Keeping it going in nice and not-so-nice weather

The arm pain hasn't been so bad this week, probably because of the ibuprofen I've been taking.  I'm trying to stay on top of the stretching and rehab work.  Meanwhile, I've got some bad soreness in the right side of my neck: this has been a problem just in the last month, and it doesn't seem to want to go away.

I started Tuesday morning with some gym, and then went down to the river to paddle for 60 minutes.  I warmed up and then, for the first time in what seemed like forever, I did a set of three 8-stroke sprints.  After that I paddled steady with one surge of 3-4 minutes.

It was cool but sunny and lovely Tuesday morning.  Clouds were moving in by the time I got home from the river, however, and it rained a good bit Tuesday night.  Yesterday was just the sort of raw, blustery day that makes a person despise winter.

I was hoping that today would be better, but it really wasn't, at least not this morning.  It was several degrees colder than yesterday, and it was still overcast and the west-northwest breeze was just strong enough to be unpleasant.  As usual, though, I didn't feel so bad once I was in the boat doing my thing.  I warmed up and did another three 8-stroke sprints, then paddled strong while keeping the stroke rate below 70 for the rest of the 60 minutes.  By the time I was back on the dock the sun was starting to peek through the clouds a bit.  It looks like we're in for some slightly nicer weather this weekend.

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Monday photo feature

The sport of whitewater slalom lost one of its legends this past week: Austrian kayaker Norbert Sattler passed away Thursday at age 71.  Sattler won the gold medal in team competition at the 1971 world championships at Merano, Italy, and claimed the individual gold two years later at Muotathal, Switzerland, where this photo was taken.  The world championships was a biennial event in that era.

He also was the K1 silver medalist at the 1972 Olympics at Augsburg, West Germany.

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Strength, power, and endurance

I've mentioned my general feeling of lethargy since my return from Florida.  A new gym routine is one thing I've had to drag myself into kicking and screaming.  Friday morning I made my most serious effort yet to get something going, doing a couple of core exercises along with bench press with dumbbells on the stability ball and dumbbell rows chest-down on the stability ball.  One can always expect to get sore after new gym work, and by late Friday I was feeling it in my upper back and lats and triceps.

It was chilly Friday, but bright and sunny.  It dropped slightly below freezing overnight, but by the time I got to the river yesterday morning it had warmed up to around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  I did a workout similar to one I did in Florida back on the 6th of this month: 8 x (2 minutes on, 1 min. off) at 60 strokes per minute with moderate resistance (one golf whiffle ball) on the boat followed by 6 x (2 min. on, 1 min. off) at 70 spm with no resistance.  I took an 8-minute break between those two sets, during which I paddled back to the dock and removed the resistance.  Once again, the objective was to concentrate as much power as possible in the catch and the early phase of each stroke.

It stayed sunny for much of yesterday before gradually clouding over.  We got some rain overnight, and this morning it was overcast and 43 degrees.  I went back to the river intending to paddle for 80 minutes.  I left the harbor and paddled up the Mississippi to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, then went back to the harbor where I figured paddling up to the north end and back down to the dock would just about fill up my allotted time.  But as I approached the area where the Memphis Queen Line boats are parked I saw another surfski paddler coming the other way.  It turned out to be Adam Davis, and he was planning to paddle down the Mississippi to the old bridges, up along the Arkansas bank to the HDB, and then back to the harbor.  I asked if I could join him and he said yes, and what might have been a rather dull, cheerless solitary paddle for me turned out to be very enjoyable.  I hadn't seen Adam in a long time and it was nice to have some company on the water as well as some motivation to paddle at a decent pace.  I figured paddling together would be safer for both of us as well: in the wintertime I tend to stick close to the harbor to lessen the likelihood of a swim in the frigid water.

Today's paddle ended up being more like 100 minutes for me.  I do hope to work in a few more longer paddles in the coming weeks: my first race in Ocean Springs is just over two months away, and it will be good to have some distance under my belt.

My arm muscles continue to have their ups and downs.  My friend Rob, the chiropractor up in New York, recommended a couple of stretch exercises to add to the ones I'd been doing.  I've also started taking a modest dose of ibuprofen, something I really don't want to do for any long period of time, but I've decided is worth a try to see if it makes any difference.

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Availing myself of good weather

I mentioned last week how much it bothered me to let a gorgeous day come and go on Wednesday without getting out and doing anything athletic.  So when another warm day presented itself on Monday, I was determined to take advantage of it.  It actually was nowhere near as nice as Wednesday had been: we had some rain in the morning, and the temperature was just barely touching 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  But it was better than one can ask for in January, and in the afternoon I got out and rode my bike over my usual 34-kilometer course, taking the Greater Memphis Greenline out to Shelby Farms, doing a loop around Patriot Lake, and returning home on the Greenline.

I've been slow to get back into a gym routine, but I began part of one Tuesday morning when I did a couple of abdominal exercises.  Then I went downtown and paddled for 60 minutes.  The temperature had risen well into the 60s overnight, with some heavy rain.  It was foggy yesterday morning, but the voices on my radio were saying it would gradually become sunny; when I got to the dock there was a thin layer of fog over the water, but there were patches of blue sky overhead, and I figured it wouldn't be long before the fog burned off entirely.  But as I paddled south toward the mouth of the harbor, the fog actually got so thick that I couldn't see much more than 20 feet.  I left the harbor and did a surge from the tip of Mud Island to the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, staying close to the bank where I knew no barges would be lurking.  I didn't have my cadence sensor with me, but I aimed for a stroke rate somewhere around 80 strokes per minute.

After reaching the bridge I came back downstream and returned to the harbor.  Paddling north, I eventually moved into an area of lighter fog.  I did another surge from the HDB to the A.W. Willis Avenue bridge, and then paddled calm until my 60 minutes had expired.

Yesterday I was busy with a lot of things but in the morning I found time to do a leisurely bike ride of less than an hour.  It was quite warm all day, and in the evening some heavy rain moved in.

By this morning the rain was all gone and the sun was out.  The temperature was in the mid 50s but was expected to drop in the afternoon, so I got out as quickly as I could this morning.  I did a steady 60-minute paddle and focused on the same thing I've focused on a lot lately: getting a good precise solid catch and putting power into the early phase of the stroke.  There was a pretty good south breeze blowing, and I also did some balance drills by paddling across the harbor in the beam waves.

My left arm felt quite a bit better for a couple of days this week and I wondered whether perhaps I'd turned a corner.  But by last night the pain had returned, and it bothered me today.  I'm still doing rehab exercises and I guess I need to get back in to consult with my chiropractor, whom I haven't seen since before the holidays.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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