Balancing hard efforts with rest

Tuesday morning I did a gym session and then went to the river for a 60-minute paddle.  After warming up and doing three 8-stroke sprints, I set about a pace workout: three 1500-meter pieces, starting every 15th minute.  My times were 8:19, 7:36, and 7:27.  The reason the first piece was so slow is that I did half of it into a stiff north wind, and then when I reached the north end of the harbor I had to turn to head back south.  So I didn't think much about my time for the first piece.  My goal for the next two was 7:30, and as you can see I failed once and succeeded once.

It takes an average speed of 12.0 kilometers per hour to produce a 7:30 1500.  I feel like I should be able to maintain 12 kph for at least 5 kilometers, although I've heard many wise people in our sport say that one shouldn't focus on a specific speed or specific times because of all the many variables that impact a paddler's speed, including the wind and even the temperature of the water.  I try not to get too bent out of shape if I don't achieve a certain numeric goal, but it'd be nice if I could get myself in 12-kph form at some point this year.  On Tuesday I managed it just one time, with the help of a tailwind.  Back in June of 2020 I clocked 25:12 for an out-and-back 5K on flatwater (an 11.9-kph average), and I sure would like to believe I haven't slowed down that much in the less-than-three years since then.

I was very tired, both physically and mentally, for the rest of the day Tuesday.  With a race coming up soon I've gone to doing two higher-intensity sessions each week, and I'm needing a bit more rest as a result.  I took a break from training activity yesterday, and this morning I did just an easy 60 minutes in the boat.

Tuesday was the last of a stretch of warm days, and now the forecast features temperatures that are much more March-like, maybe even a bit below normal for March, for the next couple of weeks.  There's a lot of rain in there as well.  When I got to the river this morning it was just barely 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and I got rained on some while I paddled.  All told the conditions weren't bad, and I felt good in the boat, but as I said here a few weeks ago, I'll be glad when the sub-60-degree days are gone for good.

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