After a few dreary rainy days, the sun finally came out again Tuesday morning. Having been idle and/or feeling crummy for a few days, I was keen to re-inject some positivity into my athletic life. After some stretching and a gym session here at home, I headed down to the river. I warmed up and did three 8-stroke sprints, and then did twelve 30-second sprints starting every 3rd minute. I didn't have my cadence sensor with me, but I'm pretty sure I was doing between 90 and 100 strokes per minute during the sprints. It had been a long time since I'd paddled at that intensity level, and I found myself struggling a bit with the breathing. I tried to relax and keep my breath in rhythm with the effort, and of course I also focused on good hip rotation. I'd been working on that a lot during slower paddling sessions, but it takes practice to do it well going fast, too.
It was a fairly hard workout, but I felt good when it was over. It was chilly when I got down there, but I think it was over 50 degrees Fahrenheit by the time I finished, and paddling under a deep blue sky was just what the doctor ordered after the days of heavy rain. And I almost always feel good after a more intense workout--endorphins are a real thing, folks. I spent the rest of the day in an upbeat mood, and that should be motivation I need to keep a good training routine going with my first race of the year less than six weeks off.
The sunny skies and warmer temperatures continued yesterday and into today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and then get cold again, so I'm trying to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. This morning I paddled for 60 minutes, steady with a few surges. The hip rotation still isn't feeling entirely second nature, but it seems maybe a bit less uncomfortable than it used to be.
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