Doing More With Less Since 1972

Tag: swimming (Page 2 of 4)

Daily Reading List — January 23rd

Actual Facebook Graph Searches – This is loaded with awsum. FB unlike avalanche in 3,2,1…

Small Expenses Add Up – When you start tracking where every penny goes, it can be a rude awakening. Adding up my Cool Beans budget changed my life. Sorry Howie.

A Recovery Program for Homeschool Split Personality Disorder – Sometimes it's less like Jeckyll and Hyde–more like Gollum and Smeagol. Must educate Precious.

Fear Not The Swim – Some good stuff here. I always dismiss fears of the swim with, "ah…that's the easy part". Probably should point them to stuff like this instead.

Tearing The Hell Out Of My Swim Stroke

I committed to a tri swim clinic every Tuesday night in January. I’m already seeing the benefits, and I may even end up getting some private lessons once this session is over. All kinds of stuff I’m working on, and it almost all lines up with what I wanted to change about my stroke.

I’ve noticed a couple of things I didn’t like about my stroke over the past few years. First of all, I feel like I’ve been relying on my glide way too much and should try to increase my turnover rate. Calling it a “glide” makes it sound like a really smooth stroke. But when you call it a “pause”, which I plan on calling it from now on, it sounds not so good.

The pause is directly related to the other problem I’ve been wanting to correct–the feeling (especially on race day) that my lower body is way too low in the water. I feel like I’m just dragging dead weight around. Well, that’s what happens when you glide…err….pause, unless you are willing to up your kick effort to get your lower body higher. And I don’t want to do that.

When I’ve tried to increase my stroke rate on my own, the heart rate has suffered. Again, that comes back to the pause and what it had me doing mentally. I’ve been consciously focused on really thrusting forward on my entry, but never really focused much on my pull. The result–swimming with my shoulders instead of my pecs and lats. It just doesn’t make sense to use those little muscles to propel myself forward when I could instead use the bigger muscles to pull the water behind me.

So lots of one armed drilling in the near future. Lots of sculling and tricep presses under the water while kicking. Lots of pull ups.

Doesn’t that sound fun?

I plan on having an easier entry, focused question-mark pull, and higher rate by May.

Hopefully ~7 minutes off my 1.2 miles swim too.

I Need A Pissing Contest – Why I’m Going To Get Coaching

acme_thunder_coach_whistle

I’m pulling the trigger and getting some coaching this year.

I’ve been quasi-diagnosed with ODD by some lesser-known psychologists, but I’m actually pretty coachable. The way I look at it, if I’m paying someone (or committing my time even) for coaching, I’m going to be all-in and do what they ask of me. Even if that’s at odds with the way I’m used to doing things.

People who know me may read that and think I’m delusional for saying it, but I’m a slave to a training schedule. I do what it says. Most of the time anyway. And I trust it–sometimes to a fault. That’s what it means to be coachable–trusting the coach and doing what they say to do. No questions.

But I can read the research and follow a schedule on my own. That’s part of the reason I’ve never sought out any coaching for triathlon. Well, that, and I’m cheap.

I don’t need a coach to motivate me to do something I love, right? And I’m pretty hard on myself during training. I know how to dig down deep and get more from my body than it wants to give.

I’m a “pusher”.

At least I thought I was before last year. But 2012’s results have me a little worried that is no longer the case.

Let me back up…

When I first started training to run distance in 2003, I’d been playing rugby pretty much continually for 10 years. A lot of rugby training translates to endurance sports, so it was really easy transition for me. I already had pretty good endurance and strength base, with an especially strong core.

Yes,there are muscles under there.

In that 10 years, I’d never let my fitness go either, and I was used to a rigorous training schedule. There were off-seasons in rugby, but that was a lot like recovery periods for endurance training, and I always kept up my maintenance training during those times as well.

I’m not claiming I was ever the fittest guy on the team, but I was often the fittest guy over 200 pounds.

But more importantly, I had built up a gritty mentality. All of our squad training and most of my training outside was done with the same group of guys or a subset of them. That meant you always had someone watching, even if there wasn’t a coach around. There was always someone there to see you quit. There was always someone who would know if you were bagging it during a sprint. There was always a guy in the weight room who could lift more and would push you to lift more. Everyone had little injuries and hurts at all times, and there was always someone hurt worse than you who was still playing.

It made for a very testosterone driven atmosphere. That was a good thing. I’m not saying that it motivated everyone to push themselves to their limits, and I’m not claiming I always did either. I had my share of lazy days. But that atmosphere and the fact that not everyone was lazy on the same days kept the bar set at a pretty high level at all times. You knew the days you didn’t reach that expectation, just like you knew which guys didn’t care if they ever reached it.

And some of us never wanted to be “that guy”.

So you pushed. You didn’t have a choice.

That was the mentality I had when I started training for endurance sports, and for the next 3 years. Even when I went through periods of what I like to call “taper-training“, where I was really lazy, I could always show up on race day and find some push.

Fast-forward to January 2012. I decided to get back into training for long distances. I decided to kick it off with a 70.3, but I wasn’t really happy with those results. So I decided to do a marathon to try to fix what was ailing my run. And I wasn’t happy with those results either.

I stuck with the schedule for both of these events, and I was really happy with my effort level during training. So why didn’t I get the results I wanted?

I’m not one to beat myself up over that kind of stuff for long. But I have realized there’s a problem that goes beyond the fact that I’m getting older. Injuries and heat aren’t going to cut it for long term excuses either–those are just a fact of racing that everyone has to deal with. So the last few weeks I’ve been doing some reflection, and I think I know what may have happened. It all began at the beginning.

Here’s what my starting point looked like in 2012:

I hadn’t done anything more than an Olympic distance tri since 2006. 10k was the furthest I’d run. I was living in a house with 4 women. Granted, three of them were under 5 years old, but still, it’s pretty much a testosterone-free zone.

I was living in a new town, not actively playing rugby. So I didn’t have an expectation there to meet, and I didn’t even have the peer pressure of being around guys I used to train with and the pissing contests that were involved in everything they do (rugby, running, lifting, eating, drinking, skirt-chasing, etc.).

That, I think, is the real problem in a nutshell...I haven’t been living in a perpetual pissing contest.

And I like pissing contests. I need pissing contests.

I wasn’t coming into training in couch-potato shape or anything like that. I don’t think fitness is the problem at all. I think I may have forgotten what it’s like to push. I mean really push. I think it’s something I may have unlearned. I mean, I think I’m pushing during training, but how can I tell if I really am?

So that’s where coaching comes in. A coach can see what you’re doing from the outside and test you, make you run that one extra interval. A coach can throw you a surprise workout that an 18 week schedule can’t. A coach can disrupt everything. A good coach will do all of these things.

Hopefully, a coach can help me reset my definition of what “push” means.

So I’m starting a triathlon specific swim clinic at the gym on Tuesday. I’m hoping everything about my swim gets torn apart and rebuilt. I’m in a good situation to do that–my cardio is fine, so I can handle long workouts, but I haven’t been swimming enough lately to have my horrible habits burned into my muscle memory in the way they would have been if I was coming off a training plan.

I’m planning on a running coach for February and beyond too. I’m hoping to maybe fix some mechanics, and definitely fix my head.

If I’m completely wrong, and I don’t get pushed that much, at least I’ll get some information I didn’t have before, meet some training partners, get some new workouts, and a new source of accountability.

But I’m pretty sure I’m right about the pushing thing.

High Level 2012 Workout Stats

ANYTHING for love

This is all rounded to the nearest whatever. Burn was right at 235,000 calories this year.

Swim

28 miles, 15 hours, 36 minutes

This is pretty pathetic. I have to crack down on my swimming. I fall in a bad habit of giving up everything I’ve gained when a race is finished. Starting a swim clinic on Tuesday…hopefully that will kick me in the aise.

Bike

1704 miles, 89 hours, 7 minutes

Slacked off on my cycling during marathon training this year. Another mistake. Should have hammered it even harder. Setting a goal of 3,000 miles for 2013.

Run

697 miles, 110 hours, 5 minutes

Not too bad, but I could have done a lot more in the beginning of the year, and I gave up about 100 miles in the three weeks leading up to marathon. Mulling a goal of 2,013 kilometers in 2013. That would be 1,250 miles…very doable.

image credit

Haven’t Link Dumped In A While

The Age Of Data Wars Dawns

Cool Ironman Kona Infographic – Check out the decrease in bike/run splits. And the fairly level swim splits.

The Future Of Working From Home – Things are definitely moving this way. I’m pretty sure if I had to go back to a normal office situation, I’d struggle with it.

Chrissie Wellington: The Mind Over Body Battle – And you think you suffer? Love hearing how this affects even the super-humans.

Easily Monitor and Manage all of your WordPress Sites with WP Remote – Thanks to @mwender for this one. Great time saver

Google Turns Turtle and Takes Street View Underwater – Coming soon to iPhone5!

Alternative ways to ride The Downward Spiral – I created a Spotify playlist based on this. A couple of the songs weren’t in Spotify, but I found some good substitutes. Just reading this makes me afeared.

Whoa, Dude, Are We Inside a Computer Right Now? – Is it wrong that this seems completely reasonable (and likely) to me?

Solo or Group? Train Your Way – I’ve been opting for the solo route a lot lately. It’s quiet.

How To Determine Your Long Run Training For Any Triathlon Distance – Some really good info here. It’s hard to train for a distance event and fill like you got enough running in. The truth is, you really just can’t, but you can get the optimal amount.

Accessing SharePoint Lists with SQL Server Integration Services SSIS 2005

Raising Children To Become Productive Adults – In short, walk it like you talk it. Applies to pretty much everything in life.

Simple Tips to Help Your Grocery Budget – As always, thanks to @couponkatie for all the amazing tips and deals she points us to!

A Glass All Empty – When your S.O. gets on the wagon. Both of us are for the most part…one due to pregnancy and nursing, the other due to choosing brownie calories over beer calories. Must to get faster, and those calories slows me down.

An Unexpected Ass Kicking | Blog Of Impossible Things

Early December Swim Project

2:3 Breathing

I’m a 1:3 breather right now, which means I breathe every 3 strokes. This works out because it lets me breathe on both sides of my body which is easier on the neck and get a good look-see to both sides. The downside is that you don’t get much oxygen breathing that way. As a result of that (and horrible technique overall), I’ve never really swam to what I think my potential is.

In races I usually throw in some periods of 1:2 breathing, which is breathing every other stroke, always to the same side. More oxygen available, so I do this when I need to accelerate.

2:3 breathing is 2 breaths every three strokes. So it’s R, L, (R), L, R, (L), R, L, (R), L, R, (L)…

I’m going to spend a couple of weeks working on nothing but changing to the 2:3 technique and doing a better job of keeping my head low and reducing bow drag. Going to a January swim clinic to work on everything else.

Michael Phelps Rant

Dear citizens media of the United States,

Michael Phelps doesn’t owe you a damn thing. He doesn’t owe you/us/anybody another gold medal or an explanation about “what happened”. Stop using words like “disaster” and “disappointing” to describe anything he does or doesn’t do at the Olympics.

Ditto for every other athlete competing there in every other sport.

Ditto for every other athlete competing at any other level.

I swim, but I’m not really a swimmer. My longest workouts of an 18 week triathlon training plan are about what real swimmers–even the ones who are a long way from being Olympic athletes-do as a warmup before their main set. And I go about half their speed.

And they do this daily.

At 4:00 am.

And again at 4:00 pm.

For years.

With no real off-season.

What these athletes do is nothing like the trip to the gym that most of us take to “work out”. They aren’t chatting with friends between sets, listening to a 10 song playlist and calling it quits, or watching “Saved By The Bell” reruns on the screen of the cross trainer while they work to the point of almost sweating. I’ve had swimmers who weren’t even D1 level tell me their stories about swimming through their teammates’ vomit floating on the surface of the pool and having their goggles fill with tears from the pain they were suffering during training.

During the cycling road race, I heard one of the commentators mention an East German training tactic of putting a cyclist on the trainer in front of a concrete wall and having them ride for hours looking at nothing, just to build mental toughness. How mentally tough do you have to be to spend all your training staring at a black line on the bottom of a pool?

So, in closing, get off the guy’s ass. He’s been staring at the bottom of a pool for 20 years. So what if he wanted to coast into this Olympics with (relatively) little training and just enjoy the experience of being there and have some fun? He’s done this long enough to know he’ll get what he earned, and that’s something he has to come to terms with on his own (*UPDATE* Coach Vance points this out better than I did after Phelps’ post-race interview).  He’s smart enough to know that he isn’t going to be the best in the world for the next 300 years either.

He doesn’t have to answer to anyone but himself.

The second we see swimmers jump into the pool and splash around like idiots instead of actually trying to win a race, it will be time to complain. Until then, anyone who is “disappointed” when watching (from their sofas or broadcast chairs) any of these athletes’ performances should hit the off button, get up , and go do something about it themselves.

Rinse and repeat for NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA sports, and all little league competition.

</rant>

 

Finally Training Out Of The House

One of the downsides to telecommuting is that it’s very easy to become withdrawn, especially if  you are a natural introvert like me. I find myself going days on end without leaving the house unless it’s for a quick trip to the gym,and I’m usually under water for most of the time I’m there. I do make it off of our street quite often to go out running and riding, but that hardly counts as “going out”.

The upside is that training solo makes racing solo a little easier. The downside is that you don’t get that little extra push on the tough days when you’re training alone, and you don’t get little nuggets of wisdom and information from other athletes. I was really lucky to find out about an open water swim/run brick group that meets close to the house, and I was able to actually go out last night and participate, which was awesome!

The Running Zone sponsors this workout every Wednesday night at Pineapple Park near the Eau Gallie causeway. There are a couple of swim options, and all kinds of athletes swimming a variety of paces show up. Lots of people do a quick 0.4 mile out and back swim, but there’s also the opportunity to get a full 0.8 mile (~1400 yards) swim without doing two laps of the .4 course.

See how close that is to the 1500 meters you’d swim in a Oly? See how easy it would be to do the 0.8 + 0.4 for a total of 1.2, which just happens to be the exact distance you swim in a 70.3?

Dang. I wish I’d known about this when I was training for the Haines City 70.3. I did one short single solitary open water swim before that race, and I really paid for it.

The great thing about swimming here is that when you’re done you are in the perfect spot to get a run that includes the causeway. That’s the closest thing we have to a hill here. It’s not very steep and not very long, but it’s the the best we have, and it has a very nice pedestrian walkway that is safely protected from traffic by a bike lane and concrete dividers, so it’s very safe.

Now for the best part…all the added information you get by going to where people are and actually talking to them. I met a couple of good dudes last night who gave me all kinds of information on local and semi-local races. Better than that, I got information on even more organized open-water swims and group runs. There are all kinds of opportunities for long runs with Gatorade/water support and social runs throughout the week. I’m going to make it out Sunday for the group long run, and this Wednesday night swim is going to be a staple of my weekly schedule!

 

Practicing Race Plans In Training

My race plans usually aren’t very complicated. I’m just a regular ol’ MOP’er. I don’t have the latest equipment or a coach. I don’t race very often, and I don’t live and breathe triathlon. It’s just fun for me, and I actually enjoy the training more than the racing. I’m not racing anyone but myself anyway…no realistic chance of placing in my age group.

But I loves me a PR.

So here are some of the things I’m thinking about for my upcoming race, and how I work on them in training.

Swim

The course has changed to an ‘M’ shaped swim. Sort of unconventional, and I’ve never done one. As usual, I’d I’d like to take it easy for the first “out” part. I plan for what I want to happen on race day in my training swims by overcompensating for an easy start, swimming the first 500 yards as “long” as I can. This means really reaching and gliding with each stroke; usually about 11 strokes for the 25 yard length, breathing every three strokes. I then do at least 500 with a little faster turnover, breathing every two strokes. Sometimes I’ll go another 500 at that pace. I know I can handle that, and I’d like to pick up the pace a little on the diagonal parts of the ‘M’ on race day. From there, I like to take it easy on the way back, almost a cool down, because I don’t want to transition with a jacked up heart rate and body/mind that isn’t as relaxed as possible.

Now, I know realistically that the adrenaline is going to be a factor at the start, and I also know myself well enough to know that it takes me a couple of hundred yards to settle into an open water swim. And if I find some good feet, I’m jumping on them and riding as long as I can.  But the swim is negligible for my overall time, so I just deal with whatever happens there on race day. I won’t be worried if I swim a little faster than planned, and I won’t be worried if I swim a little slower than planned.

Bike

There are some rollers on this course, and winds could be a factor as well. I have a pretty old bike that never was the latest and greatest, and I don’t have multiple cassettes and wheel options to change based on terrain or what the wind is doing. I keep my strategy here simple. Fight the wind and fight the hills, and relax a little on the downhills and with the wind at my back. I practice this in training all the time. The rationale is pretty simple. When an object, in this case a fat guy on a bike, is going slow it doesn’t take as much energy to increase it’s speed by 1 mph as it does when the object is going fast. It’s tempting to ride harder when the wind is at your back because you can look down and see your mph jump on your computer, but physics says it’s a foolish thing to do. It sucks fighting to stay over 18 mph in a headwind, but it beats giving up and going 16.5.

I stay in aero all the time, or as much as possible. If any sitting up is going on it needs to be standing to power up a hill or, if seated, with wind at my back. Even then, only for a rest. Stay aero.

I like this course for my plan because the course is a loop that starts heading south, then heads back north. The biggest hill is at about mile 27, and there’s a good chance winds will be out of the south. That means I can put a bigger effort in at the beginning going generally uphill and into the wind, and get more of a rest at the end, going generally downhill with wind at my back. That will help with my plan to fight for a pre-determined average speed on the bike and (hopefully) get a chance to try my run strategy out.

Run

I’m doing something here I’ve never done before. Maybe it will work, and maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s a better plan than “just survive”, even if that’s what I end up doing. I’m breaking this run down into 3 separate pieces: 2 five mile sections followed by a 5k. I have paces I’d like to run for each of them, but the hard part is going to be holding those paces. For the first 5, the challenge will be getting up to speed getting off the bike. There will need to be some split differences in these miles. I know from experience that it takes me about a mile to get my legs back from the bike.

For the second 5, the challenge is going to be getting to the right pace in the first mile and then holding it without speeding up. I’m not really concerned with what will happen if I slow down during this section. If I can’t hold the pace for the entire 5, there’s no way I’d be able to race the last 5k anyway, so I’ll be better off saving myself whatever gas I can to get through it. But I don’t want to go faster than my predetermined pace, so I can have as much as possible available for the 5k.

If I make it through the second 5 on pace, it’s a 5k race with whatever is left in the tank. Again, there’s a course advantage here. The course is three loops, and the first part of the loop is uphill. If I can make it to the top of that hill on pace  in the last lap, what I’m left with is a mostly downhill 3 miles or so. That should help with the pace. Again, if I can’t keep on the pace schedule for the first 1o miles, then whatever happens happens.

To train for this, I’m going out and doing short runs and trying to hit those paces. For instance, I’ll do a one mile warm up, then try to do my first mile at the pace I plan on running the first 5 during the race. For the second mile, I’ll try to hit my planned pace for the second 5 during the race. And for the last mile, I go at the 5k pace I’d like to hit on race day. I’m actually doing my long run this weekend with the same strategy, but using 2 miles instead of one for each planned section.

It’s worth noting that this entire, detailed, thought-out plan is a product of two things: (1) Not listening to music when I run, so I have nothing to do but think about this and (2) Tapering right now, so I’m obsessed with thinking about this race. If you are using this plan as advice, keep in mind that it’s free advice, and it’s worth about what you paid for it…if that.

In a way, I’m looking forward to this all being over with so I can go back to worrying about what new features Google is pushing out this week. Or maybe I’ll keep up with the Kardashians for a day or two until I’m so repulsed that I want to train for something again.

 

 

Ironman 70.3 Haines City Course Preview


I ended up riding long on Friday night because I had a schedule conflict on Sunday (Disney Princesses eat breakfast on a very tight schedule), but I went over on Saturday and checked out some of the course by car and on foot. Here’s what I’ve got…

Swim

The lake level is down…we’re in a drought here. I guess that’s the reason for the recent swim course change. I read on the site that it’s clear water, but it didn’t look especially clear to me. I didn’t get in, but I’d guess visibility of a few feet at the most. I’ve done a bunch of lake swim races in TN, so it’s about what I’d expect for a shallow lake swim. The beach for entry/exit looks pretty nice.

I didn’t see a single alligator if you’re someone who’s concerned about that. 🙂

Oh, and swim wave times are posted now.

Bike

My original plan was to go ride the course alone, but I’m glad I didn’t do that. I’d definitely recommend going with a group if you’re planning on getting a ride in before the race. It’s not the condition of the roads that is a problem, but the sections I saw were relatively narrow and in rural areas, so I’m not sure how safe I’d feel riding them alone. Admittedly, I’m a lot more cautious about when and where I’ll ride my bike than most people are.

The worst road conditions are on Masterpiece stretch, but I read that they are patching it before the race and repaving for next year. As long as the holes are patched and it’s clean, shouldn’t be a problem. Still, flat changing skills are never a bad thing to have.

There’s a really quick downhill and uphill right out of transition, which is something to be prepared for if you transition barefoot with with your shoes already in the pedals since that will probably be a higher traffic area. I’m a little torn between rushing to get my feet strapped in while in traffic to get up the hill quickly or waiting until I’m on a straight flat section with less traffic and dealing with it then. Right now, I’m thinking better safe than sorry, so I’ll probably just mash up the hill and wait until N. 30th street to deal with my feet where the course looks like it may open up a little.

The turn from Ledwidth onto 14th street at the beginning of the course is a little rough too…again, only really matters because it’s a higher traffic area and right in a turn. I’m not really expecting to get up to speed until after this section.

One concern I’ve had is winds. Here on the coast they are relentless, but the air in Haines City was pretty calm, at least on this day–small sample set.

Run

I didn’t check out the whole run course either, but the section that is in the park is a really nice, wide path. It’s concrete, not asphalt. Not a lot of shade, and it was pretty hot already at ~11:00 am, as expected. If you are expecting a “Florida flat” course, this isn’t it. But, again, by East TN standards it is far from hilly.

Transition

It looks like the Library parking lot is the transition area, and it’s set up with wide and easy to find entry and exits naturally. It is a terraced lot, and I’m not sure if they’ll only use the top, bottom, or both. If you’re on the bottom terrace I’d think it’s a little disadvantage because there’s slightly more hill to deal with and a longer course to cover.

Misc

For folks with kids, this is a great location. There’s a very nice park with a couple of playgrounds, splash pad, etc. They’ve marketed it that way, but it lives up to advertising. My kids had a blast playing while I was checking things out. Parking may be a bit of an issue for your supporters unless they get there early. This was a very happening spot with the locals…parking lots were pretty full. Also, I’m not sure how they’ll handle access to the majority of the parking spots at the park itself since the course cuts off access to that. More than likely, athletes arriving for the race will take those spots pretty early. With three kids under 5, the Missus is going to have a helper come with her to transport them around because there may be some hiking involved for them.

Feel free to post any questions in the comments and I’ll answer them if I can!

Tweeking 70.3 Training Three Weeks Out

I’m three weeks away from my big (for me) race, and am having to make some pretty major training changes. Realistically, I know anything that happens from here out is going to have very little affect on what happens race day, provided I’m rested. “10% under trained is better than 1% over trained”.

Oh, and injuries could make a difference too. That’s the reason for the training tweek.

I pulled up with a cramp in my calf at the end of my brick on Sunday. I’d dug a nutrition/hydration hole I couldn’t get out of, and I thought that was the main cause. It was still a little tender on Tuesday, so I bailed on the run scheduled for that day and gave it a shot again for a quality run on Thursday. Pain was almost instantaneous, so I guess it wasn’t just a cramp. I’m self-diagnosing as a Grade 1.5 strain. And I’m self-treating it by taking a solid week off of running. That means I’ll miss one long run. No biggie. I still will have one more. If I have problems on that run I’m not going to push it…I’ll stop running entirely until a day or two before the race, just to test it out.

That means last night’s swim, which is one I usually take very easy, was a hard one. I really pushed to see what I could handle for a race pace, and the good news is I’ll probably be about three minutes faster than I was last time I did this distance. Shooting for 35:45.

It also means I’ll be spending a lot more time on the bike. I think I can bike enough that I won’t lose any run fitness, even if I don’t get another long one in before the race.

If all goes well, I’ll be pain free going into the race and can just manage my pace on the run to keep this from cropping back up again. Even if it becomes an issue, once I’m in the race I’ll be able to fight through it.

If this persists, well, that’s when it will get fun. If I’m going to the start line with any kind of pain at all, the race strategy will change completely for me. I will push the swim a little harder, and I will bike like the race is 57.2 miles long. Drop the hammer. Empty the tank. I’ll assume my run is already bonked and go for broke on the bike, getting every second out of it I can.

Her: You know that trainer at the gym…super fit, dark hair?

Me: Does she live at the bottom of the pool? Then no, haven’t seen her.

Grinding Out Swims

Four weeks out from Ironman 70.3 in Haines City, and my training (at least parts of it) has fallen into it’s normal pattern. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

What’s happening is I’m falling into my normal M/O with the swim. Forget doing a bunch of laps kicking (which I hate), and forget drills. It’s time to get mentally prepared to do the distance comfortably. The best way for me to do that in the pool is to jump in knowing I have a lot of laps in front of me and decide that I’m going to just keep swimming until I’m done.

That still doesn’t really get me as ready as I want to be. There’s still a HUGE difference between getting in the pool and knowing I’m about to swim 100 lengths and looking out at the open water course on race day and knowing I have to do one BIG lap. Big swim courses intimidate me in a way the thought of lots of laps staring at the bottom of the pool doesn’t. Even open water swims can’t remedy this for me because I don’t go out and look at a course that’s laid out; I can’t see exactly how far it is I’m going to be swimming…I just see a lot of water.

It’s almost like the reverse of what happens on the bike. I like to train with multiple 5-7 mile laps for my bike rides. It is very boring. And it builds all kinds of mental toughness for race day. On race day, you only have to do 1 or maybe 2 laps. It doesn’t matter how long those laps are. At least you aren’t looking at the exact same thing 10-12 times over. And it’s not the same thing you saw yesterday and in every ride you’ve done for the past 2 months.

And unlike the swim, you can’t actually see how long the bike race course is when you start out. It’s just a road in front of you.

So I feel like the best way I can prepare is to show up at the pool knowing I’m going to finish the entire length of the swim with no stopping to rest between sprints and no drills to mentally break it up. Just grind. I’ll vary my speed for 250  yards here and there and breathe every two strokes, and sometimes I’ll do a few laps where I practice spotting looking forward and keeping my eyes closed underwater so I can’t follow the line on the bottom.I know I’m probably giving up a whole minute or two by bailing on the drills and kicking.

Or maybe not. Maybe I’ll be saving my legs for the bike where I can gain real ground.

Pushing Through A Swim

I posted this on DailyMile, but I thought it worthy of a repost here because I think it may be my finest attempt to date of piecing together words to capture a feeling:

Did you ever accidentally stay in Vegas an extra day because there are no clocks and you hadn’t been to your room in 26 hours anyway and forgot what day it was, then you finally got to the airport and found out your only way home had two connecting flights, then you missed your connection in Atlanta so you decided to try and take a nap in the floor, but you had to get up so the guy could clean that part of the floor, and you were still a little drunk (but not good drunk) so you really didn’t enjoy the walk to the next empty spot in the floor?

That’s how I felt leaving the gym this morning.

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