Discipline

When I was getting ready to paddle around Newfoundland, I made it a point to paddle every day. For a few months in early 2000, I would get out of bed at 4:30 or so and go paddle Commencement Bay, here in Tacoma. I put in at Sundial Park, for those of you who might know where that is, and I'd paddle across the bay to Brown's Point and back. It wasn't far, no more than 4 miles on most days, but the key was that I did it every day. Regardless of the weather, no matter how I was feeling… I still went out. It wasn't for the minimal challenges associated with the paddle that I went… the idea was that, if I had psychologically prepared myself to paddle every day, it would be easier for me to get out of the sleeping bag once the trip had begun.

And it worked, I guess. I made it around Newfoundland anyway. But I haven't been doing the same regimen this time. I guess I know what I have coming up and I'll deal with it as it happens. There's a different feel to the Vancouver Island expedition.

I went out today though, across Commencement Bay. It was good to be back on the old training lap again, to watch as the Brown's Point light steadily got closer with each paddle stroke. It was good to pause near the point and drink hot chocolate out of the small thermos before starting back to town. It was good to watch the city wake up on a wintery day.

I may revive the training tradition in the next week or two.