Down time

I've been getting in the boat just a couple of times per week for the last couple of weeks.  I've been attending to some things in my non-athletic life, and I'm also just ready for a break.

Taking a training break sort of rubs up against my regimented nature.  When I allow myself to think about it too long, I'm tormented by ideas of deteriorating skills and lost muscle tone and the specter of "lagging behind everybody else."  But the fact is that the body just can't perform at a high level every day for years on end.

I've come back from every break I've taken in years past, and I need to relax and be confident that I will again this year.  Next year's race season looks to be somewhat busier than this past year's, but probably not back to a full slate of events--even if the coming vaccines are every bit as good as advertised, it will take the better part of 2021 for them to be administered to the general population and for true "herd immunity" to develop.  And so, it's not like there's anything right around the corner that I have to be in top form for.  Really, it won't be until June that I'd really like to be rounding into shape, with the hope that the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race and the Gorge Downwind Championships will be able to happen again.

So there's plenty of time.  And I have no shortage of activities--some vocational, some purely hobby--to fill it.

This past Tuesday I did a round of my strength routine.  Then went to the river to join Joe for a loop of the harbor, and I felt as tired in the boat as I can ever remember.  What's usually a relaxed session felt like a chore from start to finish.  The strength work I'd just done was part of the reason, but there was also a general weariness in my bones.

On Friday I did another round of the strength routine and then got back in the boat down on the riverfront. I felt a bit more energetic this time, and did a steady loop out on the Mississippi.

Sooner or later I'll be champing at the bit to get back at it for real, but until then, I hope I can savor the lighter load.  One thing I plan to do this offseason is check out the Mocke brothers' new video course on surfski training; I purchased it last summer but haven't gotten around to watching it yet.  I hope it'll give me some fun new ideas when the time comes to ramp up a new season.

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