I'm not dead. I promise. I'm just having difficulties stringing words together. Or stringing words together in way that people will actually find interesting or worthwhile.
I'll try harder.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Week????: When coach ain't happy, ain't no one happy.
Note to all of the swim team kids out there: The more you complain about having to run during dry-land, the more your coach is going to make you run.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Week 11: Adjusting to a new schedule hurts worse that 90 minutes of straight swimming
I love my job. I do. I really really do. You don't become a swim coach if you do not love it with all your heart and unequivocally believe in what you do. Or you shouldn't.
However, this is the most ill-advised job for someone with my specific condition. I am not a morning person.
I hate mornings. I hate going to bed early. I hate waking up early. I hate those first fews seconds right after the alarm goes off when my entire being screams, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" But morning practices come with the territory when you are a professional swim coach.
After the first week, my swim training has been suffering. I have been able to run and strength train, but i need to be in the water.
However, this is the most ill-advised job for someone with my specific condition. I am not a morning person.
I hate mornings. I hate going to bed early. I hate waking up early. I hate those first fews seconds right after the alarm goes off when my entire being screams, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" But morning practices come with the territory when you are a professional swim coach.
After the first week, my swim training has been suffering. I have been able to run and strength train, but i need to be in the water.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Week 10: Running, Running, Running
I hate to run. I hate every step. I hate that it is boring. I hate having to control my breathing. I hate what it does to my body.
Except when it makes my body smaller.
Before I continue my story, let me preface that I did this to myself. There is no one to blame for this but myself.
My wonderful college friend and sorority sister whom I will refer to as "The Petite Pundit" is a runner. She received that blessing genetically from her father. I come from a long line of non-runners. I don't even come from a long-line of swimmers. Swimming started in my father's generation with only him and his brother. I actually come from a long line of couch-dwellers: one one side those who sit and drink, and on the other side those who sit around and sing, draw, act, eat, but certainly not run. I have never been able to like running. My dumpy, slow-twitch body does not respond.
I have tried over the years to run. I have even been successful at it, but as with everything. Life gets in the way. And then I have to start over.
I have been starting over. This summer I have gotten on the treadmill several times and I can now run a mile on 4.3 without stopping. In fact today I ran 1.5 miles on 4.3 with out stopping. Yay me!
So I did bring up The Petite Pundit for a reason. In August, she was considering a half-marathon in November. I thought that was a great idea. She did a successful 10K in the spring. And you know how gung-ho I have become about getting out there and doing things. In a completely idiotic brain fart, these words came out of my mouth. (Ok, not my mouth, this was on facebook) "If you do the half, I'll do the 5K." Running a 5K is one of those bucket list things. Something that I feel I should be able to do, but really won't. Like learning Mandarin. Or how to knit.
But I'm in. The first weekend in November. 10 weeks from this week.
Except when it makes my body smaller.
Before I continue my story, let me preface that I did this to myself. There is no one to blame for this but myself.
My wonderful college friend and sorority sister whom I will refer to as "The Petite Pundit" is a runner. She received that blessing genetically from her father. I come from a long line of non-runners. I don't even come from a long-line of swimmers. Swimming started in my father's generation with only him and his brother. I actually come from a long line of couch-dwellers: one one side those who sit and drink, and on the other side those who sit around and sing, draw, act, eat, but certainly not run. I have never been able to like running. My dumpy, slow-twitch body does not respond.
I have tried over the years to run. I have even been successful at it, but as with everything. Life gets in the way. And then I have to start over.
I have been starting over. This summer I have gotten on the treadmill several times and I can now run a mile on 4.3 without stopping. In fact today I ran 1.5 miles on 4.3 with out stopping. Yay me!
So I did bring up The Petite Pundit for a reason. In August, she was considering a half-marathon in November. I thought that was a great idea. She did a successful 10K in the spring. And you know how gung-ho I have become about getting out there and doing things. In a completely idiotic brain fart, these words came out of my mouth. (Ok, not my mouth, this was on facebook) "If you do the half, I'll do the 5K." Running a 5K is one of those bucket list things. Something that I feel I should be able to do, but really won't. Like learning Mandarin. Or how to knit.
But I'm in. The first weekend in November. 10 weeks from this week.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Week 10: Mission #1 Accomplished
1:40.31.4.
Official 500 Splits:
500-9:23.4
1000- 19:06.1
1500- 28.51.0
2000- 38.36.4
2500- 49.02.6
3000- 58.52.1
3500-1:09:15.9
4000- 1:21:24.1
4500- 1:30:12.9
5000-1:40.31.4
4 minutes faster.
Many thanks to the Twin Rivers YMCA Masters for making a this a fun morning!
Next up: 2010 Pier-2-Pier Ocean Swim in Wrightsville Beach.
Official 500 Splits:
500-9:23.4
1000- 19:06.1
1500- 28.51.0
2000- 38.36.4
2500- 49.02.6
3000- 58.52.1
3500-1:09:15.9
4000- 1:21:24.1
4500- 1:30:12.9
5000-1:40.31.4
4 minutes faster.
Many thanks to the Twin Rivers YMCA Masters for making a this a fun morning!
Next up: 2010 Pier-2-Pier Ocean Swim in Wrightsville Beach.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Week 9: Major Milestone
Back in April when I decided to start training again, I made a commitment and became an actual member of United States Masters Swimming, or USMS. With this membership came all sorts of nifty things. My most favorite which is my very own flog. Flog, is fitness log. It is a calendar where I can log my fitness activities. There are many different options: cycling, spinning, running, weightlifting, yoga, etc. You choose the activities, enter a time and/or distance and it puts in on a calendar and also keeps running totals for the month for each activity. That is how I could very accurately recall all the workouts I have done in the past 9 days in my previous post.
The main focus is, of course swimming. There is also a little mini-challenge program called "Go the Distance". It asks you to set goals for the year and tracks your progress toward achieving them. It tracks the total mileage for the year and tells you how many miles you need to swim to achieve your goal, your percentage achieved, and most heartbreakingly, the pace you need to swim to achieve your goal by the end of the year. Back in April, a naive Tammy randomly entered 100 miles for her goal for 2010. My flog page has said" You'll need to pick up the pace to achieve your goal this year", and then the number of miles I should have already swum to achieve my 100 miles, since I started the damn thing. Motivating in a "Come on Lard-Ass! Can't you swim a couple more miles today? How hard can it be?" kinda way.
Today I noticed a new message. It said, "Most recent milestone achievement: 50 miles on 08/23." From April 11th through August 23rd, I swam 50 miles.
Me. I swam 50 miles.
Well, as of today it is 53.06.
Not bad for a Lard-Ass.
The main focus is, of course swimming. There is also a little mini-challenge program called "Go the Distance". It asks you to set goals for the year and tracks your progress toward achieving them. It tracks the total mileage for the year and tells you how many miles you need to swim to achieve your goal, your percentage achieved, and most heartbreakingly, the pace you need to swim to achieve your goal by the end of the year. Back in April, a naive Tammy randomly entered 100 miles for her goal for 2010. My flog page has said" You'll need to pick up the pace to achieve your goal this year", and then the number of miles I should have already swum to achieve my 100 miles, since I started the damn thing. Motivating in a "Come on Lard-Ass! Can't you swim a couple more miles today? How hard can it be?" kinda way.
Today I noticed a new message. It said, "Most recent milestone achievement: 50 miles on 08/23." From April 11th through August 23rd, I swam 50 miles.
Me. I swam 50 miles.
Well, as of today it is 53.06.
Not bad for a Lard-Ass.
Week 9: Bad Tammy...Good Tammy
Bad Tammy- I've been a bad blogger.
Good Tammy - I've been great about working out!
My swim team has been on break for the last two weeks. That means vacation for me! Ok, not really. I could have taken some vacation time, but I went to Jersey earlier in the summer and I will be going to Debs and the Captain's wedding in NY State next weekend. So I have been working getting ready for the new season. I have been mighty productive. I feel prepared to start the season. More important than that, I have been working out like a fiend. With no practices to coach, I have been taking all of the exercise classes I cannot because they happen when I am on the pool deck. In the past 9 days, I have swum 9200 meters, run 2.14 miles, done two yoga classes, four 60 min cycle classes, 60 minutes on the Elliptical, and one water aerobics class. And two of those days were rest days where I did nothing.
My 5K is on Saturday, so I am trying valiantly to rest. I did my final 1000 test last Friday and I was really disappointed. My splits were as follows:
1:38.5
1:47.9
1:48.8
1:50.4
1:51.0
1:52.4
1:50.3
1:52.3
1:52.0
1:46.2
For a final time of 18:10.3. Sad Tammy.
So I have a couple of theories of why this was not good.
1: The day before I swam a early morning 600 to warm-up and loosen up, did an 60-min cycle class, and then ran 2.14 miles that night. I was so sore and tired Friday morning and definitely not recovered.
2: I did flip turns. I don't normally do flip turns. It messes up my groove. Please don't judge. I have just felt that I can swim farther and faster with out the flips. Now that I feel that my conditioning and feel is a whole lot better, I have started doing more and more flip turns during my swims. I really think that slowed me down a bit.
So I am not sure what is going to happen Saturday morning. Even though I haven't put in the yardage in the water that I wanted, I know that I am in much much better shape than I was in at the beginning of June.
Here's hoping for the best!
Good Tammy - I've been great about working out!
My swim team has been on break for the last two weeks. That means vacation for me! Ok, not really. I could have taken some vacation time, but I went to Jersey earlier in the summer and I will be going to Debs and the Captain's wedding in NY State next weekend. So I have been working getting ready for the new season. I have been mighty productive. I feel prepared to start the season. More important than that, I have been working out like a fiend. With no practices to coach, I have been taking all of the exercise classes I cannot because they happen when I am on the pool deck. In the past 9 days, I have swum 9200 meters, run 2.14 miles, done two yoga classes, four 60 min cycle classes, 60 minutes on the Elliptical, and one water aerobics class. And two of those days were rest days where I did nothing.
My 5K is on Saturday, so I am trying valiantly to rest. I did my final 1000 test last Friday and I was really disappointed. My splits were as follows:
1:38.5
1:47.9
1:48.8
1:50.4
1:51.0
1:52.4
1:50.3
1:52.3
1:52.0
1:46.2
For a final time of 18:10.3. Sad Tammy.
So I have a couple of theories of why this was not good.
1: The day before I swam a early morning 600 to warm-up and loosen up, did an 60-min cycle class, and then ran 2.14 miles that night. I was so sore and tired Friday morning and definitely not recovered.
2: I did flip turns. I don't normally do flip turns. It messes up my groove. Please don't judge. I have just felt that I can swim farther and faster with out the flips. Now that I feel that my conditioning and feel is a whole lot better, I have started doing more and more flip turns during my swims. I really think that slowed me down a bit.
So I am not sure what is going to happen Saturday morning. Even though I haven't put in the yardage in the water that I wanted, I know that I am in much much better shape than I was in at the beginning of June.
Here's hoping for the best!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Week 8: Caution: Bragging ahead
We finally got pictures of the triathlon up on our website, so I picked out a couple of yours truly for display. You can see the entire 687 picture album at www.goldsboroymca.org.
This is the only pic they got of me in my suit. (Thank you sweet Lord!)
The only picture they got of me during the swim. I'm pretty sure this was taken right near the end, so I'm pleased that you can't see any of the agony on my face.
I got the honors of handing out awards because everyone else was too chicken. Just another step in me becoming the voice (ummm....face?) of the Goldsboro Family YMCA. This is me presenting the 3rd overall Men to Frank, one of my swimming buddies. We joke that he doesn't do enough kick training. Upon handing him the award, he complained that they wouldn't let him kick the entire swim portion. And yes, he really is that tall.
Kriquette and I looking really serious because we thought we screwed something up. We didn't.
Me presenting an award to Kristie, one of my swim team parents. Her two sons did a youth triathlon earlier in the summer. She did this one to prove to her sons that, Yes, she can do it too.
The Turvinator sitting in the shade while the rest of us roast in the sun. It's her turn next year.
Joking while presenting my own team with our first place awards.
Posing with my team. This was such a last-minute thing, but I am so glad that I did it.
Me looking happy. Not necessarily attractive, but very very happy.
This is the only pic they got of me in my suit. (Thank you sweet Lord!)
The only picture they got of me during the swim. I'm pretty sure this was taken right near the end, so I'm pleased that you can't see any of the agony on my face.
I got the honors of handing out awards because everyone else was too chicken. Just another step in me becoming the voice (ummm....face?) of the Goldsboro Family YMCA. This is me presenting the 3rd overall Men to Frank, one of my swimming buddies. We joke that he doesn't do enough kick training. Upon handing him the award, he complained that they wouldn't let him kick the entire swim portion. And yes, he really is that tall.
Kriquette and I looking really serious because we thought we screwed something up. We didn't.
Me presenting an award to Kristie, one of my swim team parents. Her two sons did a youth triathlon earlier in the summer. She did this one to prove to her sons that, Yes, she can do it too.
The Turvinator sitting in the shade while the rest of us roast in the sun. It's her turn next year.
Joking while presenting my own team with our first place awards.
Posing with my team. This was such a last-minute thing, but I am so glad that I did it.
Me looking happy. Not necessarily attractive, but very very happy.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Week 8: Affirmations
So far today, three different people have told me that I look skinny. If this keeps up, I might actually start believing them.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Week 8: Making an effort
I wore a dress to work today. Three people didn't recognize me and two others were speechless. Thanks guys.
Going to attempt a 2000M swim this afternoon. I thought this would be a good idea for my legs considering I spent about five hours carrying boxes and furniture up two flights of stairs on Saturday. The entire time I kept alternating the following two mantras:
*I will be saving hundreds of dollars a month in rent after this move.
*I am burning many calories and will be skinny after this move.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Week 7: Back to the Grind
Wednesday's swim:
1100 Free @ 20:00
200 kick with board 25 fr-25 br
10 x 50 Fr @1:00
200 kick with board 25 fr-25 br
2000M ~ 50 minutes
Thursday
hour-long cycle class dedicated to the genius of Prince
20 miserable minutes on the treadmill
I'm hoping to get in the water tomorrow, but I might not have time. I have an end-of-summer pool party for the swim team tomorrow night and I need to have my registration materials ready for distribution Monday.
In other life-altering news, The Turvinator and I move on Saturday!!! If anyone wants a great workout, we will be moving all of our material possessions from my 1st floor one-bedroom to our brand new 3rd floor two-bedroom. I will be supplying Krispy Kreme and Red Bull, as well as plenty of coffee. Coffee is for me. Red Bull is for the labor force, ie the Human Punching Bag and EB.
1100 Free @ 20:00
200 kick with board 25 fr-25 br
10 x 50 Fr @1:00
200 kick with board 25 fr-25 br
2000M ~ 50 minutes
Thursday
hour-long cycle class dedicated to the genius of Prince
20 miserable minutes on the treadmill
I'm hoping to get in the water tomorrow, but I might not have time. I have an end-of-summer pool party for the swim team tomorrow night and I need to have my registration materials ready for distribution Monday.
In other life-altering news, The Turvinator and I move on Saturday!!! If anyone wants a great workout, we will be moving all of our material possessions from my 1st floor one-bedroom to our brand new 3rd floor two-bedroom. I will be supplying Krispy Kreme and Red Bull, as well as plenty of coffee. Coffee is for me. Red Bull is for the labor force, ie the Human Punching Bag and EB.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Week 7: Setting New Goals Before I Accomplish the First
My Summer-concluding official, "this-one-totally-counts" 5K swim will be swum on August 28th at 7am. The Masters team from the Twin Rivers YMCA in New Bern will be driving up to join me. There will be about nine of us swimming and at least two of the group will be swimming the 10K, because they swam the 5K earlier in the summer. That 10K is a maybe distance possibility for next summer, but lets get me through 2010 alive first.
In addition to my scheduled 5K, I am being pressured by my swimmers and CEO to participate in the Pier-2-Pier at Wrightsville Beach. This is a 1.71 mile ocean swim. Yay!
I also made the mistake of challenging one of my triathlon team members. I have been working with Chris on her swimming for a good part of the last year. While she has done several by herself, none of them have been open water for as long a distance of our sprint. I told her that this would be the last time I do this for her. Next year, she has to complete this sprint tri all on her own. Of course she spun on her heel and said sweetly, "Ok, but you have to as well."
Insert Foot Into Mouth. At least that will give me more humiliating training stories to share for the next 12 months.
In addition to my scheduled 5K, I am being pressured by my swimmers and CEO to participate in the Pier-2-Pier at Wrightsville Beach. This is a 1.71 mile ocean swim. Yay!
I also made the mistake of challenging one of my triathlon team members. I have been working with Chris on her swimming for a good part of the last year. While she has done several by herself, none of them have been open water for as long a distance of our sprint. I told her that this would be the last time I do this for her. Next year, she has to complete this sprint tri all on her own. Of course she spun on her heel and said sweetly, "Ok, but you have to as well."
Insert Foot Into Mouth. At least that will give me more humiliating training stories to share for the next 12 months.
Week 7: I am a bad bad blogger
I missed a full week. But it my defense it was a very eventful couple of weeks. Upon my last entry I had my sister visiting me and we spent the time in between me having to work laying out by the pool, eating, or drinking. And then I went out of town for a long weekend. I am full of excuses.
Here is a day by day recap of what you missed.
July 28- Practice. Recertifying Hilary in Lifeguarding and CPR with the assistance of my wonderful co-workers Sarah, Danielle and the Turvinator. Lunch. Grocery Store. Practice. Cookout with Debs and the Captain, Hilary, and Quiet Blonde Guy.
July 29 - Practice. Skip out on work before the lifeguard drill. Start the drive to NJ. Drive through DC instead of driving around. Make it to NJ without Hilary and I killing each other.
July 30- Drag Dad all around town looking for a black slip in size Medium. Impress my father with my quick decision-making skills while buying a new digital camera. Drive all around Morris County with Dan getting things in place for the wedding. Katie and Brian's Wedding. Four Cranberry and Vodkas.
July 31- Breakfast at the diner hungover....So Jersey. Seeing Inception with my sister. Sweet Jersey Corn on the Cob for dinner.
August 1 - 30th Annual Horseshoe Lake Lifeguard Competition. Drive back to NC. Am so achy and sore with headache that I have to stop at a rest area to get the Tylenol out of my bag in the trunk. Am faced head on with my oldness. Make it home to NC feeling very old and sorry for myself.
August 2 - Practice. Nap. Practice. The Turvinator's old roommate and her boyfriend move all of The Turvinator's material possessions into my one bedroom apartment.
August 3- Practice. Nap. Agree to swim in the 25th Annual Goldsboro Family YMCA Sprint Triathlon. 20 minutes of yoga with Bryce and Logan. Practice. Sleep.
August 4- Practice. Swim 1500M in prep for the coming week's impressive feats of physical fitness. Nap like a corpse. Work. Practice. Dinner with Debs and the Captain.
August 5- Practice. Nap. The Captain's going-away lunch. Cycle class with the swim team that made my legs hurt for three days. Practice.
August 6- Practice. Swim 2000M that make me feel like a rock star and a little less frightened about a half-mile open water race. Errands and Prep for the Triathlon. Practice.
August 7- Sprint Triathlon. I was on a team and I swam the swim leg. My official time was 15:09 which I was really proud of. My swim time was 12th out of all 92 participants. Again, felt like a rock star. My team got first place for female teams. We were the only female team, but I still got to take home a plaque. Suck it skinny bitches. Nap like a corpse. Celebrate my impressive feats of physical fitness with the Turvinator with bikinis and drinks by the pool. Cookout dinner with The Turvinator and the Human Punching Bag (HPB). Crash on the couch and watch "Once".
Sidebar: If you have not seen Once and believe in the transformative power of music, OMG you have to go right out and see it. It is quiet, but incredibly powerful. It tells such an incredible story with very little dialogue. It is essentially the story of how the power of music can bring souls together. I am so serious about this. It made me want to cry the music was just so incredible. GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!
August 8- Sleep in. Eat breakfast. Watch TV. Nap. Grocery Store. Pride and Prejudice and starting to pack. Dinner. Watch TV. Sleep. Super Productive Sunday.
August 9- Practice. Lots and lots of work. Practice. Run two miles on the treadmill. Suck on that skinny bitches!
Here is a day by day recap of what you missed.
July 28- Practice. Recertifying Hilary in Lifeguarding and CPR with the assistance of my wonderful co-workers Sarah, Danielle and the Turvinator. Lunch. Grocery Store. Practice. Cookout with Debs and the Captain, Hilary, and Quiet Blonde Guy.
July 29 - Practice. Skip out on work before the lifeguard drill. Start the drive to NJ. Drive through DC instead of driving around. Make it to NJ without Hilary and I killing each other.
July 30- Drag Dad all around town looking for a black slip in size Medium. Impress my father with my quick decision-making skills while buying a new digital camera. Drive all around Morris County with Dan getting things in place for the wedding. Katie and Brian's Wedding. Four Cranberry and Vodkas.
July 31- Breakfast at the diner hungover....So Jersey. Seeing Inception with my sister. Sweet Jersey Corn on the Cob for dinner.
August 1 - 30th Annual Horseshoe Lake Lifeguard Competition. Drive back to NC. Am so achy and sore with headache that I have to stop at a rest area to get the Tylenol out of my bag in the trunk. Am faced head on with my oldness. Make it home to NC feeling very old and sorry for myself.
August 2 - Practice. Nap. Practice. The Turvinator's old roommate and her boyfriend move all of The Turvinator's material possessions into my one bedroom apartment.
August 3- Practice. Nap. Agree to swim in the 25th Annual Goldsboro Family YMCA Sprint Triathlon. 20 minutes of yoga with Bryce and Logan. Practice. Sleep.
August 4- Practice. Swim 1500M in prep for the coming week's impressive feats of physical fitness. Nap like a corpse. Work. Practice. Dinner with Debs and the Captain.
August 5- Practice. Nap. The Captain's going-away lunch. Cycle class with the swim team that made my legs hurt for three days. Practice.
August 6- Practice. Swim 2000M that make me feel like a rock star and a little less frightened about a half-mile open water race. Errands and Prep for the Triathlon. Practice.
August 7- Sprint Triathlon. I was on a team and I swam the swim leg. My official time was 15:09 which I was really proud of. My swim time was 12th out of all 92 participants. Again, felt like a rock star. My team got first place for female teams. We were the only female team, but I still got to take home a plaque. Suck it skinny bitches. Nap like a corpse. Celebrate my impressive feats of physical fitness with the Turvinator with bikinis and drinks by the pool. Cookout dinner with The Turvinator and the Human Punching Bag (HPB). Crash on the couch and watch "Once".
Sidebar: If you have not seen Once and believe in the transformative power of music, OMG you have to go right out and see it. It is quiet, but incredibly powerful. It tells such an incredible story with very little dialogue. It is essentially the story of how the power of music can bring souls together. I am so serious about this. It made me want to cry the music was just so incredible. GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!
August 8- Sleep in. Eat breakfast. Watch TV. Nap. Grocery Store. Pride and Prejudice and starting to pack. Dinner. Watch TV. Sleep. Super Productive Sunday.
August 9- Practice. Lots and lots of work. Practice. Run two miles on the treadmill. Suck on that skinny bitches!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Week 5: I love my friends.
As said before.....beer is not the same as water.
I love having friends who think being properly hydrated for intense distance swim training isn't necessary.
I love having friends who think being properly hydrated for intense distance swim training isn't necessary.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Week 4: Lessons Learned
1: Swimming less than a mile 2-3 times a week is not going to cut it if I want to cut time off my 5K. I really need to be going 2000-3000 3-4 times a week. I know this, but my body doesn't want to believe it.
2: I was clearly an idiot when I decided to test a 1000 every two weeks. That @#%# hurts! I did my second one today in a time of 17:33.1. That was 6.8 seconds faster than I did two and a half weeks ago. I was hoping for a bit more improvement, but considering how much swimming I have actually done since then, I am "on my knees, kissing the ground" grateful for an improvement at all. Here are my splits:
1:38.9
1:46.3
1:46.6
1:49.4
1:44.2
1:45.8
1:47.8
1:43.8
1:46.9
1:41.0
3: The best motivation comes from imagining the face of someone you want to impress or shame with your impressive feats of athleticism. Or boys you like. whatever.
4: Beer is not the same as water, even if it is Bud Light.
2: I was clearly an idiot when I decided to test a 1000 every two weeks. That @#%# hurts! I did my second one today in a time of 17:33.1. That was 6.8 seconds faster than I did two and a half weeks ago. I was hoping for a bit more improvement, but considering how much swimming I have actually done since then, I am "on my knees, kissing the ground" grateful for an improvement at all. Here are my splits:
1:38.9
1:46.3
1:46.6
1:49.4
1:44.2
1:45.8
1:47.8
1:43.8
1:46.9
1:41.0
3: The best motivation comes from imagining the face of someone you want to impress or shame with your impressive feats of athleticism. Or boys you like. whatever.
4: Beer is not the same as water, even if it is Bud Light.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Week 4: Breakthrough
I have my feel back!!!
It may have taken a week and a half, but I swam 1500 meters yesterday that felt really good. I could feel and pull on the water and actually felt strong in the water. Not strong enough to do more of course, but that was a little victory for me. Especially since I got very little sleep over the weekend. Too much partying.....ooops!
Cycle today.
1000 for time tomorrow.
It may have taken a week and a half, but I swam 1500 meters yesterday that felt really good. I could feel and pull on the water and actually felt strong in the water. Not strong enough to do more of course, but that was a little victory for me. Especially since I got very little sleep over the weekend. Too much partying.....ooops!
Cycle today.
1000 for time tomorrow.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Week 4: The Lies We Tell Ourselves
A 700 is more than just a 700 if it is a continuous 700 Freestyle.
Right?
Friday, July 16, 2010
Week 3: What A Difference a Week Makes!
On my last post, I mentioned that I would be leaving down for a couple of days for a swim meet. I didn't think that I would be able to swim, but would try to get at least one or two workouts in.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah that totally didn't happen.
Four hour drive, three 12+ hour days in the sun, and another 4 hour drive doesn't not bode well for me wanting to do anything but sleep. I didn't even get that much sleep. But I have a really awesome sunglasses tan and my hair is just a bit blonder than it was last week.
I finally got back into the water on Wednesday and pretty much floated up and down the pool for 30 minutes. I have completely lost my feel for the water! I struggled for months trying to feel strong and efficient in the water and a week takes that away? It took about 1200m for me to feel warmed up and then I had to get out and start my afternoon practices. I was a little discouraged, because I felt like I was stepping back in my training.
I got back into the water on Thursday, breaking my no-swimming-two-days-in-a-row rule, but knew it was necessary to getting back into the groove ASAP. The swimming did not feel any better, it actually felt worse. My arms were dead and I had no pop, no spark, nothing. I forced about 1300m and got out. I did redeem myself later that afternoon in spinning. On Thursday afternoons, I do a spin/indoor cycling class for my Senior swimmers. This week, I let one of the girls run the class, so I was just along for the ride. I felt sluggish, but pushed through to get a really great sweat.
Today is a mystery. I don't know what it will bring. I'm hoping to get some more land workouts this weekend and praying that the swimming will feel better next week.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah that totally didn't happen.
Four hour drive, three 12+ hour days in the sun, and another 4 hour drive doesn't not bode well for me wanting to do anything but sleep. I didn't even get that much sleep. But I have a really awesome sunglasses tan and my hair is just a bit blonder than it was last week.
I finally got back into the water on Wednesday and pretty much floated up and down the pool for 30 minutes. I have completely lost my feel for the water! I struggled for months trying to feel strong and efficient in the water and a week takes that away? It took about 1200m for me to feel warmed up and then I had to get out and start my afternoon practices. I was a little discouraged, because I felt like I was stepping back in my training.
I got back into the water on Thursday, breaking my no-swimming-two-days-in-a-row rule, but knew it was necessary to getting back into the groove ASAP. The swimming did not feel any better, it actually felt worse. My arms were dead and I had no pop, no spark, nothing. I forced about 1300m and got out. I did redeem myself later that afternoon in spinning. On Thursday afternoons, I do a spin/indoor cycling class for my Senior swimmers. This week, I let one of the girls run the class, so I was just along for the ride. I felt sluggish, but pushed through to get a really great sweat.
Today is a mystery. I don't know what it will bring. I'm hoping to get some more land workouts this weekend and praying that the swimming will feel better next week.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Week 2: Test Day
Normally I think I will do my test day on a Friday, I like the way it finishes out a week. I had to do this today because I leave tomorrow afternoon for a swim meet. I have been alternately excited about this and dreading this. I was excited because I knew that I could blow the time from the 1st 1000 of my test 5K out of the water. I was dreading it because I have had a sore throat since Sunday, have a had a dry throaty cough, and have been unable to breathe through my nose in two days. None of that was going to stop me though!
The Turvinator and I made an appointment for her to time my swim around 10 this morning. She would just be getting out of the water, then she would time my swim, and then she would head out for her training session. (She is doing the run leg of our still up-in-the-air triathlon relay.) I get to the YMCA from my morning practice at the outdoor pool and discover that ....... I don't have a swim suit. How is it possible that not only did I forget to bring a suit, that I don't have one in my size lying around my office, AND Turvy decided to bring home and wash the suit I lent her four months ago. Our best laid plans thwarted and we decided to try again at 2pm.
I did finally get in my swim, although my body did feel like it was completely made out of lead. My final time was 17:39.9. I was pretty pleased especially since I was gasping for breath the entire way and groaning on my turns. My splits ended up as this:
1:41.9
1:49.0
1:48.7
1:47.1
1:43.9
1:47.2
1:46.5
1:45.5
1:48.3
1:41.3
If I was doing a 500 it would have rocked. You can definitely tell that is where my body naturally wanted to stop. And then it wanted to stop again after the 800. I am hoping to get my body accustomed to distances longer than 500s. I also hope that very soon I will be able to take a deep breath without breaking into a coughing fit. Cheers!
The Turvinator and I made an appointment for her to time my swim around 10 this morning. She would just be getting out of the water, then she would time my swim, and then she would head out for her training session. (She is doing the run leg of our still up-in-the-air triathlon relay.) I get to the YMCA from my morning practice at the outdoor pool and discover that ....... I don't have a swim suit. How is it possible that not only did I forget to bring a suit, that I don't have one in my size lying around my office, AND Turvy decided to bring home and wash the suit I lent her four months ago. Our best laid plans thwarted and we decided to try again at 2pm.
I did finally get in my swim, although my body did feel like it was completely made out of lead. My final time was 17:39.9. I was pretty pleased especially since I was gasping for breath the entire way and groaning on my turns. My splits ended up as this:
1:41.9
1:49.0
1:48.7
1:47.1
1:43.9
1:47.2
1:46.5
1:45.5
1:48.3
1:41.3
If I was doing a 500 it would have rocked. You can definitely tell that is where my body naturally wanted to stop. And then it wanted to stop again after the 800. I am hoping to get my body accustomed to distances longer than 500s. I also hope that very soon I will be able to take a deep breath without breaking into a coughing fit. Cheers!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Week 2: Today's Workout
1 x 1000 Free
10 x 100 Fr Kick with Fins @ 2:00
2 mins vertical dolphin kick with fins
1 x 500 Free
2500M - 60 minutes
My sister randomly decided to get in the water today and swam 3000. I hate her.
10 x 100 Fr Kick with Fins @ 2:00
2 mins vertical dolphin kick with fins
1 x 500 Free
2500M - 60 minutes
My sister randomly decided to get in the water today and swam 3000. I hate her.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Week Two: Training Plan
Having put Week One behind me, I now need to get serious and structured about the rest of the summer. If I am going to be successful, I need to make a plan and follow it. I've been trying to lose weight for like, my entire life, but have never been super structured about it. Therefore it has never happened. I will not be letting that happen this time.
My Training Plan:
- In the water training sessions 3-4 times a week, but never two days in a row. My swim training plan is to slowly increase the distances of freestyle I can swim without resting. I am concerned about my shoulder, so I need to make sure I get full recovery. (Getting old sucks).
- I plan to do at least one session where I do a long moderate swim, increasing yardage every week. I want another session to be faster paced mid-distance repeats. A third session will be at least 50% kick to progress my aerobic endurance(AE) but giving my shoulders a rest.
- Test a 1000 for time every two weeks. My boss, Mr. SPD suggested that I do the 5K several time this summer to mark my progress. Not going to happen. I do think that a timed 1000 will work just as well. I was really pleased with how I split my test 5K and how little rest I took, I just need to be able to swim faster with the same rest.
- I plan on supplementing the swim training with dryland training, again increasing AE, but giving my body and mind variety. This shouldn't be to difficult. I do a indoor cycle class with my senior swimmers once a week and occasionally yoga. My apartment complex has a great fitness center I frequent a lot on weekends.
Week Two will be interesting, because life doesn't stop. I will be leaving on Thursday afternoon for a swim meet in Hickory, NC (just shy of four hours away) and will be gone until Sunday. I don't expect to get a lot of swimming done, but have been promised that the hotel fitness center is pretty good. Wish me luck!
Week One: Lessons Learned
Here are some of the lessons I have learned in Week 1 of this project.
1) I am old. Maybe it is better to say that my body is getting old and doesn't recover the way I think it should be able to. After the 5K on Wednesday I gave my body a full 48 hours out of the water. I did a cycle class on Thursday and was surprised at how good I felt, so I was determined to get in the water on Friday. It was bad. I managed to swim 1600 meters fighting through the most fatigue my shoulders have ever felt. I didn't feel actual pain in my shoulders until Saturday night playing Just Dance on the Wii. Really?
2)Non-swimmers think I am crazy. Former competitive swimmers are proud, impressed and glad that it is not them. My current swimmers are unimpressed. The general response is "So, we do at least that much every day, most of the time more." They obviously do not understand the toll that 10-15 years, 50 more pounds, and 10 years of being out of training does to the body.
3) Recreational lap swimmers are unimpressed. Floated in the middle of a 50M lap lane for twenty minutes is the same exact thing that I am doing.
4) I will never be able to wear nail polish ever again. The pool water just eats it and I am far too tired to keep touching it up every night.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Week 1: Your body is capable of far more than your mind thinks it is.
Test Day. 1:44.:25.50.
Every couple of years I have a moment where I think, "Damn, did I just do that?" I finished my test 5K in 1 hour, 44 minutes, and 25.5 seconds. I just wanted to make under 2 hours. For those of you who are extremely curious, here is the breakdown in workout form.
Before Picture-
1 x 1000 Free
-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 900 Free
-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and complain that my goggle are too tight-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 400 Free
-:45 sec rest to adjust the strap on my goggles because they were digging a hole into the bridge of my nose.-
1 x 500 Free-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and make sure my lap count was right.-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 400 Free
-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and contemplate stopping at 4K-
1 x 500 Free
1 x 50 Back
1 x 50 Free1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 300 Free
stop and drown.
To those of you fellow coaching nerds out there:
500 - 9:08.9
1000 - 18:31.9
1500 - 29:22.7
2000 - 38:52.4
2500 - 49:59.7
3000- 1:00:34.7
3500 - 1:11:43.7
4000 - 1:22:42.2
4500 - 1:34:18.7
5000- 1:44:25.5
For about twelve hours I was prouder of myself than I perhaps have ever been in my life. Then I realized that I have to spend the next nine weeks training to do it again and faster. D'oh!
Every couple of years I have a moment where I think, "Damn, did I just do that?" I finished my test 5K in 1 hour, 44 minutes, and 25.5 seconds. I just wanted to make under 2 hours. For those of you who are extremely curious, here is the breakdown in workout form.
Before Picture-
1 x 1000 Free-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 900 Free
-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and complain that my goggle are too tight-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 400 Free
-:45 sec rest to adjust the strap on my goggles because they were digging a hole into the bridge of my nose.-
1 x 500 Free-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and make sure my lap count was right.-
1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 400 Free
-:30 rest to defog goggles and drink and contemplate stopping at 4K-
1 x 500 Free
1 x 50 Back
1 x 50 Free1 x 100 (50 Back - 50 Breast)
1 x 300 Free
stop and drown.
To those of you fellow coaching nerds out there:500 - 9:08.9
1000 - 18:31.9
1500 - 29:22.7
2000 - 38:52.4
2500 - 49:59.7
3000- 1:00:34.7
3500 - 1:11:43.7
4000 - 1:22:42.2
4500 - 1:34:18.7
5000- 1:44:25.5
For about twelve hours I was prouder of myself than I perhaps have ever been in my life. Then I realized that I have to spend the next nine weeks training to do it again and faster. D'oh!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
From Zero to 5K in 2 months....
Tomorrow I will be starting a journey of epic proportions. I will be attempting to swim the USMS 5K National Postal Challenge and the thought of it makes me want to vomit. Ok, that might just be an expression, but hopefully you understand a little of my apprehension.
For those of you not familiar with swimming, here are some handy guide to some of the terms I will be using in the remainder of this post.
USMS - United States Masters Swimming, the governing body of all Masters swimming in the US.
Masters Swimming - Swim Team for Adults
Postal Challenge or Meet - A competition that all USMS members can compete in regardless of location. Participants swim the event in their home pool following certain parameters and then post the results to the host club. Normally you have to pay a nominal amount to participate and then you receive a t-shirt or cap in the mail as a badge of honor.
5K or Five Kilometers- A measure of distance in the metric system that seems nominal to most experienced runners, but is really really long for swimmers who aren't open water enthusiasts.
My goal for the summer is to swim the 5K in a time that I am proud to post to the meet. That being said, I have not swum 5000 meters in one setting in the last ten years, since I finished swimming on my high school team. (Yeah, ten years. Now you know how old I am.) I am not ready for this. Will it be impossible? No, I'm about halfway there, but it will still take a lot of hard work on my part. If I am going to do this, I want to do it right. In order to properly motivate myself, I have to do a trial run. I need a baseline, a stepping off point. I need to know exactly how awful this is going to be before I do it for real. So I am going to swim it tomorrow and I will finish it, even if it kills me. So no matter how long it takes, no matter how many times I need to stop and rest, I will finish. And then I am going to train for the next two months, do it again at the end of August and post the results to the meet. I will be tracking my progress and sharing the wonders of distance swim training with you here on this blog.
Hopefully this blog will motivate me to work harder, keep me honest in my training, and maybe motivate someone out there in the world to jump back into the pool, learn to swim, or basically get off their behinds and do something they never thought they could.
So if you are at the Goldsboro Family YMCA between the hours of 10am-1pm, stop by the pool and see me. The guards might need your help pulling me out of the pool.
For those of you not familiar with swimming, here are some handy guide to some of the terms I will be using in the remainder of this post.
USMS - United States Masters Swimming, the governing body of all Masters swimming in the US.
Masters Swimming - Swim Team for Adults
Postal Challenge or Meet - A competition that all USMS members can compete in regardless of location. Participants swim the event in their home pool following certain parameters and then post the results to the host club. Normally you have to pay a nominal amount to participate and then you receive a t-shirt or cap in the mail as a badge of honor.
5K or Five Kilometers- A measure of distance in the metric system that seems nominal to most experienced runners, but is really really long for swimmers who aren't open water enthusiasts.My goal for the summer is to swim the 5K in a time that I am proud to post to the meet. That being said, I have not swum 5000 meters in one setting in the last ten years, since I finished swimming on my high school team. (Yeah, ten years. Now you know how old I am.) I am not ready for this. Will it be impossible? No, I'm about halfway there, but it will still take a lot of hard work on my part. If I am going to do this, I want to do it right. In order to properly motivate myself, I have to do a trial run. I need a baseline, a stepping off point. I need to know exactly how awful this is going to be before I do it for real. So I am going to swim it tomorrow and I will finish it, even if it kills me. So no matter how long it takes, no matter how many times I need to stop and rest, I will finish. And then I am going to train for the next two months, do it again at the end of August and post the results to the meet. I will be tracking my progress and sharing the wonders of distance swim training with you here on this blog.
Hopefully this blog will motivate me to work harder, keep me honest in my training, and maybe motivate someone out there in the world to jump back into the pool, learn to swim, or basically get off their behinds and do something they never thought they could.
So if you are at the Goldsboro Family YMCA between the hours of 10am-1pm, stop by the pool and see me. The guards might need your help pulling me out of the pool.
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