it’s on…

ok.. so i am over my little swimming freak out. i had a really good swim this morning. i felt faster than normal and really comfortable.

todays workouts:

AM – swim 2500 yards followed by a good core workout
PM – 4 mile easy run

i was stoked about the easy run too. i easily ran 7.5 minute miles while keeping my heartrate well be low 150. Crazy to think that 7.5 minute mile runs are my recovery runs.

tomorrow is the TCSD club race. i am ready. my gear is ready to go. and it’s going to rain and be cold… and probably windy. no worries. i can’t wait.

thinking too much…

i have a lot on my mind but first let me get to my training from today. i started out the morning with a 6.4 mile tempo run with 3 miles at around 10k pace. i did this run in my new race flats with no sox. results:

-2.2 mile warmup: 16:30
3 mile tempo – splits:
1 – 5:57
2 – 5:42
3 – 5:29
-1.2 mile cooldown: 9:38

i felt pretty good but i am not sure about the new shoes. i have couple minor blisters but i havent run without socks in a while, we’ll see.

At lunch i went to the gym and spun for 20 minutes and stretched for 15 minutes. tonight i took a spin class at 24 hour fitness. i did it with a couple of my mountain bike friends. they are big tough guys… i like watching them suffer!

ok… so today i started freaking out a bit, and probably for no reason. i was thiking about the upcoming weekend and TCSD club race and the swim. 500 meters in glorietta bay. i can run and ride all day, but swimming makes me nervous. not that i am a weak swimmer. i have been swimming since i was 3 and surfing for the last 15 years. i’ve surfed really heavy waves and been cleaned up by 15ft sets and Black’s. The ocean and open water does not scare me in the least.

i really started swimming freestyle in 2002, but then moved san diego and just surfed everyday and didnt get back in the pool with any purpose until this past october. since then i have steadily increased my workouts and skill. i even took some lessons with Paton Mcclung from swim smarter and have been working on correcting the errors in my stroke. i have been progressing quickly and have been able to complete workouts (provided by my coach) up to 3000 yards without too much trouble. i have been dedicated. i am at the pool monday, wednesday, and friday by 6am. i have also done some ocean swims. a couple at del mar including one in 6ft pounding surf (it was fun) and also at the cove, and i have been comfortable and found it easy with my Xterra wetsuit.

so after saying all this i was having a little panic attack about the swim in saturdays race. the only other time i have swam in anything resembling a race was at the TCSD octobers beginners race (in a surfing wetsuit and i rode a mountain bike). i did ok… i think i was 5th out of the water, but for some reason i have anxiety about it. after thinking about it some more (and probably too much) i think it’s because i know how hard and fast i can push myself on my bike and on the run, but swimming… no clue. i have a high pain tolerance on running and on the bike and i will push myself. you cant do that swimming. i have so many triathlons lined up for the spring and summer that if the swim is an issue for me it will kind of be demoralizing… well enough being negative. saturday will tell me a lot.

on anoher note. i signed up for the SOMA half ironman in October. i was told it fills up fast so i bit the bullet and registered. nothing like signing up for a half IM without ever completing a “real” race.

last thing… this is way too long… i added some links to my blog… check them out.

going crazy?

i woke up this morning itching to get in the pool. i had a 3200 yd workout on the table, my longest to date, and i was ready to tackle it. i was also feeling really good about my track work out last night. my legs were still a little spent from the san dieguito half and riding 30 miles yesterday morning, but i was still able to pull off the following:

1.5 mile warm-up

6 x 800 (2 min rest interval)
1 – 2:31
2 – 2:30
3 – 2:28
4 – 2:26
5 – 2:27
6 – 2:29

so when i sat at my computer this morning at 5am with a cup of coffee and half a power bar (Nut Naturals – these things are really good) I noticed there was a brand new podcast from Endurance Radio. this podcast featured an interview with Jim Vance talking about Xterra training. I updated my ipod, grabbed my bags, filled my travel mug, and headed out the door about 5:20am. I was just cruising south on I-5 about 5 minutes from the pool, listening the Jim Vance interview, and drinking a fantastic mug of coffee. Then it happened… it started raining. Ok, i like the rain, but not at 5:30am in the morning, when it’s cold and windy, and i am about to get in the pool.

the thought of not swimming never crossed my mind, which makes me question if i have indeed lost my mind. i was kind of stoked. A lot of people (and hopefully the people i will be competing against) would have saw that it was raining and headed back to bed for couple extra minutes of sleep. I am just hoping this all pays off because i have been more dedicated to this than anything i have ever done. In another couple of months I’ll know.

hopefull my new mountain bike will be here this week… see link above.