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.
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