Another pretty good workout

This morning I got in my boat, warmed up for ten minutes, and did three 8-stroke sprints.  They felt somewhat smoother today than yesterday.

Then I left the harbor and paddled up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River.  At today's river level (15.7 feet on the Memphis gauge) there was little or no current in the bottom mile or so of the Wolf, and that's where I embarked on today's workout: eight two-minute pieces with two minutes recovery in between.  I did the first three of them on the flatwater of the Wolf, with a target pace of 7 miles per hour, just like in Saturday's workout.

By the fourth piece I was heading out onto the Mississippi, and once I was in the main flow I shot for a pace of 12 mph.  Conditions were calm today and it wasn't too hard to stay between 11.5 and 12 mph.  The Mississippi is a squirrelly river, though, and there were moments when my speed dipped below 10 mph.

I did pieces 5, 6, and 7 out on the river.  The eighth and final one took place in that sluggish eddy water as I moved from the river back into the harbor.  All told, today's session was pretty similar to what I did on Saturday, and yet I didn't feel nearly as exhausted when I got back to the dock today.  Was I better rested today?  Better nourished?  Better hydrated?

I paddled in some rain this morning.  There were intermittent showers through lunchtime, and then they moved out.  The weatherman says we're in for a lot more rain overnight and tomorrow.