The biggest news of this past week is the ice storm that hit the southern United States from Texas to Virginia. Here in Memphis it was nowhere near the worst ice storm I've seen, and I'm grateful for that. But it still managed to cause me some grief.
I've paddled in sub-freezing weather many, many times over the years. I think I've paddled when the temperature was as low as 16 or 17 degrees Fahrenheit. But at age 55 I've decided that those days are over. When forecasters announced an imminent ice storm at the beginning of the week, I planned to ride it out with perhaps some extra gym work but otherwise a bit of a training break.
Some freezing rain fell in the early hours of Tuesday, and much of the outdoors was coated in ice. I planned to stay in for the day. I fully intended to do a good, vigorous gym session that morning. But then one of the tenants of my rental property called and told me the central heat wasn't working over there. And just like that my plans were foiled as I ended up spending most of the day at the rental property while a repairman groped around trying to get the system running right again. The infuriating thing was that there was nothing wrong with the actual heating machinery; the problem was with the electronic components that make the machinery respond to whatever instructions the user types in at the thermostat. That's pretty much how all modern machinery works.
The repairman installed a new control board (at no small expense to the author), and I expected the problem to be fixed right then and there. But my optimism was short-lived. One hour after another slipped away while the repairman fussed and fussed, trying to get the electronic components synchronized so the system would click on and off when it was supposed to. One thing I'd discovered on the drive over there was that the streets weren't bad, but more precipitation was on its way, and my mood became increasingly sullen as the repairman labored away with no apparent success. I'd thought about running to the grocery store for a few key items while the streets were still clear, but I eventually realized that was not going to happen.
By the early afternoon the freezing rain had arrived, and I could see the streets worsening by the minute. My tenant got home from work in the mid afternoon, and since I'd already paid the repairman I took my leave so I could get home before the conditions got any more dangerous than they already were. Slipping and sliding the couple of miles home, I felt as though my entire day had been wasted. I had accomplished exactly zero of the things I'd hoped to do, and I went to bed that night thoroughly defeated.
By Wednesday morning the streets were covered in new ice. This time I did manage to stay in all day. I did that gym session I'd been so keen to do on Tuesday. Yesterday the temperature eclipsed the freezing point ever so slightly--I think the high for the day was 33 degrees--and the ice began to melt. By the end of the day the streets were mostly clear.
The sun finally came out this morning, and the temperature was predicted to rise into the high 30s. I did another gym session and then headed for the river. It was still slightly below freezing when I got down there, and though quite a bit of melting had taken place yesterday, a lot of ice remained, and the ramp down to the marina looked like this:
I walked on the ground next to the ramp until I reached the water, where the ramp becomes level. Then I climbed up onto the ramp and navigated its icy surface the rest of the way. The ropes that I use to tie my boat to its rack were still coated in ice, and it took much effort to get the knots out so I could get my boat down.
At last I was on the water, and I beheld a lovely view of ice-coated trees along the banks glistening in the sun. After a 10-minute warmup, I commenced my workout: 10 x (4 minutes on, 1 min. off) with a light resistance (just a rope) on the boat. I did each piece at no greater than 60 strokes per minute. Like all these resistance workouts I've been doing lately, the objective was to get a good catch on the water and apply strong power.
In a normal week I'd have done this workout on Saturday. But since I'd already done a gym session this morning, I decided to make this an ultra-strength day so I can do more relaxed paddling tomorrow and Sunday.
The thaw continues outside as I write this in the afternoon. There's still a lot of ice in the trees, but with tomorrow's forecast calling for a high in the 40s, I expect it'll be just about gone by the end of the day.
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