Monday Is A Rest Day?

This morning I met Laura for a swim. It's almost miraculous that I did since today was (1) a rest day and (2) my first day of vacation, but I figured what the heck?

We met at the 63rd Street Y for a swim. That pool is always so busy. Actually, I think all NYC pools are too busy, now that I think about it. There should be more pools/lanes available. But that's just my two cents!

I didn't have a pool plan for today, which is good because I tend to get annoyed when the pool is busy and I can't do the set plan. However, it also means I tend to have no real idea of what to do. So, I just sort-of made it up as I went along. This is what I ended up doing:

400 swim
300 kick
300 swim
200 kick
200 swim, with breath control
100 breast

I was thinking while I was doing all that kicking that maybe it wasn't the smartest thing in the whole world, but even though I have a really strong kick, it's probably also the least "proper" part of my swimming and I'm really still trying to work on having a straight-leg kick!

The breath control parts always stink. I started the first 25 doing 4 breaths and then somehow the next 3 were all with one breath. I then did two with no breaths and two more with one breath. Not the worst in the whole world.

In some ways, today was a good reminder of the fact that I really like Terrier practice because people are so good about putting themselves in the right lanes and it's never really that crowded, so it's just such a nice swimming experience. I'm really going to try to remember that when I don't feel like going on Sundays from now on!

I do need to stop and say something about vacation here before I forget. Drew and I are leaving on Thursday morning and going to Michigan (where I'm originally from). Once we get there, we're driving straight to the cottage where my family will be staying on Lake Huron. I'm hoping to do some running and open water swimming while I'm there, but in an effort to try to spend more time with my family and friends and less time working out, I'm going to switch my long run around and do it on Wednesday instead of Saturday. I think I can still get in about the same amount of miles this way.

Also, I won't have constant blogging access while I'm gone. I know I'll be able to write posts, but I don't think I'll be able to actually post them. So, I'll probably have a whole slew of them to post early next week!

Also, just to recap (mostly for myself), Hal Higdon thinks that I should have run 23 miles last week and I ran 23.2. Seems to be on track so far! But, of course, it's only the first week!

Swimming
Time: ~35:00 (this is a random guess, I didn't wear a watch)
Distance: 1600 yards (0.91 miles)
Pace: 38:27/mile

She Stole My Kickboard!

This morning I met Laura for a swim at the Westside YMCA. I had found two coupons for us in Time Out New York that had to be used by October 12. It's definitely not our favorite pool, but I found out today that my previous comparison to a Russian bathhouse was incorrect. This morning I learned that they call the pool that we were swimming in the Pompeii pool. Who knew?

The last time we were at the pool, we wore our wetsuits and I was worried that today it would be really cold without the suit, but I stuck one foot in and told Laura that "it's not that bad." She then told me that I was a liar. Really, though, it was pretty nice temperature overall. The board on the wall said it was 81 degrees. On the board there was also a sign for a "small pool" and the temperature there was 89 degrees. After we had gotten out of the water and were done swimming, I made us walk over there to make sure we weren't missing another hot tub somewhere. Turns out it was just a small pool that was 8 degrees warmer.

I didn't really go to the pool today with any specific workout in mind. I did get a kickboard and a pull buoy and thought I'd do some drills and some swimming and just see how long we felt like staying in the pool. I got in and did a quick swimming warm-up and then wanted to do some kicking with my kickboard I had brought over to the edge of the pool.

Now, I've read about this situation a lot on Beginner Triathlete under people's pool pet peeves, but I don't think I've ever really believed that people were that clueless. Turns out I was wrong. While I was doing my warm-up, the girl who was sharing the lane with me started using my kickboard. I really just wanted to stop and ask her if she thought I brought it there for her personal enjoyment. I just do not understand what she was thinking when she took it. I tried to give her a dirty look from the opposite end of the pool, but it must have worked because she didn't use the board for that long.

Personally, I was probably ready to get out after about 10 minutes in the water, but I stuck with it for a while longer. This was what I ended up doing:

200 swim
200 pull
100 swim
200 kick
300 swim
200 kick
100 swim

Nothing terribly exciting. I only threw that last 100 on because Laura was ready to get out and asked when I would be ready and looking at my watch it seemed like we should just pretend to swim for a half an hour, so I did 100 more and was done for the morning.

We got all ready for work and when I got to work I started the countdown until the sign-up for Timberman Ironman 70.3 at noon! At precisely 12:01, I signed up! I got a little bit nervous while I was waiting for the time to come for the sign-up. I can't believe that I've signed up for this, but it also doesn't seem as crazy as it did before I completed the Olympic triathlon. I've also learned from my past experiences and this swim is in a lake instead of in salt water, so I think it will be a lot better and more enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the training and the dedication that this will require and I know that crossing that finish line will be an amazing accomplishment for someone who hated working out a year ago!

Distance: 1300 yards/0.74 miles
Time: 29:21
Pace: 39:39/mile
Calories: 295
Maximum HR: 170
Average HR: 150