Yesterday afternoon I got in the boat for the first time in nine days and paddled for 30 minutes. I paddled from the marina to the mouth of the harbor and back, keeping the intensity as low as I could stand.
My hip felt sore the whole time, but there wasn't the sort of stabbing pain on each stroke that I'd felt the last time I'd paddled. I hope that's a good sign--that perhaps the muscle tear has mended but the muscle hasn't yet regained its flexibility. Not being a doctor or anything other than a guy who's lived in his body for almost a half-century, I hope that's what's going on. The most encouraging thing is that the area didn't feel any worse when I woke up this morning.
I guess I'll take my boat down to Dauphin Island and just paddle easy while I'm down there, building up little by little. I won't lie: this is very frustrating. I've basically been out of the boat for two weeks now, with at least another week of very light paddling to come. Assuming everything goes well and I don't do anything to aggravate the injury, that will leave me with about two weeks to do any meaningful training for the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race on June 18.
I do, fortunately, have a good training base under me this season, and my fitness level should be up to the challenge. My biggest concern is the intensity level required for a five-kilometer race, and whether I'll be able to heal enough to train all-out a time or two before race day.
We'll see. There's a lot of season left after June 18, so I'll do my best to be ready for that date without hurting myself any worse.
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