Dogged determination

I hate to miss a workout these days. I have manipulated my schedule to insure that I don't actually. Other than small modifications to accommodate a race, I don't think I've missed one this year. I am going to have to skip a couple in the coming weeks and I hope that it doesn't serve as a setback. I'm going to have to push a little in the coming weeks to get a little faster on my run and hopefully the bike as well. It's difficult to tell how I'm doing on the bike as I have been riding indoors on the trainer about 90% of the time. One outdoor ride this year actually. As it warms up I expect to change up my routine some. I also should be starting "Bricks" this month, but I will likely put that off until I get into mid-late March. That should be interesting. Swimming is going well. I came to the realization that I'm going to have to push a little harder in the pool if I intend to get any better. A couple of revelations about rhythmic breathing have helped me out some. Some coaching would be of great benefit. I made my goal of 600 yards in a 30 minute session. I'm now working on closing the rest gaps. With seven sessions left, I'll probably buy another value pass to get me up to race time. Next year I think I'll join the Meyer Center for three months and see how I like that. Meyer has more lap lanes and some instruction available as well. I've started grappling once a week with my SORT brethren, and that has added an extra half hour to an hour on to my weekly routine. I don't think it's going to be much help in the Tri-athlon. Looking forward to swimming today to see if I can push ahead a little.

An hour a day

I started tracking my training on Training Peaks. It's kind of interesting to see how much time you spend training and how much time you thought you spent training. I find that on average I spend an hour a day. I've given up my rest day to do strength or swimming. I thought I would regret that, but I haven't yet. I came upon a realization as I was swimming my last fifty the other day. I've been having difficulty with this rhythmic breathing business. Despite the advice I've gotten from some more accomplished swimmers I've struggled with this particular aspect of swimming. The realization is this; I don't need to gasp a huge lung full of air every time I breathe. Just take in what I need. Why the hell I thought I needed to gasp a big amount of air is beyond me. I don't breathe that way when I run or bike. So, I'm putting together more pieces of the puzzle and I'm looking forward to spending some time in the pool Saturday to work on that aspect of my stroke. The running and biking are really just moving along steadily. When it starts to warm up, I think I'm going to extend my mid and longs by a half mile or so. My goal this summer is to do three events. Claremore OK in April, Willard in May and Republic in August. Next year, if I complete these three, I'm going to try to actually compete in at least one. After that, I want to do an open water swim event. I really miss playing volleyball, but this is starting to take it's place as my favorite sport.

Ready for some warmer weather

I don't mind running in the cold. My threshold is about 20F with the windchill. Lately that's not been the problem. We've had so much snow that the sidewalks on my regular routes have been covered. My two of my last three runs were outdoors. I'd much rather be outdoors. Swimming is going well. My strategy is to get to 600y by adding 25-50y every session. When I get to 600, I'll work on closing the gap on my rest periods. It sounds good on paper, we'll see how it works out in practice. At some point soon I'll have to figure out my 400m time so I can gauge my starting place for my first tri. Mark me cautiously optimistic...........

Nutrition?

Making a bit of progress in the pool. I looked at a video about the Navy SEALs combat swim stroke. I used it some during yesterday's training. It worked surprisingly well. I pushed a little and completed 425 yards in under 25 minutes using short breaks in between sets. I did 25s on 10-20 seconds rest for 100y as a main set. I also did a couple of 50s. I think what I'm going to do is work up to a distance of 600y and then work on closing the rest gaps. That will mean about an hour in the pool each time. This should work fine, but I am giving up my rest days to do it. I may combine my swims with my lighter run days in the future.

We went out for supper last night and I had a huge meal. I think I paid for it today when I went for my 10k run. It was like I was hungover. I only had one drink, but I think the rich food had the same effect as several drinks, especially when trying to perform in any manner afterward. In the future I intend to show a little more restraint when I eat out.

Training is having an effect on my desire to take up my other hobbies. When I'm not working out I don't feel like doing much, so getting in the studio seems like a struggle. I need to get over the hump on a project and get it finished for the MFCA show and then maybe I'll get past this personal slump.