Some angst during my last week at home

The day before yesterday I had my final "Super Tuesday" effort of this training cycle.  As usual, it started with a run and a gym session at home.  Then I went to the river, got in the boat, warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and commenced the workout.  It was four 500-meter pieces, starting every 7th minute, paddling at 90 strokes per minute.  I was tired from the gym work and I could tell I wasn't feeling sharp, but some days that's just how you feel, and there's nothing you can do but push through it.  In the end I was reasonably satisfied with my efforts.  They were certainly consistent: my times were 2:22, 2:22, 2:22, and 2:25.  It would have been "deuces wild" if I hadn't faded a little on that last one!

I've enjoyed a nice endorphin rush after most of my workouts lately, but this time I was just flat-out tired as I put my boat away back on the dock.  At least the last hard day of the training block is under my belt.  I'm not sure the work I've done the last couple of months is ideal for a race of more than two and a half hours, but I've stuck with it and given it all I've had.

The weather this week hasn't been as hot as last week, but the heat index value has remained high.  In other words, it's humid and not much fun to be outside.  I think that's at least one of the factors making me feel a little sluggish and out of sorts right now.  Another is my rapidly approaching departure.  While I have had some truly wonderful experiences traveling the nation and the world, the truth is that I'm a homebody deep down, and I feel a lot of anxiety as I try to make sure arrangements are in place for everything that could crop up here in my absence.  I have pets that need food and love, a rental property that requires some attention, chores here in my own household... I worry about all that.

This morning I paddled the whitewater boat for the last time before I leave.  I'd been keeping it down at the marina, but now I've brought it home and I'm making sure all my gear is ready for my first whitewater paddling in some seven years.  The plan is to paddle the Pigeon River in east Tennessee next Tuesday.

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