I have spent this entire day feeling sleepy. I woke up around 3 o'clock this morning and I don't know how long I lay there awake, but I think it was quite a while. I ended up sleeping in about a half-hour later than usual, and ever since then I've been feeling sluggish and lethargic. It didn't stop me from getting a decent paddle in this morning--I paddled a strong tempo for 80 minutes in the harbor and out on the Mississippi--but the rest of the day has been sort of a lazy and listless affair.
As an active person I consider it important to get a full night of sleep, night in and night out. I aim for eight hours, but it often seems I end up with seven or a little less because I either take a long time to fall asleep or I wake up for a long time in the early morning hours or both.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Putting one more week of summer behind me
A pattern of storms across the southern states has kept the temperature down this week, but not the humidity. I welcome the break from dangerous heat but I'm still sweating up a storm anytime I go outside and engage in the slightest bit of physical exertion.
Joe and I paddled for 80 minutes in the harbor on Tuesday. We talked about every topic under the sun and I believe we came up with solutions to the world's most pressing problems; unfortunately I had forgotten them by the time we'd been back at the dock for five minutes.
Today I went out to Walnut Grove Lake for "Thursday evening sprints" one last time before I embark on the big road trip next week. Kata, Ralph, and Sonny rounded out the group. The sprints were tiring and I think I was a tick or two slower than last week--I failed to break 2:20 on a couple of them--but otherwise I was satisfied with how the workout went.
Joe and I paddled for 80 minutes in the harbor on Tuesday. We talked about every topic under the sun and I believe we came up with solutions to the world's most pressing problems; unfortunately I had forgotten them by the time we'd been back at the dock for five minutes.
Today I went out to Walnut Grove Lake for "Thursday evening sprints" one last time before I embark on the big road trip next week. Kata, Ralph, and Sonny rounded out the group. The sprints were tiring and I think I was a tick or two slower than last week--I failed to break 2:20 on a couple of them--but otherwise I was satisfied with how the workout went.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Monday photo feature
It's been a big couple of weeks for surf ski racing in North America. A week ago Saturday the Canadian Surf Ski Championships took place near Squamish, British Columbia, and this past Saturday the action moved south to the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon-Washington border for the Gorge Downwind Championships. Pictured here is Austin Kieffer of the U.S. en route to his fifth-place finish in the Gorge Downwinds. Photo lifted from the Vaikobi website.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
A not-so-unbearable weekend
We've gotten a reprieve from the oppressive heat this weekend. Though it's still quite warm and steamy, overcast skies and some scattered showers have toned down the withering heat that beat down on us for most of the week.
Yesterday I did a steady 80-minute paddle in the harbor and on the river that included some long surges. Today I had a late-morning commitment that allowed me time to paddle for an hour. After warming up for ten minutes and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I switched on the G.P.S. device and started a set of intervals where I maintained 6.0 miles per hour for a quarter-mile, 6.5 mph for the next quarter-mile, 7.0 mph for the next quarter-mile, back to 6.0 mph for the next quarter-mile, and so on. I did this until I reached the 50-minute mark and then spent the last ten minutes cooling down. I completed six cycles in the space of about 37 minutes.
While being as careful as I can to avoid water intoxication, I have nudged up my water consumption throughout the day while this hot summer drags on. Normally every day I have a glass of water before breakfast, a glass with breakfast, a glass after breakfast, a glass with lunch... I stick to a pretty predictable routine, in other words (I'm stubbornly set in my ways, to put it another way). So I'm well aware of what my "normal" consumption is and I can easily incorporate an extra glass here and there.
Yesterday I did a steady 80-minute paddle in the harbor and on the river that included some long surges. Today I had a late-morning commitment that allowed me time to paddle for an hour. After warming up for ten minutes and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I switched on the G.P.S. device and started a set of intervals where I maintained 6.0 miles per hour for a quarter-mile, 6.5 mph for the next quarter-mile, 7.0 mph for the next quarter-mile, back to 6.0 mph for the next quarter-mile, and so on. I did this until I reached the 50-minute mark and then spent the last ten minutes cooling down. I completed six cycles in the space of about 37 minutes.
While being as careful as I can to avoid water intoxication, I have nudged up my water consumption throughout the day while this hot summer drags on. Normally every day I have a glass of water before breakfast, a glass with breakfast, a glass after breakfast, a glass with lunch... I stick to a pretty predictable routine, in other words (I'm stubbornly set in my ways, to put it another way). So I'm well aware of what my "normal" consumption is and I can easily incorporate an extra glass here and there.
Friday, July 22, 2016
A timely thunderstorm
Yesterday I spent the day bracing myself for withering conditions out at "Thursday evening sprints." I tried to drink a little extra water throughout the day.
As I negotiated the rush hour traffic out to Cordova the in-dash temperature display in my car read 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and I heard on the radio that the heat index was up around 105. I hoped that the conditions on Walnut Grove Lake would be simply bearable as the sun got lower in the sky.
But then as I got within a mile of the lake I found myself driving into a thunderstorm cell. As the rain came down, I watched gleefully as the temperature dropped to about 80 degrees in the space of several minutes. The rain continued to fall as I parked the car and got my boat off. By the time I was on the water the cell had just about moved out, but it left us with an air temperature that was most pleasant compared to what it's been lately.
Kata and Jason were back again this week, and we also had Jason's dad Sonny and Kata's husband Ralph on the lake with us. After a good warmup we lined up for some 500-meter sprints.
I don't know if it was the cooler air, or the fact that I'd taken Wednesday completely off; but I felt as good in the boat as I've felt in a long time. Whereas previous Thursday sessions had felt like frenzied paddle-for-all-I-was-worth sort of affairs, last night I found I had a couple of gears at my disposal that allowed me to relax and pace myself a bit. My times were quite a bit faster: I broke 2:20 for all four sprints, hitting 2:15 in a couple of them.
It was still plenty humid outside, and the sweat was flowing in abundance. By the time I was back in the car leaving the parking area the temperature was back up to 91 degrees. The break we got from the storm was all too temporary, but it couldn't have happened at a better time.
As I negotiated the rush hour traffic out to Cordova the in-dash temperature display in my car read 97 degrees Fahrenheit, and I heard on the radio that the heat index was up around 105. I hoped that the conditions on Walnut Grove Lake would be simply bearable as the sun got lower in the sky.
But then as I got within a mile of the lake I found myself driving into a thunderstorm cell. As the rain came down, I watched gleefully as the temperature dropped to about 80 degrees in the space of several minutes. The rain continued to fall as I parked the car and got my boat off. By the time I was on the water the cell had just about moved out, but it left us with an air temperature that was most pleasant compared to what it's been lately.
Kata and Jason were back again this week, and we also had Jason's dad Sonny and Kata's husband Ralph on the lake with us. After a good warmup we lined up for some 500-meter sprints.
I don't know if it was the cooler air, or the fact that I'd taken Wednesday completely off; but I felt as good in the boat as I've felt in a long time. Whereas previous Thursday sessions had felt like frenzied paddle-for-all-I-was-worth sort of affairs, last night I found I had a couple of gears at my disposal that allowed me to relax and pace myself a bit. My times were quite a bit faster: I broke 2:20 for all four sprints, hitting 2:15 in a couple of them.
It was still plenty humid outside, and the sweat was flowing in abundance. By the time I was back in the car leaving the parking area the temperature was back up to 91 degrees. The break we got from the storm was all too temporary, but it couldn't have happened at a better time.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
One extreme vs. the other
Yesterday the heat was getting to me badly enough that I had to cut a workout short. I don't recall ever having to do something like that in the wintertime.
The way training is supposed to work is you go out and do some mild damage to your muscles by exercising, and then during recovery your body repairs those muscles and makes them stronger and more fit to handle the task that did the damage. But after working out in the boat on a very hot day I feel as though my body has more to recover from than just the paddling, making the whole process less efficient.
I've long considered winter a better season to train than summer (I prefer spring and fall, actually, but I'm comparing extremes here). More people tell me I'm crazy for paddling in the cold, but people unfamiliar with our sport like to overlook the fact that paddling takes place on the water, not in it. Basically, we confront the same challenges in both winter and summer that athletes in land-based outdoor sports confront.
I am not an expert physiologist--and I welcome comments from anybody who is--but I think the human body keeps itself warm in cold weather a lot more efficiently than it keeps itself cool in hot weather. Heat is a natural byproduct of vigorous exercise, and in cold weather you can use that body heat to your advantage with layers of insulating clothing. But when it's hot your body has to use extra energy to expel that heat by producing sweat that carries the heat away as it evaporates from your skin. And the more humid it is (it's typically very humid here in the Mid South), the less well that cooling system works.
Furthermore, I think the average athlete is more likely to be exposed to extreme heat in summer than to extreme cold in winter. The coldest moments of winter usually occur at night, when people like me are nestled all snug in their beds. The hottest moments of summer, on the other hand, are in the daytime hours. And paddlers are less likely than other athletes to train in truly dangerous cold simply because they can't: the water freezes up in climates where it gets that cold.
So... here we are at the most potentially dangerous time of year for training. In years past I've done most of my racing in the spring and laid low in July and August; but in just the last two or three years some events have sprung up in the late summer and fall that I really enjoy competing in, and so I find myself dealing with the challenge of doing some good work in the boat without succumbing to the heat. Like I said before, I'll consider other times of day to paddle and I'll also be extra conscientious with hydration. I'll continue to paddle thinking of nothing but the cool bath under the hose that awaits back at the dock. And soon--just over two weeks from now--I'll be on my way to what I hope will be more tolerable climates.
This morning Joe and I did an 80-minute paddle in the harbor, and some cloud cover gave us a welcome break from the scorching sun, a formidable adversary when you paddle mostly on an open body of water like I do. I was tired from yesterday--from both the workout I did and the heat I endured--and I tried to relax and take good strokes and let the blood flow through my muscles and replenish them for the next challenge.
The way training is supposed to work is you go out and do some mild damage to your muscles by exercising, and then during recovery your body repairs those muscles and makes them stronger and more fit to handle the task that did the damage. But after working out in the boat on a very hot day I feel as though my body has more to recover from than just the paddling, making the whole process less efficient.
I've long considered winter a better season to train than summer (I prefer spring and fall, actually, but I'm comparing extremes here). More people tell me I'm crazy for paddling in the cold, but people unfamiliar with our sport like to overlook the fact that paddling takes place on the water, not in it. Basically, we confront the same challenges in both winter and summer that athletes in land-based outdoor sports confront.
I am not an expert physiologist--and I welcome comments from anybody who is--but I think the human body keeps itself warm in cold weather a lot more efficiently than it keeps itself cool in hot weather. Heat is a natural byproduct of vigorous exercise, and in cold weather you can use that body heat to your advantage with layers of insulating clothing. But when it's hot your body has to use extra energy to expel that heat by producing sweat that carries the heat away as it evaporates from your skin. And the more humid it is (it's typically very humid here in the Mid South), the less well that cooling system works.
Furthermore, I think the average athlete is more likely to be exposed to extreme heat in summer than to extreme cold in winter. The coldest moments of winter usually occur at night, when people like me are nestled all snug in their beds. The hottest moments of summer, on the other hand, are in the daytime hours. And paddlers are less likely than other athletes to train in truly dangerous cold simply because they can't: the water freezes up in climates where it gets that cold.
So... here we are at the most potentially dangerous time of year for training. In years past I've done most of my racing in the spring and laid low in July and August; but in just the last two or three years some events have sprung up in the late summer and fall that I really enjoy competing in, and so I find myself dealing with the challenge of doing some good work in the boat without succumbing to the heat. Like I said before, I'll consider other times of day to paddle and I'll also be extra conscientious with hydration. I'll continue to paddle thinking of nothing but the cool bath under the hose that awaits back at the dock. And soon--just over two weeks from now--I'll be on my way to what I hope will be more tolerable climates.
This morning Joe and I did an 80-minute paddle in the harbor, and some cloud cover gave us a welcome break from the scorching sun, a formidable adversary when you paddle mostly on an open body of water like I do. I was tired from yesterday--from both the workout I did and the heat I endured--and I tried to relax and take good strokes and let the blood flow through my muscles and replenish them for the next challenge.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Monday photo feature
I look about thirteen years old in this photo, but I think it was taken in 1990 when I was going on 23. I'm paddling the first boat I ever owned, a Dancer kayak manufactured by the Perception Kayaks company of Liberty, South Carolina. It had been a gift from my parents for my 19th birthday in 1986, and I got at least a half-dozen years of good use out of it. In this photo I'm running a rapid not so far from Liberty, South Carolina: Bull Sluice on the Chattooga River just above the U.S. 76 bridge. Photo by John Chapman.
Tough days
After Thursday night's hammering high-stroke-rate affair, I went out Saturday to do a steady 90-minute paddle and smooth my strokes back out. On my way out of the harbor I saw my friends Joe and Carol Lee coming back in, so I turned around and accompanied them back to the dock. After that I was good and warmed up, and I did three of my backpaddling-then-forward-paddling power-building drills. I went out on the river and paddled mostly at a moderate pace but threw in a few strong surges.
July is now more than half over, and I guess that's encouraging. It appears we have a tough week ahead here in the Mid South, with triple-digit Fahrenheit temperatures possible later in the week. This morning I did a round of the current strength routine and then went down to the river hoping the heat wasn't too bad yet. I warmed up for fifteen minutes and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then started my workout. I intended to do four one-mile pieces, maintaining 6.5 miles per hour for the first half of each and 7.0 mph for the second half of each. For recovery in between, I planned to paddle for a half-mile at 6.0 mph.
That was the plan. But by the time I'd finished the second one the heat was really taking its toll. During each recovery interval I hopped in the water and remounted with the hope that that would help, and it did somewhat, but not enough. I was beginning to worry about my safety out there and so I ended the workout after just three pieces.
Maybe I need to consider paddling earlier in the morning, or in the evening... I'll have to think about that. The late morning has always suited me, but under the current conditions I may have to take more precautions than I'm used to.
That was the plan. But by the time I'd finished the second one the heat was really taking its toll. During each recovery interval I hopped in the water and remounted with the hope that that would help, and it did somewhat, but not enough. I was beginning to worry about my safety out there and so I ended the workout after just three pieces.
Maybe I need to consider paddling earlier in the morning, or in the evening... I'll have to think about that. The late morning has always suited me, but under the current conditions I may have to take more precautions than I'm used to.
Friday, July 15, 2016
A good week shaping up
Life goes on here in the steamy Mid South in the month of July. I'm not enjoying the heat but I'm generally enjoying the pace of life during this lull in my race season. I'm feeling pretty good about the paddling and related activities that are going on these days, and I'm also doing some good shop work and enjoying the happenings here in my little inner-city neighborhood.
On Tuesday I paddled with Joe in the harbor for about 80 minutes. I paddled my old boat, which still lives down at the dock. I'm thinking I'll keep it down there at least for the rest of the summer and use it for my riverfront paddling.
Right now the new boat is stored in my garage, where I can easily grab it for paddling elsewhere. That's what I did yesterday when I took it out to Walnut Grove Lake for "Thursday evening sprints." Only three people showed up--Kata Dismukes, Jason Salomon, and me--but we were an evenly-matched group and in the four 500-meter sprints we did I don't think there was ever more than three seconds or so between first place and third place. Kata led the first one from the start, and my late surge wasn't enough to get by her at the finish; she and I finished the second one in a dead heat--the sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see whether she actually beat me or not; and then I took the third and fourth sprints. Jason was right there in the hunt on all four: in a couple of the sprints his bow was right there by my side from start to finish.
500 meters is of course a standard competition distance in flatwater sprint racing, and it is an intense, lactic affair that demands that you keep paddling as hard as you can while gasping for breath. I hope these Thursday night meetings will fortify my mental toughness a bit. I came away from last night feeling particularly good about the last sprint, in which Kata led for about the first half and I really had to dig deep to move into the lead.
I didn't pay close attention to my times, but I think they were all between 2:20 and 2:30. I took my G.P.S. device in the boat with me out of curiosity to see what sort of speeds I was achieving: most of the time I was moving between 8 and 8.5 miles per hour.
Back here at home I've done my strength routine on Monday and Wednesday this week, and I plan to do it again later this morning.
On Tuesday I paddled with Joe in the harbor for about 80 minutes. I paddled my old boat, which still lives down at the dock. I'm thinking I'll keep it down there at least for the rest of the summer and use it for my riverfront paddling.
Right now the new boat is stored in my garage, where I can easily grab it for paddling elsewhere. That's what I did yesterday when I took it out to Walnut Grove Lake for "Thursday evening sprints." Only three people showed up--Kata Dismukes, Jason Salomon, and me--but we were an evenly-matched group and in the four 500-meter sprints we did I don't think there was ever more than three seconds or so between first place and third place. Kata led the first one from the start, and my late surge wasn't enough to get by her at the finish; she and I finished the second one in a dead heat--the sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see whether she actually beat me or not; and then I took the third and fourth sprints. Jason was right there in the hunt on all four: in a couple of the sprints his bow was right there by my side from start to finish.
500 meters is of course a standard competition distance in flatwater sprint racing, and it is an intense, lactic affair that demands that you keep paddling as hard as you can while gasping for breath. I hope these Thursday night meetings will fortify my mental toughness a bit. I came away from last night feeling particularly good about the last sprint, in which Kata led for about the first half and I really had to dig deep to move into the lead.
I didn't pay close attention to my times, but I think they were all between 2:20 and 2:30. I took my G.P.S. device in the boat with me out of curiosity to see what sort of speeds I was achieving: most of the time I was moving between 8 and 8.5 miles per hour.
Back here at home I've done my strength routine on Monday and Wednesday this week, and I plan to do it again later this morning.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Monday photo feature
My sister's family spent some time paddling on the upper James River near Lexington, Virginia, over the weekend. They were visiting one of my nephews, a student at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington.
My sister got a nice shot of my other nephew, Ben, manning the bow in this photo. My niece Rachel, paddling the kayak in the background, could use a shorter paddle, but the typical canoe livery fleet doesn't always have the best choices.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Something new
On Friday afternoon I took delivery of a new race boat: a V-10L surf ski manufactured by the Epic Kayaks company. As always, it was a pleasure doing business with the folks at Outdoors, Inc., the greater Memphis area's dealer for boats and paddles and many other kinds of outdoor sports equipment.
For the last seven seasons I've raced in a V-12, also manufactured by Epic Kayaks. The V-10L is designed for a slightly smaller paddler. These days I'm weighing in at not quite 160 pounds (72.6 kg), and that's supposedly right in the ideal range for a V-10L. I paddled a V-10L the whole time I was in Hawaii in February and liked it pretty good, so I'm giving it a go as my next race boat.
This morning I took it out for its maiden voyage: a 60-minute paddle on our wonderful harbor, where the placid conditions were a good setting to get the footboard and the footstrap and all that stuff adjusted the way I like it. So far it feels a little different from the V-12 but I think I'll get used to it.
Once that was all set and I'd warmed up for ten minutes, I embarked on the day's workout: six half-mile pieces. I tried to maintain a 7 mph pace throughout each piece; I started each piece at the top of the second full minute after the end of the previous piece, so my recovery interval ended up being about 2:45 to 2:50. My times ranged from 4:06 to 4:14.
It certainly wasn't an easy workout, but because I had time to paddle for only 60 minutes today I got right to it and knocked it out quickly. Finishing an epic endurance session can be satisfying too, but there's something exhilarating about doing a crisp, efficient workout and not feeling dead tired the rest of the day.
For the last seven seasons I've raced in a V-12, also manufactured by Epic Kayaks. The V-10L is designed for a slightly smaller paddler. These days I'm weighing in at not quite 160 pounds (72.6 kg), and that's supposedly right in the ideal range for a V-10L. I paddled a V-10L the whole time I was in Hawaii in February and liked it pretty good, so I'm giving it a go as my next race boat.
This morning I took it out for its maiden voyage: a 60-minute paddle on our wonderful harbor, where the placid conditions were a good setting to get the footboard and the footstrap and all that stuff adjusted the way I like it. So far it feels a little different from the V-12 but I think I'll get used to it.
Once that was all set and I'd warmed up for ten minutes, I embarked on the day's workout: six half-mile pieces. I tried to maintain a 7 mph pace throughout each piece; I started each piece at the top of the second full minute after the end of the previous piece, so my recovery interval ended up being about 2:45 to 2:50. My times ranged from 4:06 to 4:14.
It certainly wasn't an easy workout, but because I had time to paddle for only 60 minutes today I got right to it and knocked it out quickly. Finishing an epic endurance session can be satisfying too, but there's something exhilarating about doing a crisp, efficient workout and not feeling dead tired the rest of the day.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Balance and control in the boat
The south wind that I paddled in on Monday has persisted all week. Even though it's been very hot in the middle of town, the wind has helped keep things bearable out on the river. I paddled for 70 minutes on Thursday and 100 minutes yesterday. I also did a round of the current strength routine before paddling yesterday.
Earlier this week the Surf Ski News website posted an interview with Austin Kieffer, probably the best surf ski racer in the U.S. these days. I'm a fan of the guy for a couple of reasons. For one, he comes from a whitewater background like I do; and for another, he's positioned for success at the top levels of surf ski racing--very rare for a North American in this sport dominated by South Africans and Australians and the like.
The interview is worth reading under any circumstances, but I bring it up here because of one particular passage--the one in which Kieffer mentions South African great Dawid Mocke and his ability to glide through rough conditions as if he were paddling on flatwater.
The sort of absolute confidence in one's balance and boat control is something I've worked on for quite a few years now. I wish I could tell you I've mastered it. But at least I've developed a few drills that I think have helped raise my balance and control to something better than terrible. My favorite drill is to paddle in a beam wind on flatwater, and try to keep the boat moving through the waves and chop without letting it roll right and left or pitch up and down--back when I was racing slalom we called this "keeping a quiet boat."
Out of the boat I always include some work on my core muscles, since those are the ones that keep my boat rightside-up. I've described many such exercises on this blog over time, and I'll do so again whenever I talk about my strength routines. I'll just mention that the stability ball is one good tool for working specifically on balance.
Having worked on all those basics in low-risk environments, I was eager to get out on the river Thursday and yesterday and see how well I could keep the boat moving in those south-wind-driven conditions, just like Dawid Mocke would. I doubt anybody would have mistaken me for Mocke, but I did feel good out there. In this hot weather the consequences of a swim were as low as one can ask for, and because of that I was able to relax and take effective strokes with full rotation. I never flipped or even came that close to flipping.
Thursday was the more "fun" of these last two days: there were all kinds of little bumps I was able to get brief rides on. By yesterday the wind had diminished a bit and I spent the second 50 minutes feeling the heat while dealing with the usual fatigue of a long, hard paddle. Paddling upstream out in the middle of the Mississippi was a pokey affair: every time I glanced down at my G.P.S. device it was showing about two miles per hour.
Whatever the case, I've come away from these last two days feeling good. I had some fun, I beat the heat a little bit, I got in some good mileage, and I gained some confidence in my boat control.
Earlier this week the Surf Ski News website posted an interview with Austin Kieffer, probably the best surf ski racer in the U.S. these days. I'm a fan of the guy for a couple of reasons. For one, he comes from a whitewater background like I do; and for another, he's positioned for success at the top levels of surf ski racing--very rare for a North American in this sport dominated by South Africans and Australians and the like.
The interview is worth reading under any circumstances, but I bring it up here because of one particular passage--the one in which Kieffer mentions South African great Dawid Mocke and his ability to glide through rough conditions as if he were paddling on flatwater.
The sort of absolute confidence in one's balance and boat control is something I've worked on for quite a few years now. I wish I could tell you I've mastered it. But at least I've developed a few drills that I think have helped raise my balance and control to something better than terrible. My favorite drill is to paddle in a beam wind on flatwater, and try to keep the boat moving through the waves and chop without letting it roll right and left or pitch up and down--back when I was racing slalom we called this "keeping a quiet boat."
Out of the boat I always include some work on my core muscles, since those are the ones that keep my boat rightside-up. I've described many such exercises on this blog over time, and I'll do so again whenever I talk about my strength routines. I'll just mention that the stability ball is one good tool for working specifically on balance.
Having worked on all those basics in low-risk environments, I was eager to get out on the river Thursday and yesterday and see how well I could keep the boat moving in those south-wind-driven conditions, just like Dawid Mocke would. I doubt anybody would have mistaken me for Mocke, but I did feel good out there. In this hot weather the consequences of a swim were as low as one can ask for, and because of that I was able to relax and take effective strokes with full rotation. I never flipped or even came that close to flipping.
Thursday was the more "fun" of these last two days: there were all kinds of little bumps I was able to get brief rides on. By yesterday the wind had diminished a bit and I spent the second 50 minutes feeling the heat while dealing with the usual fatigue of a long, hard paddle. Paddling upstream out in the middle of the Mississippi was a pokey affair: every time I glanced down at my G.P.S. device it was showing about two miles per hour.
Whatever the case, I've come away from these last two days feeling good. I had some fun, I beat the heat a little bit, I got in some good mileage, and I gained some confidence in my boat control.
Friday, July 8, 2016
"A healthy life is a good life"
These days the Internet and other mass media are bursting at the seams with "healthy living" advice, and as an athlete I'm tempted to dismiss it all as irrelevant to me, as intended for a more sedentary audience. But every now and then something does get my attention. Every Wednesday my local public radio station runs a brief "healthy living" segment with Sheila Harrell of the Church Health Center, and this week she presented us with a list of statements that each of us is supposed to evaluate with "Strongly agree/Agree/Not sure/Disagree/Strongly disagree."
- I don’t usually rush from one commitment to another.
- I take care of myself as well as others.
- I nourish myself with a well balanced diet.
- My home and workspace are organized.
- I feel positive most of the time.
- I spend more time doing what I want than what I should.
- I use my annual vacation time.
- I get adequate sleep.
- I have at least one strong relationship with someone who supports me.
- I don’t smoke, drink to excess, or have any other addictive behaviors.
- I take at least 15 minutes daily to do something I enjoy.
- I have a hobby.
I can "strongly agree" with the majority of these statements--after all, I'm an athlete and keeping myself healthy is more than just a casual endeavor--but there are a couple that I could do better on, and that's why this particular radio segment got my attention.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Unexpected variety on the riverfront
The weather report on the radio yesterday morning made it sound like a typical July day--hot and humid--but it wasn't until I got down to the river that I realized how windy it was. I'd planned to do a two-hour paddle and was counting on a long grind, but instead I spent the first hour enjoying some Memphis-style downwind action out on the Mississippi between the mouth of the harbor and the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. I wasn't getting any long, sweet rides, but I had fun catching all kinds of bumps for a few seconds at a time. I got plenty wet, with waves crashing into my bucket and footwell, and along with the south breeze that kept me cool. There aren't but a couple of months each year when I actually enjoy getting drenched while paddling, and that time has arrived.
At the end of the first hour I went back into the harbor and paddled steady to the north end and then back down to the dock. This was more the "grind" I'd been expecting. I was tired from the downwind stuff, and also from the strength exercises I'd done on the dock before getting in the boat. I did two sets of pushups and two sets of the core exercise I'd learned from the Lèa Jamelot video on Face Book--in other words, I did the two exercises from this month's strength routine that require no equipment.
When I'm paddling tired like that, I focus hard on maintaining good stroke form. The hope is that in the late stages of a race when fatigue has set in, I'll still be taking good strokes.
After yesterday's endeavors I was tired in the boat today. Joe and I paddled an easy-to-medium pace in the harbor for 80 minutes.
At the end of the first hour I went back into the harbor and paddled steady to the north end and then back down to the dock. This was more the "grind" I'd been expecting. I was tired from the downwind stuff, and also from the strength exercises I'd done on the dock before getting in the boat. I did two sets of pushups and two sets of the core exercise I'd learned from the Lèa Jamelot video on Face Book--in other words, I did the two exercises from this month's strength routine that require no equipment.
When I'm paddling tired like that, I focus hard on maintaining good stroke form. The hope is that in the late stages of a race when fatigue has set in, I'll still be taking good strokes.
After yesterday's endeavors I was tired in the boat today. Joe and I paddled an easy-to-medium pace in the harbor for 80 minutes.
Monday, July 4, 2016
Monday photo feature
Five years ago I joined a bunch of gulls on the water along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Weekend exercise
Those comfortable days we had in the middle of last week are over, and the humidity is creeping on back up there. But it's still not as bad as it was last weekend, and it definitely isn't as bad as those couple of days right before the OICK race.
Yesterday I paddled for 70 minutes out on the Mississippi, pushing the pace pretty hard now and then. Considering the hurt I'd put on myself on Thursday, I felt pretty good in the boat.
Under normal circumstances I'd have paddled today, but I had to make a two-hours-one-way trip over into Arkansas to pick up some white oak logs to use in my woodworking business. Right now my pickup truck isn't rigged to carry a boat, or else I'd have taken one and paddled it on the Spring River near where the logs were. Instead I took a swim in the Spring, and it felt great after getting very sweaty and dirty dealing with those logs.
I'll make up for the missed paddling tomorrow.
Yesterday I paddled for 70 minutes out on the Mississippi, pushing the pace pretty hard now and then. Considering the hurt I'd put on myself on Thursday, I felt pretty good in the boat.
Under normal circumstances I'd have paddled today, but I had to make a two-hours-one-way trip over into Arkansas to pick up some white oak logs to use in my woodworking business. Right now my pickup truck isn't rigged to carry a boat, or else I'd have taken one and paddled it on the Spring River near where the logs were. Instead I took a swim in the Spring, and it felt great after getting very sweaty and dirty dealing with those logs.
I'll make up for the missed paddling tomorrow.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Summer pace work
We've gotten a break in the weather this week: since Tuesday the Fahrenheit highs have been in the high 80s or low 90s, and the humidity is down. It's significantly more comfortable than it was last weekend.
Not sure how much longer the nice conditions would last, I made sure to get in a good workout in the boat yesterday. I warmed up for ten minutes and did three of my backpaddling-then-forward-paddling power drills. Then I paddled up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River.
I started my G.P.S. and did a one-mile piece up the Wolf, trying to maintain 7 miles per hour. At yesterday's Mississippi level (12.7 feet on the Memphis gauge) I expected to have flatwater for at least a mile up the Wolf, but I suspect I might have been fighting a slight current in the second half of my piece. I finished the piece in 8:42. I recovered by paddling back toward the mouth of the Wolf, and the ease with which I moved around 6.7 mph supported my belief that there was a bit of current flowing.
I started my next one-mile piece at the power lines that mark the OICK race start and headed out down the Mississippi, where I definitely had some current flowing. Because of that I wasn't really paddling a true mile, but I tried to keep the intensity the same. I maintained about 11.4 mph on the G.P.S.--on flatwater that would be around 7 mph since the Mississippi River flows at 4-ish mph. My elapsed time for this mile was 6:43.
I finished the piece and paddled/drifted downriver in recovery. I was quite tired by the time I reached the mouth of the harbor and gathered my courage for one last piece on what I knew would be dead flatwater. Once again 7 mph was the target pace. I was feeling it bad as I gazed longingly at the landmark where I knew my mile would end, and I attempted to comfort myself with reminders that it wasn't as god-awful hot as it was last weekend. At last I completed the piece 8 minutes and 32 seconds after I'd started, and it felt good to know that I'd pushed through the pain with an effort consistent with the previous two pieces.
I arrived back at the dock with a total in-the-boat time of 100 minutes. If I can get this kind of workout in at least once a week through the heart of summer, I'll have accomplished something.
Not sure how much longer the nice conditions would last, I made sure to get in a good workout in the boat yesterday. I warmed up for ten minutes and did three of my backpaddling-then-forward-paddling power drills. Then I paddled up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River.
I started my G.P.S. and did a one-mile piece up the Wolf, trying to maintain 7 miles per hour. At yesterday's Mississippi level (12.7 feet on the Memphis gauge) I expected to have flatwater for at least a mile up the Wolf, but I suspect I might have been fighting a slight current in the second half of my piece. I finished the piece in 8:42. I recovered by paddling back toward the mouth of the Wolf, and the ease with which I moved around 6.7 mph supported my belief that there was a bit of current flowing.
I started my next one-mile piece at the power lines that mark the OICK race start and headed out down the Mississippi, where I definitely had some current flowing. Because of that I wasn't really paddling a true mile, but I tried to keep the intensity the same. I maintained about 11.4 mph on the G.P.S.--on flatwater that would be around 7 mph since the Mississippi River flows at 4-ish mph. My elapsed time for this mile was 6:43.
I finished the piece and paddled/drifted downriver in recovery. I was quite tired by the time I reached the mouth of the harbor and gathered my courage for one last piece on what I knew would be dead flatwater. Once again 7 mph was the target pace. I was feeling it bad as I gazed longingly at the landmark where I knew my mile would end, and I attempted to comfort myself with reminders that it wasn't as god-awful hot as it was last weekend. At last I completed the piece 8 minutes and 32 seconds after I'd started, and it felt good to know that I'd pushed through the pain with an effort consistent with the previous two pieces.
I arrived back at the dock with a total in-the-boat time of 100 minutes. If I can get this kind of workout in at least once a week through the heart of summer, I'll have accomplished something.
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