I'm not a hundred percent in the pink yet but I'm pretty sure I'm shaking free of last week's health woes.
I always face a bit of a dilemma during periods like this when I'm feeling crummy. Should I skip paddling and other exercise entirely, and let my body focus all its energy on healing? Or should I go out and at least go through some of the motions to preserve some muscle memory and get some blood flowing through the relevant muscles?
On Saturday I opted for the former, taking the day off. I spent part of the time doing a few light chores and part of it taking a long afternoon nap.
As I pondered the question again yesterday morning, I had some good reasons to repeat yesterday's decision. Training had been going well before I fell ill, and I wasn't too concerned about missing a few days, knowing that once I'm feeling better I should get right back to where I was quickly. And slow, lethargic paddling is arguably worse than no paddling at all for a racer who wants to train his body to go fast.
But there was another important point to consider: racing isn't the only reason I paddle. I paddle because I like to paddle, and to be outdoors and breathe fresh air and move my body at any speed. Yesterday's warm weather tilted the scales in favor of a "Yes. I will paddle" decision.
And once I got going, I felt pretty good in the boat. The result was a session with some decent training value. I did three 8-stroke sprints and then paddled a strong tempo for twenty minutes or so against the windy front that was moving into the region. By the end of 60 minutes I felt better than I'd felt before paddling and relished the satisfaction of having spent part of my day outdoors.
I didn't do any strength work at all last week. Today I plan to ease into a new routine and prepare to resume life among the healthy able-bodied folk.
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