Jason got me back in the pool last week, and as always I regret staying away so long. I looked it up, and the last time I swam was almost 2 1/2 years ago at my last triathlon, the day I broke up with triathlon to commit to running (if you've never read this, check it out. It's my "Dear John" letter to triathlon and the race report from my last tri.)
The first time back in the pool wasn't as hard as I feared. I swam 500 yds, even if I had to stop to breath every 25 yds. My stroke and breathing was a mess, but I got through it and actually enjoyed it. Today, I swam 700 yds and had to rest less. My bilateral breathing still sucks, but I felt really strong today. My stroke felt powerful and I could really feel my hands pushing the water to propel me forward faster. Fast is of course relative because I am still painfully slow. Jason was in the lane next to me and in the time it took me to complete 1 length, he was starting his 2nd lap. But that's ok because I'm just out there to get a little extra exercise.
Every single morning that we go swim, I dread it and just want to stay in bed, but I always feel amazing when I am done and full of energy. I've been running right after swimming, and those runs have been amazing, so I guess I'll keep it up. :) But don't worry, triathlon and I are not getting back together. I'm just flirting with swimming, but my heart still truly lies with running. (Although ultra is looking mighty fine lately.)
I work best with goals, so I think I'm going to attempt this 0 to 1650 program to work up to swimming a mile non-stop. I still need to get a bit more comfortable with my breathing and stroke, and we'll be traveling next week, so I'll start this sometime when we get back from our trip to Florida or in November. I've also been working on my core this month, and I hope to keep that up as part of my Goofy training. In just 2 short weeks, I can see the difference the swimming and consistent core work is making for my running, so I really need to keep at it.
As for running, we've never been closer. This weekend we tackle another Goofy run, where I'll run 8 miles on Friday and 20 miles on Saturday. It's going to be a LONG weekend. Then on we head to Orlando next week for Jason's Ironman and my little 15k. I'm really looking forward to seeing some running buddies again at this race.
2 comments:
You broke up with Tri, and mentioned Pool. But no mention of Bike in that letter!
Bike and I have a love/hate relationship. Truth be told, even though I am worse at it, I think I like swimming more than I like cycling.
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