I paddled with Joe on Tuesday, and he made an astute observation: "Sometimes when you've had a good winter of training, you start to feel a little burned out before the race season even begins."
And that's where I am at the moment. Just a few weeks ago I was feeling great and couldn't wait until my next time in the boat. Even my strength routines seemed fun and invigorating. But in the last several weeks more weight has descended onto my shoulders. Much of it has to do with my non-athletic life, with the ongoing renovation of a rental property I own and some new jobs in the workshop. But I also have had some back soreness recently (it has improved, happily, but some morning stiffness still lingers) and this week I came down with my third cold of the winter (I'm a guy who has averaged zero to one cold per winter in the last decade or so). This one is not as bad as the previous two, but it has impacted my energy level some.
Under normal circumstances I like to train through the early-season races, but I'm trying to get some extra rest for the race at Ocean Springs next weekend because my body needs it in general. I skipped the usual round of the strength routine on Wednesday, and yesterday I paddled for only 40 minutes, doing four 12-stroke sprints but otherwise keeping the intensity low. Today I'm feeling a bit more pep in my step and I did the strength routine with no trouble. My plan between now and next Saturday is to get down to the river on my regular schedule but work on speed and keep the sessions short in duration.
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