blue.... seattle moonlight...

On Tuesday night we did a good workout in the crisp, clear, full-moon-lit evening. And it was good. There was almost no wind, so we were able to get out onto Lake Washington rather than paddling down to the Locks and back (which we do when the wind is blowing too hard), so that was a treat. And then add to this the fact that it was clear and a full moon sat in the east over the Cascade mountains, lighting up the black water with a silver sheen....

The workout itself was a challenge: 8 x 1min off/9min on.

Our boat felt good nearly the entire time, even with just 5 paddlers. Meg sat in #1 and I was in 2, the second workout in a row in which I was following her. I felt like I was doing a pretty good job of keeping in sync (except when I wasn't -- there were definitely times when I'd "come to" and realize I'd been somewhere else mentally and needed to focus on my timing). And because the water was so flat, glassy even at times, the canoe skimmed forward with the ama echoing the quiet slap of tiny waves as it moved with us.

Kristi sat in 3, 4 was open, Jack was in 5, and DougN steered in 6.

There's something really wonderful about paddling in a canoe that feels like it's moving well.

One thing I've begun to notice is how much of an impact water conditions can have on a crew. When we got out into a (slight) breeze, the smooth feel disappeared a little. It's hard to keep in time and in form when the water is choppy or bumpy. This is something I'd like to focus on personally, and something I think we need to get better at as a group -- continuing to work well as a team even when conditions are sub-optimal. For one thing, it's not that often glassy calm, and for another, if we hope to do decently in any salt water races (Hatless Island, Catalina, Napali Challenge) or at the Gorge, we need to be able to handle the conditions.