The same arctic blast that had brought snowy, icy chaos to the northern parts of the country gave the Mid South a nice taste of winter, too: when I got up Tuesday morning it was about 22 degrees Fahrenheit with a light snow falling. After doing a round of the strength routine I headed down to the river, by which time it had warmed up to 26 degrees. The first chore on such a day is dealing with a frozen rudder. I put my boat in the water and paddled forwards and backwards near the dock for about five minutes before it finally came free.
The sun was out, but there was also a strong north wind blowing. I stayed in the northern half of the harbor where there is some protection from the wind because the city and its real-estate-developing chums haven't yet denuded the banks. I paddled easy while heading north and then surged once the wind was at my back. To be on the safe side on this frigid day, I didn't venture more than about a mile from the marina. I did a few backpaddling drills to work my opposing muscles and then called it a morning after 40 minutes in the boat.
By the end of Tuesday I was feeling pretty lousy: my throat hurt and it seemed I was back in the throes of the sort of illness I suffered both in June and last month. This time I didn't wait to see my doctor: I was in her office Wednesday morning. She checked me over pretty good and didn't find anything too alarming. She gave me a shot that was supposed to address the standard cold symptoms and sent me on my way.
By yesterday morning I still felt like I had a cold but the symptoms were subdued, as if the shot had indeed had an effect. My energy level was decently high and I felt fine as I went through another round of the strength routine. My plan had been to wait until today to return to the river, but I found myself with some spare time yesterday afternoon and I decided to go on down there. I do over 90 percent of my paddling in the morning and it always feels a bit strange when I go out in the afternoon: the sun is in a different part of the sky from where I'm used to it being, and most days I'm feeling more tired and sluggish in the afternoon. But once I'm in the boat and warmed up I usually manage to find a groove, and that was the case again yesterday. I paddled for 60 minutes at moderate intensity. The temperature was a balmy 46 degrees, and the wind was light--pretty ideal for paddling, really.
This morning I'm still feeling reasonably good and I'm hopeful that this bug I've got is nothing more than a common cold. As I've said before, my main goal for November is to get a routine re-established as a springboard for harder training in December and January.
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