It's only Thursday and what a week it's been so far! I'll start with the end of my story...I swam my first non-stop mile today! And, I'm in the final stage of preparing for my first triathlon this coming Sunday. The Randolph Lake Triathlon awaits and I will answer.
Monday was a brick workout day so I did a 17 mile bike ride followed by a 5k run. It was pretty hot and humid outside but I managed to do the run at a pace of 8:15 per mile, my best pace for a brick workout so far. The bike? Well, I still have a VERY long way to go on that. I really need to improve on my gear shifting and cadence. I'd like to think I'm getting better, with the exception of my minor fall today. Don't ask...damn clip shoes!
Tuesday was interesting. I swam an hour and a half after eating breakfast at Ihop. What a nightmare! I had to stop after every lap so that I could catch my breath. NEVER EVER am I swimming with food in my stomach!!! Don't ask me what I'm going to do on Sunday for the triathlon. Maybe I'll eat something really fast in T1, I haven't figured that out yet. The only thing I know for sure is that I won't eat and swim. Not happening!
Wednesday I went back to pool feeling badly about my epic failure on Tuesday. I decided I needed to redeem myself. I swam (with an empty stomach) and got close to completing 3/4 of a mile. I swam 25 laps (50 lengths) and called it a day. After I got home I realized I needed to swim 54 lengths in order to total 3/4 of a mile, so I was annoyed with myself for stopping at 50. But in my defense, I wasn't planning on going beyond 40 lengths that day so 50 lengths felt good.
Of course on Thursday I went swimming with one goal in mind; to complete my first one-mile swim without stopping. Again on an empty stomach, thank you. It started out beautifully and I'm not really sure how or why everything simply "clicked" but it did. No heavy breathing, no struggling, no foot cramps, no issues at all. I just tried to relax and let it be. I did work on my head position and my high elbow catch and pull. When I founded myself feeling winded, I simply slowed my pace down until the feeling passed.
I'm beginning to realize just how much speed effects everything in swimming. By simply slowing down my pace I was able to go from a 1/2 mile to a full mile in less than 2 weeks. I've also noticed how quickly my form falls apart when I feel tired or winded. My swim coach told me that keeping my form under control is a MUST for success! So, whenever I felt tired or winded, I slowed down and focused on getting my form back under control. And I have to agree, form and body alignment is of utmost importance.
But the strangest thing happened to me around 3/4 of a mile into my swim. I took a moment to observed how nice my body felt in the water. How peaceful and comfortable I was. I could actually feel the density of the water as I pulled my hand back with each stroke. It was a sensory experience I had never felt before. And at that moment, I honestly loved being able to swim. I credit much of this to my coach Badass Jerry as well as Total Immersion Swimming. They are the ones who helped me get to this point.
So I'm ready for the Randolph Lake Triathlon this Sunday! I will try to leave the monster under my bed at home on race day. We'll see how that works out. I have one more open water swim planned at Greasy Lake on Saturday (first OWS without a wetsuit) and then its GO time. As they say in The Hunger Games..."May the odds be in your favor".
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