Here in the Mid South we have pretty mild winters that allow us to paddle year-round, but we do have a good cold snap at least once every ten days or so this time of year. Such a snap got here last night, and as I drove to the river this morning a few flecks of sleet fell from the sky and the in-dash display in my car said it was 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Not the worst I've paddled in, but... cold! Brrrr!
Fortunately I was dressed for the occasion, and soon I was reasonably comfortable in my boat. I paddled for 60 minutes, doing a couple of pieces around the Mud Island Marina (one lap takes around three minutes at medium intensity) and otherwise paddling steady.
Before paddling this morning I did my last strength routine for the month. I did ten sets of 30 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises. I'm always fascinated with the body's ability to adapt quickly to new stresses: at the start of this month I struggled through 200 Hindu squats and was quite sore for the next couple of days, but today I did 300 of them don't really feel a thing.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Monday photo feature
Jake Stachovak (left) and I depart downtown Memphis on the Mississippi River on one of the last days of 2009. Having spent Christmas day in Memphis, Jake was resuming a ten-month journey that started and finished at Portage, Wisconsin. On this day I joined him for the 35-mile leg from Memphis to the Tunica Riverpark in Mississippi. Photo by Ernest Kelly.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
New for me: very short sprints
I'm back from my trip, and even though the dreary, grey skies here are sort of a bummer after a week of nice sunny days, it feels good to be home.
The river is quite a bit higher than it was when I paddled on it last Sunday. That's not really a surprise, considering the system of heavy precipitation that passed through here last weekend and went on to cause all kinds of problems for folks from the upper Midwest to the Northeast and eastern Canada. The water I paddled on this morning submerged the Memphis gauge up to the 20.7-foot mark.
I paddled for 60 minutes in all. Taking a suggestion from this post on Ron Lugbill's blog, I followed a ten-minute warmup with ten six-stroke sprints in the harbor at maximum intensity, doing a sprint at the top of each minute.
As a pre-emptive response to those who might want to say "Lugbill's blog is about slalom racing; the type of racing you're doing doesn't require the bursts of speed or quick accelerations that slalom does," I'll point out two things. First, a quick acceleration off the starting line can be very important, especially in shorter races like the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race; and second, my goal is not just speed but also to practice the motor skills associated with high-intensity paddling, in the hope that paddling a quick pace won't feel like such a big deal on race day.
After my ten sprints I went out on the river and paddled at race pace for about a half hour before returning to the harbor and doing a nice cool-down back to the dock.
Before paddling this morning I did ten sets of 28 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
The river is quite a bit higher than it was when I paddled on it last Sunday. That's not really a surprise, considering the system of heavy precipitation that passed through here last weekend and went on to cause all kinds of problems for folks from the upper Midwest to the Northeast and eastern Canada. The water I paddled on this morning submerged the Memphis gauge up to the 20.7-foot mark.
I paddled for 60 minutes in all. Taking a suggestion from this post on Ron Lugbill's blog, I followed a ten-minute warmup with ten six-stroke sprints in the harbor at maximum intensity, doing a sprint at the top of each minute.
As a pre-emptive response to those who might want to say "Lugbill's blog is about slalom racing; the type of racing you're doing doesn't require the bursts of speed or quick accelerations that slalom does," I'll point out two things. First, a quick acceleration off the starting line can be very important, especially in shorter races like the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race; and second, my goal is not just speed but also to practice the motor skills associated with high-intensity paddling, in the hope that paddling a quick pace won't feel like such a big deal on race day.
After my ten sprints I went out on the river and paddled at race pace for about a half hour before returning to the harbor and doing a nice cool-down back to the dock.
Before paddling this morning I did ten sets of 28 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Trying new things
I'm still in North Carolina visiting my sister's family. My mother and I plan to head back to Memphis tomorrow. In the meantime, we're mostly just hanging around doing a whole lotta nothing, and that's kind of nice.
But I'm still observing my minimum-level exercise routine. This morning I did ten sets of 27 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
My right hamstring feels somewhat better today. I was a little concerned about it yesterday afternoon when I played baseball with my nephew Ben. For a while I pitched to him and he kept hitting grounders to left-center, each of which I had to chase at a dead run (it was just the two of us out there--no fielders behind me). I was just waiting for something to pop in my right leg, but it held up fine.
This post is one of a number on Ron Lugbill's blog that have been influencing my approach to this coming race season. Basically, I hope to work as much race-pace training into each session as I can, and this post summarizes as well as any the research that supports such an approach.
I've never been convinced that long, slow paddling sessions of three hours or more are a good idea. For one thing, a paddler who does a great many of these is simply practicing to go slow. For another, since it's hard to maintain good stroke mechanics for a very long period of time, the ultra-distance paddler is probably ingraining poor technique. The longest sessions I ever do (not counting multi-day wilderness trips, which are another matter) don't last much more than a couple of hours, and I do only a handful of them each year.
Meanwhile, I'm inspired to try this latest round of new things by something my woodworking instructor Carl Swennson has said many times: you shouldn't expect different results if you keep doing the same thing. So, thanks to Mr. Lugbill and his blog of research-based training advice, I'm embarking on something slightly different this time around. If it doesn't make me world-class, well, neither did the training I'd been doing before.
But I'm still observing my minimum-level exercise routine. This morning I did ten sets of 27 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
My right hamstring feels somewhat better today. I was a little concerned about it yesterday afternoon when I played baseball with my nephew Ben. For a while I pitched to him and he kept hitting grounders to left-center, each of which I had to chase at a dead run (it was just the two of us out there--no fielders behind me). I was just waiting for something to pop in my right leg, but it held up fine.
This post is one of a number on Ron Lugbill's blog that have been influencing my approach to this coming race season. Basically, I hope to work as much race-pace training into each session as I can, and this post summarizes as well as any the research that supports such an approach.
I've never been convinced that long, slow paddling sessions of three hours or more are a good idea. For one thing, a paddler who does a great many of these is simply practicing to go slow. For another, since it's hard to maintain good stroke mechanics for a very long period of time, the ultra-distance paddler is probably ingraining poor technique. The longest sessions I ever do (not counting multi-day wilderness trips, which are another matter) don't last much more than a couple of hours, and I do only a handful of them each year.
Meanwhile, I'm inspired to try this latest round of new things by something my woodworking instructor Carl Swennson has said many times: you shouldn't expect different results if you keep doing the same thing. So, thanks to Mr. Lugbill and his blog of research-based training advice, I'm embarking on something slightly different this time around. If it doesn't make me world-class, well, neither did the training I'd been doing before.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Aches and pains. I've got 'em.
Things are pretty relaxed here at my sister's house--we're mostly just sitting around enjoying some time off. But I'm sticking with my little strength routine: today I did ten sets of 25 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
I don't talk much about injuries here, mostly because I really haven't had anything major in a long time. It's been very uncommon for me to experience any pain that I consider bad enough to keep me out of the boat. What's more, I don't think I've been sick with anything worse than a common cold in some ten years. For that I am most grateful. There probably aren't too many 46-year-old men doing much better than I am.
On the other hand, it seems like I've always got some sort of little discomfort going on. For several years I had a lot of soreness and stiffness in my lower back. It's been less of a problem in the last year or two, partly because I've learned some strategies to deal with it and partly because... I don't know why. But I can't complain.
My worst ailment these days is a bout of "tennis elbow" in my left arm that's been going on for about a year now. I've been grinning and bearing it, hoping it will eventually go away, but it hasn't yet. Over Thanksgiving I talked to a cousin's husband, who is an orthopedist in middle Tennessee, and he recommended I get a cortisone shot. He gave me the names of a couple of doctors he knows in Memphis, and I guess after New Year's I'll give one of them a call even though I hate going to the doctor for any reason.
The most recent thing is some tightness in my right hamstring. I really started noticing it while driving in the car during my recent trip down to Florida. Even when I used the cruise control, my leg sort of ached and throbbed. It bothered me again yesterday as I drove over here to North Carolina with my mother, and I'm feeling it today. I stretched it gingerly this morning, and I guess I'll just see how it goes these next few days.
It's hard to know what's caused any of my injuries, but I think very few of them are the result of paddling my boat. I think the weight room is where injuries happen for many athletes. For me, heavy lifting and other chores around my woodworking shop are likely to blame.
I don't talk much about injuries here, mostly because I really haven't had anything major in a long time. It's been very uncommon for me to experience any pain that I consider bad enough to keep me out of the boat. What's more, I don't think I've been sick with anything worse than a common cold in some ten years. For that I am most grateful. There probably aren't too many 46-year-old men doing much better than I am.
On the other hand, it seems like I've always got some sort of little discomfort going on. For several years I had a lot of soreness and stiffness in my lower back. It's been less of a problem in the last year or two, partly because I've learned some strategies to deal with it and partly because... I don't know why. But I can't complain.
My worst ailment these days is a bout of "tennis elbow" in my left arm that's been going on for about a year now. I've been grinning and bearing it, hoping it will eventually go away, but it hasn't yet. Over Thanksgiving I talked to a cousin's husband, who is an orthopedist in middle Tennessee, and he recommended I get a cortisone shot. He gave me the names of a couple of doctors he knows in Memphis, and I guess after New Year's I'll give one of them a call even though I hate going to the doctor for any reason.
The most recent thing is some tightness in my right hamstring. I really started noticing it while driving in the car during my recent trip down to Florida. Even when I used the cruise control, my leg sort of ached and throbbed. It bothered me again yesterday as I drove over here to North Carolina with my mother, and I'm feeling it today. I stretched it gingerly this morning, and I guess I'll just see how it goes these next few days.
It's hard to know what's caused any of my injuries, but I think very few of them are the result of paddling my boat. I think the weight room is where injuries happen for many athletes. For me, heavy lifting and other chores around my woodworking shop are likely to blame.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Monday photo feature
I took this photo of my nephew Joel as we paddled a canoe down the Little Tennessee River near Bryson City, North Carolina, in October of 2010. I'll be visiting Joel and his brother and two sisters at their home near Charlotte this week.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Winter solstice fun
It's warmed up over the past week, reaching the low 70s Fahrenheit yesterday. That's the good news. The bad news, certainly nothing new in the wintertime, is that the balmy temperatures have been accompanied by violent weather. Here in Memphis we got by with just some wind and rain, but it was quite heavy rain.
Yesterday morning I checked the Internet radar and the storms had advanced this side of Little Rock, so I got up and out and was on the water by nine o'clock. There was a pretty strong wind blowing from the south, so I warmed up toward the south end of the harbor, trying to stay relaxed and not fight the wind, and then did four 12-stroke sprints with the wind at my back. I then spent the rest of my 60-minute session doing pieces across the harbor, with beam wind and waves, at 3-minute intervals. I tried to take crisp, precise strokes while balancing on the waves that passed beneath me. The temptation here is to tense one's body and brace, and I strove to stay relaxed and rotate fully instead.
I thought for sure I would get rained on at some point, but the whole hour went by without a drop of rain. (The storm front was moving more slowly than I thought, it turned out; the heaviest rain didn't arrive until evening.)
By this morning the rain had moved out, and some cooler air was moving in behind it. Tonight's low is supposed to be around 30, but this morning it was in the fifties, warm enough to paddle without pogies. I did another 60 minutes, this time pushing the pace in that half hour from 0:15 to 0:45. By "pushing the pace," I generally mean race pace for a race of an hour or so.
On Friday I did ten sets of 24 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises. This morning before I paddled I did ten sets of 25 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
I'll be out of the boat for the next few days, as my mother and I are traveling to North Carolina to visit my sister's family.
Yesterday morning I checked the Internet radar and the storms had advanced this side of Little Rock, so I got up and out and was on the water by nine o'clock. There was a pretty strong wind blowing from the south, so I warmed up toward the south end of the harbor, trying to stay relaxed and not fight the wind, and then did four 12-stroke sprints with the wind at my back. I then spent the rest of my 60-minute session doing pieces across the harbor, with beam wind and waves, at 3-minute intervals. I tried to take crisp, precise strokes while balancing on the waves that passed beneath me. The temptation here is to tense one's body and brace, and I strove to stay relaxed and rotate fully instead.
I thought for sure I would get rained on at some point, but the whole hour went by without a drop of rain. (The storm front was moving more slowly than I thought, it turned out; the heaviest rain didn't arrive until evening.)
By this morning the rain had moved out, and some cooler air was moving in behind it. Tonight's low is supposed to be around 30, but this morning it was in the fifties, warm enough to paddle without pogies. I did another 60 minutes, this time pushing the pace in that half hour from 0:15 to 0:45. By "pushing the pace," I generally mean race pace for a race of an hour or so.
On Friday I did ten sets of 24 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises. This morning before I paddled I did ten sets of 25 Hindu squats and ten sets of 10 front and lat raises.
I'll be out of the boat for the next few days, as my mother and I are traveling to North Carolina to visit my sister's family.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Going fast (cont'd)
For those who don't know what Hindu squats are, here's a video of a guy doing them. I posted it long ago but am posting it again for those later-arrivers to this blog party.
Both Monday and today, I did 240 Hindu squats (ten sets of 24) and 100 front and lat raises (ten sets of 10).
I also paddled for 60 minutes both Monday and today. The sun has come out this week and that has made it much nicer out on the river. It's also warmer: today's high was in the mid 50s Fahrenheit.
I'm continuing my theme of working some higher intensity into each paddling session. Some days I might push the pace for one long period, while on other days I might do several shorter periods of higher intensity. If I'm feeling tired I might keep the harder paddling to a minimum, but still do at least a little something to practice the motor skills associated with going fast.
Today I warmed up from the dock to the mouth of the harbor, then paddled harder upriver from the mouth of the harbor to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. I ferried over to the Arkansas side at an easy pace, then ferried back to the Tennessee side at a higher intensity. From there I returned to the dock at an easier pace.
Both my harder pieces were eight or nine minutes in duration. I paddled at a fairly low stroke rate, concentrating on taking good precise strokes and really exploding through each one.
Both Monday and today, I did 240 Hindu squats (ten sets of 24) and 100 front and lat raises (ten sets of 10).
I also paddled for 60 minutes both Monday and today. The sun has come out this week and that has made it much nicer out on the river. It's also warmer: today's high was in the mid 50s Fahrenheit.
I'm continuing my theme of working some higher intensity into each paddling session. Some days I might push the pace for one long period, while on other days I might do several shorter periods of higher intensity. If I'm feeling tired I might keep the harder paddling to a minimum, but still do at least a little something to practice the motor skills associated with going fast.
Today I warmed up from the dock to the mouth of the harbor, then paddled harder upriver from the mouth of the harbor to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. I ferried over to the Arkansas side at an easy pace, then ferried back to the Tennessee side at a higher intensity. From there I returned to the dock at an easier pace.
Both my harder pieces were eight or nine minutes in duration. I paddled at a fairly low stroke rate, concentrating on taking good precise strokes and really exploding through each one.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Monday photo feature
Corey Nielsen competes in the 1998 U.S. Team Trials for whitewater slalom. The venue is a section of the Wisconsin River in Wausau, Wisconsin. This was the first Team Trials I qualified to compete in myself, and I have fond memories of the entire experience.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
More strength work, more paddling, more chill
True to my word, I bumped it up to 22 reps per set, and did ten sets for a total of 220 Hindu squats this morning. I also did ten sets of ten front and lat raises with 10-pound dumbbells.
Then I went down to the river and paddled for 60 minutes. Like yesterday, I pushed the pace from 0:15 to 0:45, and then allowed myself a good long cool-down from the mouth of the harbor back to the dock. The Memphis gauge reading was about fourteen and a half feet--up two and a half feet in the last 24 hours.
Today's weather is dreary and overcast with a Fahrenheit temperature of about 40 degrees. It sure feels like winter is here even though its official arrival is another week away.
Then I went down to the river and paddled for 60 minutes. Like yesterday, I pushed the pace from 0:15 to 0:45, and then allowed myself a good long cool-down from the mouth of the harbor back to the dock. The Memphis gauge reading was about fourteen and a half feet--up two and a half feet in the last 24 hours.
Today's weather is dreary and overcast with a Fahrenheit temperature of about 40 degrees. It sure feels like winter is here even though its official arrival is another week away.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Chillin' once more
Well, the beach party is over and I'm back home in the cold. At least it's not as bad as it was last week: it's supposed to be in the mid 40s Fahrenheit for the next several days.
I'm continuing my Hindu squats for this month. I did 200 of them both Tuesday and yesterday. I'm getting comfortable enough with it that I think it's time to start nudging up the volume: I might try ten sets of 22 reps tomorrow. Now that I'm home with my own weight equipment I'm using ten-pound dumbbells to do my front and lat raises, and I think that's a pretty good weight.
Today I paddled for 60 minutes downtown. I did four 12-stroke sprints and paddled a fairly hard pace from the 15-minute mark to the 45-minute mark.
The Mississippi is on a big rise after hovering around zero on the Memphis gauge for several months. It was right about 12 feet while I was on the water today, and it's supposed to be up to about 17 feet by the middle of next week.
I'm continuing my Hindu squats for this month. I did 200 of them both Tuesday and yesterday. I'm getting comfortable enough with it that I think it's time to start nudging up the volume: I might try ten sets of 22 reps tomorrow. Now that I'm home with my own weight equipment I'm using ten-pound dumbbells to do my front and lat raises, and I think that's a pretty good weight.
Today I paddled for 60 minutes downtown. I did four 12-stroke sprints and paddled a fairly hard pace from the 15-minute mark to the 45-minute mark.
The Mississippi is on a big rise after hovering around zero on the Memphis gauge for several months. It was right about 12 feet while I was on the water today, and it's supposed to be up to about 17 feet by the middle of next week.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Monday photo feature
Who doesn't love a parade? This was the scene last night on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. Photo by Heidi Bissell.
I love a parade
Yesterday morning I paddled for 80 minutes near the Davis Islands in the northern reaches of Tampa Bay, near downtown Tampa. I did stroke drills and generally just enjoyed my last full day of warm Florida weather.
In the evening I teamed up with Heidi in her inflatable kayak and participated in the Hillsborough River Holiday Boat Parade. The parade proceeded at a leisurely pace from Lowry Park upriver to Sulphur Springs. After that we paddled a more vigorous pace back down to Lowry Park to retrieve the car.
In the evening I teamed up with Heidi in her inflatable kayak and participated in the Hillsborough River Holiday Boat Parade. The parade proceeded at a leisurely pace from Lowry Park upriver to Sulphur Springs. After that we paddled a more vigorous pace back down to Lowry Park to retrieve the car.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Still basking in the warm
It sounds like Memphis didn't get hammered with ice nearly as badly as Texas and Oklahoma and Arkansas and Missouri did these last couple of days. But I'm glad to be here in Florida, where yesterday we had sunny skies and about 80 degrees on the Fahrenheit thermometer.
Yesterday morning I did another ten sets of 20 Hindu squats and ten front and lat raises. My quads were still sore but the workout didn't seem too painful.
Then I went out on the Hillsborough River for 60 minutes. I did a few high-intensity pieces that included both forward and backward paddling.
The Hillsborough, like most coastal rivers, is generally flat and influenced by the tides. I grew up paddling whitewater and still love it, but I've found value, and even some enjoyment, in playing around on flatwater in a whitewater boat. You can get a much better feel for the kinesthetics of your boat, and address issues of precision much better, without the distraction of waves, holes, and drops, and what you learn will carry over to whitewater. I would bet that the very best "extreme" whitewater paddlers--Dane Jackson, for instance--have done their share of playing around on flatwater and easy whitewater.
Yesterday morning I did another ten sets of 20 Hindu squats and ten front and lat raises. My quads were still sore but the workout didn't seem too painful.
Then I went out on the Hillsborough River for 60 minutes. I did a few high-intensity pieces that included both forward and backward paddling.
The Hillsborough, like most coastal rivers, is generally flat and influenced by the tides. I grew up paddling whitewater and still love it, but I've found value, and even some enjoyment, in playing around on flatwater in a whitewater boat. You can get a much better feel for the kinesthetics of your boat, and address issues of precision much better, without the distraction of waves, holes, and drops, and what you learn will carry over to whitewater. I would bet that the very best "extreme" whitewater paddlers--Dane Jackson, for instance--have done their share of playing around on flatwater and easy whitewater.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Challenging conditions
Though the worst of the winter weather is apparently passing to the north, it's a gloomy day in Memphis today. It's overcast and sub-freezing, and the forecast calls for freezing rain with a high of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Memphis drivers are already going insane, as they always do when a smidge of snow or ice falls anywhere in the area. I hear the grocery store shelves have been gutted.
And you know what? I don't care! I'm down in Tampa, Florida, where yesterday it got into the mid 80s on the Fahrenheit scale, and it's supposed to do the same today. I'm staying with my friend Heidi, and while she's at work I'm getting a little exercise but also doing quite a bit of relaxing, something I have not gotten to do much in the past year.
On Wednesday I started up a little strength routine for the month of December. In the past I have always done Hindu squats in a couple of long sets, typically starting off with sets of 60 and nudging that upward through the month until I'm doing sets in the 80s. I think the most squats I have done in a single set is maybe 100.
This time around, I'm following the model I started last month with pushups: I'm doing ten sets of a smaller number per set. Yesterday I decided to start with 20 squats, and by the last couple of sets I was feeling it big-time. It's possible I overdid it a little--I was very sore yesterday and still am today.
Between sets of Hindu squats I did a set of ten front and lat raises with four-pound dumbbells, which is all Heidi seems to have; I'll use heavier ones when I get home next week.
Later Wednesday I paddled on the Hillsborough River, which flows next to Heidi's house. I brought my old slalom C1 down here with me, mostly because I just didn't feel like fooling with a longer, heavier boat on this trip. And I think at this time of the year there's some good cross-training value in paddling a different boat and working out a slightly different set of muscles. I did quite a bit of backpaddling--always a good thing to incorporate some of that into your training to prevent muscle imbalances. After a while Heidi got home from work and joined me on the river in her inflatable kayak, and that was another reason I brought the whitewater boat instead of a touring or racing boat, so that I could do a reasonable amount of paddling but still move at Heidi's pace and visit with her.
Yesterday, like I said, I was sore from Wednesday's Hindu squats. I borrowed Heidi's bike and went out to the Flatwoods Wilderness Area northeast of town, and rode for an hour or so. Probably not a bad active recovery.
Heidi's off work today, and we're going to the beach! Enjoy your little Snowmageddon up there in Memphis, y'all.
And you know what? I don't care! I'm down in Tampa, Florida, where yesterday it got into the mid 80s on the Fahrenheit scale, and it's supposed to do the same today. I'm staying with my friend Heidi, and while she's at work I'm getting a little exercise but also doing quite a bit of relaxing, something I have not gotten to do much in the past year.
On Wednesday I started up a little strength routine for the month of December. In the past I have always done Hindu squats in a couple of long sets, typically starting off with sets of 60 and nudging that upward through the month until I'm doing sets in the 80s. I think the most squats I have done in a single set is maybe 100.
This time around, I'm following the model I started last month with pushups: I'm doing ten sets of a smaller number per set. Yesterday I decided to start with 20 squats, and by the last couple of sets I was feeling it big-time. It's possible I overdid it a little--I was very sore yesterday and still am today.
Between sets of Hindu squats I did a set of ten front and lat raises with four-pound dumbbells, which is all Heidi seems to have; I'll use heavier ones when I get home next week.
Later Wednesday I paddled on the Hillsborough River, which flows next to Heidi's house. I brought my old slalom C1 down here with me, mostly because I just didn't feel like fooling with a longer, heavier boat on this trip. And I think at this time of the year there's some good cross-training value in paddling a different boat and working out a slightly different set of muscles. I did quite a bit of backpaddling--always a good thing to incorporate some of that into your training to prevent muscle imbalances. After a while Heidi got home from work and joined me on the river in her inflatable kayak, and that was another reason I brought the whitewater boat instead of a touring or racing boat, so that I could do a reasonable amount of paddling but still move at Heidi's pace and visit with her.
Yesterday, like I said, I was sore from Wednesday's Hindu squats. I borrowed Heidi's bike and went out to the Flatwoods Wilderness Area northeast of town, and rode for an hour or so. Probably not a bad active recovery.
Heidi's off work today, and we're going to the beach! Enjoy your little Snowmageddon up there in Memphis, y'all.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Monday photo feature
It was a positively lovely memorial service for Nath Thompson on Saturday. In this photo from the Camp Carolina Face Book page, I'm seated just beyond the kid sitting in the foreground next to the fire: that's me in the tan coat and white fleece cap (it was cold). My good bud Allen Sparks, whom I hadn't seen in too many years, sits to my left.
For the readers who are tired of me going on about Nath, I promise this is the last post. But this blog is about all aspects of my life as a paddler, after all, and Nath, in so many intangible ways, influenced the way I go about life in my boat, and everywhere else. I spoke to one person after another on Saturday who revered Nath for all the same reasons that I did. Our sentiments were articulated beautifully by Bill Smith, who attended Carolina from 1964 until 1976, in a eulogy. "I can't say I remember too many details of my time at Carolina," Bill said (approximately), "but indelible in my memory is the example Nath set for living one's life. Nath taught me that to have a rich, meaningful life, it really doesn't take much more than giving a firm handshake, and paddling a canoe, and singing some songs, and being part of a small community of great friends."
Another eulogist was Cliff Heaton, known as "Heaty" around camp from the late 60s through the early 80s. "My contemporaries and I just kept coming back to camp summer after summer, and it wasn't because the camp had the best tennis courts, or the nicest waterfront, or whatever," said Heaty. "It was because of Nath, and the wonderful world he provided for us here."
Years ago, it was common for a chant to go up in the dining hall: "Nath in the Lake! Nath in the Lake!" Toward the end of each summer, a group of counselors would grab Nath and carry him down to the lake for just that purpose, only to end up in the water themselves when their surprisingly strong, wily camp director suddenly fought back.
At the conclusion of the service on Saturday, we all walked down the hill to the water's edge, where Nath's son Charles pulled out the urn with Nath's ashes, and put the old man in the lake at last.
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