Earlier in the week we'd had a nice run of unseasonably warm weather, but by the end of the week it was clear that winter wasn't quite done yet. When I got to the river Friday morning it was 46 degrees Fahrenheit with overcast skies, a chilly north breeze, and occasional drizzle. When the weather gets nice this time of year I'm always tempted to give my pogies and pullover tops and stuff a good washing and put them away for the year, but in fact it won't really be safe to do that for another few weeks, and this was a reminder of that.
As for Friday's workout, Maks hadn't sugarcoated it: "It is supposed to be hard, it is supposed to hurt!" It was an early-season lactic session: three sets of (6 times 30 seconds on/30 seconds off). Maks said to take a longer break between sets, so I made that 3 minutes. The prescribed stroke rate was 90-ish, but I ended up paddling more in the 95-105 range because that's what it takes to make me go lactic. Maks also reminded me to maintain good technique and mechanics to "stay powerful for as long as possible." I think I succeeded in that--I was starting to struggle a little bit by the last couple of sprints but I was still taking solid strokes.
While the workout did indeed hurt, it was over quickly and I felt good in the aftermath. It reminded me of the most intense workout we did at the training camp I attended in Florida in January: my fellow campers gave me some funny looks afterward when I remarked that I was feeling good, and I had to explain that the workout was as painful for me as it was for them, but it didn't last long and it got the endorphins flowing. In general, a taut, intense workout appeals to me a lot more than a long, drawn-out slogfest.
Spring officially began with the vernal equinox yesterday. The rumor I'd heard was that there'd be some sunshine, but I sure didn't see any when I went down to the river yesterday morning. It was cloudy and 48 degrees. I got in the boat and warmed up, and then did three 5-minute pieces at a "calm" 60 strokes per minute with 1 minute recovery. Then I did two sets of two 1-minute pieces at 72-76 spm, with a minute recovery.
As I was wrapping up my morning paddle the clouds were finally moving out, and by the time I returned to the river for the afternoon session it was a lovely sunny day with a temperature of 66 degrees. I did five sets of (2 minutes at 62 spm/1 minute at 80 spm/2 minutes at 64 spm/1 minute at 80 spm/2 minutes at 60 spm/1 minute at 80 spm/2 minutes rest). It was a chance to sprinkle some explosiveness among lower-intensity endurance efforts. It wasn't a particularly hard workout but I felt very tired by the end. I think just getting myself to the river and in the boat twice in one day wears me out.
I still felt a bit weary this morning, but beautiful sunny weather helped motivate me to dive into my last session before a day off tomorrow. Like most Sundays, today called for a longer endurance paddle: four sets of 6 minutes/4 minutes/3 minutes/2 minutes at 60-62 spm, with a minute rest between pieces and 2 minutes between sets.
Maybe an obvious question is why break an endurance session into pieces like this, as opposed to just doing a 90-minute distance paddle. My guess is that it's to help me stay focused throughout the session--during a long unstructured paddle it's easy to get distracted and let the intensity and the technique lapse.
I did a loop out on the Mississippi to enjoy the beautiful day at the current high river level (28.3 feet on the Memphis gauge). The river is of course a less stable environment than the harbor, and it takes some extra concentration and discipline to maintain 60-62 spm and not quicken the stroke rate out there. The long pauses between strokes adds a balance element to the workout, and I hope that'll pay off when I'm doing some downwind paddling later this year.
Once again I'm grateful to have a break scheduled for tomorrow. And my first race of the year is next weekend! I'm not expecting any miracles, but I hope I'll at least get a hint of some gains made as a result of my new training program.
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