Ready to head for the Northwest

I got a scare in the first half of this week when I started feeling some sharp pain in my right wrist.  I don't know for sure what caused it, but my strongest suspicion is that it happened when I was moving that big heavy table to the front of my workshop so it would be ready for the client to pick up Tuesday morning.  The pickup happened as scheduled, and while the table turned out beautiful, if I may say so, I'm glad to have it out of my life.

The pain was at its worst on Tuesday.  I did an easy paddle in the harbor with Joe, and while the injury didn't directly hamper my paddling, I could nevertheless feel it, and I worried about how it would affect me in the more challenging conditions of the Columbia River Gorge next week.  Not knowing whether the condition was a short-term thing or a long-term one was the greatest cause of anxiety.

Now, two days later, I'm feeling optimistic.  By yesterday morning I could tell that the pain had abated some, and even though it's not gone yet today, I believe it's moving in the right direction.  I've been taking ibuprofen since Tuesday, and I think it's helped.  This morning I did a set of ten 12-stroke sprints at two-minute intervals, and even at maximum intensity the injury didn't bother me.

Also this week I did rounds of the strength routine Monday and Wednesday.  Now, I intend to take the next three days completely off from training activities--that was the plan even before this injury occurred.  I'm in for a lot of hard paddling all next week on the Columbia River, so I think a planned break now is a good idea.

The thoughtful folks at Outdoors, Inc., knew just what I needed for my trip: a neon-yellow hat that will be highly visible out in the Gorge and, I hope, save my head from being taken off by a kiteboarder or windsurfer:

Company president Joe Royer delivered it himself.  I'll wear it with pride!


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