On Tuesday morning I put my boat in the water behind our rented house overlooking Mississippi Sound, and paddled for 40 minutes. In the middle of it I did eight 12-stroke sprints at two-minute intervals. The sprints felt pretty nice and fluid.
I spent the rest of Tuesday driving back to Memphis, and now I'm making final preparations for tomorrow's Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race.
Yesterday I paddled in the harbor for 40 minutes, doing six 12-stroke sprints. The achiness in my upper arms has been somewhat better lately, but not entirely gone.
Today I had some company on the water: Mike and Savanna Herbert arrived from their home in Rogers, Arkansas, in the early afternoon, and the three of us paddled together and checked out the course. The river is high, as it has been all winter and spring, but not outrageously so. The level at race time tomorrow should be around 28.3 feet on the Memphis gauge. It looks like the weather will be warm but beautiful.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
Monday photo feature
Here I am charging down the Mississippi River in April of 2014. That's Rick Carter of Eutawville, South Carolina, just a boatlength or two back. The occasion was the Bluz Cruz Canoe and Kayak Race, a 22-miler from Madison Parish Port, Louisiana, to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Photo by Paul Ingram.
This coming weekend I'll be racing on a different section of the mighty Mississippi: the one that flows right by my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The 38th Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race is set for Saturday morning, and if you're reading this, you're invited to be there. Online registration is available here. The registration deadline is Friday evening at 6 PM CDT.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Grabbing a bit of practice on the Gulf Coast
I've had a mostly-lovely couple of days at Dauphin Island. The warm, muggy, sunny weather is conducive to a whole lot of lazing around.
Yesterday I didn't get in the boat until mid-afternoon. I felt pretty tired and paddled in Mississippi Sound for less than an hour at moderate intensity. The weather was calm, but there were plenty of motorboat wakes generated by people here for the holiday weekend.
When I woke up today there was a bit more of a breeze blowing. The online forecast I checked listed a wind velocity of around 11 miles per hour. I decided to drive my boat over to the Gulf side of the island and see what kind of downwind action I could find. There was quite a bit, as it turned out. With the wind blowing in from the south I had to paddle out from the beach for five minutes or so, ride the surf back in, and repeat.
My intellectual understanding of ocean waves and how to use them in a downwind race is fair, not great. But the biggest obstacle between me and downwind proficiency is the same one I've encountered in every other paddling discipline I've tried: confidence in my balance. Fitness and stamina have always been right up my alley, but acrobatic agility has never been a reliable part of my skill set. It was hard for me even when I was a little kid: I couldn't turn cartwheels or dive off the diving board. And when I start competing with paddlers who are comfortable with that sort of thing, I run right smack into the ceiling of what I'm able to achieve.
For much of my downwind session this morning, I watched good surfing opportunities slip away because I was sitting on a brace or otherwise off balance when I should have been paddling. I had my G.P.S. device on board and watched with dismay as my speed plummeted. Finally, on my last trip in to the beach, I managed to link together some good rides and my velocity got up over 10 miles per hour for a measurable length of time.
I made myself stop after about 40 minutes. I don't need to be wearing myself out with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race coming up this Saturday, and with the beach starting to get crowded, I also didn't want to take some little kid's head off. But with the Gorge Downwind race less than two months away, it was nice to have hopped on this small practice opportunity.
I plan to head back to Memphis tomorrow. I hope to do an easy paddle in the sound before I go.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Yesterday I didn't get in the boat until mid-afternoon. I felt pretty tired and paddled in Mississippi Sound for less than an hour at moderate intensity. The weather was calm, but there were plenty of motorboat wakes generated by people here for the holiday weekend.
When I woke up today there was a bit more of a breeze blowing. The online forecast I checked listed a wind velocity of around 11 miles per hour. I decided to drive my boat over to the Gulf side of the island and see what kind of downwind action I could find. There was quite a bit, as it turned out. With the wind blowing in from the south I had to paddle out from the beach for five minutes or so, ride the surf back in, and repeat.
My intellectual understanding of ocean waves and how to use them in a downwind race is fair, not great. But the biggest obstacle between me and downwind proficiency is the same one I've encountered in every other paddling discipline I've tried: confidence in my balance. Fitness and stamina have always been right up my alley, but acrobatic agility has never been a reliable part of my skill set. It was hard for me even when I was a little kid: I couldn't turn cartwheels or dive off the diving board. And when I start competing with paddlers who are comfortable with that sort of thing, I run right smack into the ceiling of what I'm able to achieve.
For much of my downwind session this morning, I watched good surfing opportunities slip away because I was sitting on a brace or otherwise off balance when I should have been paddling. I had my G.P.S. device on board and watched with dismay as my speed plummeted. Finally, on my last trip in to the beach, I managed to link together some good rides and my velocity got up over 10 miles per hour for a measurable length of time.
I made myself stop after about 40 minutes. I don't need to be wearing myself out with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race coming up this Saturday, and with the beach starting to get crowded, I also didn't want to take some little kid's head off. But with the Gorge Downwind race less than two months away, it was nice to have hopped on this small practice opportunity.
I plan to head back to Memphis tomorrow. I hope to do an easy paddle in the sound before I go.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Still not doing great at high intensity
The beat goes on with my arm woes. I'm managing them the best I can. I don't think my achy biceps are as bad as they were before my trip to Virginia, but the tennis elbow in my left arm has returned with a vengeance.
I spent the first half of this week doing stuff of moderate intensity--paddling with Joe in the harbor on Tuesday and doing rounds of the strength routine Monday and Wednesday.
Then yesterday I went back downtown to do another set of four bridge-to-bridge sprints. I've been frustrated by my lack of stamina in this workout so far this year, and was hoping maybe this time I could crank out four fairly consistent times. For this latest go-round I tried a different boat: a V10 Sport surf ski of Joe's that he told me I could paddle if I wanted to. The V10 Sport is slightly wider and more stable (and therefore slower, at least on paper) than the V12 that I normally train in. But Joe's V10 Sport is a lighter layup than my V12--it's what Epic Kayaks calls the "ultra" layup, while my boat is the heavier "performance" layup. And Joe's boat feels light even by "ultra" layup standards. So my spirits were buoyed just knowing I had a bit less weight to push around.
I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then lined up under the monorail bridge. The first piece got off to a good start--I hit that roof edge right at the one-minute mark. I stroked as hard as I could and finished the piece in 2:02. It still wasn't the sub-two-minute time that I shoot for, but it was my fastest time so far this year.
I took a 5-minute rest interval, during which I paddled back to the monorail bridge. My goal now was to produce three more times in the neighborhood of 2:02. The second piece seemed much like the first, but this time I could only manage 2:05, and I was starting to hurt by the end of it. I gave myself an extra recovery minute, but in the third piece I was really starting to fall apart. I limped across the finish in 2:11.
Feeling defeated, I did just a half-piece for the fourth sprint (from the monorail bridge to the roof edge). I sprinted as hard as I could and did it in 63 seconds.
Once again, I'm trying not to obsess over it too much. Fortunately, few races demand a lot of time in the lactic zone. But I am a bit puzzled with my inability to get through this workout like I did last year and the year before.
This morning I did another round of the strength routine, and then went back to the river for a steady paddle at medium intensity. I paddled to the mouth of the harbor and then up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River, where next Saturday's Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race will start. Today's river level was about 31.2 feet on the Memphis gauge, and one bright side of this fairly high level is that racers won't have to carry their boats down any steep grades to get to the water. The forecast says the river will be at 29.2 feet on race day.
Tomorrow morning I'm heading down to the beach! My mother and my sister's family and I typically get together at Dauphin Island on the Alabama Gulf Coast around this time each year. I'd been wavering on whether to make the trip at all this year--the idea of yet another long drive isn't something I'm thrilled about--but I've decided I shouldn't pass up several days of relaxing beach time. The paddling I do there will be whatever I feel like doing. Any hard paddling I do will be in the service of FUN (i.e., downwind surfing). Let us never forget that paddling is always fun, whether I'm in top racing form or not.
I plan to return home Tuesday and get myself rested and ready for the big race.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
I spent the first half of this week doing stuff of moderate intensity--paddling with Joe in the harbor on Tuesday and doing rounds of the strength routine Monday and Wednesday.
Then yesterday I went back downtown to do another set of four bridge-to-bridge sprints. I've been frustrated by my lack of stamina in this workout so far this year, and was hoping maybe this time I could crank out four fairly consistent times. For this latest go-round I tried a different boat: a V10 Sport surf ski of Joe's that he told me I could paddle if I wanted to. The V10 Sport is slightly wider and more stable (and therefore slower, at least on paper) than the V12 that I normally train in. But Joe's V10 Sport is a lighter layup than my V12--it's what Epic Kayaks calls the "ultra" layup, while my boat is the heavier "performance" layup. And Joe's boat feels light even by "ultra" layup standards. So my spirits were buoyed just knowing I had a bit less weight to push around.
I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then lined up under the monorail bridge. The first piece got off to a good start--I hit that roof edge right at the one-minute mark. I stroked as hard as I could and finished the piece in 2:02. It still wasn't the sub-two-minute time that I shoot for, but it was my fastest time so far this year.
I took a 5-minute rest interval, during which I paddled back to the monorail bridge. My goal now was to produce three more times in the neighborhood of 2:02. The second piece seemed much like the first, but this time I could only manage 2:05, and I was starting to hurt by the end of it. I gave myself an extra recovery minute, but in the third piece I was really starting to fall apart. I limped across the finish in 2:11.
Feeling defeated, I did just a half-piece for the fourth sprint (from the monorail bridge to the roof edge). I sprinted as hard as I could and did it in 63 seconds.
Once again, I'm trying not to obsess over it too much. Fortunately, few races demand a lot of time in the lactic zone. But I am a bit puzzled with my inability to get through this workout like I did last year and the year before.
This morning I did another round of the strength routine, and then went back to the river for a steady paddle at medium intensity. I paddled to the mouth of the harbor and then up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River, where next Saturday's Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race will start. Today's river level was about 31.2 feet on the Memphis gauge, and one bright side of this fairly high level is that racers won't have to carry their boats down any steep grades to get to the water. The forecast says the river will be at 29.2 feet on race day.
Tomorrow morning I'm heading down to the beach! My mother and my sister's family and I typically get together at Dauphin Island on the Alabama Gulf Coast around this time each year. I'd been wavering on whether to make the trip at all this year--the idea of yet another long drive isn't something I'm thrilled about--but I've decided I shouldn't pass up several days of relaxing beach time. The paddling I do there will be whatever I feel like doing. Any hard paddling I do will be in the service of FUN (i.e., downwind surfing). Let us never forget that paddling is always fun, whether I'm in top racing form or not.
I plan to return home Tuesday and get myself rested and ready for the big race.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Monday photo feature
Here's another photo from the 2012 Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, taken by Roger Cotton Photography. Linda Weghorst charges toward the finish line as the sun beats down. This was Linda's last OICK race, as she moved away from Memphis later that year.
We miss Linda terribly. But maybe we'll discover that we love YOU just as much! All you have to do is come to this year's race and let us get to know you! The 2019 OICK race is set for June 1--a week from this Saturday. Online registration is available here.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Back in training mode, no thanks to Delta Airlines
I saw my nephew get his degree on Thursday, and my mother and I began the journey home on Friday. And what a horrible journey it turned out to be. We were booked to fly on Delta Airlines from Roanoke to Memphis by way of Atlanta, with a scheduled arrival time in Memphis of around 9 PM.
As it turned out, we didn't land in Memphis until around 8 o'clock yesterday morning.
Our flight from Roanoke to Atlanta was delayed more than seven hours--something to do with a flight crew that had used up the number of duty hours allowed by the FAA. Landing in Atlanta after midnight, we'd missed the last flight to Memphis and were forced to sleep on the floor of the airport even though the Delta agent in Roanoke had assured us the airline would put us up in a hotel. The agent we dealt with in Atlanta was, to put it mildly, rude. I doubt I got more than a half-hour of sleep the whole night.
As air-travel horror stories go, our ordeal was probably fairly average. But the Delta Airlines personnel could not have handled the situation more poorly, and I will be avoiding Delta at all costs for the foreseeable future.
Once home I slept for several hours, had a small lunch, and headed down to the river to paddle. It took some willpower to drag myself down there, but once I was in the boat I felt surprisingly good. I paddled for 50 minutes, going fairly easy aside from three 8-stroke sprints.
I got a much-needed full night of sleep last night, and went back to the river today intending to get refocused on my preparation for the OICK race. After warming up and doing another three 8-strokers, I did a set of eight hard sprints at 75 seconds on, 30 seconds off. The short recovery interval makes this a lactic tolerance workout, and by about the sixth piece I was really feeling the pain. In the late stages of the workout I tried my best to keep taking good strokes even though I was slowing down a bit.
I'm still feeling some soreness in both biceps, as well as the deltoid area of my right arm and shoulder. But it doesn't seem quite as bad out of the boat, as I go about my non-athletic business each day. I've got a couple more hard workouts scheduled between now and race day, and I need to be extra-conscientious about letting myself recover fully from each one.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
As it turned out, we didn't land in Memphis until around 8 o'clock yesterday morning.
Our flight from Roanoke to Atlanta was delayed more than seven hours--something to do with a flight crew that had used up the number of duty hours allowed by the FAA. Landing in Atlanta after midnight, we'd missed the last flight to Memphis and were forced to sleep on the floor of the airport even though the Delta agent in Roanoke had assured us the airline would put us up in a hotel. The agent we dealt with in Atlanta was, to put it mildly, rude. I doubt I got more than a half-hour of sleep the whole night.
As air-travel horror stories go, our ordeal was probably fairly average. But the Delta Airlines personnel could not have handled the situation more poorly, and I will be avoiding Delta at all costs for the foreseeable future.
Once home I slept for several hours, had a small lunch, and headed down to the river to paddle. It took some willpower to drag myself down there, but once I was in the boat I felt surprisingly good. I paddled for 50 minutes, going fairly easy aside from three 8-stroke sprints.
I got a much-needed full night of sleep last night, and went back to the river today intending to get refocused on my preparation for the OICK race. After warming up and doing another three 8-strokers, I did a set of eight hard sprints at 75 seconds on, 30 seconds off. The short recovery interval makes this a lactic tolerance workout, and by about the sixth piece I was really feeling the pain. In the late stages of the workout I tried my best to keep taking good strokes even though I was slowing down a bit.
I'm still feeling some soreness in both biceps, as well as the deltoid area of my right arm and shoulder. But it doesn't seem quite as bad out of the boat, as I go about my non-athletic business each day. I've got a couple more hard workouts scheduled between now and race day, and I need to be extra-conscientious about letting myself recover fully from each one.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Downtime report
I'm staying with my mother and my sister's family in a rented house in a rural area outside Lexington, Virginia, where my nephew is graduating from college. As I mentioned in my last post, these few days include no paddling for me. So far they haven't included much else, either: I've felt sleepy and completely devoid of energy, my digestion is out of whack because of the deviation from my normal diet, and I have a hint of a sore throat as though I've got a cold coming on. I am most definitely not feeling like the guy who's supposed to go out and kill it in the Outdoors race and the summertime competitions that follow.
I was hoping I'd reach the end of this little break feeling reinvigorated and ready to go get 'em. But it seems that my body has taken this opportunity to crash much harder than I'd expected. Now I'll have to put the pieces back together when I get home.
At the moment it's hard to tell if there's any improvement in the way my arms are feeling. Some soreness is still present. So far I've done a very light round of the strength routine, just to get some blood flowing in those areas.
For now, I'm trying to enjoy the family celebration and not worry about the physical challenges to come. I'll be home tomorrow night and I'll see what I'm capable of doing this weekend.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
I was hoping I'd reach the end of this little break feeling reinvigorated and ready to go get 'em. But it seems that my body has taken this opportunity to crash much harder than I'd expected. Now I'll have to put the pieces back together when I get home.
At the moment it's hard to tell if there's any improvement in the way my arms are feeling. Some soreness is still present. So far I've done a very light round of the strength routine, just to get some blood flowing in those areas.
For now, I'm trying to enjoy the family celebration and not worry about the physical challenges to come. I'll be home tomorrow night and I'll see what I'm capable of doing this weekend.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Monday photo feature
This photo, taken by Roger Cotton Photography moments after I'd finished the 2012 edition of the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race, says it all in terms of what the conditions were like that day.
It was blazing hot--the high for the day was around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. And the Mississippi River was flowing at the lowest race-day level ever (1.7 feet below zero on the Memphis gauge), making the course slower and longer than usual. And the field was deep, demanding my best effort for a respectable finish. The result was an exhausted but generally satisfied paddler once the race was over. You can go back here to read my report on that race. There's also this You Tube video in which Greg Barton talks about the race and the low water.
The OICK race is now in its 38th year, scheduled to take place June 1--that's just two weeks from this Saturday. I don't know what the weather will be like but I can assure you the Mississippi will not be as low as it was in 2012. All canoe and kayak racers are invited to register here and come on down to the Memphis riverfront to partake in this classic event.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Trying to paddle and heal simultaneously
My plan for the weekend was to do easy- to medium-intensity paddles to get the blood flowing in the relevant muscles and, as always, practice my strokes.
I didn't get out until the afternoon on Saturday. I paddled mostly easy for 50 minutes. Yesterday I went slightly harder, doing three 8-stroke sprints in the harbor before paddling up the Mississippi to the lower end of the Greenbelt Park and back. The tennis elbow in my left arm seems to be getting better, but both biceps are still achy and sore, especially the right one.
I went back to the riverfront today wanting to do some good fast sprinting, but not the sort of sufferfest the bridge-to-bridge sprints have been for me lately. After warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I started a 30-minute workout in which I threw in a 12-stroke sprint every two minutes and otherwise tried to keep the speed at 6.5 miles per hour on my G.P.S. device.
This afternoon I fly to Virginia to see my sweet little nephew become a college graduate. His school spreads its commencement exercises over three days, so I won't be home until Friday. I hope my arms will avail themselves of a few days out of the boat to start feeling better.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
I didn't get out until the afternoon on Saturday. I paddled mostly easy for 50 minutes. Yesterday I went slightly harder, doing three 8-stroke sprints in the harbor before paddling up the Mississippi to the lower end of the Greenbelt Park and back. The tennis elbow in my left arm seems to be getting better, but both biceps are still achy and sore, especially the right one.
I went back to the riverfront today wanting to do some good fast sprinting, but not the sort of sufferfest the bridge-to-bridge sprints have been for me lately. After warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I started a 30-minute workout in which I threw in a 12-stroke sprint every two minutes and otherwise tried to keep the speed at 6.5 miles per hour on my G.P.S. device.
This afternoon I fly to Virginia to see my sweet little nephew become a college graduate. His school spreads its commencement exercises over three days, so I won't be home until Friday. I hope my arms will avail themselves of a few days out of the boat to start feeling better.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Friday, May 10, 2019
The struggle continues
I had a good paddle with Joe on Tuesday, and on Wednesday evening I delivered my talk on being a lifetime paddlesports athlete. I'm grateful to all the people who showed up.
Yesterday I went back downtown with the intention of doing four bridge-to-bridge sprints. After last Saturday's painful slog through this workout I wasn't expecting any miracles in the time department, but I was hoping I could at least be more consistent and not just get slower and slower like I did Saturday.
After a good long warmup and three 8-stroke sprints, I drifted into starting position beneath the monorail bridge. Once the first sprint was underway it was clear that I still didn't have much turnover; I guess my achy arms are part of the reason for that. I tried to explode through each stroke as hard as I could while keeping the stroke rate fairly low. Once more my split was slow at the edge of the marina roof--around 64 seconds. I did my best to keep it together and ended up with a time of 2:04.
The second sprint was similar; my time was 2:05. By the third sprint I was really feeling some agony as I struggled to a time of 2:09.
I'd been giving myself 5 minutes for recovery, during which I paddled back to the start at the monorail bridge. After three sprints I could tell my form was falling apart and didn't see the point of beating a dead horse any longer. So I gave myself an extra minute of recovery before the last sprint, and then did just half the distance (i.e., to the edge of the marina roof). I dug in and hoped maybe I could break a minute, but about 63-64 seconds was the best I could manage.
I'm trying my best not to get all alarmed by my difficulties in these workouts; after all, my upcoming races will proceed at a much lower level of intensity. But it sure would be nice to go into the races with maximum confidence, and I'm just not feeling that at the moment.
I plan to do a couple of steady paddles over the weekend and then some sort of not-quite-as-grueling workout Monday morning. On Monday afternoon I fly to Virginia for my nephew's college graduation; I won't be back until Friday, and I'm hoping a few days out of the boat will give my body a chance to heal up and reap some benefits from the hard paddling.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Yesterday I went back downtown with the intention of doing four bridge-to-bridge sprints. After last Saturday's painful slog through this workout I wasn't expecting any miracles in the time department, but I was hoping I could at least be more consistent and not just get slower and slower like I did Saturday.
After a good long warmup and three 8-stroke sprints, I drifted into starting position beneath the monorail bridge. Once the first sprint was underway it was clear that I still didn't have much turnover; I guess my achy arms are part of the reason for that. I tried to explode through each stroke as hard as I could while keeping the stroke rate fairly low. Once more my split was slow at the edge of the marina roof--around 64 seconds. I did my best to keep it together and ended up with a time of 2:04.
The second sprint was similar; my time was 2:05. By the third sprint I was really feeling some agony as I struggled to a time of 2:09.
I'd been giving myself 5 minutes for recovery, during which I paddled back to the start at the monorail bridge. After three sprints I could tell my form was falling apart and didn't see the point of beating a dead horse any longer. So I gave myself an extra minute of recovery before the last sprint, and then did just half the distance (i.e., to the edge of the marina roof). I dug in and hoped maybe I could break a minute, but about 63-64 seconds was the best I could manage.
I'm trying my best not to get all alarmed by my difficulties in these workouts; after all, my upcoming races will proceed at a much lower level of intensity. But it sure would be nice to go into the races with maximum confidence, and I'm just not feeling that at the moment.
I plan to do a couple of steady paddles over the weekend and then some sort of not-quite-as-grueling workout Monday morning. On Monday afternoon I fly to Virginia for my nephew's college graduation; I won't be back until Friday, and I'm hoping a few days out of the boat will give my body a chance to heal up and reap some benefits from the hard paddling.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
A new strength routine
I will be out of town Monday through Friday of next week to attend my nephew's college graduation. Because of that, I want a strength routine whose exercises are all entirely portable. I've picked out a few of the rubber-band exercises demonstrated by world and Olympic champion slalom kayaker Daniele Molmenti in his video on this page.
Still suffering from muscle soreness in my arms, I'm hoping that strengthening the muscle groups in that general area will be helpful.
In addition to these rubber-band exercises, I'm doing "4-way abdominal" exercises.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Still suffering from muscle soreness in my arms, I'm hoping that strengthening the muscle groups in that general area will be helpful.
In addition to these rubber-band exercises, I'm doing "4-way abdominal" exercises.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Monday, May 6, 2019
VENUE CHANGE!!
My lecture this Wednesday evening has been moved to a different location.
The original plan was for me to speak at the Midtown location of Outdoors, Inc. However, a burst water pipe has caused extensive damage there, forcing us to move the event to the Cordova location. The address is listed in red in the above photo. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and I hope to see an enthusiastic audience out in Cordova.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Monday photo feature
I've had this yard sign for eight or nine years now. I don't really have a yard to put it in, so it's become an annual tradition to stick it in the front door window of my shop.
In case you can't read my writing, this year's race date is June 1. That's a mere three weeks from this Saturday! So don't delay: go here to get yourself signed up.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Not at my best right now
By yesterday morning the pain in my left lower back had eased considerably, but the arm woes seemed about the same. I headed down to the river to put them to the test.
The plan was to do a set of four sprints in the harbor from the monorail bridge to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. Here's a video I made last year of one of these sprints:
The distance is very nearly 450 meters.
I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then got to work. I knew almost immediately that I was slow. I just didn't seem to have the top gear I have when I'm breaking two minutes for this sprint. When I'm fast I can reach the roof with the "No Wake Area" sign in less than a minute, but yesterday my splits were more like 65 to 70 seconds.
After struggling in the first two sprints I spent the next two just taking the best strokes I could and maintaining a respectable, if not blazing fast, pace. The times sort of say it all: 2:05, 2:12, 2:13, 2:17. It's never good when you're getting slower and slower as a workout goes along. (In case anybody's curious, the corresponding times for a full 500 meters are 2:18, 2:27, 2:28, and 2:32.)
I was a little bummed out because with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race (5000 meters down the Mississippi at Memphis) less than a month away, I'm wanting to get as fast as I can. But there's still time to work on it. And even if my top speed isn't there, it doesn't mean I can't still race well. Nevertheless, I'd like to be sharp, with all cylinders firing in perfect unison.
On a positive note, my arm ailments didn't seem any worse the rest of the day than they'd been before the workout. And even though the sprints were painful, I seemed to recover quickly--the workout didn't ruin me for the rest of the day.
I woke up this morning with the arm pain no worse than before, but no better either. I went downtown and paddled for 60 minutes, doing three 8-stroke sprints and then paddling on the quick side of medium for a half-hour or so before cooling down.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
The plan was to do a set of four sprints in the harbor from the monorail bridge to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. Here's a video I made last year of one of these sprints:
The distance is very nearly 450 meters.
I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then got to work. I knew almost immediately that I was slow. I just didn't seem to have the top gear I have when I'm breaking two minutes for this sprint. When I'm fast I can reach the roof with the "No Wake Area" sign in less than a minute, but yesterday my splits were more like 65 to 70 seconds.
After struggling in the first two sprints I spent the next two just taking the best strokes I could and maintaining a respectable, if not blazing fast, pace. The times sort of say it all: 2:05, 2:12, 2:13, 2:17. It's never good when you're getting slower and slower as a workout goes along. (In case anybody's curious, the corresponding times for a full 500 meters are 2:18, 2:27, 2:28, and 2:32.)
I was a little bummed out because with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race (5000 meters down the Mississippi at Memphis) less than a month away, I'm wanting to get as fast as I can. But there's still time to work on it. And even if my top speed isn't there, it doesn't mean I can't still race well. Nevertheless, I'd like to be sharp, with all cylinders firing in perfect unison.
On a positive note, my arm ailments didn't seem any worse the rest of the day than they'd been before the workout. And even though the sprints were painful, I seemed to recover quickly--the workout didn't ruin me for the rest of the day.
I woke up this morning with the arm pain no worse than before, but no better either. I went downtown and paddled for 60 minutes, doing three 8-stroke sprints and then paddling on the quick side of medium for a half-hour or so before cooling down.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Proceeding with pain
I'm starting to feel like a broken record, talking about how beat-up I've been feeling in the last several weeks. I didn't do myself any favors by pushing that pig of a boat around the lower Atchafalaya River last Saturday. My left lower back area has remained sore this week, and I have "tennis elbow" in my left arm that I think also resulted from that ordeal. Meanwhile, I still have pain in my right biceps area from my overzealous strength work a while back. I'm finally acknowledging that it's not routine soreness, but that I did in fact injure myself.
These ailments provide some discomfort in the boat, but they don't seem to impede my paddle stroke directly. So I'm hoping I can nurse them along while following a more or less normal training plan. My plan for tomorrow is to do a set of 450-meter bridge-to-bridge sprints, and that will be a big test of what my body can handle.
As for the last few days, I paddled with Joe in the harbor on Tuesday, and yesterday I did a slightly more intense paddle that included three 8-stroke sprints. I did the leg and core exercises of the current strength routine Monday, Wednesday, and today.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
These ailments provide some discomfort in the boat, but they don't seem to impede my paddle stroke directly. So I'm hoping I can nurse them along while following a more or less normal training plan. My plan for tomorrow is to do a set of 450-meter bridge-to-bridge sprints, and that will be a big test of what my body can handle.
As for the last few days, I paddled with Joe in the harbor on Tuesday, and yesterday I did a slightly more intense paddle that included three 8-stroke sprints. I did the leg and core exercises of the current strength routine Monday, Wednesday, and today.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Lecture time
A week from today I will be giving a presentation at the Midtown location of Outdoors, Inc., here in Memphis. I would love to see you there.
What am I going to talk about? Well, I'm still working on that. But you can expect me to share some insights developed over nearly four decades as a paddler, explain what I think it means to be a lifetime athlete, and offer advice for people of any age wanting to try a sport like mine. And there will be snacks available.
For more information on what this blog is about, click here.
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