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.
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