This morning I paddled for 110 minutes, going down to the Frisco and Harahan and Memphis-Arkansas bridges, then back upriver above the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, up onto Dacus Lake, and then back into the harbor and to the dock.
Dacus Lake is an oxbow lake, which is to say that it occupies an old meander that has been abandoned by the Mississippi River. When the water is high like it is right now (32 feet on the Memphis gauge this morning), Dacus Lake and the Mississippi become united once more, and the intrepid guy or girl can paddle his or her boat freely from one to the other and back again. I didn't stay on Dacus Lake for long today, but it was nice to have that little change in scenery from what I have most of the year.
Before exiting the harbor I did several backstrokes-then-forward-strokes power-building drills. After paddling down to the old bridges, I did eight 30-second sprints, starting at three-minute intervals, as I paddled up the Arkansas bank.
It was very hot here today. I don't normally carry water in the boat with me during training sessions, choosing instead to hydrate thoroughly beforehand and have water waiting on the dock when I finish, but on these days of triple-digit heat indices I break out the camel back. Even though I had loaded it up with ice before leaving the house, the water was getting warm before I had been paddling for an hour.
On the last leg of today's paddle, in the harbor heading back to the dock, I practiced flipping and remounting my surf ski. It's a good idea to practice this self-rescue skill from time to time, and a broiling hot day like today feels like the perfect time to do it.
Yesterday I taught another class out at Shelby Farms. Only two such classes remain this summer--one next Saturday and one on August 1. Go here for more information if you or somebody you know would like to sign up.
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