Brrr.

We're in a stretch of much more January-like weather here in Memphis and the Mid South.For the last couple of days the temperature has stayed below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, plunging below 20 degrees overnight.  In another day or two it's supposed to wander up into the high 40s, but that's as warm as it's going to get before I leave for South Africa on Thursday.  To experience summertime in the southern hemisphere will be a welcome change indeed.

After a day off on Wednesday and an easy 50-minute paddle on Thursday, I moved into my last round of intense work.  On Friday I did my last dry-land workout before the trip, and I was glad to get it done.  Those workouts include a lot of running along with some core exercises, and I've been feeling the impact on my legs.  I hope now I'll be able to get my legs back under me.  For those not so familiar with my sport, there's a lot of leg power involved in high-performance kayaking.

The downwind paddling I'll be doing in South Africa requires frequent short, hard sprints.  Yesterday I did a workout to fine-tune my fitness in that direction: twenty starting at the top of each minute.  A 12-stroke sprint takes me around 12-14 seconds, so my recovery interval was 46-48 seconds.  While I was starting to feel a bit more taxed by the end of the session, I still was able to paddle strong throughout, and that was encouraging.

I'd planned to go back down and paddle today, but with sub-freeing temperatures and a harsh north wind blowing all morning, I gave myself a break.  I'll see if I can get back to it tomorrow, even though it looks like it'll be frigid and miserable once again.  At least by now I'm as fit as I'm going to get before the "Camp Mocke" downwind camp starts a week from today.

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