The plan was to do a set of four sprints in the harbor from the monorail bridge to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. Here's a video I made last year of one of these sprints:
The distance is very nearly 450 meters.
I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then got to work. I knew almost immediately that I was slow. I just didn't seem to have the top gear I have when I'm breaking two minutes for this sprint. When I'm fast I can reach the roof with the "No Wake Area" sign in less than a minute, but yesterday my splits were more like 65 to 70 seconds.
After struggling in the first two sprints I spent the next two just taking the best strokes I could and maintaining a respectable, if not blazing fast, pace. The times sort of say it all: 2:05, 2:12, 2:13, 2:17. It's never good when you're getting slower and slower as a workout goes along. (In case anybody's curious, the corresponding times for a full 500 meters are 2:18, 2:27, 2:28, and 2:32.)
I was a little bummed out because with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race (5000 meters down the Mississippi at Memphis) less than a month away, I'm wanting to get as fast as I can. But there's still time to work on it. And even if my top speed isn't there, it doesn't mean I can't still race well. Nevertheless, I'd like to be sharp, with all cylinders firing in perfect unison.
On a positive note, my arm ailments didn't seem any worse the rest of the day than they'd been before the workout. And even though the sprints were painful, I seemed to recover quickly--the workout didn't ruin me for the rest of the day.
I woke up this morning with the arm pain no worse than before, but no better either. I went downtown and paddled for 60 minutes, doing three 8-stroke sprints and then paddling on the quick side of medium for a half-hour or so before cooling down.
No comments:
Post a Comment