Don't run a marathon the day before you are supposed to run a marathon....
The subject line is what was said to me this morning when I arrived at the Canoe Classic volunteer breakfast when I mentioned that I had paddled the entire course yesterday and didn't know how I would manage doing it again today.
I managed, and did quite well. Somehow I ended up being the "senior/lead" sweeper (persons that follow the competing boats to provide assistance as needed). I had 3 total rookies with me, two men in a canoe that could barely keep their own boat under control, and another guy in a kayak. The kayaker was my buddy and caught onto how to control his boat very quickly. There was one time I had to stop and assist a couple of novice canoeists that were unfortunate enough to swamp their boat. I chased down their runaway belongings and then guided them to a point downstream where we could empty the canoe and get them back underway. My buddy wasn't really sure what to do so he just hung out in the water observing which was fine with me. The woman in the canoe was very cold after her dunking and commented on the fact that they weren't even half way through and almost 2hrs into it... I let them know at the bridge we were going to be reaching that they would be able to withdrawl and have someone come pick them and their boat up... When we reached the first bridge they chose to pull out and not continue. I was glad they made that choice, if they had continued I knew of at least 2 other places I would have been fishing them out of the river again.
It was a beautiful day for paddling down the river and despite having done it just yesterday I was feeling really good, until I took a nap. When I woke up from the nap I couldn't make a fist my fingers were so stiff. Most of my pain/discomfort is centered in my fingers and wrists, right worse than left. I have dug out my wrist brace to provide some support for my right wrist, which seems to be helping. I am watching the clock tick so I can take my next dose of 800mg ibuprofen. Once I've taken that I will head back to bed for the night.
Yesterday when I returned home from my trip down the river, and the unplanned swim, I discovered some lawn and garden fairies had paid me a visit. When I was about half way down the block I started thinking my lawn looked like it had been mowed. When I pulled in my driveway I discovered not only had the lawn been mowed but my raking had been finished and I had beautiful flowers planted. My parents decided to come down and surprise me because I have been doing so much for other people they thought it was time someone did something nice for me. It is such a relief not to have to worry about buying flowers and getting them planted. My yard is what suffers the most when I can't get to things.
I managed, and did quite well. Somehow I ended up being the "senior/lead" sweeper (persons that follow the competing boats to provide assistance as needed). I had 3 total rookies with me, two men in a canoe that could barely keep their own boat under control, and another guy in a kayak. The kayaker was my buddy and caught onto how to control his boat very quickly. There was one time I had to stop and assist a couple of novice canoeists that were unfortunate enough to swamp their boat. I chased down their runaway belongings and then guided them to a point downstream where we could empty the canoe and get them back underway. My buddy wasn't really sure what to do so he just hung out in the water observing which was fine with me. The woman in the canoe was very cold after her dunking and commented on the fact that they weren't even half way through and almost 2hrs into it... I let them know at the bridge we were going to be reaching that they would be able to withdrawl and have someone come pick them and their boat up... When we reached the first bridge they chose to pull out and not continue. I was glad they made that choice, if they had continued I knew of at least 2 other places I would have been fishing them out of the river again.
It was a beautiful day for paddling down the river and despite having done it just yesterday I was feeling really good, until I took a nap. When I woke up from the nap I couldn't make a fist my fingers were so stiff. Most of my pain/discomfort is centered in my fingers and wrists, right worse than left. I have dug out my wrist brace to provide some support for my right wrist, which seems to be helping. I am watching the clock tick so I can take my next dose of 800mg ibuprofen. Once I've taken that I will head back to bed for the night.
Yesterday when I returned home from my trip down the river, and the unplanned swim, I discovered some lawn and garden fairies had paid me a visit. When I was about half way down the block I started thinking my lawn looked like it had been mowed. When I pulled in my driveway I discovered not only had the lawn been mowed but my raking had been finished and I had beautiful flowers planted. My parents decided to come down and surprise me because I have been doing so much for other people they thought it was time someone did something nice for me. It is such a relief not to have to worry about buying flowers and getting them planted. My yard is what suffers the most when I can't get to things.