I started up a new gym routine Tuesday morning: some oblique abdominal exercises and some lunges with dumbbells in addition to the rotation drills I'd already been doing.
After that I went down to the riverfront to paddle on a lovely calm sunny morning with the temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and rising. I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then did a workout of nine times (2 minutes on, 2 minutes off). During each "on" interval I aimed to paddle at 75-80 strokes per minute; I tried my best to synchronize my hip rotation with my leg drive and use my arms as little as possible to pull the paddle, instead letting my torso follow my hips. The workout was a tough one. I was feeling it in my quads, and the lunges I'd done earlier were probably part of the reason for that. By the third or fourth interval I was wondering if I could really get through all nine. But I focused on one piece at a time, and soon enough it was over. Back on the dock I was exhausted but savoring the endorphin rush.
The warm temperatures continued yesterday, but the wind picked up, too. By the time I got to the river this morning there was a rather ferocious south wind blowing. I paddled right into the wind until I was at the mouth of the harbor, and gazing out over the Mississippi I saw some pretty legitimate downwind conditions--not Miller's Run caliber or Columbia Gorge caliber, but decent rideable stuff nevertheless. Unfortunately, I just don't feel entirely safe going out there on days like today. The water is cold this time of year, and a flip while paddling by myself could put me in a situation I really don't want to be in. So I stayed in the harbor, and that's definitely one of the downsides of living in a place where paddling companions of any kind are hard to find, let alone ones with the interest in and aptitude for downwinding. In the harbor the waves were about as big as I have ever see them there, but not full-fledged downwind conditions. Still, I've heard the Mocke brothers say many times that a paddler can get help even from small bumps, so I looked for patterns and worked a variety of angles on them.
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