Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday photo feature
The complicated business of draining the continent
Yesterday afternoon I went downtown and paddled for 60 minutes on a cold but calm day. The river level was 10.9 feet, the highest Memphis gauge reading since last May. Even though this level is on the low side of medium for this time of year, it felt very high, with the water covering parts of the landscape that had been high and dry for months.
The Mississippi River has been in the national news lately because its low levels have threatened the smooth flow of barge traffic, and so some readers might be surprised to hear me say the water is up here at Memphis. But the Mississippi is a long river, and Memphis is not where the current news-making problem is. That distinction belongs to the section between St. Louis, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois. Above St. Louis, the lock-and-dam system on the river is pretty reliable for keeping the river at adequate depths for commercial traffic, and at Cairo the Ohio River comes in and increases the Mississippi's flow capacity by about 200 percent. Months of drought conditions in the watershed of the Missouri River (which reaches the Mississippi just above St. Louis), combined with frozen water in the upper reaches of the Mississippi, have resulted in a scarcity of water from St. Louis down to Cairo, where the Ohio provides relief.
Fairly often I find myself explaining the river's behavior to people in other parts of the country, and even to people right here in Memphis who just don't pay much attention to the river.
Back in 1993, when footage of the devastating floods on the upper Mississippi dominated the national news on TV, there was some wailing here in Memphis over our impending doom. But that was all wasted breath, because below-normal flows on the Ohio that summer meant that the lower Mississippi's riverbed had plenty of room to accommodate the water coming down from the upper Midwest.
When we have had heavy rain here in the Memphis area, I sometimes hear the question "Has all this rain brought the Mississippi up?" The answer is always no. Local rainfall does bring up our small rivers, like the Wolf. But even an enormous infusion of water from the Wolf is not enough to make a noticeable change in the Memphis gauge reading on the Mississippi. Wolf River water does, however, combine with flows from other area tributaries like the Loosahatchie River and Nonconnah Creek to affect Mississippi River levels farther downstream.
The most appalling display of local ignorance of our river's ways occurred in May of 2011, when the river rose to the second-highest level ever recorded at Memphis. Before the floodwater had even arrived here, I had a conversation with a conspiracy theorist who claimed that the government was holding back information and that anything and everything near the river was liable to be washed away at any moment. I calmly explained that flash floods don't happen on the Mississippi and that flows are entirely predictable based on precipitation data from higher up in the watershed. But the guy didn't seem convinced. Then came the flood, and with it a caravan of national network news trucks, and suddenly hundreds of people who had never before given the river five seconds of thought were experts on our continent's grandest waterway. One of the worst was Bob Nations, our local director of emergency preparedness, who might really know his stuff when it comes to tornadoes or earthquakes but clearly had no idea how the Mississippi River works. Many other people were so thoughtful as to lecture me on why I should never, ever go near the river with a kayak at any level. Even in the best of times I have a tendency toward misanthropy, so in the interest of personal sanity I had to close my eyes and try to shut out all the misinformation swirling around during the Great Flood of 2011.
Most of the time, thankfully, I am able to do my thing on the river without attracting much attention. As the song goes, the Mississippi "just keeps rollin' along," through times of flood and times of drought and everything in between. And as long as I'm able, I'll keep paddling my boat out there, getting my exercise and enjoying the natural wonders of the place. Happy New Year.
The Mississippi River has been in the national news lately because its low levels have threatened the smooth flow of barge traffic, and so some readers might be surprised to hear me say the water is up here at Memphis. But the Mississippi is a long river, and Memphis is not where the current news-making problem is. That distinction belongs to the section between St. Louis, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois. Above St. Louis, the lock-and-dam system on the river is pretty reliable for keeping the river at adequate depths for commercial traffic, and at Cairo the Ohio River comes in and increases the Mississippi's flow capacity by about 200 percent. Months of drought conditions in the watershed of the Missouri River (which reaches the Mississippi just above St. Louis), combined with frozen water in the upper reaches of the Mississippi, have resulted in a scarcity of water from St. Louis down to Cairo, where the Ohio provides relief.
Fairly often I find myself explaining the river's behavior to people in other parts of the country, and even to people right here in Memphis who just don't pay much attention to the river.
Back in 1993, when footage of the devastating floods on the upper Mississippi dominated the national news on TV, there was some wailing here in Memphis over our impending doom. But that was all wasted breath, because below-normal flows on the Ohio that summer meant that the lower Mississippi's riverbed had plenty of room to accommodate the water coming down from the upper Midwest.
When we have had heavy rain here in the Memphis area, I sometimes hear the question "Has all this rain brought the Mississippi up?" The answer is always no. Local rainfall does bring up our small rivers, like the Wolf. But even an enormous infusion of water from the Wolf is not enough to make a noticeable change in the Memphis gauge reading on the Mississippi. Wolf River water does, however, combine with flows from other area tributaries like the Loosahatchie River and Nonconnah Creek to affect Mississippi River levels farther downstream.
The most appalling display of local ignorance of our river's ways occurred in May of 2011, when the river rose to the second-highest level ever recorded at Memphis. Before the floodwater had even arrived here, I had a conversation with a conspiracy theorist who claimed that the government was holding back information and that anything and everything near the river was liable to be washed away at any moment. I calmly explained that flash floods don't happen on the Mississippi and that flows are entirely predictable based on precipitation data from higher up in the watershed. But the guy didn't seem convinced. Then came the flood, and with it a caravan of national network news trucks, and suddenly hundreds of people who had never before given the river five seconds of thought were experts on our continent's grandest waterway. One of the worst was Bob Nations, our local director of emergency preparedness, who might really know his stuff when it comes to tornadoes or earthquakes but clearly had no idea how the Mississippi River works. Many other people were so thoughtful as to lecture me on why I should never, ever go near the river with a kayak at any level. Even in the best of times I have a tendency toward misanthropy, so in the interest of personal sanity I had to close my eyes and try to shut out all the misinformation swirling around during the Great Flood of 2011.
Most of the time, thankfully, I am able to do my thing on the river without attracting much attention. As the song goes, the Mississippi "just keeps rollin' along," through times of flood and times of drought and everything in between. And as long as I'm able, I'll keep paddling my boat out there, getting my exercise and enjoying the natural wonders of the place. Happy New Year.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Race schedule 2013
I've been pondering my competition schedule for this coming year. Right now I definitely plan to do these four races, barring injury or other unforeseen circumstance:
March 2: Fourth annual Battle on the Bayou, Old Fort Bayou, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Starting in the Back Bay of Biloxi near the mouth of Old Fort Bayou, the course winds nine and a half miles up the bayou to the finish next to The Shed barbecue joint.
April 27: Ninth annual Bluz Cruz Marathon, Mississippi River, Vicksburg, Mississippi. The race starts at Madison Parish Port and finishes 22 miles downriver on the Vicksburg Front.
June 1: Tenth annual Arkansas River Canoe and Kayak Race, Arkansas River, North Little Rock, Arkansas. The five-and-a-half-mile course starts at Murray Park and heads downriver to the Interstate 30 bridge.
June 15: 32nd Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, Mississippi River, Memphis, Tennessee. Known as "The fastest 5000-meter race in the world," this race draws both world-class racers and people who pull their canoes out of the backyard once a year to participate.
I'd love to work in several more if I can. Generally, I'm looking for events that are either within a reasonable driving distance of Memphis or something that coincides with a vacation trip to a more distant area. And I am not interested in ultra-long races (more than two hours or so).
Anyway, I'll post any updates here as they develop.
March 2: Fourth annual Battle on the Bayou, Old Fort Bayou, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Starting in the Back Bay of Biloxi near the mouth of Old Fort Bayou, the course winds nine and a half miles up the bayou to the finish next to The Shed barbecue joint.
April 27: Ninth annual Bluz Cruz Marathon, Mississippi River, Vicksburg, Mississippi. The race starts at Madison Parish Port and finishes 22 miles downriver on the Vicksburg Front.
June 1: Tenth annual Arkansas River Canoe and Kayak Race, Arkansas River, North Little Rock, Arkansas. The five-and-a-half-mile course starts at Murray Park and heads downriver to the Interstate 30 bridge.
June 15: 32nd Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, Mississippi River, Memphis, Tennessee. Known as "The fastest 5000-meter race in the world," this race draws both world-class racers and people who pull their canoes out of the backyard once a year to participate.
I'd love to work in several more if I can. Generally, I'm looking for events that are either within a reasonable driving distance of Memphis or something that coincides with a vacation trip to a more distant area. And I am not interested in ultra-long races (more than two hours or so).
Anyway, I'll post any updates here as they develop.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A little snow
It snowed here late Tuesday night and early yesterday morning, though not nearly as much as it did west of the river in Arkansas and Missouri. We ended up with an inch or so here in Memphis, and the dock looked like this yesterday morning:
I paddled for an hour. It was quite windy and busy barge traffic made things rough out on the river, so after about ten minutes of fighting that I returned to the harbor. The sky was overcast and the damp, penetrating cold made it the sort of session I couldn't wait to be done with. As soon as my hour was up I threw the boat back up on the rack and made a beeline for my car.
I paddled for an hour. It was quite windy and busy barge traffic made things rough out on the river, so after about ten minutes of fighting that I returned to the harbor. The sky was overcast and the damp, penetrating cold made it the sort of session I couldn't wait to be done with. As soon as my hour was up I threw the boat back up on the rack and made a beeline for my car.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Monday photo feature
I know, the resolution is awful, but it's appropriate for the season. I think Joe snapped this one of me on the same day as last week's photo. Apparently there are chances of snow in the Memphis area tomorrow night, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
All tired out
We're having some more December-like weather now. The sky was dark and threatening rain all day today, but I don't think it ever actually rained except for a light drizzle as I rode my bike down to the river this morning.
I had planned to paddle for just an hour, but I found Joe and Carol Lee Royer getting ready to paddle when I arrived down at the dock, and I ended up paddling all the way up to the mouth of the Wolf with them. At this time of year I see them only once in a while, so it was nice to catch up.
Feeling a little pressed for time, I paddled pretty hard from the mouth of the Wolf back down into the harbor. I was feeling it all over when I got back to the dock, and the bike ride home was the final knockout punch that sent me into naptime after lunch.
I had planned to paddle for just an hour, but I found Joe and Carol Lee Royer getting ready to paddle when I arrived down at the dock, and I ended up paddling all the way up to the mouth of the Wolf with them. At this time of year I see them only once in a while, so it was nice to catch up.
Feeling a little pressed for time, I paddled pretty hard from the mouth of the Wolf back down into the harbor. I was feeling it all over when I got back to the dock, and the bike ride home was the final knockout punch that sent me into naptime after lunch.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Chill
The winter solstice arrived with appropriate weather. When I went down to the river this morning it was somewhere in the low to mid forties with a brisk wind from the north. I wore pogies today for the first time in a very long time: last winter was so mild that I don't think I wore them after February.
At least it was bright and sunny today, and I got good and warm during my hour-long paddling session. The paddling itself is almost never that bad in cold weather; the hard part is standing on the dock before and after, getting the boat down or putting it away, and changing clothes. I guess it's time to get used to it, as the forecast for the next week calls for more seasonable weather.
At least it was bright and sunny today, and I got good and warm during my hour-long paddling session. The paddling itself is almost never that bad in cold weather; the hard part is standing on the dock before and after, getting the boat down or putting it away, and changing clothes. I guess it's time to get used to it, as the forecast for the next week calls for more seasonable weather.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Various stuff that's going on
My back is feeling better and I'm doing my strength workouts again. Yesterday I did three sets of Jingjing Li's exercise ball drills and today I did the other little thing I do--pushups and cinder block lifts and step-ups and stuff.
I'm still paddling twice a week right now; I've fallen into a Friday and Sunday routine. Today was a nice day and I thought about paddling today since we have some unpleasant weather on the way. But I didn't. We'll see if I regret it when it's time to go to the river on Friday. Channel 5 weatherman Dave Brown says we're going to have some serious wind tonight and tomorrow, and I hope that moves on out by Friday.
My friend Don Walls, an Arkansan who's a mighty good canoe racer both in C1 and in C2 with partner Dale Burris, has a device that's both a heart rate monitor and a GPS, and he downloads maps of where he's paddled and graphs of what his heart has done. An example from one of his workouts is here.
I especially enjoy looking at the map feature. While I'm certainly interested in the physiological stuff that goes on during training, I'm also interested in where a paddler goes and what he sees and experiences. One reason I like paddling so much is that it's a sport that engages all the senses.
As for a heart rate monitor, I used one back in the late 1990s and early 2000s until the chest belt broke, and since then I've just trained by feel. Most of the time I think I know when I'm in the aerobic zone and when I'm going lactic and stuff like that. I know great athletes who claim that a heart rate monitor is indispensable, and maybe I'll come around to that view by and by, but for now I'm happy enough without one.
I'm still paddling twice a week right now; I've fallen into a Friday and Sunday routine. Today was a nice day and I thought about paddling today since we have some unpleasant weather on the way. But I didn't. We'll see if I regret it when it's time to go to the river on Friday. Channel 5 weatherman Dave Brown says we're going to have some serious wind tonight and tomorrow, and I hope that moves on out by Friday.
My friend Don Walls, an Arkansan who's a mighty good canoe racer both in C1 and in C2 with partner Dale Burris, has a device that's both a heart rate monitor and a GPS, and he downloads maps of where he's paddled and graphs of what his heart has done. An example from one of his workouts is here.
Don Walls (bow) and Dale Burris en route to victory in the 2012 Aluminum Nationals on the White River near Allison, Arkansas.
I especially enjoy looking at the map feature. While I'm certainly interested in the physiological stuff that goes on during training, I'm also interested in where a paddler goes and what he sees and experiences. One reason I like paddling so much is that it's a sport that engages all the senses.
As for a heart rate monitor, I used one back in the late 1990s and early 2000s until the chest belt broke, and since then I've just trained by feel. Most of the time I think I know when I'm in the aerobic zone and when I'm going lactic and stuff like that. I know great athletes who claim that a heart rate monitor is indispensable, and maybe I'll come around to that view by and by, but for now I'm happy enough without one.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Monday photo feature
Joe Royer took this picture of me back in February of 2003. A nice little blanket of snow had just fallen, and the river appears to be somewhere around 30 feet on the Memphis gauge. Right now, as we head into another winter, the temperature is much higher and the water is much lower.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Lower back healing, higher water coming
There's still a spot of soreness in my left lower back, but I'm otherwise feeling much better. I paddled for an hour this morning, and I felt a lot better in the boat than I did on Friday.
The river is on a pretty dramatic rise right now: the Memphis gauge level this morning was 5.8 feet, and it's forecast to be over 8 feet a couple of days from now. The front that brought some pretty good rainfall here last weekend stretched well up into the upper Mississippi and Ohio basins, and I think that's what's brought about this boost in the water level.
And yet, the river is still quite low--a more typical level for this time of year would be in the teens. That means that any sort of return to normalcy will require continued rain higher up in the watershed. Unless rain continues to fall in the Midwest, we could easily be back below zero a couple of weeks from now.
The river is on a pretty dramatic rise right now: the Memphis gauge level this morning was 5.8 feet, and it's forecast to be over 8 feet a couple of days from now. The front that brought some pretty good rainfall here last weekend stretched well up into the upper Mississippi and Ohio basins, and I think that's what's brought about this boost in the water level.
And yet, the river is still quite low--a more typical level for this time of year would be in the teens. That means that any sort of return to normalcy will require continued rain higher up in the watershed. Unless rain continues to fall in the Midwest, we could easily be back below zero a couple of weeks from now.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Agony and entropy
I spent this week with a hurt back. It started last weekend--the result, I think, of spending all Saturday afternoon standing up at an event. I was in some fairly severe pain Sunday morning. I did paddle Sunday, and actually felt little pain in the boat, but everything else--walking down the ramp to the dock, lifting my boat off the rack, and stuff like that--was a real ordeal.
I was all but laid up the rest of Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday I was starting to move around a bit more and by Wednesday I was stretching gingerly and doing abbreviated versions of the strength exercises I've been doing. Though not pain-free today, I'm feeling significantly better, and this morning I went down to the river to paddle.
Once again, my back felt fine in the boat. But the paddling session felt terrible. It felt as though I hadn't been in a boat in months: sitting upright and taking good strokes was an incredible chore, and I felt somewhat out of breath the whole time even though I paddled easy. Very odd, considering that except for the back issue, this week of training wasn't much different from what I've been doing for the last month.
The body is a funny thing. When I was young and competing as a distance runner, I remember that in training I felt good about fifty percent of the time and terrible about fifty percent of the time. As I got older I gained a better understanding of the roles that good nutrition and hydration and full nights of sleep play in one's mood and energy level, and these days I'd say I feel good out paddling about nine times out of ten. I guess I would chalk today's labored session up to the physical and mental disruption that my back ailment caused me this week.
I was all but laid up the rest of Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday I was starting to move around a bit more and by Wednesday I was stretching gingerly and doing abbreviated versions of the strength exercises I've been doing. Though not pain-free today, I'm feeling significantly better, and this morning I went down to the river to paddle.
Once again, my back felt fine in the boat. But the paddling session felt terrible. It felt as though I hadn't been in a boat in months: sitting upright and taking good strokes was an incredible chore, and I felt somewhat out of breath the whole time even though I paddled easy. Very odd, considering that except for the back issue, this week of training wasn't much different from what I've been doing for the last month.
The body is a funny thing. When I was young and competing as a distance runner, I remember that in training I felt good about fifty percent of the time and terrible about fifty percent of the time. As I got older I gained a better understanding of the roles that good nutrition and hydration and full nights of sleep play in one's mood and energy level, and these days I'd say I feel good out paddling about nine times out of ten. I guess I would chalk today's labored session up to the physical and mental disruption that my back ailment caused me this week.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Doldrums
I've got a nice little routine going these days--doing some strength exercises, paddling my boat a couple times a week--but I'm definitely not in "training mode." At the moment my heart and mind are just not in it. It's a busy time in my professional life, with the holiday season upon us and all. And with three months to go before what will likely be my first race of the season, I haven't been particularly motivated to go out and work my body hard.
Sometimes I hit roadblocks in the thick of the season, too. I might get sick or injured, or I might have some outside obligation suddenly come up, or I might just fall into an emotional funk where I just don't want to deal with training for a few days. In short, a season never goes exactly as planned.
During periods like this I just try to keep moving in some way. If that's not possible because of illness or injury, I tell myself that the rest is not a bad thing--fitness is the result of your recovery from training, after all, and not of the training itself. Either way, when I get back to full speed I'll feel that I've got something to build on.
I spent an hour in my boat on Thursday and another one yesterday. It's turning cold today, but the last few days have been quite warm while also overcast and wet. My two paddling sessions were done in light, misty rain, and I'm not sure the Mississippi River is ever more beautiful than it is in these conditions.
Sometimes I hit roadblocks in the thick of the season, too. I might get sick or injured, or I might have some outside obligation suddenly come up, or I might just fall into an emotional funk where I just don't want to deal with training for a few days. In short, a season never goes exactly as planned.
During periods like this I just try to keep moving in some way. If that's not possible because of illness or injury, I tell myself that the rest is not a bad thing--fitness is the result of your recovery from training, after all, and not of the training itself. Either way, when I get back to full speed I'll feel that I've got something to build on.
I spent an hour in my boat on Thursday and another one yesterday. It's turning cold today, but the last few days have been quite warm while also overcast and wet. My two paddling sessions were done in light, misty rain, and I'm not sure the Mississippi River is ever more beautiful than it is in these conditions.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Ducky
In my last post I forgot to mention the enormous flock of ducks I encountered as I paddled Friday. It was really windy so I stayed in the harbor, and up near the north end there were some thousand ducks hanging out, taking a break from their southward migration. When they saw me coming they took off en masse, and while I was sorry to disturb them, it was a beautiful sight.
Today I followed the same routine as I did Friday: some strength exercises followed by a bike ride to the river for an hour of paddling. It was windy again today but I ventured onto the river anyway. There was no barge traffic and the water was surprisingly calm.
Yesterday I did a set of the exercise ball drills I've been doing. I'm trying to get in three of those per week.
Today I followed the same routine as I did Friday: some strength exercises followed by a bike ride to the river for an hour of paddling. It was windy again today but I ventured onto the river anyway. There was no barge traffic and the water was surprisingly calm.
Yesterday I did a set of the exercise ball drills I've been doing. I'm trying to get in three of those per week.
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