FIFTY-THREE

One down and 52 to go! That’s how many more training days I have before the Colorado 100 on Sept. 4.  Today was the “kick-off” of my official training schedule.  I was on the water by 7:10 AM.  It was a negative tide today so I headed for the Oakland estuary instead of putting in at Redwood City.  The dock was empty and I had the place to myself.  There was already a pretty good breeze; a small craft advisory was due for 11 AM.  Here’s a picture I took right before I unloaded gear and the boat.

the Oakland estuary

Once I got going I felt pretty good.  My right shoulder muscles had been a little sore from Fri.’s practice.  Today was the first day I wore the heart rate monitor.  My drinking timer worked, I got speed, distance, and recorded my route.  So the technological challenges were all a success.  I’m really glad I’ve been paddling with the watches and GPS before today.  The wind actually decreased after the first half hour or so.  I hadn’t paddled on flat, smooth water  in weeks. Effort was supposed to be at 60-75% of my MHR.  Here’s a graph of heart rate and speed.

I found it interesting that speed improved as time went by and heart rate decreased.  I suspect that was a “warming up” period. The severe drops in the graph are where I stopped for water.  Soon I won’t have to stop and put my paddle down as I will have a drinking tube attached to my PFD.  I hope Johnny has the fabrication for suspending the Dromlite behind my seat done by next Sat. That’s a 12 mile day and I’d like NOT to have to bring multiple water bottles.  Next Sat. will also be a little more than a 3 hour paddle which means I’ll begin practicing with liquid food.  So I’ll have at least one bottle on deck.

Being Memorial Day here in the States it was a pretty quiet morning as I paddled by multiple sailboats moored all along the estuary. There were a few people getting ready to go out for the day.  One couple was getting their BBQ ready on deck.  A couple powerboats went by, but all in all, I was by myself.

When I returned to the dock a few women were getting ready to go out in their sculls.  Even by 9:30 AM, it was still mostly empty in the parking lot.  I was home by 10:30 with still a full holiday of fun to follow.

5/31/2010 route

eat well, sleep well………..paddle fast

6 miles/9.6 km