Kayaking with Heidi...

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Heidi was going to be out of town on Father’s Day and decided that she wanted to meet up with me a week early and go for a Father’s Day kayak on the Upper Cuyahoga River.  I’ve done very little kayaking and really need to get moving on it if I’m going to be doing 120 miles of Lake Erie’s shore in two months.  The last few times I have kayaked, I’ve experienced so much pain in my left hip that it has become very unpleasant.  I’ve tried adjusting the pedals for the rudder and hope that will make a difference.

Heidi has been training for a half Iron Man triathlon (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run) for a couple of months.  She is getting really fit and when she came out to help me load the kayaks on the Jeep, hoisted them easily overhead.

“You’re getting some serious guns there Heidi,” I said, referring to her upper body strength.

She beamed with that and helped strap the kayaks to the rack.  We arrived at Russell Park and began to unload the kayaks when the deer fly began to attack.  I’d put bug spray in my car for just such an occasion…but we weren’t IN my car.  As we paddled down the river, they began to bite in earnest.  I followed my standard protocol, smashing them against my body and leaving their entrails for others to witness in hopes that they’d stay clear of the killing zone.  And as always, they continued to bite. 

We traveled slowly down the river taking in the serenity of the water and solitude of the river.  If not for the bugs, it would have been perfect.  I felt good for almost an hour, but once the pain started in my hip, there was no relief.  The last 20 minutes were extremely painful and I concluded that I’d have to see my sports med doc, Nilesh, for some relief.

We did spend 90 minutes on the water and though I didn’t drop copious amounts of sweat, I considered it a good workout.  I really need more time in the saddle, on the water, and doing easy hikes to be ready for Tour Ohio.  Intensity really isn’t that important to completing my trek.

Kayak duration:  90 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout:  650.