The cold spell continues, and it looks like it won't be until the middle of next week that the weather takes a turn for the warmer. Now that Daylight Saving Time starts several weeks earlier than it used to, I tend to think spring should be arriving earlier as well, but the reality is that it's still just mid March. One ritual I look forward to every spring is giving all my winter gear a good washing and putting it away for the year, but over the years I've learned it's not safe to do that until at least the beginning of May. So for now I'm trying to put that out of my mind and bundle up for the conditions at hand.
After a gym session Tuesday morning, I headed down to the river. The presence of some sunshine made it a somewhat nicer day than Sunday had been, but once again there was a north breeze blowing, and it was some ten degrees colder. Fortunately I could stay in the harbor for my workout. With a race coming up a week from Saturday, I've got some hard work on tap for this week. After warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I embarked on a workout I first did with Dawid Mocke in South Africa in February of 2020: 10 hard strokes/10 easy strokes/20 hard strokes/10 easy strokes/30 hard strokes/10 easy strokes... and so on and so on until I'd done 100 hard strokes. This workout is a tough one and I was feeling it by the 40-hard-strokes piece. But at 15 minutes or so, it's one of the more "short & sweet" workouts. Once I'd finished the workout and paddled a 15-minute cool-down and returned to the dock, I'd spent just 50 minutes in the boat. That's the theme of the week: the intensity is going up, but the volume is going down.
I chilled out yesterday, and this morning I paddled for another 50 minutes. I wanted it to be not necessarily an easy paddle, but a relaxed one. But at the same time I wanted to focus on a crisp catch and strong power, and add some speed into the mix. Midway through my 50 minutes I did four 8-stroke sprints, except I stretched them out to 12 strokes so I could feel the sensation of paddling fast with the boat fully up to speed.
I got back to the dock feeling better than I'd felt when I started. I've got a bit more hard work planned for the weekend before I prioritize rest.
The aches and pains story hasn't changed too much. I've still got tight soreness in the right side of my neck and some occasional throbbing pain in my left forearm and biceps. My chiropractor has suggested it might be time for me to get an MRI, which I'm happy to do except for the likely fight that I'll have to wage with my insurance company. I shouldn't procrastinate too long, but I might let it wait until after I've got a race under my belt.
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