On Monday I received my second of the two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shots. I understand that it'll take a couple more weeks for the concoction to reach its full effect, but it feels good to have jumped through the last hoop en route to "fully vaccinated" status.
The concern now, at least in my country, is the number of people who remain unvaccinated. If we don't get the critical percentage of the population vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, then viral transmission will continue at a level that facilitates the development of variants that might break through the vaccine. And that affects me and the millions of others who have done right by their duty as citizens of this nation and this world. If you're refusing to get vaccinated on the grounds that it's "your right" or "your personal choice" or whatever, stop it. Seriously. Your behavior is a very real threat to the health and well-being of others.
I spent the rest of Monday sitting around waiting to see what the after-effects of my shot might be. I think most people have had no major problems, but I do know a handful of people who felt quite ill for a day or more after that second shot. It appears that I have gotten off light: all I ended up having was some soreness and some itching in my left deltoid area where I got jabbed.
On Tuesday it was time to get back down to business on the water. Maks promises that this new training cycle will put an emphasis on power-building. He started me off with one of his bread-and-butter sessions: three sets of (5 minutes at 60 strokes per minute/4 minutes at 64 spm/3 minutes at 68 spm/2 minutes at 72 spm), with a minute rest between the pieces and 2 minutes between sets. I felt fresh and ready to go after last week's light training load.
We'd had a few days of deliciously warm weather, but by yesterday morning that was over. It started raining not long after I woke up, and the temperature didn't rise above 60 degrees Fahrenheit until around lunchtime. Most of my paddling session would take place in a steady light rain. The workout was two sets of three times (2 minutes on/2 minutes off) at 76 spm with moderate resistance on the boat, and then two sets of three times (1 minute on/3 minutes off) at 76 spm with heavier resistance. For moderate resistance I used two golf whiffle balls, and then I slid a third ball down beneath the boat for the heavier resistance. The pieces were quite taxing, but I recovered quickly from each one and felt reasonably fresh for the next one.
The daily high temperatures are expected to stay in the 60s until the middle of next week. That's really not bad at all even though it's not quite the beach weather we've been having recently. This morning was sunny and beautiful despite a stiff wind blowing from the north. I went out and paddled for 60 minutes in the A1 stroke rate zone. Maks said to make it a "moderate to strong" session, and I think I did that. I did a nice loop out on the Mississippi, where you sort of have to paddle strong at times just to get where you want to go.
So far I'm feeling great. Some heavy-duty work awaits this weekend.
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