Fun with A.I.

Keeping this blog updated is a lot of work.  With the remarkable advancements occurring in the field of artificial intelligence, I wonder if I can't lighten my load a bit.  I visited "ChatGPT" and created an account, and began to explore what A.I. can do for me.

Could this technology really write my blog posts for me?  As a prompt, I typed in "Write a blog post for My Training Blog by Elmore in which the author paddles for 60 minutes on the Memphis riverfront." Here's what I got:

Paddling on the Memphis Riverfront: A Refreshing Experience

If you're looking for a new way to get some exercise and enjoy the beautiful scenery in Memphis, then paddling on the riverfront is a great option. Recently, I had the opportunity to paddle for 60 minutes on the Memphis riverfront and it was a truly refreshing experience.

First, I made my way to the riverfront and found a kayak rental shop. I rented a kayak and set off down the river. The weather was perfect, with clear blue skies and a gentle breeze blowing. As I paddled, I was surrounded by the natural beauty of the river and the city skyline. I couldn't help but feel a sense of peace and tranquility as I glided along the water.

The riverfront is a great place to paddle, as it offers a variety of sights and sounds. I saw a wide variety of birds and other wildlife, including great blue herons and egrets. I also passed by several boats and even saw a few people fishing. As I paddled, I felt the workout in my arms and shoulders, but it was a great way to stay active.

After 60 minutes, I returned to the rental shop, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Paddling on the Memphis riverfront is a great way to get some exercise, enjoy the outdoors, and take in the beautiful scenery of the city. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new way to stay active and explore the city.

In conclusion, Paddling on the Memphis Riverfront is a great way to explore the city from a different perspective and also a great way to stay active. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an [sic] unique way to enjoy the outdoors.

Hmm, okay... not bad. But as far as I know there's only one place on the riverfront where you can rent kayaks, and it's shut down for the winter, so I couldn't pass off this post right now. And of course regular readers know I've already got a boat. I tried another prompt: "Write a blog post for My Training Blog by Elmore in which the author paddles out onto the Mississippi River and surfs the wake behind a barge rig." The bot responded thusly:

Surfing the Wake on the Mississippi River: A Thrilling Adventure

If you're looking for an exciting and unique way to get some exercise and explore the Mississippi River, then surfing the wake behind a barge rig is definitely worth trying. Recently, I had the opportunity to paddle out onto the Mississippi River and surf the wake behind a barge rig, and it was an unforgettable experience.

First, I made my way to the river and found a suitable barge rig to surf behind. I paddled out behind the barge and positioned myself in the wake. As the barge moved, it created a large wave, which I began to surf. The experience was thrilling and exciting, as I felt the rush of the water beneath me and the wind in my hair. I felt my heart pounding as I rode the wake and it was a great workout for my core and legs.

Surfing the wake on the Mississippi River was a great way to experience the power and beauty of the river. The Mississippi River is a lifeline for many communities and cities along its banks, and it is also a great place for recreational activities like wake surfing. The wake surfing behind the barge rig also allowed me to see the river from a different perspective, as well as the different types of boats and ships passing by.

After a few runs, I returned to the shore feeling exhilarated and energized. Surfing the wake on the Mississippi River is a great way to get some exercise, challenge yourself, and explore the river in a unique way. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting and different way to stay active and enjoy the great outdoors.

In conclusion, wake surfing on the Mississippi River is an exciting and unique way to experience the power of the river and get a good workout at the same time. The different perspective of the river and the rush of the water are a great way to explore the river while having fun. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure and a different way to enjoy the Mississippi River.

Wow... the wind in my hair! It's never even occurred to me to share sensations like that here. Okay, let's try one more. How about one in which I do a specific workout. Here's my prompt: "Write a blog post for My Training Blog by Elmore in which the author does a workout designed to increase the power in his stroke." This time it took noticeably longer for the bot to come up with something. I sat and watched the blinking black box for at least a minute before it finally generated this post:

Increasing Power in Your Stroke: A Comprehensive Workout Plan

As a paddler, one of the most important aspects of your sport is the power of your stroke. A powerful stroke will not only make you faster on the water, but it will also help you navigate through choppy conditions and currents. In this post, I will be sharing a comprehensive workout plan designed to help increase the power in your stroke.

The first exercise in this plan is the kettlebell swing. This exercise will work your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles, all of which are important for generating power in your stroke. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a kettlebell with both hands. Swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height, keeping your arms straight and your core engaged. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.

Next, we have the dumbbell row. This exercise will target your upper back and lats, which are also important for generating power in your stroke. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Bend forward at the hips and keep your back straight, then row the dumbbells up to your sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.

Another great exercise for increasing power in your stroke is the medicine ball slam. This exercise will work your core and upper body, helping to increase the power of your upper body rotation. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a medicine ball with both hands. Raise the ball overhead and then slam it down onto the ground as hard as you can. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.

Finally, we have the deadlift. This exercise will work your legs and lower back muscles, which are important for generating power in your stroke. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a barbell with both hands. Lower your hips, bend your knees and grip the bar with your palms facing your thighs. Keeping your back straight, lift the bar by extending your hips and knees to a standing position. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps.

In conclusion, increasing power in your stroke is essential for any paddler looking to improve their performance on the water. This workout plan includes exercises that will target all the major muscle groups involved in paddling, including your glutes, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, lats, and core. Incorporating these exercises into your training routine will help you generate more power in your stroke, making you a faster and more efficient paddler.

I was hoping for an in-the-boat workout, actually... but hey, who am I to second-guess ChatGPT? Maybe I should be doing exactly what the bot has suggested.

Anyway... what do you, the readers, think? Should I let an A.I. bot write all my blog posts from now on?

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

Alessia Faverio, Cam Thacker, and Royal McDonnell settle into a two-hour training paddle on the Rainbow River at Dunnellon, Florida, back on January 5.  Dunnellon is located in central northern Florida, 24 miles southwest of Ocala.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Just trying to stay in motion

Yesterday I paddled a moderate-to-strong 60 minutes in the harbor.  I kept the stroke rate low and tried to put good power into each stroke, sort of like the sessions I did on Tuesday and Wednesday of my week in Florida.

It was cold yesterday--around 34 degrees Fahrenheit--but the sun was out and the wind was light, so once I was in the boat it really wasn't bad at all.  It reminded me of the last couple of mornings in Florida, when we had very nice paddling conditions despite chilly temperatures.  The only reason that it wasn't just as nice as that yesterday morning is that the water is cold in the Mississippi River and the harbor, while the spring-fed Rainbow River is around 72 degrees all year long.

I'm feeling a bit tired and my left arm still hurts, and since returning home I've just been trying to keep something going until I've fortified myself for another good training block that will build on the one in Florida.  One question I'm occasionally asked is "If your arm still hurts, shouldn't you just be resting?"  My answer is that I've tried that.  After coming home from the Columbia Gorge race last summer I pretty much shut down for a while, and saw no improvement in my condition.  I really don't think paddling is what caused my arm woes, and the ailing muscles don't seem directly involved in the act of paddling, so I feel pretty confident that I can continue at least a moderate level of paddling while I keep searching for relief.

This morning it was cold again, but sunny and forecast to rise into the 50s.  Once again I used the memory of those cold but lovely mornings in Florida as motivation to get down to the river.  It was breezier today, meaning that it wasn't quite as nice on the river as yesterday even though it was some 10 degrees warmer.  But it was fine.  I did another steady 60-minute paddle in the harbor.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Training camp memories

Here's a short film I put together to commemorate last week's training camp experience.  We're on the Rainbow River at Dunnellon, Florida.

The reason the music is so good is that I played it myself!

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Trying to settle in back home

I got in the boat Tuesday morning and paddled a calm 60 minutes.  I tried to focus on a good catch like I had done in our workouts at training camp late last week.

The Mississippi River was up to 16.5 feet on the Memphis gauge Tuesday, and of course it carried its usual sediment load and was nothing like the clear-as-a-bell spring-fed Rainbow River.  Oh well... I'm always preaching at people to paddle whatever water they've got.  They'll grow to love it and they'll have a keener appreciation for what's different about the waters they visit in their travels.

In fact, I'm very glad to be back home.  But of course, being back home means being back with all my real-world responsibilities and the attendant duties and chores.  Since getting home I've had a long to-do list to deal with, partly catching up on things I neglected while I was away, and partly rectifying problems I created during my trip--most notably the disabled driver's side door handle on my car.  Yesterday we had very un-January-like sunshine and Fahrenheit temperatures in the high 60s, and I felt like I needed to be out paddling or riding my bike or something like that, but I was simply too busy with nuisance stuff.  I kept reminding myself that this is supposed to be an easy week to recover from the stress of the training camp, but I hated not to take better advantage of such a nice day.

It was still in the high 60s this morning, but the voices on my radio told me that the temperature would be dropping throughout the day.  So I had the motivation to get on down to the riverfront as early as I could.  My car's temperature display told me it was 66 degrees when I got down there, but as I walked down to the dock there was a swirly breeze blowing, gradually shifting from south to north, and I could feel a chill in the air that would only get sharper as the day went on.  I did another 60-minute paddle, keeping things mostly easy but dialing up the power in a few short pieces to give my muscles a taste of what we worked on in Florida last week.

My car told me it was 62 degrees as I came back home.  Now it's the mid afternoon and we're down into the mid 40s with wind and rain.  The next couple of days promise to be more what one would expect here in January, but more unseasonably warm weather is forecast for next week.

My left arm continues to hurt.  I can paddle with no major pain, but the discomfort makes the rest of my life feel like a struggle.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

I really wasn't planning to lift one of Steph Schell's photos from social media for a second week in a row, but I just couldn't resist this one.  The Rainbow River was absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning as we put our boats in the water and prepared for our time trial, and Steph took this photo at KP Hole County Park.  The Fahrenheit temperature was in the high 30s, and the fog over the 70ish-degree water was so dense at times that it was hard to see more than ten feet ahead as we paddled up to Rainbow Springs.  The springs is a pretty place all the time, with large swaths of the phosphorous-rich bedrock showing through the marsh grasses, but with the weather conditions we had Saturday morning, it was hauntingly beautiful.  I was sorry to have to start my time trial and leave the place.

I'm back home in Memphis now, and while I love my home water on the Mississippi River, at the moment I'm missing that crystal-clear spring-fed river in the Sunshine State.

I did in fact shoot some photos and video of my own this past week, and I'll be sharing some of that here as soon as I get a chance.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Some muscle-burning workouts followed by a time trial

As training camp in Florida continued Thursday morning, I found myself in a foursome with Cam, Alessia, and Royal.  We did a "calm to moderate" 120-minute paddle, and while the pace wasn't what I would call torrid, it was solid enough, and doing anything physical for two hours is sure to wear you out.  We paddled up the Rainbow river from Blue Run Park to Rainbow Springs State Park, site of the natural springs that feed the river.  Then we came back downriver, and had to continue past Blue Run Park and then paddle back up to fill out the two hours.

We were out of the boat Thursday afternoon, and I chose to do a mostly-leisurely bike ride.  I started on the Blue Run Trail, merged onto the Dunnellon Trail, and then, via a recently-finished connector, I picked up the Withlacoochee Trail.  I followed this path as far as Citrus Springs before turning around and coming back.

A front came through overnight and we had a very un-Florida-like temperature in the mid 30s Fahrenheit when I got up yesterday morning.  It had warmed into the mid 40s by the time I got to the river; I normally consider that quite chilly, but the sun was shining bright and there wasn't much of a breeze, so once I was in my boat it was surprisingly pleasant.  It helped that the Rainbow River's water is warm, too.

Yesterday morning's workout was a set of ten 4-minute pieces with 1 minute recovery; we had light resistance on our boats (just a rope), and did each piece at a stroke rate at or below 60 strokes per minute.  The idea was to feel the "catch" phase of each stroke, and put a lot of power into it.  The rope served to kill the glide to that every stroke had an enhanced catch on the water.  I started out with Chris H. and Royal and Cam; they quickly pulled away from me and I was all by myself for several pieces.  Then Chris N., who had started a few minutes after us, caught up to me and I focused on staying with him.  That made the workout more enjoyable, and it gave me a better feel for what I needed to do to keep my boat moving as quickly as possible.

The temperature had risen well into the 50s by the time we got off the water yesterday morning, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day by lunchtime.  When we reconvened for our afternoon session it was 68 degrees with plenty of sunshine.  The workout had a very similar focus to the morning's: Alessia, Royal, Chris H., Cam, and I did two sets of 6 x (2 min. on, 1 min. off) with moderate resistance (one golf whiffle ball) on the boat; then we took the resistance off and did two sets of 4 x (2 min. on, 1 min. off).  The stroke rate with the resistance on was 60 spm, and once the resistance was off we raised it to 70 spm.

Just like in the morning, the workout demanded that we focus on our catch and put a lot of power into the early phase of each stroke.  It was a taxing workout, but I held up quite well.  Oddly, my success relative to my training partners went down a bit once we took the resistance off: with the resistance on I was faster than everybody but Cam and Chris, while with it off I was the slowest of the five even though I tried my best to work the same components of my stroke I'd been working with the resistance on.

I went to bed last night hoping I would recover enough to handle the final workout of the camp for me: a time trial from Rainbow Springs to the County Road 484 bridge next to Blue Run Park.  We met this morning at Blue Run Park, ran a shuttle to KP Hole County Park about five and a half kilometers upriver, and did a warmup paddle another two and a half kilometers to the springs.  The temperature was in the high 30s and a fog hung over the water.  Up at Rainbow Springs the river was especially beautiful.

Chris H. started first, followed by Cam, Alessia, me, and Royal.  I tried to get a good sprint out of the starting gate and then settle into a comfortable pace around 80 strokes per minute.  I've mentioned in the past how much more painful a time trial is than a head-to-head race: it's just you and the clock, without much in the way of distraction or diversion.  Alessia had started some 40 seconds before I had, and I kept my sights on her, knowing that reeling her in would be a slow process.

In the early going I struggled to move my boat much more than 11.5 kilometers per hour, but as time went on I started getting more help from the current and eventually was moving well over 12 kph.  (I've heard at least one person say that the Rainbow River flows around 0.9 miles per hour or 1.45 kph.)  Royal caught me about two kilometers in, and I was briefly able to ride his wake before he overtook me and pulled away.

The next several kilometers were the toughest mentally.  I kept focusing on Alessia, but when Royal caught her I think she got some good rides on his wake and increased her distance on me.  That was the height of the mental taxation for me.

I passed the sign marking the town limit of Dunnellon, located just barely over a mile from the finish, and I started to find a second wind.  I was moving the boat over 13 kph in the smoothest stretches of river, and I knew I didn't have much longer to endure the discomfort.  I imagined myself entering the harbor back home, where there's only about 2000 meters between me and the dock.

As I entered the final kilometer, Alessia seemed quite within reach.  I bore down and raised my stroke rate into the 85-90 spm range.  I inched closer and closer, but it soon became clear that she was a little too quick and the course wasn't quite long enough for me to catch her.  I crossed the finish line two or three boat lengths behind her.  My elapsed time was 39 minutes, 20 seconds.  My G.P.S. device measured the distance at 8.12 kilometers (just a hair over 5 miles).  Overall I felt good for having given the trial a good consistent effort from start to finish.

Officially, the camp isn't quite over yet: most of the other athletes are sticking around for another session this afternoon and two tomorrow.  But I've got to get back.  And I think it's been a productive experience for me in a variety of ways.  I wasn't as physically prepared for this camp as I like to be and it felt like a struggle at times, but the main objective was to beat ourselves down a bit so our bodies can recover and come back stronger in the coming weeks, and I think I accomplished that.  I just hope my body will respond well as I move forward, and that maybe these muscle pains will heal at last.

It was also good to renew some friendships and exchange some ideas with other athletes, and find some inspiration and purpose for this thing that we all like to do.  I still don't have a clear idea of what this coming race season will look like for me.  In my part of the country, there simply aren't many races anymore.  I expect I'll go to Ocean Springs at the end of March, and after that... who knows.  But the better my training base, the more numerous my options will be, and that's a big reason I decided to come on down here and put myself through this boot camp.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Worn out and locked out

I started Monday morning with a gym session.  It was the same one I'd been doing at home except for the bent-over rows because I hadn't brought any dumbbells with me.  Probably just as well for me not to do too much arm stuff after Sunday afternoon's hard workout in the boat.

After that I got on my bike and rode for about an hour.  The Air B&B I'm staying in is located sort of in the countryside between Dunnellon and Ocala, and I had a network of quiet country roads to ride on.  I saw a few signs advertising "Lots for Sale," so in another 50 years this area might be a dreadful suburban wasteland, but right now it's mostly piney woods and was a pleasant setting for my ride.  It was a gorgeous day, too: it had rained during most of my drive down here, and Sunday had been somewhat overcast, but Monday morning was sunny with a crystal-clear blue sky.

Yesterday morning we were back in our boats doing a steady 75-minute paddle.  Though the workout specified a low stroke rate (I tried to keep mine at or below 70 strokes per minute), the effort was supposed to be quite a bit more substantial than the easy session we'd done Sunday morning.  By the end of it my arms were feeling as achy as they've felt so far this week.

That made the outlook all the more painful for yesterday's afternoon session.  We did three 9-minute pieces at 10-kilometer race pace, or 80+ spm.  We started every 16th minute (in other words, the recovery interval was 7 minutes).  I tried to keep my rate right at 80 and just survive.  Actually, I held up okay through the first two; it wasn't until the last several minutes of the last piece that I felt myself falling apart.

Whatever the case, I was dead-dog tired, and with more tough sessions on the schedule, I headed for bed early last night and hoped I could somehow keep myself going.  One would think I'd have fallen fast asleep without delay, but, well, one would be wrong: I tossed and turned and couldn't nod off for at least two hours.

I managed to get reasonably rested, however, and I returned to the river for another hard, steady, low-stroke-rate paddle.  This one was only 60 minutes, but it was unpleasant enough.  To me, these sessions are much harder than ones like yesterday afternoon's: at least faster interval-type workouts get some endorphins going, whereas all these slow grinding workouts do is wear me down.  And of course, that's the point: you have to beat yourself down so the body can build itself back up during recovery.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

This afternoon's session was mercifully easier.  Intense, but not particularly taxing.  We did twelve short sprints starting every third minute.  The odd-numbered sprints were 20 seconds starting from rest, and the even-numbered sprints were 10 seconds with a moving start.  Not having sprinted or practiced any starts in many months, I felt incredibly rusty, but the workout felt good compared to all the other stuff we've been doing lately.

A torrential rain began to fall right at the tail end of our workout--part of the same system that apparently visited violent storms upon the South from Louisiana through Georgia.  But the biggest drama occurred back at the parking lot, where I'd locked my keys in my car.  Chris Hipgrave kindly made a run to the auto parts store and got one of those "slim jim" things that are supposed to trip the lock, but neither he nor Chris Norbury nor Cam Thacker could get it to do the trick.  Meanwhile, Cam and Alessia Faverio and Royal McDonnell and I were unsuccessful trying to wedge the door open enough to stick something in and push the "unlock" button.  In the end we called a locksmith, who (for a fee, naturally) accomplished in 30 seconds what we six paddlers could not over the better part of an hour.  He didn't do any actual locksmithing; he simply had better equipment than we did for wedging open the door and hitting that button.

Now the handle on the driver's-side door no longer works--somebody managed to mess that up while working the slim jim--and that's going to be a real hassle to live with for the rest of this trip.  But it's better than being still locked out of my car.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

I haven't gotten around to taking any photos at training camp yet, so here's one I poached from social media.  It's fellow camper Steph Schell, moments before she started a time trial on the Rainbow River Saturday afternoon.  I'm not sure who the photographer is, but I'm betting it's Chris Norbury.

The training camp continues from now until Saturday.  Most days this week are expected to see Fahrenheit temperatures in the 70s and low 80s.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

The training has begun

I arrived in the town of Dunnellon, Florida, yesterday in the late afternoon, and this morning I joined my fellow training campers on the Rainbow River.  A few of my companions had been here since the middle of last week and had a few brutal workouts under their belts already.  Fortunately the scheduled session this morning was an easy one: a calm 60- to 90-minute paddle.  I had no trouble blending right in with the group, but I knew that tougher tests were still to come.

Sure enough, there was a burlier workout on tap for this afternoon: two sets of 3 x (3 min. on, 3 min. off) with moderate resistance (one golf whiffle ball) on the boat.  The "on" pieces were to be done at an approximate 10-kilometer race pace, or around 80 strokes per minute.  The workout was definitely taxing, but I didn't feel in over my head.  Actually, I felt pretty good considering it was the first true in-the-boat workout I'd done since before the Columbia Gorge race last summer, and that was encouraging.

My arm muscles held up reasonably well, but I'm keeping my eye on them.  Tomorrow is an out-of-the-boat day (I'll probably do a gym session and ride my bike), so hopefully I'll be ready to paddle hard again Tuesday.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Hoping I'm ready for camp

My mother and I decided to come home Monday, and I'm glad we did.  I've had a bunch of nuisance chores to deal with this week, and with my departure for Florida scheduled for tomorrow, having an extra day to work with has helped a lot.

If we'd waited until Tuesday to drive home I'd have been hard-pressed to get even one paddling session in before leaving, but coming home Monday freed me up to do two.  On Tuesday I paddled for 50 minutes, and did three 5-minute tempo pieces with five minutes recovery in between.  I nudged the stroke rate up a bit with each one, and was pleased with how my body responded.  I was back in the boat this afternoon, paddling for 60 minutes in a steady drizzle, and felt more tired and sluggish.

I did a gym session before both Tuesday and today's paddles.

I've got another crick in my neck, and this one is a lot more stubborn than the one I had a couple of weeks ago.  That first one was in the left side of my neck, and the current one is in the right side.  It's making my everyday existence a lot less pleasant than it should be.  The aches in my left arm muscles continue as well.

But... I'm headed off for training camp anyway.  I hope my body will respond well and it will be a good experience.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

Since I've been in North Carolina this weekend I suppose a paddling photo from that state is appropriate.  This is from 1989, and I'm running a drop on the Cullasaja River near Highlands.  I don't think steep-creek paddlers had really discovered the Cullasaja yet, but my friend Randall and I were exploring the area, spotted this rapid that looked runnable, and grabbed our boats off the car.  Randall shot the photo while I took my run.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Holiday down time

The big winter blast arrived right on schedule Thursday afternoon, and the Mid South got quite a bit more snow and ice than I'd expected.  My mom and I had planned to leave Friday morning to spend the holiday weekend with my sister's family in North Carolina, but we decided to push our departure to yesterday.  By yesterday the streets of Memphis were still quite icy but Interstate 40 was totally clear.  The traffic wasn't bad and the trip was about as painless as a nine-hour trek can be.

Today, of course, was designed for a sedentary existence, but in the mid afternoon I managed to shake off the ennui of Christmas brunch and do a gym session.

We'll be heading back to Memphis either tomorrow or Tuesday... I'm not sure which.  If it's Tuesday then I'll spend tomorrow doing some rehab exercises and general self-care.

I guess my biggest news is that I'll be attending a training camp in Florida starting next weekend.  I'd been holding off on committing myself because of all my ailments and lack of any training intensity, but I've decided to give it a try.  It remains to be seen how my body responds, and I'm prepared to beg off certain workouts if I have too, but I hope that being around some fellow paddlers will enhance my enthusiasm and focus for the coming year.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Paddling and other exercise ahead of the Arctic blast

My left arm continued to hurt as the week got underway, especially the biceps area.  I woke up in the early hours of Tuesday morning and found it particularly painful and throbbing.

Once I was up later that morning, I did a gym session and was very mindful of how the ailing area responded.  The main exercise I'm doing that engages the biceps muscle is the bent-over rows, and I did that slowly with a moderate amount of weight.  I could feel some soreness in the muscle but the pain wasn't unbearable.

After that I went down to the river and paddled for 60 minutes.  As I've said before, I can feel the soreness while I paddle but the affected area isn't directly involved in paddling.  I actually pushed the intensity a bit for the first time in months: I did three long surges of some 1500 meters each; I kept the stroke rate low and just tried to put a lot of power into each stroke.  I didn't time myself.  Though I got a bit winded in each piece, I otherwise felt great.  The sun was shining and the temperature was rising toward 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and that added to the positive feelings of the session.

It was a reminder that for all the recent muscular woes I've been dealing with, I generally seem to have a lot more "giddy-up" these days than I had over the last couple of years.  I mentioned a while back that my weight is back up near 160 pounds, and I think that has something to do with my overall energy level.

With a Fahrenheit high in the low 50s, yesterday was the warmest day of the week, so I went out for a bike ride in the afternoon.  I did my usual 34-kilometer ride out the Greenline to Shelby Farms, around the lake there, and back home on the Greenline.  I spent the evening in a pleasantly-tired state.

Today Winter Storm Elliott and its dreaded "bomb cyclone" is exploding upon the entire nation, bringing blizzards and extreme cold to almost every state.  This morning the deep freeze hadn't arrived yet, and I took the opportunity to get in a paddle while the temperature was in the mid 40s.  There was a fine drizzle and a somewhat strong south wind, but it wasn't really a bad morning to paddle.

It's now mid afternoon and it still isn't so bad outside, but any time now the wind will be shifting to the north and the temperature will go into free fall.  By early tomorrow morning it's supposed to be about 4 degrees out there.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

Austin Kieffer of Asheville, North Carolina, competes in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials for whitewater slalom at Charlotte.  Photo by Jon Nelson.

These days Austin, who now lives in southern California, is much better known as an elite-level ocean surfski racer.  And he's part of the "expert panel" interviewed in my film A Paddler's Journey.  The film is available for free viewing for the entire month of December, and you can watch it here.

 For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

A weekend of struggles

I woke up Friday morning with a painful crick in my neck--the sort of thing you get when you sleep in a bad position, I think.  It sort of set the tone for my entire weekend.  Though the pain has gradually eased, I'm still having some discomfort as I write this, and it has a severe impact on my mood and my attitude toward my athletic pursuits.

Making matters worse is that the muscle ailments in my left arm that flared up badly in the middle of the week have continued through the weekend.  Earlier in the week I'd felt like I was making some real progress in that area of my body, but now it feels as bad as ever.

Friday was the worst day.  Somehow I managed to get through a gym session in the morning, but all day I felt like a hopelessly-falling-apart old man.  It was overcast and chilly most of the day and that added to the gloom.

Yesterday the neck pain had improved somewhat, and the sun was shining bright, so that helped my motivation as I headed down to the riverfront.  I had a reasonably good 60 minutes in the boat, though the arm and neck pain were a burden throughout.

This morning was rather frigid: the temperature dropped below freezing overnight, and according to the temperature display in my car, it was only 38 degrees Fahrenheit when I got down to the river.  In recent years I've gone into winter vowing to find some kind of out-of-the-boat activity for the freezing days, but the truth is that I enjoy paddling more than most other things, even when it's really cold.  It's actually easier to stay warm in my boat than, say, on a bike.  It was sunny again today and not very windy, so it was actually a lovely morning to paddle.

The arm and neck discomfort persisted, however.  As I've noted before, the ailing arm muscles don't seem directly involved in paddling, so they're more of a nuisance discomfort than a real impediment.  I just try my best to do the work with my core muscles and put as little stress on my arms as possible.  This morning's paddle turned out to be the most enjoyable activity of my weekend, so I'm trying to savor some kind of moral victory in that.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Lots of rain, a rising river, and persistent arm pain

I started up a new gym routine Tuesday morning.  I replaced the bench press I'd been doing with pushups, and instead of doing dumbbell rowing exercises chest-down on the stability ball, I started doing rows with a hand and knee on a bench.

There was heavy rain in the forecast for later in the day Tuesday--the same system that brought snow to the upper Midwest and some violent storms to Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma.  Ordinarily I'd have paddled in the morning, well before the rain's arrival.  But I had some nuisance bureaucratic stuff to deal with Tuesday morning, so I went out in the afternoon hoping I wouldn't get rained on like I had the previous Saturday.  It turned out I had nothing to worry about: the rain didn't move in until after 7 o'clock in the evening.  I paddled for 60 minutes, trying my best to use good stroke mechanics and get a comfortable cardio workout.  I went home feeling dead tired from all the paddling and lifting.

I believe the low-water woes on the Mississippi River are behind us for this season.  The rain that came through here on Tuesday moved on into the Tennessee River watershed, and now the Mississippi is forecast to reach 10.5 feet on the Memphis gauge about a week from now.

The rain continued through the mid afternoon yesterday before finally moving out.  Today we had our first sunny day in what felt like forever.  The trade-off was a temperature some 20 degrees lower than it had been.  When I went down to paddle this morning it was in the mid 40s Fahrenheit.  It was a little breezy as well, but the sunshine made it not such a bad day to paddle.  Unfortunately my left arm was really bothering me today in the biceps and forearm area.  Just when I think I might be healing at last, I have a really bad day in that department.  I don't know what to do besides keep doing my rehab work and keep moving and have faith that somehow I will get through this.  I certainly want to believe that there is some great paddling still ahead for me.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

When I paddled last Tuesday, this critter was on the bow of my boat when I put in from the dock.  She stayed there as I paddled out of the harbor and did a loop out on the Mississippi, and she was still there when I returned to the dock after an hour of paddling.  So I'd given her an outing, and I walked away from the dock feeling rather good about that.  I hope she was able to settle back into her domestic life once the boat was back on the rack.

Note: I'm merely guessing that this thing is a "she."  I actually have no clue about determining an arachnid's gender.

 For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Some soggy weekend training

It's gotten cooler this weekend after a particularly balmy week.  It's not really cold--the Fahrenheit highs both yesterday and today are in the 50s--but it's a noticeable change from the 70s we had back in the middle of the week.

One thing hasn't changed with the temperature drop: it's been raining a lot all week.  The good news is that most of the rain has moved eastward from here into the Tennessee and Cumberland River drainages, where it is having an impact on the level of the Mississippi River at Memphis.  This weekend the river has been flowing right at 3.0 feet on the Memphis gauge, and the latest forecast says it will crest later this week at 5.6 feet.  With more rain in the forecast, I expect that prediction will be revised upward.

When I got up yesterday morning I checked the Internet radar and saw a big mass of rain over to the west of Forrest City, Arkansas, moving in this direction.  I hoped that I could eat breakfast and do my other morning chores quickly enough that I'd be able to paddle before the rain arrived, but it didn't work out that way.  It was starting to drizzle as I left the house, and that built into a hard drizzle by the time I got to the riverfront.  Once I was in the boat, the rain really let loose.  I got poured on pretty good for all but just a few of my 60 minutes of paddling, and during that time the chilly north wind picked up as well.  So I was one cold, wet critter by the time I got back to the dock.  What's that I was saying a few posts back, about immersing yourself?  Yes, that's what I did yesterday.

The rain had pretty much moved out when I got up this morning, but it was still overcast and not expected to be much warmer than 50 degrees.  I pondered whether to paddle today, or ride my bike.  At this point in the year I'm still working on general fitness and not dead set on paddling-specific training, and since it wasn't raining I opted for the ride.  I was afraid conditions would be sloppy after all the rain, but the landscape had dried out some by the time I was on the bike.  The Greater Memphis Greenline drains well because it was built on a railroad bed.  Out at Shelby Farms the trails had some puddles, but they weren't hard to skirt.  So I wasn't badly splattered with muddy water when I got back home, and I had a decent cardio workout under my belt.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

How I'm feeling as winter approaches

I did a gym session Monday afternoon, and Tuesday morning I was back in the boat.  This has been a rainy week here in the Mid South, and on Tuesday I paddled in some drizzle and mist.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: wet, misty days might be the most beautiful I have experienced out on the Mississippi River.

As for the aches and pains in my left arm, sometimes I think they're doing a lot better and other times they continue to bother me.  My chiropractor recommended some exercises to do, and I think they have helped some.

All told, I've been feeling better about training in general lately.  A few weeks ago I posted here that even when you're feeling at your lowest it's important to do at least a little something--anything--each day, and string together some days and weeks of doing that something.  Now, here I am a few weeks later and I think that advice to myself is paying off.  I've been doing some gym work, some bike riding, some running, and some paddling, and with the exception of the running it's gone well and I'm feeling good about it.

I'll just add that my weight has come up again over the last couple of months: it had fallen into the low 150s and even the high 140s (that's pounds, for you international readers), and I was feeling weak and listless.  Now I'm back up in the high 150s, and feeling more energetic.  This is all anecdotal observation; I haven't kept meticulous records of my weight over many years.  So I don't know for sure that there's a genuine connection between what I weigh and how I feel.  But I do remember that when I was racing really well several years ago my weight was up, and in the last couple of years as I've felt not so in-the-pink, my weight has been down.  Take from that what you will.

Anyway... this morning I did another good gym session, and now I'm feeling good about it.  The endorphins are flowing.

 For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

As I mentioned in a post last week, my film "A Paddler's Journey" is now available for viewing.  This screening will last for the entire month of December.  You can watch the film here.

This past Friday evening I went out to see the guy who played all the music on the film's soundtrack.  Jason Freeman played his guitar and sang some tunes at the B-Side room on Madison Avenue here in Memphis.  Photo by Jonathan Finder.

 For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Aches and pains and chilliness and a marathon

I'm encouraged by the progress of my right Achilles tendon since I injured it on Thursday.  As of this writing it's still giving me some pain, but it's improved enough that I can walk more or less normally.  I've been giving it the heat/ice treatment, and I'm pretty sure it'll be fine in a few more days.  So I'm upbeat about that.

Whether I want to keep trying to run and risk more episodes of pain like this is another matter.  Maybe I just need to forget it and spend my time on lower-impact cross-training activities.  I never had any grandiose visions of resurrecting my competitive running career, after all.  But it sure would be nice if I could go out for a run when I feel like it, and look good and feel good while I do it.

On Friday morning I did a gym session at home, and then went down to the river and paddled for 60 minutes.  I could feel my ailing left arm muscles but was able to paddle just fine.  The best news I have on the arm/shoulder front is that my rotator cuff area has been feeling a lot better lately.  Certain movements that had been giving me pain for a long time are happening pain-free now.

When I got up Saturday morning the temperature was a pleasant 62 degrees Fahrenheit, but on the radio they were saying it would be dropping into the 40s as the day went on.  Saturday morning is typically a time for me to paddle, but on this day the big annual marathon here in Memphis had shut down most of the streets between my house and the river, so I decided to ride my bike instead.  I tried my best to get out while the temperature was still warm, but it was already down into the mid 50s by the time I was finally on the bike.  I headed west from my house and rode along segments of the marathon course.  In Overton Park I saw some of the better runners as they passed the 20-mile mark.  I think these people were on pace to finish around 2 hours 40 minutes, meaning that they were running just over 6 minutes per mile.  I can remember a time when I considered such a pace "slow," but those days are long gone.  On a quarter-mile track a 6-minute mile is made up of four 90-second laps, and based on my recent runs I think I would be hard-pressed to run one lap in 90 seconds.

Riding along the marathon course meant that my bike ride had to be a leisurely one.  There were places where I had no choice but to get off my bike and walk in order to stay out of the runners' and spectators' way.  I told myself not to worry about it, that there's nothing wrong with some leisurely exercise.

Yesterday morning the sky was overcast, and as I drove down to the riverfront my car's temperature display yo-yoed between 39 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit.  The bright side was that it wasn't windy.  I got in the boat and paddled for 60 minutes, mostly in the harbor.  My paddling sessions these days are mostly low-intensity, but I try to concentrate hard on good stroke mechanics and keep up some muscle memory.  Lately I've been feeling pretty good in the boat, and I think that if I can just find a solution for these arm muscle woes I could be paddling well again.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

A wet bike ride and another frustrating run

I started Tuesday with a gym session.  In case you're wondering what I'm doing for a gym session these days, it's bench press with dumbbells (using the stability ball in lieu of a bench), backups on the stability ball, dumbbell rows (chest down on the stability ball), and a lower abdominal exercise on the stability ball.

After that I went for a bike ride.  I usually paddle on Tuesdays, but this Tuesday morning the temperature was pleasant (mid 60s Fahrenheit), and rain was in the forecast for later, with colder temperatures to follow.  So I "let the weather be my coach" and chose the activity I least like to do when it's colder: ride my bike.

My one mistake was failing to check the Internet radar before I left.  I wasn't expecting rain until the afternoon, but in fact it was moving in right as I embarked on the ride.  By the time I was on the Greater Memphis Greenline it was beginning to drizzle, and a heavier cell moved through when I was almost out to Shelby Farms.  By that time there was nothing I could do but bear down and ride through it.  I was wearing just a light sweatshirt rather than something halfway rain-repellent, so I got drenched quickly.  Another heavy shower gave me a good dousing in the last mile before I returned home.

Oh well... no regrets.  I admit I've been a little squeamish about getting out in the cold here in this early stage of the cold-weather season, and in the summertime as well there are moments when I dread stepping out my door into searing heat.  But being an athlete means being willing to immerse yourself.  Even if you're not an athlete, I think some immersion in the cold or heat is part of a healthy life.  Indoor climate control is a very recent development in human history, and we've evolved to handle much harsher conditions than we think.

The good news for the greater Memphis area on Tuesday is that it was spared some severe weather that the same system inflicted farther south.  I understand there were some tornadoes in the corridor from Texas to Alabama.

My left calf muscle was feeling better by the middle of this week, and this morning I went out to try another run.  I still felt some soreness in the muscle, but it was not as bad as it had been a week ago, and running on grass seemed easier on it than the concrete sidewalk, so I ran on grass wherever I could find it.

I was feeling pretty good about my chances of making it the full 20 minutes this time.  But then, about 12 minutes in, another part of me rose up in protest: my right Achilles tendon.  I felt a shot of pain down there, and I stopped to stretch it gingerly for a minute.  Then I resumed running, and I was determined to keep it slow and easy, but my old pal Achilles simply wasn't having it.  He responded with a couple of sharp pops, and I knew right then that I was finished running for the day.  I was about a half-mile from home, and I limped the whole way.

I'm typing this just a short while later.  I've put an ice pack on the tendon, and at the moment it continues to hurt pretty bad.  Sigh... my body is so darn fragile when it comes to running.  Maybe I should let go of this idea of incorporating running into my routine... after all, a favorite saying of canoe & kayak athletes is "Runners don't paddle, so why should paddlers run?"  I'll just have to see how this thing feels over the next few days.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Now playing!

For me, 2022 began with the submission of my first feature-length film, "A Paddler's Journey," to the National Paddling Film Festival.  That adventure culminated in a "Viewer's Choice" award.

Now, here in the last month of '22, I'm making the film available for viewing once more.  You can watch it at this link during the entire month of December.

I tried my best to make the film encompass everything this blog is about.  I hope you'll want to have a look!  Thank you and thanks for following this blog.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

"The Doctor," one of the biggest races on the international ocean surfski racing calendar, took place on Saturday at Perth, Western Australia.  Pictured here are the top three men's finishers: Uli Hart (third place), Kenny Rice (first place), and Mark Keeling (second place).  All three are South Africans from the town of Fish Hoek, which I have had the pleasure of visiting twice.

In last week's photo feature I mentioned that Ana Swetish of the United States was favored to claim the women's Under-21 title.  On Saturday, she went out and did that very thing.  What's more, she was the third finisher among all the women in the race.  Danielle McKenzie of New Zealand took first place and Jemma Smith of Australia was second, just five seconds ahead of Ana.

In all, 439 boats finished The Doctor, making it comparable in size to the Gorge Downwind Championships event here in the U.S. that I have entered four times.  But I was struck by how much higher the quality of the field seemed to be at The Doctor: the fact that Ana Swetish was the 14th fastest overall racer in the Gorge last July, but only 60th overall at Perth, is just one piece of evidence.  I'd chalk that up to an ocean-sports-crazy culture in Australia that we just don't have an answer for in my country.

The complete results are posted here.  The summary article from which I lifted the photo (I think the photographer is Shane Myers) is here.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Testing what my ailing body will tolerate

I did a gym session Friday morning.  My left biceps and forearm muscles bothered me a lot--not necessarily during the exercises, but just in general as I went through my day.

My arm was still bothering me as I went down to the river to paddle yesterday morning.  I could feel the discomfort in my arm as I paddled, but the ailing muscles were not so directly involved as to impede what I was doing.  They bothered me a little more out on the Mississippi than they did in the harbor, so I probably need to steer clear of paddling in anything rougher than flatwater for a while.

What surprised me yesterday is that I felt as good in the boat as I had in a long time.  I felt energetic and motivated, and that's a feeling that's been elusive for me all year.

It was overcast yesterday morning, with a temperature around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  In the afternoon a system of rain moved in, and it rained for the better part of the night.  By this morning the rain was gone but it was still cloudy, and it was quite a bit breezier with a temperature not expected to rise above the mid 50s.

For most of this fall Sunday has been a bike riding day for me.  But on a blustery day I would rather paddle than ride, and considering how good I'd felt in the boat yesterday, I decided to go back to the river. Once I was underway I again felt good in terms of energy and mood.  But when I paddled out of the harbor onto the Mississippi, the choppy windblown water there put more stress on my arm, so I retreated to the harbor after just a couple of minutes.

The Mississippi was flowing at -3.0 feet on the Memphis gauge this morning.  The forecast says it will drop to about -5.2 feet by midweek, but then rise back to -3.2 feet halfway through the following week.  So even though the river is still very low these days, there's been enough rain in the watershed lately to keep it from going back toward that record low level of almost -10.9 feet.  I hope this is a trend toward wetter conditions in the Midwest that will return the river to a more bountiful version of itself.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

More paddling and biking and running

I did a gym session Tuesday morning, and then went downtown and got in the boat to paddle a mostly-easy 60 minutes.  My left biceps area bothered me again, but maybe not quite as much as it had Saturday.  After cresting at 1.48 feet above zero on the Memphis gauge over the weekend, the Mississippi had dropped back to an even zero when I was there Tuesday.  Right now the forecast has it continuing to drop for the foreseeable future, but I hope maybe some rain will fall in the watershed and change that prediction.

I left the river and went and got both a flu shot and a Covid-19 booster shot.  So far I've been lucky enough not to get too sick from the shots, and yesterday morning I had nothing worse than mild head congestion and a swollen gland in my right armpit (I got the shots in my right shoulder because of all the muscle woes I've had in the left).

It was nothing that was going to put me out of action.  My left calf was feeling much better and I considered trying another short run.  But a look at the weather forecast revealed that yesterday afternoon was going to be quite warm (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit) while today was going to be cooler with chances of rain.  I'd rather ride my bike in warmer weather and run in cooler weather, so I "let the weather be my coach," as Greg Barton had suggested, and went out for a bike ride yesterday afternoon.  I did the usual 34-kilometer loop out to Shelby Farms and back.  I'd love to have a couple of other courses to incorporate into my riding routine, but this is the only one easily accessible from my house on which I can get in some good distance with a minimum of motorized traffic to deal with.

It was indeed cooler and sort of rainy this morning.  I set out with the intention of doing a 20-minute run, but a short distance in I realized that my calf muscle wasn't as healed as I'd thought.  I tried my best to go easy on it, stopping a several times to do some light stretching on it or just let it rest for a minute.  In the end I probably didn't spend more than 12 or 13 of my 20 minutes actually running, and the running I did do was tiring--I just don't have the cardiovascular infrastructure I once did for that purpose.

My calf muscle didn't "pop" on me like it did last week, but it's very sore now.  I'm not panicked over it--it is normal, after all, to be sore when you start running again after a long layoff, and the calf muscles are where I've always had a lot of soreness as a runner.  But I'm going to have to proceed with caution.  I think getting back into some running is going to have to be a very slow, gradual process.

I'll just add that my left arm is really hurting these days, mainly in the biceps and forearm areas.  I'm sort of at a loss what to do about it.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

While chilly temperatures are settling in here in North America, spring is blossoming in the southern hemisphere, and in no place is the action hotter than in Western Australia, where a big week of surfski racing is in progress.  It'll culminate this Saturday with "The Doctor," one of the most prestigious events on the international racing calendar.  The Doctor starts at Rottnest Island and finishes on Sorrento Beach at Perth.

Only a handful of U.S. paddlers have made the trip "down under" to participate, and one of them is standing at the right end of this group of ladies.  Ana Swetish of Bellingham, Washington, is a contender for the Under-21 title in The Doctor.

Anybody who has seen my film "A Paddler's Journey" knows that Ana is part of my "panel of experts."  If you have not seen my film, I'm planning to make it available for viewing again very soon.  Stay tuned for further details.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Keeping it going

Yesterday morning I went down to the river for the first time in eight days.  On the Mississippi River, a lot can change in that length of time: the river had risen to about a half a foot above zero on the Memphis gauge.  That's a very low level, and yet it's more than 11 feet higher than it was a few weeks ago when the river dropped to the lowest level ever recorded at Memphis.  I found the marina fully afloat:

I could actually put my boat in the water from my own dock again:

(In case you missed it, this post shows what the marina looked like at near-record-low water.)

Such a radically-fluctuating water level is exactly why Memphis riverfront real estate developers hate the Mississippi River.  They look enviously at riverfront cities like Chattanooga (on the Tennessee River), Louisville (the Ohio River) and Little Rock (the Arkansas River): the river levels at those cities are dam-regulated and stay pretty constant.  Here in Memphis developers have resurrected a stupid idea that we though had been put out of its misery 20 years ago: they want to dam up the harbor (at the taxpayers' expense, I'd wager) to create a big lake that they can build high-priced lakefront communities on.  I suppose my marina would be removed, and even if it weren't I'd no longer be able to paddle out onto the river.  I've always believed you should take what nature gives you, but developers just don't think that way.

Anyway... yesterday was supposed to be bright and sunny according to the forecast, but it was overcast and a motivation-suppressing 38 degrees Fahrenheit when I got down to the dock.  The saving grace was that there was almost no wind, and the harbor was as smooth as glass.  As usual, the worst part of paddling on a cold day was the time on the dock; once I was in the boat paddling I became reasonably warm.

My left arm wasn't doing so well, though.  The biceps area in particular bothered me for the entire hour I paddled.  I tried to stay relaxed, keep the intensity moderate, and use the best stroke mechanics I could.

I left the harbor and paddled a mile or so up the Mississippi before turning around and coming back.  The sky was finally clearing by the time I was back in the harbor paddling back toward the marina.  The rest of yesterday was bright and sunny.

It was sunny again this morning, but cold.  It was around 35 degrees when I set out on a bike ride.  I rode the first few miles into a headwind, and I seriously considered doing a shorter ride than usual.  In the end, though, I sucked it up and did my usual 34-kilometer loop.  I had not exactly a tailwind, but at least less of a headwind for the ride back, and I'm sure the temperature had risen a few degrees by then, too.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

More on that winter routine

Three days after my truncated First Run In 20 Years my left calf muscle is still sore, but I think it's definitely improving.  Maybe by next week I'll feel ready to attempt another short run.

The chilly weather (low 40s Fahrenheit) weather we've been having is not fun to go bike riding in, but yesterday afternoon I found it in me to bundle up and ride out the Greater Memphis Greenline to Shelby Farms and back.  I did my usual 34-kilometer loop, riding around Patriot Lake out there before heading back.  The sun was shining, so that helped make it feel not quite so miserable.

Both Wednesday and today I did rounds of the gym routine I started on Monday, and that's starting to feel beneficial.

So, I feel like I've got something started.  I'm still trying to incorporate maybe one more cardiovascular activity: I'm interested in finding a rowing ergometer nearby that I can access without having to pay too exorbitant a membership fee.

Right now I think the most important thing is just to get something--anything--going.  After several months of sort of flailing around, trying to deal with motivation and energy level and aches and pains, I think it's more important than ever to have a solid routine that I can follow each day and feel good about.

In my last post I said that I didn't do anything athletic last weekend.  But by Sunday afternoon I was tired of sitting around feeling like a slug, so I decided to go out and do a little hiking in the Mississippi River bottoms.  I drove across the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge and parked in Big River Park, and hiked down to a big expanse of sand that was exposed on the inside of the big bend just downstream of the trio of old bridges.

There were a good dozen other people out on the sandbar, and at first I expected them all to have metal detectors: both our local newspapers had just run stories of interesting artifacts found by treasure hunters.  But as I walked closer I realized they were all just fishing.

Treasure hunters probably had been by in recent days, and I was expecting no miraculous discoveries of my own.  But I did see a couple of interesting things.  One was this scuttled fishing boat:

I think it had been mostly buried in the sand and silt, and then partially excavated by passersby during this current low-water period.

And then there was this thing: part of a winch, maybe?  Or of a towboat's engine apparatus?

These were the only things I saw out of the ordinary.  I can only imagine what artifacts there are buried beneath layers upon layers of mud down there.

The river level on Sunday was about 7.1 feet below zero on the Memphis gauge.  Since then the river has been on a big rise: it's forecast to crest this weekend about a foot above zero on the gauge.  That's still a very low level, but compared to what it's been the last month or so, it's going to look like an ocean of water down there.  I haven't been paying close attention to where it's been raining in the watershed, but my guess is that the remnants of Hurricane Nicole must have dumped enough rain on the west slope of the Appalachians last week to bring about this big rise.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Trying to get a winter routine going

Knowing it was my last chance to paddle in mild weather before much colder air arrived, I found the gumption to get down to the river Friday afternoon.  My body still feeling the effects of my struggle with the whitewater boat on Tuesday, I opted for the surfski and did a reasonably nice 60-minute paddle.

Friday evening I tuned in to Greg Barton's lecture.  Greg's suggestions for offseason cross-training didn't really include anything I hadn't thought of; he mentioned things like weight training, bike riding, running, and cross-country skiing (sadly not available where I live).  But he did give me some ideas of where to focus my strength training, and maybe the best thing he said was "I let the weather be my coach," meaning that if it's a particularly nice day when he'd planned to do an indoor workout, he'll go paddle instead.  I've behaved similarly myself, of course, but hearing a guy like Greg say it is always reassuring.

As if on cue, the weather turned blustery and much colder over the weekend.  I gave my body a break and spent time on non-athletic things.  Then yesterday I started a new gym routine that includes some arm and core exercises all done on the stability ball.

Also yesterday I took the bold step of buying a new pair of running shoes.  I was quite the serious runner back in high school and college, but up until now I think it had been some 20 years since I'd so much as gone for a run.  That changed today.  This morning I put on my new shoes, stepped out the door, and started to run.  I'd been wondering whether my body would even remember how to run, but I'm happy to say that it does.

I knew the important thing was not to bite off too much on my first time out.  And my body quickly chimed in with its opinion just a couple of minutes in: running was not going to be anywhere near as effortless as I remember it feeling in the prime of my competitive career.  I'd gone out thinking I'd run maybe 30 minutes, but I quickly scaled that ambition back to 20.  All those capillary beds I'd once built up in my running muscles are long gone, I realized.

I was headed back toward home, and then, about 14 minutes into the run, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf muscle.  I knew better than to push through it.  I stopped and walked the rest of the way.

I'm still feeling some pain there now, but it doesn't have the feel of a terribly serious injury.  I was thinking I'd do my next run Thursday or Friday, but now we'll just have to see how soon this thing heals.  Sigh... sometimes it seems like my body doesn't want to let me do anything these days.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

Monday photo feature

Get a load of this old relic.  25 years ago this was a cutting-edge slalom-racing design.  Now it's just my old beat-up slalom boat that I hadn't paddled for six years before last Tuesday.

I was worried about how my ailing left arm and shoulder would respond to whitewater-style paddle strokes, and it turns out I was right to be.  The pain in my shoulder/biceps area worsened, and I did something to my forearm as well.

I'd been flirting with the idea of getting back on some whitewater soon, but that plan is now on hold.  It's discouraging not to be able to do something that for most of my life felt as natural as could be.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.

):

The period that has passed since my last training-related post has been full of ups and downs.  Right now things are sort of down.  My left shoulder and biceps area has been acutely sore, and lately even my left wrist and forearm have been hurting some.

In recent months I've had thoughts of getting back out on some whitewater, but I don't know if my body will let me do that in its current state.  On Tuesday this week I broke out my old Superglide C1 that I raced slalom in from the late 1990s into the mid 2000s, and took it down to the harbor.  Forward paddling wasn't really a problem, but my left arm and shoulder didn't respond particularly well to draw strokes with the blade opened way up (I paddle on my left in a whitewater C1).  I finished 40 minutes of paddling feeling sore and discouraged.  I think part of the problem is that the boat's outfitting is the same as it was when I last raced slalom back around 2005, and my body has surely changed some since then.  I probably should find myself a more comfortable, more forgiving boat to paddle than this high-performance race boat, but that would involve some financial investment, and again, I'm not sure serious whitewater paddling is something I can do right now.

Today is the last day of pleasant, balmy weather before much colder air moves in, so it would make sense to paddle one more time today, but my body just doesn't want to do it.  I've actually done a lot of out-of-the-boat stuff this week: bike riding, rehab exercises, and some light weight work.  Today I'm feeling pretty tired from all that.

This evening Greg Barton is delivering an online lecture about wintertime cross-training.  I plan to tune into that and see what good ideas I might get.

For more information on what this blog is about, click here.