starting line for 60-90 seconds.