An intense weekend

Down at the riverfront yesterday morning I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints in the harbor.  The soreness continued in my left biceps area, but the discomfort abated some as I got warmed up.

I paddled up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Wolf River, and then commenced my workout.  My plan was to do three or four 1000-meter pieces down the Mississippi, depending on how many I could fit in between the mouth of the Wolf and the entrance to the harbor.  Then I would do either one or two 500-meter pieces in the harbor (two if I did three 1000s on the river, one if I did four).

I would start a new piece every 7th minute.  For recovery I would paddle easy against the current in the hope of fitting in four 1000s.  My target pace for the 1000s was 20.0 kilometers per hour, good for a time of 3 minutes flat.  Of course, I knew there was a good chance I would fall short of that goal because of the whims of those river currents, but I would be happy if I could get close each time.

And I did: I got in four 1000s and my times were 3:04, 3:06, 3:02, and 3:08.  I was feeling some pain by the third piece, and the fourth one was the biggest struggle of them all, but I was able to paddle at a consistent intensity level throughout.  I tried to keep the stroke rate around 90 per minute, though at times I creeped up toward 100.

Back in the harbor I had one 500-meter piece to do.  Without any current helping me, I aimed to maintain 12.0 kph for a time of 2 minutes, 30 seconds.  For the first half of the piece I was up around 12.5 kph, but then the wind, which had been swirly all morning, shifted into my face and slowed me down below 12.0 kph.  In the end I finished right at 2:30, so I guess it worked out just fine.  It was the first time in quite a while that I'd done a workout that was really tough but not also demoralizing, and I paddled back to the dock feeling good about that.

My body felt good and tired and ready for a recovery paddle this morning.  I got in the boat and paddled easy toward the south, trying to stay as relaxed as I could.  When I reached the harbor's mouth I saw a barge rig heading upstream toward the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, and I decided I had just enough energy for some surfing.  By the time I'd ferried out there the rig was at least a quarter-mile upriver and the waves were small where I was, but with some patience I was able to ride some bumps here and there.  The sprinting took a lot out of me, though, and once I'd reached the HDB myself I turned back toward the harbor and headed for the dock.

And so this afternoon I'm really tired.  But with a complete day off scheduled for tomorrow, I think I'll get myself recovered.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.