Painful....

During college around 10 years back (holy crap I'm old!) a friend of mine invited me to try out for the Dragon Boat team. For those who are unsure what this sport is about, a team would consist one drummer, 20 paddlers (max) and one steerer. Nowadays it could arguably be cosidered the second most popular sport worldwide, and at one point in time been considered for the olympics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat

Last week, Obet called me up and said that he saw an article on Emirates Today that a dragon boat team has been set up in Dubai since March, and that they are recruiting new members. He says that if I join, he'll join too. So I called up Mhinx who was my gym buddy and told him about it.

So yesterday, I woke up at 6am, watched a bit of NBA playoffs (go Nets!) then headed off to pick up Obet and Mhinx. The only drawback is that since I am living in the province (International City, LOL) I have to travel 15 mins going to Dubai (35Km) and then another 15 mins going to Mina Siyahi Beach Resort (another 30 Km). Sigh. Good thing it was a Saturday and there was no traffic whatsoever.

Anyway, Mhinx, Obet and I had a very light snack before heading to Mina Siyahi. We got lost inside the beach because of the huge number of yachts, and Mhinx' oogling with the ladies in bikinis. We arrived to the spot while they were doing their stretching excercise, and we immediately followed. Since Obet and myself have had prior paddling experience, we were put in the group with the current paddling team. Mhinx was put in with the other n00bs.

Man that was tough. We did 3 sets of rowing, around 10 minutes each session, and on the 3rd set, I just gave up. I rested around 2 minutes in that set, and to think that I considered myself fit. I still did better than Obet and Mhinx though, so that's a relief. It's too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of the training, but I will surely try next week. Yes, yes, I plan to do this week after week.

My arms and calves were sore after the training, to the point that I couldn't grip my car's steering wheel properly. By afternoon, my lower back and shoulders were also sore, and by evening I couldn't bend properly. Sigh. No pain, no gain.

***

This morning, as wifey and I were on our way to work, the right rear tyre just burst. It was a good thing that the speed limit on Al Khail Road was 100km (I was travelling at 80km/h), else something bad might have happened. So I went to the right most lane and decided to change the tyre right then and there. But man, my back was still killing me, and what normally I would have completed in 5 mins took around 15 mins. It streched my muscles though, and I guess it's a good thing since I'm suppose to do my stretching anyway. Oh well.

***

Short plug: If anyone from Dubai is interested to join me in Dragon Boat paddling every Saturday, please call me.