Thursday, August 25, 2016

Back home and trying to outlast summer

The front that brought pleasant weather to the Midwest last weekend also had an effect here in Memphis, but the heat and humidity have returned once more.  Today's Fahrenheit temperature was in the mid 90s with a heat index around 108.

On Tuesday I was feeling blitzed from the drive home and I did an easy 40-minute paddle downtown.  Today's session was better even though I was feeling sluggish when I got down to the dock.  I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints in the harbor, and when I paddled onto the river I saw a big barge rig heading upstream and putting out good wakes.  I ferried out there and got three or four really good rides, and relished the rush of cool water into my footwell.  For those unfamiliar with surfing, each wave requires a short, hard sprint to get on, so going out and surfing is basically a workout full of such sprints.

Earlier this week I learned that the race I was planning to do a week from Saturday, a 13-miler down the Mississippi at Baton Rouge, has been called off due to the catastrophic flooding down there.  It was probably the right thing to do: even though the event probably could have happened, having a big race with a big party afterwards is not good form in the midst of tragedy.  There's another race that weekend that I might do... I haven't quite decided what my plan is.

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