Glenbawn Training Paddle

Gday Guys
Firstly welcome to all my new followers it is very encouraging to see more people following my progress as I prepare for the big paddle.
It has been good to have no big distractions from training this week with the house finished (and sold for that matter), it is back to training in Ernest. I have been reacquainting myself with the treadmill and got out for a training paddle today.
Even though the work around the house has been quiet physical I am amazed at how quickly I have lost fitness and how much work I will need to do to be paddle ready for October.
Today I got to the dam around 9:00 (Gentleman's hours) for a paddle and was greeted with strong bitterly cold winds and a nice rolling swell that was probably about half a metre - Nice!! Not perturbed I saw the opportunity to really push myself and harden up and thought that as long as conditions didn't deteriorate too much things shouldn't get too bad. So in full bib and brace wetsuit and PFD I unloaded the YAK and set off.
I rounded the first couple of bends to be greeted by a greater blast of wind and waves and a mad fisherman yelling that I was Crazy - big call from a bloke that had obviously camped all night to catch fish out of season I thought! so I pressed on.
A couple of K's paddling hard into the wind I remembered that in my haste to get warm I had forgotten to stretch and that it would be a good option for me now! Only problem was that I was in danger of getting rolled out of the YAK or driven into a dead tree if I wasn't making forward motion. Just have to paddle through it!
By 5Km out I decided I had had enough so I turned only for the wind to pick up bringing the rain with it. The swell was now getting closer to the metre mark and I discovered that a following sea is not the best environment for the little dagger which is designed for rivers and estuaries (ie flat water).
A couple of Bends from home I see my mad fishing mate who is waiving wildly seemingly impressed that I have not drowned!
Right about now I would have given anything for a couple of extra metres of Kayak or even just a rudder but I eventually made it back to a bay just short of the car were I decided that discretion is the better part of valour. I would continue my exercise by walking the last couple of hundred metres to the car. This was really decided for me when I was faced with metre breaking waves heading into the above mentioned cove and not enough steam left in the shoulders to fight it.
Overall I am sore but didn't get submerged and it is good to be back on track. These days while taxing are great preparation, which is what I have to remind myself of as I shiver and shake loading the YAK back onto the car.
Phil