Sue’s questions slapped me into reality. “Will we be camping on islands with alligators?” “Are there rattlesnakes?  “What will we be doing for a bathroom?” These questions I was ready to handle in a diplomatic, brother-in-law matter, but I wasn’t prepared for her final one. “What exercises are you doing to prepare for this paddle?” I didn’t want to consider this inquiry. For me paddling has been an exercise of necessity; primarily getting from Point A to Point B and beyond is why I stroke. Exercising to paddle was a bit out of the norm for me.

Honestly it took a couple of days to consider.  It had been a long while since I paddled ten or fifteen miles against the wind.  Preparing one’s self for such a task would be a wise choice. If I could walk a hundred miles of beach when preparing to hike the empty beaches between Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s Playalinda Beach and New Smyrna Beach’s Canaveral National Seashore in 2010, I could do a couple of paddling exercises in the name of trip preparation.

First I found a load of useful information on-line dealing with back and mid-section strengthening, muscle stretching, torso twisting, ect. Checkout  http://www.smart-start-kayaking.com/Paddling-Fitness.html

Then my paddling partner John Kumiski and I did a little practice run, working out a bit of the stiffness and tenderness.

There’s no doubt routine fitness will help improve your paddling endurance, reduce your chances of injury while limiting the amount of pain, soreness and suffering you might experience otherwise. It might also help your increase the mental fortitude needed to complete a long and arduous trip.

Thanks Sue for helping me keep my vessel ship shape. I’ll get back to you soon about those gators and snakes!