time on the meramec

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."


Last night was one of those practices where you feel like you accidentally brought the wrong body. Everything was disconnected and out of sync. My rhythm was sporadic at best, and I had to focus on holding a straight line upstream.

I had added foam ankle bumps to my outfitting to try and stop the complete circulation loss to my right foot. Instead, they made it worse and I ripped them out after a few loops. I have no problem ignoring leg pain – I assumed this would be part of getting used to the C1 – but my legs won’t let me ignore them. After 20 minutes in the boat, they cramp up pretty violently and I have to walk it off. I still have faith that time acclimating to the boat and actually outfitting it (I am simply kneeling on foam right now) will solve this. It simply has to.

I got pretty frustrated. My Tuesday night workout was magic – even after 4 days on a paddling trip, my shoulders and back were filled with explosive power. I didn’t have to look for my rhythm; it found me. I thought “I am finally getting good at this!” … Rivers, it would seem, are good at dishing out a humbling experience as soon as you think you have mastered something.

I wasn’t going to let myself go home like this; I stayed an extra half an hour. Finally, after some sprints, things fell into place. A workout like this, once I am done being pissy and blaming the water, leaves me even more motivated for the next day.