After Christmas is when I usually try to move back into a more "serious" training routine. Exactly what "serious" means depends on the person. If I were an 18-year-old Olympic hopeful, I'd probably be doing ten or more in-the-boat workouts each week, along with strength work and stuff like that. But I'm not an 18-year-old Olympic hopeful, and these days I think of "serious" as four times in the boat, plus two or three strength routines, each week. Most of the time my paddling days are Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, because I'm just a regimented guy that way.
Once in a while I get anxious, thinking maybe I'm not doing enough, especially when I hear somebody talking about how much more he's doing. But most of the time I feel pretty good about it. I think I'm doing about as much as my 51-year-old body can withstand, and as much as I can fit into a busy schedule that's full of the typical adult responsibilities.
If you need an example of a more accomplished racer than I whose time in the boat is limited, check out this profile of Erik Borgnes of Stevens Point, Wisconsin--he paddles just three times a week for much of the year. I think Erik is maybe a year or two older than I am.
Actually, I think even younger athletes could accomplish a lot with just a few paddling sessions a week. Keep in mind that it's not the workouts themselves that make you stronger and fitter and faster. It's during the recovery from those workouts that your body rebuilds and fortifies itself to perform at a higher level. The more workouts you do each week, the greater the likelihood that you will "overtrain"--that is, not allow yourself adequate recovery.
Whatever the case, for me, for most of my "serious" training year, four times in the boat a week it is. I try to get the best recovery I can when I'm out of the boat so my body can internalize the work I've done. And when I'm in the boat, I try to be all there, mentally as well as physically. In recent posts I've mentioned a specific "thing" (usually a stroke component) I worked on each time I paddled; the reason for that is to keep myself mentally engaged in the task at hand as opposed to letting my mind wander who knows where and lapsing into sloppy paddling. Actually, in most paddling sessions I work on a lot of "things," not just one, but the point is the same: because my paddling time is limited, each time I'm in the boat I'm on sacred ground (or sacred water, I guess I should say), and I want to get as much out of it as I possibly can.
On Tuesday it was overcast but the temperature was mild (mid 50s Fahrenheit). I paddled for 60 minutes, warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints in the harbor before heading out onto the main river. I didn't really have a "thing" in this session other than just taking good strokes and maintaining a strong pace.
Yesterday seemed a lot more like a classic winter day for this part of the country: overcast and 42 degrees with a biting north wind blowing. But as usual, once I was in the boat paddling it wasn't too bad. I warmed up and did another three 8-strokers, and then paddled up the Mississippi about a third of the way up the Greenbelt Park before returning to the harbor and the dock. My "thing" for the day was getting all my muscles firing in unison--that is, as soon as the blade was planted, I tried to take each stroke with one good focused movement of my body, with every muscle engaged in the business of propelling the boat forward. This gets harder as the water gets more turbulent, because in rough water the average person will have to devote some muscle power to staying upright. The Mississippi wasn't very rough yesterday but it's always swirly and provides good routine balance practice.
I did the strength routine Monday, Wednesday, and today. After a good four weeks I think it's time to put away the Smart Bell and start up something new next week.
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