Monday and Wednesday Workouts

I've pretty much settled into a regular paddling/workout schedule. It's four days a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The plan is to make Monday a minimum 7-mile hard workout where I'm on it the entire distance. Wednesday I pull back the throttle and paddle steady but not for speed, working on technique. (Actually I'm always trying to work on technique.) Friday is a short and hard anaerobic paddle in the 4-5 mile distance category. And Saturday is paddling wit da Boyz. That could end up being almost anything. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are rest days. This isn't iron clad. If I'm tired or my back hurts or whatever I'll switch things around, maybe take a couple days off. It's not a real demanding schedule but it addresses all the elements I think should be included at this stage.

Monday (August 22) Covewater Classic Replication. I want to be able to practice for the Covewater Classic so I laid out a 7-mile course divided into two parts, just like the Covewater. The first part, a 5-miler, starts and ends at New Brighton. I threw a beach run in just for grins. This covers about 25 yards and then I finished the last part, a 2-miler. From NB I sprint out to Sponge Bob, hang a u, and sprint back. It's a good course and if I want to add distance so that the course replicates the Covewater 7.5 mile elite, I can do it. Check it on the EveryTrail app below.

Covewater Classic Replication

Wednesday (August 24) 7-mile moderate but steady workout (except for all the chatting that is). New Brighton is the easiest and most convenient access for me for regular workouts. The surf is usually very small so launching and landing are a breeze. I can also pick a variety of waypoints and lay out a number of different options for courses. Today I knew I wanted to do about six or seven miles so I headed upcoast after chatting with Chris on the beach for a while. Boots and his brother-in-law Mike paddled in and we had a chat too. It was a pretty yakitty today all around. Then I launched and caught up with Suzanne on her traditional prone paddleboard. We hung out for a while off Capitola and chatted up a veritable storm. If chatting was wind we'd a blown up a hurricane. Then I headed upcoast and made a new friend with Casey (another brother firefighter) on his new 12 ft. Angulo off Privates. We paddled up to 1st Peak together and ran into Steve who was surfing some small ones on his Angulo. Chat, chat, chat.

We all parted company and I headed out the Sewers Channel while Casey took the inside route back to Tola. The rest of the paddle was uneventful, calm, light wind and a bit foggy. It was burning off in the surf zone but hanging fairly heavy further out off the kelp beds. About a mile off the Capitola Pier, even though I couldn't see him, I decided to head for Sponge Bob. I figured he'd pop into view. In another half mile, he did. I made a left shoulder turn and headed for the beach. Visibility had dropped to about a quarter mile. I couldn't see land but hey, it's only a mile away. That's when I got lost in the fog.

I swear I was paddling straight to NB, aiming for the familiar looking kelp beds and paddling wide downcoast. As the fog lifted a bit I saw that I was almost halfway back to Capitola! I was about 45 degrees off course. So I made a 90 degree turn and skirted the edge of the kelp beds back to the take out at NB. Interesting experience. I was so sure I was headed in the right direction. Food for thought. Grist for the mill, etc. etc.