The pep in my step is slowly returning

On Tuesday I did a round of my new strength routine and then headed downtown to paddle a loop of the harbor with Joe.

I'd visited my chiropractor on Monday and she did some work on my neck area, where I'd been experiencing discomfort all weekend.  But the pain has continued--it's not as intense as before, but it still nags at me.

Nevertheless, by yesterday I was feeling energetic enough for some greater intensity in the boat, and what ensued was the most enjoyable and satisfying paddling session I've had in a while.

I warmed up and did a set of three 8-stroke sprints, and then paddled out of the harbor hoping to find some wavy fun on the Mississippi.  What I found was an upstream-moving barge rig that was passing beneath the Hernando DeSoto Bridge.  I surged hard upriver for maybe 1000 meters along the Tennessee bank to gain as much ground on it as I could.  Once I was a short distance above the bridge I ferried out to catch as much of the towboat's wake as possible.  I was a couple of hundred meters behind the barge by the time I got out there, and the waves were beginning to diminish, but I managed to get a few brief rides.  As the commercial vessel moved more and more distant, I hung out to see what might develop.  Barge wakes do some funny things: they'll die down to nothing but then rally with a set of well-defined waves; or they'll wander back and forth across the river so that one moment they're on your left, and the next they're on your right.  I've learned to hang tight and see what "comes to me," and a couple of times something good did come.

Meanwhile, there was another barge rig coming downriver.  So I waited and then fell in behind it.  The water was boily and confused, partly because the pilot was sweeping out an arc as he maneuvered beneath the HDB, and my challenge was to react to the rapidly-changing conditions beneath my boat.

As I played around with that I looked downriver and saw yet another rig coming upstream.  So I rode the conditions behind the down-bound vessel just below the HDB and then paddled over to see what I get from this newcomer.  Here I found the morning's best conditions by far.  I was able to link runs together several times and watch my speed increase with each successful attempt.  And so once again I made the best of things even though I don't have a Miller's Run or a Columbia Gorge in my backyard.

I returned to the harbor and paddled back to the dock with a pleasant fatigue seasoned with endorphins and a bit of adrenaline.  Moments like that are a huge part of why I paddle.

Today I did another round of the strength routine.  It seems likely that at least some of my weekend paddling will take place in the rain, as the remnants of Hurricane Delta are headed this way as I type.

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