Sigh.

Well, there will be no race for me this weekend.

The plan had been to drive up to the Osage River east of Jefferson City, Missouri, to participate in the Osage Spring 12 race on Saturday.

But on Tuesday I woke up with a sharp pain in my left hip area.  I thought maybe I'd slept on it wrong, or that maybe I'd done something Monday to tweak my back in that area, and that it would hurt for a couple of days but work itself out eventually.  I've had my share of little episodes like that where something is just a little out of joint and putting pressure on a nerve or something like that.

Now here I am two and a half days later and the area hurts as much as ever.  I went downtown this morning and attempted to paddle, but even paddling easy I could manage only 20 painful minutes.  The worst moments were the strokes on my right: as I pulled lightly on the foot strap with my left foot to drive my torso rotation, the pain in my left hip made me wince each time.

So, I'm afraid racing this weekend is out of the question.  Sure, Saturday is still a couple of days off, and if this were a local race I might at least go down there and warm up and see how it feels; but the Osage River is a five- or six-hour drive from here, and I just can't justify going all the way there just to have to withdraw at the last minute.

I'd planned to go to this same race last year, but my shoulder was bothering me and I ended up staying home.  Some higher authority must not want me to paddle on the Osage River.

As for what I'm going to do about this injury, I'm not sure yet.  Typically I give it a few days to see if there's any sign of it healing on its own.  But if I'm going to end up seeing a doctor, I need to do it soon because I have a trip to the beach with my mom and my sister's family planned for week after next, and I want to have any treatments underway by then.  The Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race is just three weeks or so after I get back from that trip.