While driving through the Florida Panhandle back in 2005, I stopped and paddled on the St. Marks River. The river and its namesake town are situated south of Tallahassee.
Later this week I'll be driving through this area en route to the town of Dunnellon, site of my training camp on the Rainbow River.
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Following a round of my gym routine, I went downtown and paddled with Joe on a lovely Tuesday morning--the fourth or fifth Tuesday in a row with sunny, mild weather.
Much colder air was in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, so I returned to the river Wednesday. There was a stiff south wind blowing and rain was on its way, but the temperature was warm, headed for a high around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Out on the Mississippi there were some small waves that I tried to ride, and I was reminded that paddling out there in the wind means getting very wet. After being splashed with frigid water a few times I was disinclined to stay out there more than 15 minutes or so. I returned to the harbor and paddled a strong aerobic pace for the remainder of the hour.
Thursday and Friday were indeed unpleasantly cold, the temperature barely exceeding the freezing point. Though the skies were sunny, a howling north wind discouraged me from leaving the house. I filled my days with indoor activities, including a gym session Friday morning.
By yesterday the wind had shifted to the south and the high was supposed to be around 50 degrees. It had warmed up to 41 degrees by the time I got to the dock a little before ten o'clock. But that south wind made it feel quite a bit colder, and once again I got soaking wet in a hurry.
This morning I did another gym session and then headed out to paddle on yet another windy day. At least the warming trend was continuing, nearing 60 degrees by the time my 60 minutes in the boat was finished.
By the end of the week I plan to be paddling on the Rainbow River in Florida, and I expect I won't be quite so exposed to the wind there. As for the forecast, it looks just fine, though maybe not quite as warm as I tend to imagine when I think of sunny Florida. Right now the daytime highs are predicted to be in the 60s and low 70s, with overnight lows dipping below 40 a few times. Oh well, it's not like this is supposed to be a vacation--I'm going there to WORK!!!!
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Looks like I've got a halo in the sun-dappled environs of a mangrove tunnel along the southeastern edge of Everglades National Park. The year is 2005.
In less than two weeks I'll be back in the state of Florida, albeit much farther north. My training camp there will take place on the Rainbow River at the town of Dunellon, southwest of Ocala.
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I'm starting to get myself moving again with an eye toward 2021. One reason is the training camp in Florida that I mentioned last week: I've reserved lodging down there for January 1-10, and I need to get a bit of paddling under my belt between now and then so I'll be ready for the workouts that Chris has in store.
Another reason is that I've been watching the "Training for Surfski" video course that the Mocke brothers released this year, and I'm drawing some inspiration from that. While the course doesn't present too many ideas that I wasn't already aware of on some level--I've been doing athletic stuff for 40 years now, after all--I'm always interested in getting somebody's unique take on one topic or another. For instance, there are certain things I haven't really emphasized in my own training practices that I now believe deserve more of my attention after hearing the Mockes talk about it.
The weather hasn't been offering much motivational help lately: much of this past week has been overcast, wet, and cold. It would have been very tempting to skip paddling last Tuesday if I hadn't been committed to meeting Joe: skies were grey and a breeze was blowing while the Fahrenheit temperature hovered in the mid 30s. Once we were in our boats paddling it wasn't bad at all, but the time on the dock before and after wasn't fun.
The temperature was much the same on Thursday, but the sun was penetrating a partly cloudy sky, and it's remarkable how much difference that makes in my mood. I paddled for a relaxed 70 minutes both in the harbor and on the Mississippi.
I returned to the riverfront on Friday because Saturday was forecast to be a rainy, miserable day. This time I stayed in the harbor and did a brisk 60-minute aerobic paddle. For the "middle" 40 minutes (i.e., from 0:10 until 0:50), I aimed for a pace of 6.5 miles per hour. That made the session rather fatiguing, not because 6.5 mph is all that hard for me, but because of the extra concentration required when you're watching your G.P.S. device and constantly making little adjustments to stay at a certain speed.
The forecast didn't lie: yesterday was soggy and cold. I was happy to spend almost all day indoors. By this morning the rain had moved out, leaving behind a thick fog that hung low enough over the city that I couldn't see the tops of the tallest buildings downtown. The temperature was in the mid 40s. When I got to the dock I discovered that I'd forgotten to bring my watch with me, so I paddled "blind" in that respect. I wanted to paddle for 60 minutes, so I did a loop that I typically complete in that length of time.
I did rounds of my strength routine (which I think I'm going to start calling my "gym"--that's what the Mocke brothers call it and it's pleasantly concise) on Tuesday, Friday, and today.
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Sartorially, I've always been an earth-tones kind of guy. The main reason is that I don't care to draw a lot of attention to myself.
That was long the case when I dressed to go paddling, too. I preferred a dark PFD (black, usually), along with muted hues in my clothing.
In the summer of 2018, I realized that my traditional fashion sense presented a problem. That was my first summer to attend the Gorge Downwind race on the Columbia River at Hood River, Oregon, and during my first day on the water there, a friend "dressed me down," as it were. He exclaimed something to the effect of "Dude! I can barely see you!"
You see, the wind that blows through the Columbia Gorge attracts not only surfski racers but also windsurfers and kiteboarders. With such craft flying over your head as you paddle, it quickly becomes obvious why you want those folks to see you so they can avoid taking your head off.
And so, I invested in some brighter-colored gear while I was out there in 2018, including one of those neon-orange lifejackets offered by the Mocke Paddling Company. Since then I have acquired other hard-to-miss items, such as the Outdoors, Inc., shirt pictured above. The photo doesn't entirely do it justice, but that shirt is bright. When I wore it on very sunny days this past Thursday and Saturday, the glare off my sleeves was intense enough to be an annoyance. But I guess it's worth it if it saves me from being struck by a kiteboard or a windsurfer or some motorized craft.
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Paddling twice a week has been my routine in recent weeks. But a run of really nice weather lured me to the river three times this past week.
Joe and I did our regular loop of the harbor on Tuesday. Skies were clear and the temperature was in the mid 50s Fahrenheit. One might question how much training I get during these Tuesday sessions, but I consider them very important. They give me a chance to practice my strokes at a leisurely pace, and converse with a friend who knows the sport well, with whom I can discuss ideas for training and racing. It's also a chance for me to behold the many aspects of the harbor's environs that I might overlook during a harder workout.
By Thursday the weather was still sunny and had warmed up into the 60s, so I went downtown for a 60-minute paddle. A front came through Friday and yesterday morning it was some ten degrees cooler, but it was sunny and beautiful again, and I enjoyed another hour in the boat.
Both Thursday and yesterday there were barge rigs moving up the Mississippi just outside the harbor entrance, so I went out and surfed. As I've said before, towboat wakes aren't a perfect simulation of downwind conditions, but I think they're useful for working on a lot of skills. In these latest sessions I worked on prolonging each ride as long as possible by following the wandering "hole," keeping an eye out for a new run to link to. Even if there turned out not to be a new run, at least I reinforced the right habits.
I've been keeping up some strength work during this lull in "serious" training. After wrapping up the old routine Tuesday, I started a new routine Friday and did it again this morning.
As for the future, I have a training opportunity coming up in several weeks: long-time racing friend Chris Hipgrave is organizing a training camp on the Rainbow River at Dunellon, Florida, to which he's invited racers from primarily the southeastern U.S. Chris plans to be down there from December 29 through January 11, and athletes will be coming in and out during that period, depending on what their schedules will allow. I'm still pondering how long I can be away from home, but I hope to make it for most of that period. Updates to come...
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I've changed up my strength exercises again. Here's what I plan to do for the next little while.
1. Front and lat raises
2. Ab-wheel exercise (demonstrated in this video)
3. Bent-over rows
4. Walking up stairs with dumbbells
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