Panama City Beach - November 7, 2009
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always made a habit of getting to transition early before races. I think Trevor suggested I do it during my first race, and even though since then I’ve realized I always end up just hanging around for an hour and a half with nothing to do, I do it anyway. The Ironman was even worse, since you bring over your transition bags (essentially plastic bags where you put everything you’ll need to get from swim to bike and bike to run) and your bike the night before. So it’s basically just show up with your wetsuit and get in the water.
But I got there at 5:15 anyway for the 7 a.m. start. I wandered around transition for a while, took my Sudafed, took my Lipodrene with about half an hour to go as the sun came up, and took in the scene. It really was quite amazing. They make all the athletes get in this giant holding pen on the beach, and from there you can go warm up in the Gulf. Looking back from the water, the beach was full of spectators, and people were out on their condo balconies to watch the swim start. I have honestly never participated in anything that this may people had watched. The pros went off at 6:50, then it was the other 2700 peoples’ turn.
Swim - 2.4 Miles
If you’ve never seen the swim start to an Ironman, it really is one of the great spectacles in sports. Nearly 3000 people all getting in the water at the same time, all headed in the same direction. Knowing I was one of the larger competitors, I thought I’d use this to my advantage. I put myself in the front of the middle, since that is about how I figure I swim in relation to everyone else, and then just dove in. You can run in the water for probably the first 100 yards since tide is low in the morning, but once I jumped in, it was war time.
Basically, anyone I saw in front of me I just tried to swim through if they were slower. Everyone. It was just this mass of people everywhere you went, and it was every potential Ironman for him or herself. So you just beat people up. And in the water you can’t differentiate between guys and girls, so, yeah, I was probably hitting a few girls as I went by. Just swimming like I play basketball: bruising. Not to say I didn’t get my shares of elbows to the nose and kicks to the face, but I’m fairly sure I gave a lot more than I got. But even if people get pissed, what are they gonna say? “Hey ref, this guy in a wetsuit and a red cap pushed me out of the way.” Yeah, that narrows it down.
I kept a good pace, swam straight, and about ¾ of the way to the first buoy it stopped feeling hard. It was just like stroke, stroke, kick someone in the face, stroke. And look at the throngs of jellyfish under me and pray I didn’t get stung.(My mother would have been very worries). Ended up doing the first 1.2 miles in just over 37 minutes. So faster than I’d expected.
I took some water and hit loop 2, still in throngs of people. I did notice I was going from pack to pack, meaning it seemed to me I was passing a good number of people. But it’s hard to tell in the water. As I slowed and looked up to site myself at the turn at the first buoy, I hear this female voice say “Hey man, you’re being kind of aggressive.” It made me smile. Yeah, ok, I was shoving girls out of the way, but if you wanna swim with the boys, you gotta play rough.
The rest of the swim was rather uneventful, though I felt like I was definitely passing more people than I was passed by. Ended up doing it in 1:17, 3 minutes faster than expected, but not far off.
T1 – Swim to Bike – 9:18
I ran out of the water and got my wetsuit stripped by a “peeler” (they can’t call them “Strippers” anymore, apparently) and sort of jogged barefoot over the concrete into the changing “tent.” A volunteer handed me my swim to bike transition bag, and I ran through this hotel ballroom to a partitioned off section for the men. It was very strange, like this makeshift locker room with plastic chairs, with Gatorade bottles and Clif bar wrappers and all; this shit all over the places. And dudes just walking around naked, putting anti-chafe butter and sunscreen on. It was very odd. Anyway, I took my time in there, put on all my gear, and ran out in my bike shoes to the bike. It’s very nice at the Ironman, too, they bring you your bike, even though you end up running like 150 yards from the “tent” to the start. But whatever. One down, two to go.
Showing posts with label long swim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label long swim. Show all posts
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
T98 - Hope in a Sea of Chlorine - Swim
Gainesville
There was a girl I used to date who was always asking me, like most women do, what I was thinking. But this one had a particular interest in what I thought about during long training sessions with no music.
"Well, on swims," I told her, "I think about girls I've slept with, in order, to keep track of laps. Like lap one is my college girlfriend who was my first, and so on.."
"Really?!" she smiled, "So do you think about me?"
"I'll be balls deep in Ironman training before I get to you," I told her. Not sure she liked that response. This girl was #81, so today's 4000 meter swim would be as close as I would ever get to her getting a lap. Of course, I don't really employ that method anymore, so the point is moot. But it takes a swim where you do the same distance as the Ironman race to get that far in my sexual history. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
Swim - 2x2000
2 Sudafed
2 Lipodrene
I had been feeling a little sniffley and drwosy, so I took some Sudafed to clear that up maybe an hour or so before the swim, then knocked back a couple Lipodrene before heading to the GHFC pool. I didn't even bother with a warmup, as it was already about 9 p.m. and I knew I was going to be in the pool for a while. So I hit the water strong and found myself keeping a nice form with a good push for a while. Stroke felt good, glide felt good. Everything felt good. I looked up around lap 12 of the first set and saw I had done 12 laps in 10 minutes, pretty much the reverse of how it had been up until this cycle. I was pleased.
The first set went well, and I managed to get through the whole thing at a fairly even pace and finished it in 38 minutes. So looks like I went real strong the first 500 meters or so, then settled into a good race pace. Which is probably exactly what I'll need to do during the race. I took a gel and some water after the first 40 laps, but my break was probably less than a minute. I feel like this is a good simulation for the "break" between laps on the course, since you have to get out of the water and start again. I didn't feel like running around the GHFC pool deck either. That mighta looked weird.
The second 40 laps also felt strong, and I never felt myself really let up at all. About lap 20 I started to feel a small cramp in my hamstring when I pushed off the wall, and by lap 25 I started to feel cramps in my lats and forearms. Not so much I had to stop, but definitely enough that I felt it. I'm not sure if salt tabs will help this, but I am mildly concerned since if I cramp up 1000 yards from shore during the race, I'm pretty fucked. Throw in a wetsuit that makes you sweat more, and I gotta definitely figure out how to mitigate this in the next couple of weeks.
But the swim felt strong the whole time, and I ended up finishing in 80 minutes, including my break. This is right where I wanted to be, and it was nice to have a training day where I actaully met a goal and felt strong for once.
I used my outdoor goggles, since I need to get used to having those on for long periods of time. They left deep caverns on my eye sockets, making me look about 10 years more weathered than I am. And about lap 60 I really started wanting to take them off. But otherwise they worked great. I also was wondering if I can put a gel in my wetsuit to take at the halfway point on the race. I'll definitely have to look into that once the wetsuit comes in the mail. But the main thing I thought as I got out of the pool, feeling a little tired but still energized was, "Ok, pal. You ready to go and get on that bike?"
There was a girl I used to date who was always asking me, like most women do, what I was thinking. But this one had a particular interest in what I thought about during long training sessions with no music.
"Well, on swims," I told her, "I think about girls I've slept with, in order, to keep track of laps. Like lap one is my college girlfriend who was my first, and so on.."
"Really?!" she smiled, "So do you think about me?"
"I'll be balls deep in Ironman training before I get to you," I told her. Not sure she liked that response. This girl was #81, so today's 4000 meter swim would be as close as I would ever get to her getting a lap. Of course, I don't really employ that method anymore, so the point is moot. But it takes a swim where you do the same distance as the Ironman race to get that far in my sexual history. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
Swim - 2x2000
2 Sudafed
2 Lipodrene
I had been feeling a little sniffley and drwosy, so I took some Sudafed to clear that up maybe an hour or so before the swim, then knocked back a couple Lipodrene before heading to the GHFC pool. I didn't even bother with a warmup, as it was already about 9 p.m. and I knew I was going to be in the pool for a while. So I hit the water strong and found myself keeping a nice form with a good push for a while. Stroke felt good, glide felt good. Everything felt good. I looked up around lap 12 of the first set and saw I had done 12 laps in 10 minutes, pretty much the reverse of how it had been up until this cycle. I was pleased.
The first set went well, and I managed to get through the whole thing at a fairly even pace and finished it in 38 minutes. So looks like I went real strong the first 500 meters or so, then settled into a good race pace. Which is probably exactly what I'll need to do during the race. I took a gel and some water after the first 40 laps, but my break was probably less than a minute. I feel like this is a good simulation for the "break" between laps on the course, since you have to get out of the water and start again. I didn't feel like running around the GHFC pool deck either. That mighta looked weird.
The second 40 laps also felt strong, and I never felt myself really let up at all. About lap 20 I started to feel a small cramp in my hamstring when I pushed off the wall, and by lap 25 I started to feel cramps in my lats and forearms. Not so much I had to stop, but definitely enough that I felt it. I'm not sure if salt tabs will help this, but I am mildly concerned since if I cramp up 1000 yards from shore during the race, I'm pretty fucked. Throw in a wetsuit that makes you sweat more, and I gotta definitely figure out how to mitigate this in the next couple of weeks.
But the swim felt strong the whole time, and I ended up finishing in 80 minutes, including my break. This is right where I wanted to be, and it was nice to have a training day where I actaully met a goal and felt strong for once.
I used my outdoor goggles, since I need to get used to having those on for long periods of time. They left deep caverns on my eye sockets, making me look about 10 years more weathered than I am. And about lap 60 I really started wanting to take them off. But otherwise they worked great. I also was wondering if I can put a gel in my wetsuit to take at the halfway point on the race. I'll definitely have to look into that once the wetsuit comes in the mail. But the main thing I thought as I got out of the pool, feeling a little tired but still energized was, "Ok, pal. You ready to go and get on that bike?"
Monday, September 21, 2009
T83 - Ironman Swim, Interrupted - Swim
Gainesville
S: long day-mental toughness day!
8 x 500, odds are RPE3, evens RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
Do the math here and you see today's swim is actually a little longer than the Ironman swim. Of course, you don't get to take a nice little breather after every 500 yards there, nor do you have an entire swimming pool to yourself. But it was good to get the distance in anyway.
My first set I did in under 10 minutes, closer to 9 actually. I kept up a solid stroke despite the perpetual soreness in my shoulder from the accident (really feels more jammed than anything else) and the fluid buildup in my right forward. Like it feels significantly heavier than it used to. I kept up this sub-10 pace for the first three, then hit about 10 even on the fourth set. I then took a quick bathroom break (why does swimming always make me have to piss?) has a Vanilla PowerGel (tastes vaguely like spoiled yogurt) and did my second four sets.
The second four were, predictably not as fast. I tried to keep up the intensity of the strokes, but I think my frequency started to die down as I got more tired. My last set ended up being about 12 minutes. The card has this workout listed at 2 hours, and I did it in 85, including the piss break and about 45 seconds between sets. I'm not sure why exactly the guy who wrote this though 4000 meters would take 2 hours, but the timing on swims always confuses me anyway.
At any rate, I felt pretty good after the swim. not terribly tired, but like I'd had a solid workout. I know this is in a totally controlled environment (swimming on Saturday night at an indoor pool means that there are zero other people to deal with) and I had breaks. But it was good to see that my body can handle this muhc swimming this far out. Very encouraging workout.
S: long day-mental toughness day!
8 x 500, odds are RPE3, evens RPE 5
2 Lipodrene
Do the math here and you see today's swim is actually a little longer than the Ironman swim. Of course, you don't get to take a nice little breather after every 500 yards there, nor do you have an entire swimming pool to yourself. But it was good to get the distance in anyway.
My first set I did in under 10 minutes, closer to 9 actually. I kept up a solid stroke despite the perpetual soreness in my shoulder from the accident (really feels more jammed than anything else) and the fluid buildup in my right forward. Like it feels significantly heavier than it used to. I kept up this sub-10 pace for the first three, then hit about 10 even on the fourth set. I then took a quick bathroom break (why does swimming always make me have to piss?) has a Vanilla PowerGel (tastes vaguely like spoiled yogurt) and did my second four sets.
The second four were, predictably not as fast. I tried to keep up the intensity of the strokes, but I think my frequency started to die down as I got more tired. My last set ended up being about 12 minutes. The card has this workout listed at 2 hours, and I did it in 85, including the piss break and about 45 seconds between sets. I'm not sure why exactly the guy who wrote this though 4000 meters would take 2 hours, but the timing on swims always confuses me anyway.
At any rate, I felt pretty good after the swim. not terribly tired, but like I'd had a solid workout. I know this is in a totally controlled environment (swimming on Saturday night at an indoor pool means that there are zero other people to deal with) and I had breaks. But it was good to see that my body can handle this muhc swimming this far out. Very encouraging workout.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
T75 - Cruisin'...On a Sunday Afternoon - Swim
Gainesville
The school year has presented a whole new set of challenges. This week has gotten totally fucked by 1) Having to get up early on Monday and Wednesday to teach, 2) Various social invitations that for some reason are harder to turn down in Fall than in Summer and 3) The Football Games. Now, I am no big Gator fan, but it seems as though if you are in Gainesville, and have access to a ticket, you should go. So I do, and this of course involves standing for at least 2 hours, which is not the best thing when your legs need to recover from a 13-mile run. Yes, a full night of drinking followed b a football game (I only drank water at the tailgate, though) does not really make for ideal recovery time.
So I decided to take a 3rd rest day this week (Saturday) leading into a long swim Sunday and the long bike Monday. I still have ten extra days to spend in the next 2 months, so it's not a huge deal, and with the holiday Monday this makes some sense. But I am going to need to figure out what I'm doing with Mondays and Wednesdays as both require and early morning and a full day of work. Meaning, of course, I didn't train on either day this week, and really won't be able to do bikes on either of those days at all. Fucking Fall, I don't know what I was thinking saying I would teach early classes. At any rate, Sundays are still free and clear, and I took today's to do a nice, long swim.
Swim: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 2 x 1200, RPE 3 , even pace on both
1 Gel
2 Lipodrene
I took the gel early because of how ridiculously hungry I'd gotten on the last swim I did with only breakfast in my stomach. I took it on the way to GHFC, then got in the pool for the long workout. I really do like these long warmups because by the time you hit that second set of 200 meters, it's almost full speed ahead. Today was no different.
I kept my stroke pretty consistent today, as instructed, and just felt like I was cruising the whole time. The swim was not overly difficult, nor did I feel like I was going slow. I was just cruising along at a nice clip, and kept the effort strong through both sets. I took a chocolate gel and even took a little bathroom break between the two swim sets, so the long rest may have helped that. But it was nice to give my legs a little break while still getting in a solid long workout day.
Tomorrow is going to be my longest bike ride ever, and my longest training day thus far. So I am glad I am pretty rested up.
The school year has presented a whole new set of challenges. This week has gotten totally fucked by 1) Having to get up early on Monday and Wednesday to teach, 2) Various social invitations that for some reason are harder to turn down in Fall than in Summer and 3) The Football Games. Now, I am no big Gator fan, but it seems as though if you are in Gainesville, and have access to a ticket, you should go. So I do, and this of course involves standing for at least 2 hours, which is not the best thing when your legs need to recover from a 13-mile run. Yes, a full night of drinking followed b a football game (I only drank water at the tailgate, though) does not really make for ideal recovery time.
So I decided to take a 3rd rest day this week (Saturday) leading into a long swim Sunday and the long bike Monday. I still have ten extra days to spend in the next 2 months, so it's not a huge deal, and with the holiday Monday this makes some sense. But I am going to need to figure out what I'm doing with Mondays and Wednesdays as both require and early morning and a full day of work. Meaning, of course, I didn't train on either day this week, and really won't be able to do bikes on either of those days at all. Fucking Fall, I don't know what I was thinking saying I would teach early classes. At any rate, Sundays are still free and clear, and I took today's to do a nice, long swim.
Swim: long day
wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 2 x 1200, RPE 3 , even pace on both
1 Gel
2 Lipodrene
I took the gel early because of how ridiculously hungry I'd gotten on the last swim I did with only breakfast in my stomach. I took it on the way to GHFC, then got in the pool for the long workout. I really do like these long warmups because by the time you hit that second set of 200 meters, it's almost full speed ahead. Today was no different.
I kept my stroke pretty consistent today, as instructed, and just felt like I was cruising the whole time. The swim was not overly difficult, nor did I feel like I was going slow. I was just cruising along at a nice clip, and kept the effort strong through both sets. I took a chocolate gel and even took a little bathroom break between the two swim sets, so the long rest may have helped that. But it was nice to give my legs a little break while still getting in a solid long workout day.
Tomorrow is going to be my longest bike ride ever, and my longest training day thus far. So I am glad I am pretty rested up.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
T52 - Uncharted Waters - Swim
Gainesville
Swim: long day,
warmup: 4 x 75, last 25 in each is backstroke.
main: 4 x 1000, each 1000 as (1 x 750, 5 x 50), rest 2:00 after each
2 Lipodrene
The title here is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist. This was the longest swim I'd ever done, and I was kinda impressed with myself for being able to do it. Like when I first started swimming again in the Fall of 07, I remember 10 laps being hard. Now I have warmups 3 times that long. Anyway, the way this workout was set up really made the long distance swim a lot easier to digest.
The first set of 15 laps was a breeze, and the sprints that followed went as well as could be expected. It was tough to just go all out on the 50s, knowing full well I had 3000 meters to go, so it became another case of "go as hard as you think will give you energy to do the rest of this." I'm not exactly sure why they threw sprints in on long day, but whatever. I'd have been happy with 4 sets of 20 laps, but then again I've never done an Ironman.
Swimming really is the most solitary of all the events in an Ironman. There's no music. There's no scenery save for the bottom of the pool. There's not even anyone to look at as in the water everyone is sort of an androgynous blob. So you start to think. A lot. Probably too much. Today I think I had myself convinced my last girlfriend had been cheating on me by the end of set one, had myself convinced that my sister was a lovestruck moron by set 2, started wondering about the validity of my life by set 3, and I don't even know what I was thinking about during set 4. None of if was logical, but being alone with your thoughts for that long makes you think up stupid shit. Especially when you can't even talk to yourself. The swim went well, but I think I found it mildly depressing by the end.
The 750 sets were all right around the 15-minute mark, which I'm finding promising. I don't expect to cut a whole lot of swim time off after this point, maybe a second or 2 per lap. But I think I've made the dramatic gain and the law of diminishing returns is going to rear its ugly head soon. No matter. The sprints were for the most part strong, although typically the end of the 2nd or 3rd 50 was half-assed. I took a gel at the halfway point, which I think helped. But I didn't really feel fatigued and aside from going mildly stir-crazy, I was very happy with how this swim went. As well as I'd hoped, if not a little better. Definitely getting back in stride. Or stroke. Whatever. Longest swim of the cycle, and definitely one of the best.
Swim: long day,
warmup: 4 x 75, last 25 in each is backstroke.
main: 4 x 1000, each 1000 as (1 x 750, 5 x 50), rest 2:00 after each
2 Lipodrene
The title here is a little cliche, but I couldn't resist. This was the longest swim I'd ever done, and I was kinda impressed with myself for being able to do it. Like when I first started swimming again in the Fall of 07, I remember 10 laps being hard. Now I have warmups 3 times that long. Anyway, the way this workout was set up really made the long distance swim a lot easier to digest.
The first set of 15 laps was a breeze, and the sprints that followed went as well as could be expected. It was tough to just go all out on the 50s, knowing full well I had 3000 meters to go, so it became another case of "go as hard as you think will give you energy to do the rest of this." I'm not exactly sure why they threw sprints in on long day, but whatever. I'd have been happy with 4 sets of 20 laps, but then again I've never done an Ironman.
Swimming really is the most solitary of all the events in an Ironman. There's no music. There's no scenery save for the bottom of the pool. There's not even anyone to look at as in the water everyone is sort of an androgynous blob. So you start to think. A lot. Probably too much. Today I think I had myself convinced my last girlfriend had been cheating on me by the end of set one, had myself convinced that my sister was a lovestruck moron by set 2, started wondering about the validity of my life by set 3, and I don't even know what I was thinking about during set 4. None of if was logical, but being alone with your thoughts for that long makes you think up stupid shit. Especially when you can't even talk to yourself. The swim went well, but I think I found it mildly depressing by the end.
The 750 sets were all right around the 15-minute mark, which I'm finding promising. I don't expect to cut a whole lot of swim time off after this point, maybe a second or 2 per lap. But I think I've made the dramatic gain and the law of diminishing returns is going to rear its ugly head soon. No matter. The sprints were for the most part strong, although typically the end of the 2nd or 3rd 50 was half-assed. I took a gel at the halfway point, which I think helped. But I didn't really feel fatigued and aside from going mildly stir-crazy, I was very happy with how this swim went. As well as I'd hoped, if not a little better. Definitely getting back in stride. Or stroke. Whatever. Longest swim of the cycle, and definitely one of the best.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
T47 - Worst/Best Recovery Meal Ever - Swim
Gainesville
Got up early today to get everything I needed to get done done before I headed to the pool for this long swim at about 11. Why so early? Because my Monday afternoon was to consist of drinking beer and smoking weed by the Gainesville Place pool, and I knew once I did that the day was shot. Good for training? Absolutely not. What you should do immediately post-workout? Not unless you are a professional basketball player. But fun? You bet your ass. I'm not sure how many of my friends could spend Monday getting high and drinking beers by the pool, but my guess is not many. And I don't know too many who wouldn't have switched whatever it was they were doing on a Monday with what I was. And with Tuesday being and easier workout, this was a good day to be a waste of life.
S: long swim
wu: 4 x 250 (4 x swim, kick, pull, swim)
main: 1950 ladder: start with 300, then 275,250, 225, ….until 25.
2 Lipodrene
The warmup for this swim was definitely one of the longer ones one can do, but I'm also definitely feeling like I'm getting a lot better with the kickboard. Still takes long as fuck, but I'm definitely getting more efficient. And any warmup like this always leads to a stronger swim, and this was no exception.
I still don't really see the point in these ladders, since they don't realyl even specify an RPE on here for the longer sets vs. the shorter ones. So I started out at a medium pace for the 300, and kept it pretty solid until this dude and what I assume was his girlfriend asked to circle swim. And we all know I like circle swimming about as much as I like children. But every lane had 2 people in it, and I couldn't really say no, as once it was pointed out to me several months ago that the rules of the club dictate that's what you ahve to do, I have ceased being a dick about it and refusing altogether. I still made a face and said "I guess," before commencing on the 225 meter set.
Well, once thing about being a dick about circle swimming, it makes you swim faster so you feel like you can at least justify your shitty attitude. And so for the two sets these kids were in the water with me I swam a lot harder, even though the guy was still passing me a lot. Again, I was in the water a lot longer, so I don't realyl feel bad about it. Still, it was motivation. I had a mint chocolate gel after the 200 meter set. Then I started losing count of where I was in terms of sets. Losing count of laps isn't bad, maybe you miss one or two, Missing a whole set? Not as good. I think I did the whole thing, though, I'm not too concerned. And I found myself still able to go hard on the short sets at the end.
All in all a good swim followed up by a solid afternoon of doing absolutely nothing productive. I'm entitled once in a while. And I will say that kind of relaxation after a long swim is never a bad thing.
Got up early today to get everything I needed to get done done before I headed to the pool for this long swim at about 11. Why so early? Because my Monday afternoon was to consist of drinking beer and smoking weed by the Gainesville Place pool, and I knew once I did that the day was shot. Good for training? Absolutely not. What you should do immediately post-workout? Not unless you are a professional basketball player. But fun? You bet your ass. I'm not sure how many of my friends could spend Monday getting high and drinking beers by the pool, but my guess is not many. And I don't know too many who wouldn't have switched whatever it was they were doing on a Monday with what I was. And with Tuesday being and easier workout, this was a good day to be a waste of life.
S: long swim
wu: 4 x 250 (4 x swim, kick, pull, swim)
main: 1950 ladder: start with 300, then 275,250, 225, ….until 25.
2 Lipodrene
The warmup for this swim was definitely one of the longer ones one can do, but I'm also definitely feeling like I'm getting a lot better with the kickboard. Still takes long as fuck, but I'm definitely getting more efficient. And any warmup like this always leads to a stronger swim, and this was no exception.
I still don't really see the point in these ladders, since they don't realyl even specify an RPE on here for the longer sets vs. the shorter ones. So I started out at a medium pace for the 300, and kept it pretty solid until this dude and what I assume was his girlfriend asked to circle swim. And we all know I like circle swimming about as much as I like children. But every lane had 2 people in it, and I couldn't really say no, as once it was pointed out to me several months ago that the rules of the club dictate that's what you ahve to do, I have ceased being a dick about it and refusing altogether. I still made a face and said "I guess," before commencing on the 225 meter set.
Well, once thing about being a dick about circle swimming, it makes you swim faster so you feel like you can at least justify your shitty attitude. And so for the two sets these kids were in the water with me I swam a lot harder, even though the guy was still passing me a lot. Again, I was in the water a lot longer, so I don't realyl feel bad about it. Still, it was motivation. I had a mint chocolate gel after the 200 meter set. Then I started losing count of where I was in terms of sets. Losing count of laps isn't bad, maybe you miss one or two, Missing a whole set? Not as good. I think I did the whole thing, though, I'm not too concerned. And I found myself still able to go hard on the short sets at the end.
All in all a good swim followed up by a solid afternoon of doing absolutely nothing productive. I'm entitled once in a while. And I will say that kind of relaxation after a long swim is never a bad thing.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
T36 - 2 Swim Workouts For the Low, Low Cost of 1!!! - Swim
Gainesville
S: long day
Swim:
warmup: 4 x 75
main: 500swim, 500kick, 500pull, 500swim, all RPE 4
15 x 100 (25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25Hard)
2 Lipodrene
"Long Day" would be a bit of an understatement. This was essentially 2 long swim workouts combined into one, and I thought my eyes were fucking up again when I read the training card and saw this listed as a 90 minute swim. In week 14. Well, whatever.
The first 500 was a bit lazy, since I knew I was in for a long night. But by the 9th or 10th lap I started feeling warmed up. I did Pull next, actually, and did it in just over 13 minutes, which I thought wasn't bad for a pull. Then 10 laps of kick, which is pretty interminable, but boy does it make you haul ass on those last 500 yards. Seriously crushed those last 10 laps now that my arms were rested and I had been kicking. Did them in 10 minutes, which, again, for me is crushing it. I usually average about 1:07 a lap.
Because it was a loooong swimming day, I actually got out of the pool after the first 2000 meters and used the bathroom. Not sure why swimming always makes me have to piss, but as anyone who's ever been on a roadtrip with me will tell you I have the bladder of an 8-year-old girl (although my niece Emily seems to be able to hold it, so it may be more like the bladder of a 50-year-old woman. Anyway, I went to the bathroom, had some Gatorade and a gel, and started the 15 EBEH.
Crushed those too, much as one can crush EBEH. The easys were really more of a moderate tempo, and the Hards I swam like I was angry. I've never really used anger as a motivating force in training, but let me tell you it worked Tuesday night. And I was angry about all kinds of things, and nothing at all. Things I had no business being angry about and things I should have been angrier about before. But the point is I swam the last 25 of each one like somebody has just shit in my Gatorade bottle, and I liked it. I'm not one who can feign emotion to use as motivation (why I was such a terrible football player. What did that lineman ever do to me?) but occasionally it works. Anyway, I finished this workout in 86 minutes, UNDER time for once. I was very pleased.
Interestingly, also, I had eaten an entire large cheese pizza for lunch and when I went to weigh myself post-swim I was 2 pounds lighter than I had been during my Sunday swim. Although I think the pizza contributed to the nasty acid reflux I was getting during most of the swim. Never made me stop, but it's starting to become a concern. Had a little muscle milk after, need to buy some more.
S: long day
Swim:
warmup: 4 x 75
main: 500swim, 500kick, 500pull, 500swim, all RPE 4
15 x 100 (25Easy, 25Build, 25Easy, 25Hard)
2 Lipodrene
"Long Day" would be a bit of an understatement. This was essentially 2 long swim workouts combined into one, and I thought my eyes were fucking up again when I read the training card and saw this listed as a 90 minute swim. In week 14. Well, whatever.
The first 500 was a bit lazy, since I knew I was in for a long night. But by the 9th or 10th lap I started feeling warmed up. I did Pull next, actually, and did it in just over 13 minutes, which I thought wasn't bad for a pull. Then 10 laps of kick, which is pretty interminable, but boy does it make you haul ass on those last 500 yards. Seriously crushed those last 10 laps now that my arms were rested and I had been kicking. Did them in 10 minutes, which, again, for me is crushing it. I usually average about 1:07 a lap.
Because it was a loooong swimming day, I actually got out of the pool after the first 2000 meters and used the bathroom. Not sure why swimming always makes me have to piss, but as anyone who's ever been on a roadtrip with me will tell you I have the bladder of an 8-year-old girl (although my niece Emily seems to be able to hold it, so it may be more like the bladder of a 50-year-old woman. Anyway, I went to the bathroom, had some Gatorade and a gel, and started the 15 EBEH.
Crushed those too, much as one can crush EBEH. The easys were really more of a moderate tempo, and the Hards I swam like I was angry. I've never really used anger as a motivating force in training, but let me tell you it worked Tuesday night. And I was angry about all kinds of things, and nothing at all. Things I had no business being angry about and things I should have been angrier about before. But the point is I swam the last 25 of each one like somebody has just shit in my Gatorade bottle, and I liked it. I'm not one who can feign emotion to use as motivation (why I was such a terrible football player. What did that lineman ever do to me?) but occasionally it works. Anyway, I finished this workout in 86 minutes, UNDER time for once. I was very pleased.
Interestingly, also, I had eaten an entire large cheese pizza for lunch and when I went to weigh myself post-swim I was 2 pounds lighter than I had been during my Sunday swim. Although I think the pizza contributed to the nasty acid reflux I was getting during most of the swim. Never made me stop, but it's starting to become a concern. Had a little muscle milk after, need to buy some more.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
T34 - Not as Slow as I Thought and Steady - Swim
Gainesville
Today's workout fit in perfectly with my schedule as I spent the whole day revising this Cosmo article, and the long swim offered a nice respite. I also decided that since it was a long swim with 2 distinct sets, I'd take a gel along for the swim. Never done this before, but I'm glad I did.
Swim: long day
wu: 6 x 50, alternate free and back
main: 2 x 1500, RPE 4
2 Lipodrene
Not sure I timed the Lipodrene very well today, as I took 2 at about 5 then got absorbed inediting this article and looked up and it was 5:50. The Lipodrene was kicking in, so I hightailed it over to GHFC and hit the pool for the longest swim session thus far.
I've swum longer days than this, but for some reason it feels longer now. My first set went fairly well, though I didn't bother looking at the clock. My form felt good at first, which I credit to the lipodrene, then started to slip at the end, which I credit to fatigue. So I looked up and took my gel (chocolate mint is soooo good when you have that swimming hunger. It's like mid-workout cake) and started back up at 10 after.
The beginning felt really labored, and by lap 10 I felt like I'd been out there forever. The guy in the lane next to me kept passing me, and there was literally a fat girl in the next lane doing backstroke and smoking me. But whatever. I was pretty sure they weren't swimming as far as I was. So I just kept my pace and started to feel like I was locked in to some sort of muscle memory. Like it just felt robotic and very efficient. No idea whatsoever is this was true, but when I finished lap 30 I looked up and it was 33 after. Meaning I'd done 30 laps in 33 minutes, a much better pace that I've previously done. Not smoking. Not even fast by some people's standards. But fastER for me, and that's all we're looking for here. Constant improvement.
All in all I can't be happier with how well training is going thus far. Gotta keep it up.
Today's workout fit in perfectly with my schedule as I spent the whole day revising this Cosmo article, and the long swim offered a nice respite. I also decided that since it was a long swim with 2 distinct sets, I'd take a gel along for the swim. Never done this before, but I'm glad I did.
Swim: long day
wu: 6 x 50, alternate free and back
main: 2 x 1500, RPE 4
2 Lipodrene
Not sure I timed the Lipodrene very well today, as I took 2 at about 5 then got absorbed inediting this article and looked up and it was 5:50. The Lipodrene was kicking in, so I hightailed it over to GHFC and hit the pool for the longest swim session thus far.
I've swum longer days than this, but for some reason it feels longer now. My first set went fairly well, though I didn't bother looking at the clock. My form felt good at first, which I credit to the lipodrene, then started to slip at the end, which I credit to fatigue. So I looked up and took my gel (chocolate mint is soooo good when you have that swimming hunger. It's like mid-workout cake) and started back up at 10 after.
The beginning felt really labored, and by lap 10 I felt like I'd been out there forever. The guy in the lane next to me kept passing me, and there was literally a fat girl in the next lane doing backstroke and smoking me. But whatever. I was pretty sure they weren't swimming as far as I was. So I just kept my pace and started to feel like I was locked in to some sort of muscle memory. Like it just felt robotic and very efficient. No idea whatsoever is this was true, but when I finished lap 30 I looked up and it was 33 after. Meaning I'd done 30 laps in 33 minutes, a much better pace that I've previously done. Not smoking. Not even fast by some people's standards. But fastER for me, and that's all we're looking for here. Constant improvement.
All in all I can't be happier with how well training is going thus far. Gotta keep it up.
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