I just got back to work from my surgical consultation with Dr Coons (kick ass guy, I highly recomend him for anything shoulder related).

Liz,

Chit fire, dude - and I was lookin' fwd to hanging otr soon! I'll trade ya your boat for pain pills - sounds like you're gonna need plenty!

Congrats Tobin!  I've been through it and it's not that bad.  The best thing is your are getting it fixed.

Glad to hear it's getting taken care of Tobin. -Liz, a recommendation is to paddle within you're comfort level and don't worry about "having" to get on that run or this run. The Top Tye waited a looong time for me. It was great and I was so glad I had the skill to do well on it instead of asking myself why I'm doing this, every drop. Take  a couple kayak classes and at least one rescue class. You and especially your friends will greatly benefit.

Shoulder injuries suck.  Period.  Long periods of not getting to play.  Good luck and don't get too ansy.   

Bret's advice is spot on. Personally, I'd rather paddle something well within my comfort zone, knowing I have MORE than the required skill for the run, and feel the sex-like fluidity of the experience, than to wingnut my way down a run out of control, struggling, terrified, and strained, just so I can say I did it.

Because even on those runs at the edge of your skill level, that you are familiar with and run often, you will have OFF DAYS. You will have spontaneous days, where you get out even though you're not in optimal shape. You can have fluke incidents. All of these scenarios have the potential to knock your performance down a peg or two, so try to pad out your days on the river by leaving "slack" or a margin for the unexpected.

Don't be a piece of Driftwood! Be a paddler! Seek out better technique however you can: take classes, boat with good PADDLERS (we can all float) and watch the graceful ones and how they move. Emulate that. Devote your mundane local familiar runs (or a portion of the time you spend on them) to working on good technique. Be in good physical condition, stretching is very good before a run. Hardly anyone devotes more than 30 seconds to it at the put in. Be different.

Lastly, consider the boat you paddle. Creek boats are incredibly forgiving. The RPM is an awesome boat. It will teach you a lot about the dynamics of whitewater. Sensations that are drasticly NUMBED by a creekboat. But take it from an old school longboater: A creekboat will widen your margin of safety as far as your shoulder is concerned when you paddle near your envelope. Therefore they are more versatile and ready for an adventure. Take your creekboat out on the Sky once ion a while, even if you'd normally prefer your playboat, so that when you get out on harder "creeks",
you know how to use that creekboat to make love to the river's lines! Sorry for the analogy, but it's the best one I can think of! I certainly don't go paddle whitewater because it reminds me of Ultimate Fighting! For those of you who are after that experience, more power to you as well, but then you need to be even better, and much  much stronger to take a hit off of that 60 footer or in that schoolbus sized hole or whatever.

Listen to your body and mind always and be present. Breathe.


Edited by wetmouse - 04 Nov 2008 at 4:31pm

Tobin,

Get better soon. I do believe that percs should be washed down with a light beer though.. .I think I read that on the warning label once.

Roger

Looks like paddling backwards may help too?  humm...