Category: Swim

Think they were swimming fast before?

6 mile! swim race in Australia called off due to Shark:

Swimmers in the Cole Classic ocean swim, a 10-km (six-mile) race out through the heads of Sydney Harbor to the city’s northern Manly Beach, were around the halfway mark Sunday when the shark was spotted, local newspapers reported on Monday.

Sharp looking web page for the aussies, BTW.

And I’m still trying to get my head around the whole idea of swimming 10K. It’s not much more than a year ago when running 10K was at the edge of my realm of possibilities…

Got to be the shoes…

Broke in the new Gel Helios’ today. I think I like them; however be advised – what Asics calls “lightning” really means shiny silver.

Have I mentioned that there’s this feeling in the back of my head that life is going to be good? Today, I sat down with my client and got an absolutely great project. I’m doing a pretty wide-ranging strategic plan for our program. Good stuff, great combination of digging down in the technical weeds, wading through the swamp of finance, and in general pulling the whole thing out of my butt. And here I was bashing grad school the other day – turns out that two years of learning buzzwords and BS is going to pay off for the next couple of weeks. Vision…

Today was 5.4 miles on the north end of Jamestown in 46:17. Pace back down under 9’s without feeling like I was going to die. Saw bunches and bunches of deer. Not the tiny puppy deer like they’ve got in central Texas, but real, big Yankee deer, the kind that total cars. Great run, didn’t feel winded at all, and the only reason I didn’t push out to the 6 mile loop was because the wife was bringing home food from her trip to Hartford, and picking up a new computer. Best part is it’s her company’s policy to let her keep the old one… But I wanted to get takeout while it was relatively fresh…

Tuesday? Hit the pool. The lifeguard was a guy, and he spent the whole time walking laps around the pool. Kind of distracting, but I’d probably do the same thing. 2000 yards total (2000 meters for you north of the border folks with a brand-spankin’ new government, as I understand from NPR). 250 yds breast to open up, a pretty good set of 500 yds free, 250 yards of decent free, another 250 yards of flopping and twitching – just couldn’t find a groove. Stopped, took a couple deep breaths, and did at least 10 laps – man, I really got into the zone. Life was good.

Happiness in five parts…

At some point last week, I managed to get my act together, and actually managed to get in three runs, one swim, and a meander on the bike in over the last few days. Hopefully I can maintain that; somehow, however, I doubt it. Life has just been too good lately…

Part 1 – Renewal
Anyhoo, having all of my stuff in one sock for a change left me the opportunity to leave the office just after 1 on Tuesday, and finally hit the roads for a run. And run I did. Out of the parking lot, up hospital hill, over the hill, out past the golf course, and back onto the perimeter trail. Pshew – 20 minutes into the run, an excessively steep hill, and I’m saying to heck with this. So, staying true to long, slow, distance, I drop down to a walk and stroll up the hill.

On the other side of the hill, I decide to walk down the equally steep downhill. Hey, I’m strolling. Life is good. Get to the bottom, start running up the steep uphill. Near the first top, prior to the false flat, I briefly think “Hey, I’m going anerobic – better walk..”. Riight – I keep on running, the legs start burning, lungs aching – life is still good, thoughts of Lydiard are all gone.

The rest of the run is just that – a run. 45 minutes. Get back to the office, plug it into Gmaps Pedometer and see – 4.3 miles.

Part 2 – Continuation
Wednesday was a blustery, windy day. The news on the way to the base was all about the powerlines down and trouble with Metro North in the western end of the state. We don’t have all that fancy train stuff here (just Amtrak, which is pretty much worthless at about $100 round trip to either New York or Boston), but it was impressive to hear. Worked, and headed over to Bluff Point at sunset to go run. 45 minutes, the last couple of miles completely lost on singletrack (but totally happy) – good times all around. I’m guessing 4 miles.

Part 3 – Bonding
Wednesday night, got the kiddos in bed, grabbed the swimsuit, and headed over to the pool. Went from being completely packed at 8 to me and another woman swimming at 8:30. 5 laps of breast – nice, felt good to stretch. The first 10 laps of free – good. I was applying the whole sculling concept, carving S’s in the water with my hands, kicking from the belly instead of the butt. Yeah. I was completely getting lapped by the guys in the next lane, but such is life. Started another set of free, but after 3 laps, I thought about getting out, since the “feel” just wasn’t there – I was flailing. Stopped, took a deep breath, and had a great final set of 10. Didn’t push it, just swam nicely.

I did get busted at the end – I did a dive off of the swim meet platforms, and got hollered at by the cute lifeguard. D’oh. Guess those orange cones on them mean don’t dive…

After the swim, I caught up with some friends who’d gone out for supper. They’d had booze, I’d had endorphins. We all had some dessert and coffee, and I was happy.

Part 4 – Family
Real life caught up with me on Thursday and Friday, and I managed to avoid running both days. Stupid dumb dummy… Saturday, I drilled in the morning, but managed to wrap up in enough time to make it home for Family Swim at the Y (’cause it’s fun to play at the YMCA). Grabbed the kiddos, gave the wife the long face, and got the OK to run home from the Y (she works out during Family Swim). Got to the Y and discovered Jake had not brought a swimsuit. Missy had asked him to bring one down for the bag with Nate’s suit, the towels, etc, but Jake had thought it would be cool to take his own backpack. D’oh.

All was not lost, however. We live just far enough away from the Y that we might have been able to make it home and back, get changed, etc, before family swim was over. But, yesterday was beautiful – 40’s calm, and clear. So, we went and just adventured all over the Y property. Rolled down the hill. Ran around on the tennis court. Swung from the chain link fence. Picked up some trash. Threw some logs into the river to launch “boats”. Climbed all the way up the lifeguard tower, and jumped down (not Nate).

The run back was good. No pain, no shortness of breath, just good running goodness. Through downtown, up River Road, through old Mystic. Just felt good to go running. Karen had inspired me to use my forerunner again (no Mr. V, though), which ended up being both good and bad. Good, ’cause it took me mentally back to the days of early 2005 when the 101 and I were nigh unto inseparable. Bad ’cause the forerunner pointed out what I’ve become painfully aware of – I’ve completely lost a step. Short-ish runs which were in the low eights last spring are now in the mid-nines. Not that I’ll ever be 1337, but it’s humbling to realize exactly how much I’ve lost since the fall. I suppose being grouchy will do that to you… And it turns out that I wasn’t lying to Susan at all… Five + miles in 48 minutes.

Part 5 – What goes around
Took down the Christmas lights today. Put the youngest down for a nap. Told the boy to rest for a bit. Jumped on the single speed road bike and went a-ridin’. Down to the Y. Around Mason’s Island. Stopped at Mystic Cycle. Ever since they moved into their new box, I’m wondering if they left their soul back at their old funky place. They definitely left anything that might have been on sale. Loved the Specialized Cross bikes, though.

Road back up River Road, past lots of walkers, but oddly, only one cyclist, and back home.

Epilogue –
One of the things slowing me down might be my shoes. Two marathons and all the intense training leading up to them – think it’s time to retire the Gel Cumulus VII’s. There’s a pair of Gel Helios’ in the mail – think they’re a new style, and they’re about $10 cheaper than the GC’s. Worth a shot – the GC’s are too well ventilated for winter running. (And, no, I don’t really think it’s the shoes)

First real good week in a while. Not that the others have been really bad weeks, but it’s the first one I’ve had that I felt I actually put in an effort. I think I’m going to aim the next month or so for a 20 mile per week running base, and try to get in 2 bikes (probably Monday during 24 and Sunday after church), and 2 swims (Tues/Thurs nights, so Wed/Fri will be easy runs).

Overkill? Possibly. But, I want to maintain an intensity level that keeps me engaged and happy, rather than antsy and bored. I’ll listen to my body.

Quickly, now

Monday – 30 minutes on the rollers in the basement while I watched “Arrested Development” and the beginning of “Kitchen Confidential”. Did the KC show mostly ’cause my roller-fu doesn’t include taking the hands off the bars to grab the remote (yet). 8.3 miles. Heh. The rollers were kind of fun that way – how far, exactly, can I go in 30 minutes? Kind of a free-form expression, yet framed. Beauty.

Tuesday – I started to get cocky, since I hadn’t felt any ill effects from Saturday’s flu shot. Which was odd, since usually flu shots put me out of commission for nigh unto two days. The day after’s usually the worst. Anyway, Tuesday, and I’m feeling goooood, and I’m starting to assume that I’m not going to feel like a horse’s rump.

Yeah, I was wrong. Went to the Y to swim after the boys were asleep. Managed to get out 750 yards, none of it particularly good before I had to get out of the pool. Just felt wasted.

Wed – felt just kind of blah all day, and it was cold and windy, so I didn’t run. Could have, but just didn’t want to bother.

I’m feeling better today, but don’t want to push it. Might go swim tonite if I feel at all decent. The good news? I’m watching the kids this afternoon, so it’s only a half day at work. Plus, it’s the afternoon, so I get a nap with Nate. Yippie!

(Other goal today? Catch up on everyone else’s blogs. Sorry).

More snow tomorrow!

Back-2-Back

Went swimming after the boys were in bed. Nothing spectacular, just another night in the pool. The lifeguard was strolling around the pool instead of sitting in the chair, which kind of wierded me out.

The Triathlon Training Book included a couple of drills. Tonight, I tried the “fist” drill – swam 5 laps with my hands balled up as fists. It was pretty amazing to see what a difference getting the arm bent soon after entry into the water made in letting my arm produce thrust instead of counting on my hand. Felt noticeably faster when I started using my hands again.

I did a set of backstroke, too, which was kind of nice. Felt the need to go really fast, since I could gasp for air whenever I wanted. It was also kind of neat – I really felt like I was stretching my arms out well over my head, more so than just in freestyle.

1000 yards – 250 breast, 250 back, 250 freestyle with fists, 250 freestyle, alternate side breathing.

YMCA

Pulled off the double workout today. I am pleased. First, though, huge thanks to Dianna, our RCWTOH, for sending the NYT Marathon section. Will scan soon, and will put in the “accomplishments” folder for eventual incorporation into the Bill Jankowski Presidential Library.

The grey has rolled in something fierce. Not the nastyness we had about the time of the Hartford Marathon, but the general winter grey, topped off with the sun setting sometime before I leave the office. You’d think it’d get me down, but frankly, I’m kind of enjoying the weather. There was a mist as I was leaving work today, and everything looked kind of clean and soft-focused under the sodium lights.

Standard fallback meal of grilled chicken and broccoli slaw; couple of games of ring-around-the-rosy with the boys; a little tag-team wrestling complete with the patented “over the shoulder” foot-tickler; bath; story; kisses; up for water, and I was headed to the Y by 8:00.

There was a SWEET Serotta cross bike tied up to the rack. Ran into the owner in the locker room; he didn’t mind talking bikes with a guy in the process of getting naked. He rides for Mystic Velo, picked up the bike for a song, and was well aware exactly how lucky he was to have it.

Didn’t want to knock myself out swimming. Started out with 5 easy laps breast. Then 5 of free with arms only.

On the next set of 5 free with arms and legs, I progressively pushed harder. Can’t say I went faster, ’cause I’ve got no empirical evidence to support that. But I completely went harder. Felt great. Smooth strokes. Quick overhead stroke and big stretch – get that effective hull length as long as I can. Just felt good.

Cooled down with 3 free easy, and 2 breast. 1,000 yards; plenty of time to shower and make it home for “My Name is Earl”. Love that show. I’m guessing that Earl is one of my high school classmates (metaphorically).

Inspiration for the night was the one high school guy there, obviously a good swimmer, teaching 3 other guys things like flip turns and kicking technique. Just the kids, no adults. Looked like they were having fun.

Checked out my shoes today for the first time since September. Somewhere along the last 4 months I’ve decided to become a heel striker again. I’m back to having heavy wear on the outside of both heels. Rats. I was so happy after my Jan-June shoes showed next to no wear on the heel, and equal wear on both sides of the ball. Fortunately, nothing is hurting, so I think it’s just a matter of concentrating while i build mileage again.

Lastly, I’d like to welcome one of my childhood friends and idols, Jeff, back from a little time to unwire. He may be wound a little tight, but he’s always had a confidence that I wish I had just a little chunk of. Plus, he lived right down the street from the cool radio station in town when we were kids. And it’s his birthday this weekend.

Sloooow

Yesterday? 1/2 mile in 30 minutes. Think I’m taking this taper thing a little too literally.

‘Cept it was in the pool.

Yeah, back on standard time, back to hitting the YMCA at night. The upside is that this year, they’ve added another hour to the evening lap swim, so there were like two other guys in the pool when I started.

So, I took it easy – 5x breast, two sets of 5x free, and a cooldown of 5x breast. Never really breathed hard.

But it felt good to be back into the water. My arms were kind of confused – “Hey, what gives? We don’t get used continuously …” I could really, really feel the neglected triceps, delts, and lats, and even my core was starting to complain near the end (Note to self – this is why you do pushups and situps). But it felt good. Taking back to the water this year looks to be an easier transition than last year.

As far as NYC goes?

Frankly, I think the anticipation to this race is worse than the anticipation for Mystic Places. There’s none of the “Hey, I’m going to be a marathoner” to look forward to, and on top of the general soreness of the race, it’s 3 hours back to the house once I limp down to Grand Central. Bleh. But, I should be able to see some folks I haven’t seen in a while, which will be nice.

After this? I start working on Christian – he’s going to start the NYC road runners’ beginning running program next week, and I’m gonna do it with him. Begin with easy walking, works up to 5 miles in about 2 months. Should be fun. I also start counting calories next week – down to 160 by Christmas?

Recovery

So, dig.

Saturday Morning I wake up, all pumped to hit the road for the 13 miler. Put on the shoes and my left ankle is killing me. Tape the ankle, and that’s OK, but as I’m walking, I’m feeling something rubbing on the blister from my sockless wonder. Hmmmmmmmm….

So I bagged the long run (again) in favor for a couple hours on the bike. In my defense, I did really, really push it. And loved it. Saw a bunch of runners – they all looked miserable. Saw a bunch of smiling cyclists, reveling in the first chill of fall. Did my first 15 miles, then swung down River Road. Was pleasantly surprised at how easy the hills on that road felt, and had a wide crap-eating grin the whole time.

Pulled back into the house about 9, just in time to make the opening at Clyde’s Cider Mill (ASME link). The boys and I snarfed down some cider (mmmm, appley), ate some tasty cinnamon sugar do-nuts while smelling the next batch cooking, and watched the first leaves start to fall. They were pressing cider – pretty darn cool, I need to take pictures of the mill next time. Cool set up – smell of steam, lots of polished wood, and a Prohibition display. Cool.

In any case, I think taking an active day off was a great thing. Sunday morning, there was very little pain the first time I put weight on my left ankle. This morning, not much at all. The blister is still healing – I rubbed it a little more raw than I had though. Cycling didn’t aggravate it, but it’s still tender. Cross training was taking the boys to Family Swim at the Y. Met Jake’s swimming teacher – she recognized Jake, realized Missy wasn’t around, and went out of her way to introduce herself to me and say how much she enjoyed Jake in class.

Second Verse, Same As the First

‘Cept a little bit slower and a little less worse.

Yeah, I was a camp kid. Every summer, I got trundled off to day camp, or when I was older, off to overnight camp. The crazy thing? I loved it. Nothing better than living in the woods with other kids, getting to shoot and paddle and run and play. I even really enjoyed sing-alongs, be they bawdy camp songs or hymns at chapel. Best job I ever had was as a camp counselor, ’cause I got to get paid for playing. And the only evaluations that mattered were then ones at the end of the term when the campers’d bring over their parents to say “Hey – this is Billy. He’s cool”. Well, that and making sure that every night we tucked in the same number of campers that we woke up each morning and hadn’t lost any to drownings, rockslides, snakebites, gunshots, etc.
Continue reading Second Verse, Same As the First