Friday - Jan 25, 2013 - Swim

Friday - January 25, 2013

Just a normal run rest/swim day.  I got to an empty pool at 5:45am, grabbed my pull buoy and got to work.  My highest lap count for 30 minutes was 38 before today.  Going nice and easy, except for the last 4 laps of "sprints", I was able to get in 42 laps.  I didn't use the pull buoy for 4 of the middle laps, just for a comparison.  My waist drops noticeably without the foam peanut, and I can tell the drag slows me down.  This will all come with time though. 

Side note: I'm really hoping for a sub-3 hour LMT in June.  Three segments: kayak 6, run 5.5, and bike 18.  Fun race, low traffic, staggered starts so there isn't a mob of people to fight around (like a running race).  If the water in the river is high, which it should be, an hour kayak is doable.  I have only kayaked twice (2 previous LMT races), so some strength training I'm doing for the Tough Mudder anyway and renting a kayak a few times this spring will help.  My run now is the most solid of the 3 triathlon disciplines.  I might be able to hold 9:00m/m or faster for the 5.5 mile run.  I was actually low 9's in the last LMT and I'm feeling faster now. 

For anyone that's never raced before, the adrenaline gets going and being with others makes you automatically increase your speed.  So, if you run 10's in training, you'll race in the upper 9's without much trouble. 

The bike is my chance to really hammer and save some time.  I have aero bars, so the only thing holding back a killer split time is my training.  I'll be adding trainer time to my schedule to get this up.  I didn't mention Killer Hill, which is about a 1/4 to 1/2 mile "hill".  It's pretty ridiculous at the top and I've never seen anyone go up it faster than a slow, grueling walk.  This is about 4-5 minutes no matter what I do. 

In case it doesn't come across in my writing, the race season cannot get here fast enough.  I cannot wait for March to roll around. 

You start running to lose some weight, then you try to see how far/fast you can go, then you try a race, then you want to race more and go faster/farther.  Before you know it, you're hooked!  Just like me.