On Tuesday I did a round of the strength routine and then paddled a loop of the harbor with Joe. Temperatures this week are still quite warm--mid to high 80s Fahrenheit--but not unpleasantly hot. It's looking like this weekend will be much more fall-like.
I wasn't expecting to paddle today. My mother had surgery this morning to remove a tumor from her colon, and my plan was to spend the day at the hospital with her. But we found out just yesterday that COVID-19 restrictions allow a patient to have only one companion in the waiting room, and since my sister had come into town for the surgery, we agreed to let her be that person. So I was able to paddle today after all, although needless to say my mind wasn't entirely on the river.
After another round of strength work, I went downtown and got in the boat with the intention of doing a workout. I've been favoring "play" workouts in this unorthodox year, but with two or three possible races of 8-12 miles coming up this fall, I could use to do some pace work, and it takes more of a "work" workout to accomplish that. I made a deal with myself: if there was some barge traffic out on the river, I'd go out and try to surf; if not, I'd do three one-mile pieces in the harbor.
I did three 8-stroke sprints on the way to the harbor's mouth, and when I got there I found the river deserted. So, one-mile pieces it would be.
I was hoping to maintain around 7.5 miles per hour for each piece, but there was a pretty good northwest wind blowing that forced me to adjust my expectations. I did the first piece going north from the mouth of the harbor, and with the headwind I could only manage around 6.9 mph. My elapsed time was 8:31. After a five-minute recovery I did the second piece, still headed north. By this time I was in the upper half of the harbor and I thought I might have more shelter from the wind because the banks are more forested there. But this time I struggled to keep it above 6.7. And I ground to a complete stop at one point because of some ropes tethering something beneath the surface to the bank. I saw the first one just in time to avoid being decapitated.
I finished that second piece with a time of 9:07. I recovered for another five minutes, and then turned back south to do the last piece with the wind at my back. The difference was stark as I averaged 7.6ish in speed. Of course, there's a downside to having the wind at my back: I get sweat in my eyes and they sting badly. I had to stop once and wipe my eyes with my hat, losing a couple of strokes. I finished with a time of 7:56.
I can't say that the workout was much fun, but hopefully it'll pay off if I make it to a race or two. Whether I do depends on my mom's health in the coming weeks. I spoke to her this afternoon and it sounds like her surgery went well. She'll be in the hospital over the weekend, and I hope we'll know soon what further treatment she'll need.
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