Training? Maybe

Cimarron River



I've been trying to keep the muscles and joints going, but I'd be reluctant to call it training in the traditional sense.  I've been at it a couple months, but no sooner do I get going good than we have a snowstorm or ice storm, or the winds are blowing 40-50mph.  So, it's kind of hit and miss.  I've been trying to ride the bike at least 7.5 miles most days, and doing about 500 reps on the rowing machine, but I fear the real conditioning won't get started until I actually get underway.  Getting out for a paddle is almost impossible.  There are no rivers here, in the sense of how most of us think of rivers.  They really amount to storm drains more than anything else.  The Cimarron River is the largest river in Northwest Oklahoma.  It runs 698 miles through New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma before joining the Arkansas River, but it is just damp mud most of the time.  The man-made lakes whip to a steep chop in no time as the winds tear across the plains.  I've been reading the blog O-Dark30 (Brian), and he does a lot of paddling at night.  I may have to give that a go.  Today was pretty decent, and I got out for a 10-mile peddle, but I need to get some water under me.  I'm suffering from withdrawals.  As for spring, I mentioned the tree buds filling out, and yesterday we had the other sign of spring on the plains.  We were under a tornado watch from 1200 to 2100.