T66 - Back in the Corps, Back in Open Water- Swim

Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii

I was back in Kailua and wouldn't you know it, the District Pool was closed on Sunday. So Eric was nice enough to take me over to the Base Pool at K-Bay and "sponsor" me to use it for training. Now I had not been in a Marine Corps Base pool in at least five years, but I thought the idea of combining the Marine Corps and the Ironman in the same training session seemed somehow appropriate. After all, they are probably the two things I am proudest of having done (or will be at least) so lining up at the red and yellow lane separators at the 50-yard base pool was pretty motivating.

Swim: 10 x 200 (50 Easy, 50 Build, 50 Easy, 50Hard)

2 Lipodrene
This workout is so much better in a 50-yard pool. This was the first time I'd trained in such a pool this cycle, and for EBEHs this length, it makes perfect sense. The first 3 sets were rough, and I thought maybe my trend of mediocre workouts was continuing. But it was just the lack of warmup. By set 4 I was going at a steady pace on the Easy sets, and the Build and Hard were good. I even kept up a solid sprint on the last 50s. Which is a lot easier to do when you are looking straight down the pool instead of having to constantly be turning around.

It didn't hurt that some unit was having a family day barbecue on one end of the pool, giving off a great grilled meat smell when I came up for air. Motivated me to swim faster to get to that side. And all the Marines in the pool also motivated me to show that a shaggy haired, unshaved civilian could still tear up the pool. Thoroughly enjoyed the nice outdoor pool at K-Bay, as it was empty and a great course.

1500 Meters - Open Water

Me and Eric, Cousin Jill's Husband, took a nice drive from Kailua through the North Shore to some beach I can't name. Apparently it holds a lot of surfing competitions as it has about a half-mile wide cove with sand that creates a natural amphitheater. And despite the fact that I'd had a pretty good swim earlier, I couldn't resist one trip to the open waters of Hawaii while I was here. So I left my jammer on, brought my cap and outdoor goggles to the beach, and hit the water.

It was amazing. It was like snorkeling and training at the same time. Every time I put my head in the water to breathe, there were interesting tropical fish and some coral to look at. I swam with the current from one end of the cove almost to the other, until the waves got so big I decided to head back. Swimming back was not so easy, as the current on the North Shore can be brutal. Several times I would see myself not move at all in relation to the ocean floor when I stroked. But I didn't really get tired, and I felt like the swim went very well. Especially considering I hadn't been in open water since the Orlando Half. Makes me feel pretty conifdent about the race this weekend at Camp Blanding (2 bases in 1 week!)

This was a great workout, and I love that I got to take advantage of some of the natural training environments Hawaii has to offer. The 1500 Meter open water (I estimated) was just a bonus workout, but I couldn't resist. I'll use that to replace half the workout tomorrow, which is 1200 with kickboard and pull work. I think the open water, especially on Oahu, is better training value. Especially as I open my next to last "recovery week."