Fairhope to Dog River Double Crossing II
Sunday, August 22, 2004 brint.adams@us.army.mil
I started out earlier this time in order to beat the heat for at least part of the paddle. I was in the water and starting across the bay from the Fairhope Yacht Club beach at 6:05 AM, just before sunrise. The temp was around 76 degrees, no wind, calm water with high tide around 4:45, so for the start, there was little current. The sky was clear, so I was able to see across the bay and focus on the Dog River Bridge without having to look at the GPS.
If you think I am a little obsessive about times and performance, this may be a little over the top, even for me. Since there was no current, no wind and no fog, I didn't have alot to do while on the water except concentrate on stroke form and turnover speed. So, while on the way over to Mobile and after I got into a good stroke rhythm, I started counting breath cycles and stroke turnover and decided to count the rest of the way. Interestingly, at least for me, I averaged 20 breaths per minute and 80 strokes per minute for a 4:1 ratio. This carried through for the whole paddle, so at roughly 2:05 per each crossing, I used a total of 5,000 breaths and 20,000 strokes for the trip.
I did see alot of pelicans, who were out diving and a couple of fishing boats slowly pulling their nets behind. There were many birds following the fishing boats, trying to pick up anything that fell through and came to the surface.
I made it to Dog River in 2:06, which was the same time I made on 7/25. But, this time, even though the temperature rose about 12 degrees to 88 by the time I got back to FYC, I was able to make the return in 2:08, for a total paddle time of 4:14:31. This was a huge 12 minute improvement, due in large part to bringing plenty of water this time. The training is still going well and on track for October.
I started out earlier this time in order to beat the heat for at least part of the paddle. I was in the water and starting across the bay from the Fairhope Yacht Club beach at 6:05 AM, just before sunrise. The temp was around 76 degrees, no wind, calm water with high tide around 4:45, so for the start, there was little current. The sky was clear, so I was able to see across the bay and focus on the Dog River Bridge without having to look at the GPS.
If you think I am a little obsessive about times and performance, this may be a little over the top, even for me. Since there was no current, no wind and no fog, I didn't have alot to do while on the water except concentrate on stroke form and turnover speed. So, while on the way over to Mobile and after I got into a good stroke rhythm, I started counting breath cycles and stroke turnover and decided to count the rest of the way. Interestingly, at least for me, I averaged 20 breaths per minute and 80 strokes per minute for a 4:1 ratio. This carried through for the whole paddle, so at roughly 2:05 per each crossing, I used a total of 5,000 breaths and 20,000 strokes for the trip.
I did see alot of pelicans, who were out diving and a couple of fishing boats slowly pulling their nets behind. There were many birds following the fishing boats, trying to pick up anything that fell through and came to the surface.
I made it to Dog River in 2:06, which was the same time I made on 7/25. But, this time, even though the temperature rose about 12 degrees to 88 by the time I got back to FYC, I was able to make the return in 2:08, for a total paddle time of 4:14:31. This was a huge 12 minute improvement, due in large part to bringing plenty of water this time. The training is still going well and on track for October.
posted by brint @ 7:44 PM
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