I paddled for 80 minutes this morning. After warming up for the first 15 minutes, I did my three 8-stroke sprints. I haven't said it lately, but I do these sprints at two-minute intervals; that's enough recovery time for me to go totally all-out on each sprint.
Sometimes these sprints feel as fluid and smooth as can be; other times, like today, they feel a bit forced and sloppy. The goal is to do them with the same precise form I use while paddling at lower intensity, with legs, abs, shoulders, and arms all firing in unison. My first sprint was the worst one this morning; I did a bit better on the second and third.
Today we're enjoying another mild sunny day in the Mid South, with the temperature expected to reach the high 50s Fahrenheit. Of course, we've got a saying around here that goes "If you don't like the weather here, just wait a while," and in keeping with that it's going to be colder and grayer for the next several days. That'll get me all the more ready for my trip to our nation's 50th state next Sunday.
This nice weather, combined with a river level (20.1 feet on the Memphis gauge) that has all the Corps of Engineers' wing dikes well under water, motivated me to ferry across the river and check out some of the lovely scenery on the Arkansas side. The Loosahatchie Chute separates the Loosahatchie Bar from the mainland a couple of miles upstream of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, and once I'm up above the bridge paddling north, all I see is water flowing between forested banks. It's lush and green in the summertime, of course, but I like it in winter, too, when the leafless trees give off a bronze hue in the sunlight.
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