I like to get a short paddle in the day before a race so I can rev the engines and move some blood through the relevant muscles. I decided to stop at Enid Reservoir, just off Interstate 55 in Yalobusha County, for this purpose. Enid Reservoir, about 70 miles south of Memphis, was created by the construction of a dam on the Yocona River. One reason I picked it for today's paddle was something I'd heard about for years but had never seen first hand: apparently there's a short section of whitewater just below the dam. When I stopped to check it out today, this is what I found:
I was wishing I had a whitewater boat with me. But I didn't, so once I'd beheld the sight of Mississippi whitewater to my satisfaction, I drove up to the flatwater impoundment above the dam and found a place to put in.
A calm, quiet expanse of water to do my pre-race paddle on was what I'd had in mind. Instead I got offshore conditions, with wind-driven waves moving from southeast to northwest. As an athlete I tend to be regimented and don't always like when things don't go as expected, but today I made myself relax and go with it. Instead of the 12-stroke sprints I might have done, I did my sprinting in the effort to catch waves and ended up getting some nice rides. I would have liked to do it for hours, but with a race tomorrow I limited myself to 40 minutes of playing around.
Back at the car I put my dry clothes back on and ate the lunch I'd brought with me. I hit the road and reached Vicksburg around 3 o'clock. I continued across the river and up to Madison Parish Port, where I dropped my boat at the start. Then I returned to Vicksburg and picked up my race packet.
Now I'm at my motel streaming the Cardinals game on my computer and settling down for what I hope will be a good night's sleep.
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