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 Lรจa 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.
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