Okay, I'm back

Well, it's been a while, and I wouldn't be surprised if every single one of my readers has given up on me by now.

After some six weeks out of the boat, I began to grind back into motion this morning, meeting my friend Joe downtown for a 70-minute paddle in the harbor.  We kept the intensity low, and I concentrated hard on rotating fully in my strokes.  I had wondered whether I would even know what to do in the boat after such a long layoff, but as they say, "It's like riding a bike."

I wasn't exactly out of motion during my break from paddling.  I've been working a lot on strength, doing a bunch of core exercises on the stability ball in October and working out with my Smart Bell this month.  I've also been doing a lot of rehab exercises and getting regular massages for my back pain; though the pain is not gone, I'm seeing some improvement.  Finally, I've been busy in my professional life, doing a couple of public demonstrations and getting some construction work done on my storefront.

Joe and I plan to paddle together again on Thursday.  I think for the next little while I'll be paddling two or three times a week, and my goal for this period is to establish a physical and technical routine that won't worsen my back pain.  Last season I did a lot more short, fast pieces than I'd ever done before, and I think because my stroke form is not as good at high intensity than at normal intensity, I put a lot of stress on muscles that weren't used to it.  I don't want to stop working on speed this coming season, but I want to be a bit smarter about it and try to figure out what my body can take.