Monday, September 28, 2015

Monday photo feature


I took trips down to Key Largo, Florida, in 2004, '05, and '06.  Each time I made sure to visit the mangrove tunnels in Florida Bay just inside the boundary of Everglades National Park.

It's makin' me achin'

In last Wednesday's post I mentioned that my lat and shoulder woes had eased.  But in the second half of last week I found myself with a new problem: back pain and stiffness from my neck down to my waist.  My back has mostly felt good all this year, and I really hope I'm not slipping back into the problems I dealt with for much of the previous decade.  In my life I've had all different kinds of injuries: sprained ankles, iliotibial band syndrome, and knee tendinitis from running; cut fingers in the workshop that were bad enough to send me to the emergency room; and shoulder pain and wrist tendinitis from paddling.  But none of that is as bad as discomfort in my back.  Back pain and stiffness has a way of making my very existence seem like an ordeal--a bummer, even--every minute of the day.

The problems weren't that bad yet when I paddled on Thursday, and I went out and had a good, satisfying workout.  After warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I did six two-minute pieces with three minutes recovery in between.  My goal pace for each piece was at or slightly above what I think my pace should be in the North Shore Cup next month.

By Saturday morning I felt terrible, and I kept the paddling brief and easy.  I paddled for 40 minutes mostly in the harbor, venturing out on the river near the harbor's mouth for just a few minutes.

When I woke up yesterday morning the condition had eased to just a little bit of soreness up near the base of my neck.  I went downtown to paddle and ended up feeling good in the boat.  I paddled for 80 minutes at a good strong pace with a few surges thrown in.

Back here at home I'm just trying to do all the things I've learned to do in many years of dealing with back aches.  I sure hope I can work myself out of this sooner rather than later.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Balancing technique practice and fitness training

I'm pleased to say that my upper back and lat-muscle area is feeling better.  Yesterday I paddled a moderate pace in the harbor with Joe for about 70 minutes.  Joe has been away at trade shows for several weeks--a periodic part of his life as the co-owner and president of Outdoors, Inc.--so it was nice to catch up with him and have some company on the water for the first time in a while.

This morning I read this interesting article about the science-based training program of a top college middle distance runner.  For the last couple of years I've been emphasizing technical practice over physiological principles in my own training, but that doesn't mean the physiological stuff isn't important, and I'm already kicking around a couple of new ideas in my head after reading this article. The nice thing is that you can always practice technique no matter what the main focus of a workout is.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Monday photo feature


Tinsley Taylor snapped this photo of me just after I'd crossed the finish line at Saturday's Gator Bait race outside Jackson, Mississippi.  I think the look on my face says it all.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Recovery day

This morning I went downtown and paddled easy for 50 minutes.  I'm still having this soreness in my lat muscles, and the only thing I can think of that might have caused it is the bent-over row exercise that I'm doing as part of my strength routine this month.  I suppose it could also have happened during my surf session last Tuesday, when I was paddling while off-balance and probably using my arms and shoulders too much; but in my experience most of my injuries have occurred out of the boat, not in it.

But I don't know if I would even call this an injury, as it's not really disrupting anything.  In the meantime, I'm just trying to give the area plenty of love--thorough warmup and stretching, stuff like that.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Escaping the gators

When I woke up this morning I was still feeling some discomfort in my right lat muscle.  I had breakfast and did some stretching in my motel room before heading to the race site.

Fortunately I felt good in the boat as I paddled around for a warmup.  As the 9:30 AM start time approached I found myself a spot on the starting line and waited.

The course had been about 8800 meters (5.5 miles) long in previous years, but today it had to be modified a bit because of low water, and the result was a circuit some 1000 meters shorter (4.75 miles or so).

The gun fired, and paddlers set off across an expanse of open water.  To my right Joseph DiChiacchio of Rising Fawn, Georgia, grabbed the early lead, flowed closely by Shane Kleynhans of Brandon, Mississippi.  I sensed the presence behind me of Rick Carter of Eutawville, South Carolina, and Jeb Berry of Gulfport, Mississippi.

Over to the left I saw the Pellerin triplets (Conrad, Carson, and Peyton) looking strong.  I've been seeing these kids at races down along the Gulf Coast for a few years now (they are from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) and now, at the ripe old age of 13, they are showing some real progress.  The boys were in one of those hybrid team boats you see in ultra-distance races like the Texas Water Safari and the Tour du Teche, and were paddling it as a K3.  As we approached the entrance to the narrow channel that would take us behind a couple of islands and into the dreaded lily pads, it was apparent to me that they were setting the pace to beat, so I sprinted hard to get on their stern wake right at the end of the open-water crossing.

Knowing I would need energy for a strong finish later on, I sat on the triplets' wake throughout this "back stretch" portion of the course.  By this time we had opened a lead on the rest of the field, but as we entered the lily-pad-infested area that stood between us and the return to open water, I could see a paddler out of the corner of my eye, working hard to join our lead pack (it was Rick Carter, I would learn later).

Work crews had cut a decent channel through the lily pads for us to follow, but there were plenty of stray plants here and there, and I hoped the weed guard just fore of my rudder would be equal to the challenge.  The water was also quite shallow here as a result of the low lake level, subjecting us to a brutal bottom-drag effect.

Finally we emerged from the mess and crossed open water toward a buoy.  After rounding this buoy we would have a final approach to the finish line of maybe 2000 meters.  I held my position on the triplets' stern wake in the meantime, with Rick Carter hanging in there some ten meters back.

As we made the right turn around the buoy I took advantage of the slower turning ability of the triplets' long boat to move up onto their starboard-side wake.  The race was on in earnest now.  It was a long finishing stretch and I didn't want to move too soon, but finally I threw in a surge... and the triplets responded immediately.  I had heard they had spent a lot of time in the boat together this summer, and it was showing now as all three brains were on the same page.

I dropped back onto their side wake to regroup.  I tried a couple more surges, and the triplets hung tough each time.  Finally, with about 600 meters to go, I knew I would have to take control for good or (figuratively) die trying.  I began to surge, and this time I refused to stop, even as my internal tachometer soared into the red zone.  The triplets responded again, but little by little I continued to gain.  By the time I entered the cove where the finish line was, they had disappeared from my peripheral vision, and I crossed the line to claim one of the more satisfying victories I've had in a while.

Experience beat youth this time around, but of course youths don't stay youthful forever, and I think I'd better savor every day I'm still able to beat these kids because those days are probably numbered.

Now, at the end of the day, I'm back home in Memphis.  My right lat muscle still feels sore, but no worse than before.  I believe an easy recovery paddle is in order for tomorrow.

My time was 42 minutes, 32.1 seconds.  The triplets were eight seconds back.  Rick Carter took third place overall, followed by Jeb Berry in fourth.  Myrlene Marsa of Rising Fawn, Georgia, was the top female finisher with a time of 50:05.6.  The complete results are posted here.  The triplets' boat is listed as a K2 under the name Carson Pellerin, but it was in fact all three of them paddling that boat.

Race director Michelle Blair and her crew of volunteers deserve props for a well-organized and thoroughly enjoyable event.  I hope the Gator Bait race will remain a fixture on the calendar for many years to come.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Deep South pre-race

I'm spending tonight in the opulent Candlewood Suites of Flowood, Mississippi, ahead of tomorrow's Gator Bait race on Ross R. Barnett Reservoir.  The reservoir is named for the man who served as governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964, and the nicest thing I can say about him is that he was not my kind of guy.  But when you're a governor or the president or some such, you're assured of having some stuff named after you no matter what kind of guy you are.  The reservoir itself is actually quite lovely, and if I were a resident of the greater Jackson area I would likely be spending many hours in my boat on it.

The race will take place on a part of the reservoir called Pelahatchie Bay, so named because it's the inundated watershed of Pelahatchie Creek just above its confluence with the Pearl River.  It's a neat course, with a couple of open-water crossings and a narrow channel that runs behind a couple of islands, but there's a hazard in the form of thick water lilies about two thirds of the way in.  This afternoon I paddled out there to see if I could find the route through, and did not succeed.  I went over the map with race director Michelle Blair this evening, and she assured me there would be personnel in place tomorrow pointing the correct way, so with any luck all will be well.

It seems that my little surfing indulgence on Tuesday did indeed strain some muscles in my upper back area, as I spent Wednesday in considerable discomfort.  By today it was down to just a little bit of soreness in both lat muscles.  Tomorrow morning I'll stretch and warm up as thoroughly as I know how, and hope for the best.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

A race now and a race later

With the Gator Bait race coming up this Saturday, I turn my attention to being ready.  Since I'm looking at doing an event with some fairly elite competition next month, I'm sort of "training through" this week, but that doesn't mean I lack the proper respect for the task at hand.  I know of at least one strong racer registered for Saturday's race, and I can't expect to challenge him for the overall win if I don't bring my "A" game.

And so, I'm trying to get some rest this week--both physical and mental.  The week of a race is also a good time to work on the ATP-CP energy system because you can do so without putting excessive stress on your muscles.  A robust ATP-CP system allows a racer to get a good fast start off the line for some ten seconds before he starts tapping into his aerobic and lactic systems.

Yesterday in the boat I warmed up and did six 12-stroke sprints with full recovery in between.  Each sprint takes me between ten and fifteen seconds--the outer limit of time the body can draw from the ATP-CP system before it starts going lactic.

My intention for the rest of the 60 minutes was to paddle easy--take good strokes but otherwise keep things restful.  But when I got to the mouth of the harbor there was an upbound barge rig producing an enormous wake, and at this time of year, when the weather is hot and the river is low and the water is warm, no self-respecting paddler passes up an opportunity to surf.  So I surfed, and chalked it up to my training effort for next month.  I feel a bit tired today, and sore up between my shoulder blades, but I've still got time to rest up before Saturday.

I did the September strength routine both Monday and today.  Because of the race I'll wait until next Monday to do it again.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Monday photo feature


What's neater than a steel railroad trestle?  Not a thing, that's what.  One of the things I love about paddling is that I get to paddle under railroad trestles all over the place.

This one, spanning the entrance to the Back Bay of Biloxi near Ocean Springs, Mississippi, has the added niftiness of rotating ninety degrees to allow ships and barges to pass through.

Trying to stay the course

It's been a week in which I've felt overwhelmed by all of life's minutiae.  I've felt tired and anxious, asking myself how I can possibly get down to the river in this state, much less be ready to race next Saturday.

And yet, I've been feeling pretty good in the boat.  My sessions have been mostly unstructured, doing sprints and surges as I've felt like it rather than as sets of intervals, but my strokes have felt smooth and effective.  I'm also feeling good about this month's strength routine, which I'm doing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

On Saturday I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and paddled out onto the river.  A barge rig was churning upriver very quickly, and I ferried out hoping to recreate the surfing sweetness of last Tuesday.  But I couldn't get any sort of ride on these waves.  A stiff breeze from the north wasn't helping.  I spent the rest of the 60 minutes doing a loop up above the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and back down into the harbor.  The water out on the river was quite choppy from the wind and the towboat, and I did a couple of two-minute surges and felt like I was moving the boat pretty well on that water.  I have a feeling next month's North Shore Cup race on Lake Marion near Charleston will have some similar conditions.

Yesterday I paddled for 60 minutes again, and this time I managed to get a couple of good rides behind an upbound tow.  I really had to hammer to keep the boat ahead of each swell, and by the time it was over I had piled up quite a few all-out sprints.

For the rest of this week I think I'll be paddling a bit easier with a few short sprints to get myself ready for Saturday's Gator Bait race.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Mid South surfing

On Saturday I paddled for 60 minutes, and felt pretty good in the boat even though I was still feeling a bit beat-up from the construction work I'd done earlier.  I did three 8-stroke sprints, and those went reasonably well.  I wasn't nearly as sore from my new strength routine as I thought I'd be.

I was out of the boat the rest of the holiday weekend, spending Sunday at a family gathering up in Jackson, Tennessee, and doing two go-rounds of the September strength routine yesterday.

This morning I felt tired and unmotivated as I paddled away from the dock, but out on the river I found an upstream-bound barge rig spitting a huge wake from its stern, and I ferried out to see what the surf was like.  Turned out it was great.  It took me a few tries to figure out the stroke timing, but soon I was getting some sweet rides.  In the end I got in a nice set of sprints without the tedious feel of doing an interval workout, and that's just what I needed on this particular day.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Monday photo feature


Sonny Salomon cruises down White's Creek on the Cumberland Plateau in the spring of 2001.  Photo by Julie Keller.

Friday, September 4, 2015

A new strength routine

It's time to start doing some strength work for the month of September.  I did a round of this routine this morning:

1.  Rubber band "pre-hab" exercises demonstrated at 8:42 and 9:30 of this video
2.  Hindu squats (demonstrated in this video)
3.  Military press with a pair of dumbbells
4.  Knee lifts, done while hanging from my gymnast's rings and gripping a ten-pound medicine ball between my knees
5.  Bent-over rows


It's been a while since I've made this clear, but it's normal for me to make two trips through a strength routine on any given day.  Today, since my muscles are not yet used to these exercises, I made just one trip through.  I'll probably still be sore later.

Regarding the weight of the dumbbells: I use dumbbells that are heavy enough to limit me to twelve reps or fewer, so I'm working on power and not just endurance.  Beyond that, I concern myself much more with good technique than with a number of pounds or kilograms.  After all, I'm a paddler, not a bodybuilder.

As for the Hindu squats and knee lifts, my number of reps should go up as the month goes along.  What I've always done with Hindu squats, in fact, is add two reps with each session.  Today I did 60 reps; next time I'll do 62 reps, and the next time 64 reps, and so on.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Regrouping

For some reason I felt tireder than usual after last weekend's competition, and I've been letting myself take it easy for a few days since then.  I did an easy 30 minutes in the boat on Sunday and about 40 minutes with Joe on Tuesday.  I haven't done any strength work this week, though if I'm going to attend the North Shore Cup next month I should probably get some good work in between now and then.  I'm thinking tomorrow I'll work up a new routine for the month of September.

I'm also spending this week catching up on a few construction chores.  Yesterday I finally put up some rain gutters on the back side of my building.  They'd been sitting there waiting to be installed for months, and the main reason for the delay was that I didn't own a tall enough ladder to get up there.  But this week my friend Mike, who did the tile work on the front side of my building last winter, is working on another building in my block, and he offered to loan me a tall ladder of his, so I jumped at the opportunity and got the gutters up at last.

The reason I mention that here is that I was afraid I'd hurt myself.  I believe I own the world's heaviest cordless drill, and while working yesterday I was often at the top of the ladder with my arm fully extended, boring holes at all kinds of weird angles with that thing.  By the time I was finished my right shoulder muscles up around the base of my neck felt strained, and the discomfort continued once I was in bed for the night.  I'm happy to say that the condition seems better this morning, however.

In fact, I felt surprisingly good in the boat today, paddling for 50 minutes out on a choppy Mississippi.  I kept the pace moderate and just tried to enjoy the reasonably nice day.  The river has settled down to its low-water levels that are typical in late summer.  I enjoyed paddling out there while it was bank-full of water, and I'm enjoying it now with its exposed sandbars and muddy banks. The Mississippi is never the same river two days in a row, and I love that about it.