Gold no more!

It was a little over three years ago that I posted about joining Gold’s Gym. To be honest in those three years the first two were not that productive, an occasional spin class and time on the treadmill were mostly it, ironically in the beginning I used the pool a bit as I was recovering from a torn vastus medialis that’s the inner (closer to the other leg) muscle that is part of the quadriceps sustained at 100 in the Hood the September prior. That all changed once I was ok’d to run and then I stayed away from the pool and that’s pretty much what I did from then to November of last year. Then I started on the crazy triathlon plan!

From that point I went to the pool a lot; 3-4 times a week every week…yes EVERY WEEK, one week I swam 16,000 yards! But all Gold err good things must come to an end and so this is my last month at Gold’s. To be honest that’s the good news, the better news is the $40 a month I will be spending 40 times over elsewhere, well actually mostly adding to the P5 fund!. The really great news is that I can swim here at my local Parks and Recs pool for $2 a pop!

Open air, salt water and full shall we say full of swimmers rather than splashies!

And yes you can swim out side in December in the dark and in the rain!

Oh and if you’re thinking hang on didn’t he just say he was starting to do weights at the gym, the complex I live in has a free residents gym!

Streaking!

FourSquare is quite possibly the most pointless game in the world!

But it did dawn on me as I checked in at Gold’s Gym this morning with a 50 week streak that it’s predominantly been the swimming that has been the driver, so a quick look at my numbers for the last 50 weeks and I came up with this;

That’s 303,749 yards!

At least I can say that I got the most of my gym membership this year!

(Sorry if you were expecting to see me running naked!)

Bite size victories!

I am not a great swimmer, it’s my short leg of the three legged stool that is Triathlon, the problem is you have to finish the swim to get to the rest of it!

This week my Kids go back to school and a new school for one means meeting new teachers and orientation etc. Today’s double was always going to be tight to try and fit in the 2500 yards on the plan, so I decided to break it up and fitted half in at lunchtime hoping I could fit the other half in later on…I didn’t and right now I should be working rather than blogging! The idea was to the midday swim simple, this was it.

WU 250 w/PB
MS 2x500 at Tpace (my TPace is around 2:25 )

I just got changed, got in and got on with it and would you believe it, I finally managed to break the 40 minute mile mark, but better than that check out the consistency of the 2x500s, today I was a happy panda!

That being said I thought I was doing pretty well till another guy got in next to me...there is always a bigger fish!

Less than 10%!

Another week of hay!

Seven days x 24 hours equals 168 hours! Put like that it always sounds a long time when you compare it to a training week, but I am no pro and I work and all that good stuff so when I manage to eek out another 12 hours or so of training it feels like a pretty good week even if it’s <10%!

I deliberately stepped off the bike this week and stepped into my running shoes although another rainy weekend put the kybosh on my plans! But first the numbers; 11:52 training hours broken down as follows:

Swim; 8750 yards; my swims are getting longer and I am comfortably hitting the 1250 mark unsupported, I am always working on my form and trying to improve my SWOLF which is made easier with the 910xt. Sunday’s Open Water Clinic was cancelled due to bad weather again and is now looking likely to be in April some time!

Bike; 42.3 miles, only two rides this week but two very solid ones; both were Sufferfests, which if you have ever ridden tend to kick the shit out of you! I am still using the TrainerRoad as a means to gauge things and it is working really well. I am sure when I win the lottery and have time to write up a review I will but in the meantime check out Ray’s. I had planned to ride after the Clinic but that was 86d also due to the weather!

Run; 33 miles, a big increase in the miles this week, with 5 runs, the fifth was a very wet, windy and muddy trail run in place of the Clinic and ride; after all if you are going to get wet you might as well get dirty too right! This was in contrast from the first which was a chatty run with a fellow Daily Miler; Thomas who was in town! He is also doing IMAZ and lives right by the course so will be font of knowledge in the future I am sure!

I borrowed this picture but you get the idea!

So not a big mileage week compare to recent ones but I am happy with the depth of it, and especially with the running which while not fast is at least getting me back into the groove, I feel if I can keep my miles in the mid 30s I’ll be in good shape through to Vineman…of course now I am starting to experience the difficulty in finding the balance in training! One last thing worthy of a mention, just, is that I can say that I am adding stretching and the like in to the routines and feel better for it already although there is a good 6’ between my finger tips and toes!

Eight weeks to Race Day!

Wordless Wednesday…hopefully I see you all Monday!

The clinic was delayed one week due to storms resulting in the ocean looking a bit like this!

Fun times!

Hodge Podge!

Bit of a hodge podge this week on the training front, domestics meant I was limited on time and too be honest that was ok, looking back on last week I think I over cooked it…by Tuesday of this week I was toast! I might be stupid but I am no fool so I deliberately scaled it back and focused a bit more on form in the pool, admin on the bike and fun on the running. I still managed 10 hours so it’s solid enough.

Swim-wise; 4 trips to the pool for 7585, longest was 2500, I am upping the ante on the “unassisted” part of the set, that is without a Pull Buoy etc. I am now at 1250 yards, I need to get to 2500 yards by the end of May to give me a 50% buffer on race distance of 1500meters (1640yrds), the plan is to add 250 yards every 10 days or so. I had planned for an open water swim clinic today but that got cancelled as SoCal got beaten up by a late storm!

On the bike…well I should say off the bike this week with only 50 miles to my name. Some admin things completed, new pedals, cleats and shoes fitted and almost working properly, it’s going to take a little time working into the new shoes I think! I also ordered some upgrade components, the Slice has a nice frame but in my opinion the components, especially the brakes are junk. There’s no rush so I just going to upgrade a bit at a time. This time it’s a new drivetrain which means removing the FSA cranks and converting the BB30 bottom bracket to fit a Shimano BB and cranks, it’s all doable…at least by the LBS and then I will have a nice (lighter) and IMHO better looking Ultegra crankset and front and rear derailleurs. If this all sounds like double Dutch go and read this and then come back! I also ordered some new shifters but then can wait till I figure out the bars etc. The overall goal is for lightness tempered with quality. Wheels will be the big thing in the future to save weight but they will also be, most likely, the most expensive thing too!

Run, well today was a blast, 10 miles on the trails, it was at an easy pace but not an easy run with 2100’ of gain. I managed to fall a couple of times too, something that’s rarely happened in the past and a good indication that my trails legs are nowhere to be found around here, no harm done although luckily a bush caught me on the second one otherwise I would have rolled down the hillside as I landed totally off trail! Here are the best bits!

This week, more focus on the run; 1700 miles in 3 months on the bike and swim has left my run a little neglected. Also some attention on getting some flexibility and a little preventative care; roller etc, I am insanely stiff and so I will be doing a little something something to work on that through the end of the month!

Swimming; pausing for a breath!

I hadn’t planned to write anything really revelationary about swimming but it was when I saw a comment I had left (under a previous moniker) on DCRainmakers blog back in 2008 it kinda jarred me; It’s not that I am a good swimmer now, ‘cos I am not, I seem to fooled myself into it more than anything. There is a zen saying to be a “x” do what “x” does. So with some help from You Tube videos, an online friend who has viewed and commented on video of me, a poolside friend who took it and who has patiently watched me flounder from struggling to finish a lap (25 yards) to struggling to finish 40 laps (1000 yards) and a couple of fellow bloggers who have supported me. It is now that I find myself 3 months into “swimming” able to, well, swim. I wish there was a secret, there isn’t. It’s just sheer hard work and time in the water.

For those of you who hold the same opinion that I had in 2008 here are my top 10 tips that I have found to be useful:

1. Form Form Form; as best I can tell swimming is 70% form and 30% endurance, if you doing it wrong you will exhaust yourself
2. Take some lessons; I had a few and they helped some but more than that, as mentioned, a couple of folks are mentoring me, that’s priceless
3. Go little and often; 3 or 4 times a week is much better than twice and doubling the distance. Focus on form before you tire out and loose it
4. You Tube is your friend; find video of awesome swimmers and watch it, if you have an iPhone or similar watch just before you swim and try to emulate it; you choose, Thompson, Phelps, Beard or von Hazel, see below for a good one
5. Get stuff that works; leaky, misty goggles suck!
6. Get some toys; there are plenty of other toys to play with; fins a pull buoy, kick board and hand paddles all allow you to mix it up some
7. Measure your success, what you measure becomes important; distance, time and strokes are a good place to start
8. Have fun; set yourself a challenge and give yourself a reward when you make it, swim with a friend or family, enjoy it
9. Phase it; like running or biking there should be a warm up and cool down either side of your swim
10. Stick with it; Since December 1^st I have covered 86,000’ (48.8 miles) who knew in 2008 that I could do that!

Like I said I am no expert and I have a long way to go to turn my pool 1000 yards into an open water 4224 yards (2.4 miles) but lap by lap I am getting there!

Head down, ass up!

Sorry I have been a bit absent on the interwebs, a bit of twitering, logging on Daily Mile and that’s it. I have basically had a monster week at work, I’ll spare you the details and but it involved a 20 hour day, a night that lasted all of 3 hours, a fair few 5:00am starts and so on. I parked my social mediaing and prioritized my days into family, work and training. So with that set as my modus operandi I put my head down and set to it. All things considered I managed to hold it together for a pretty solid week.

The numbers don’t really tell the tale, Monday and Tuesday were doubles, Friday a triple and Sunday a brick, it tallies up as follows:

• Cycling 137 miles
• Run 12.5 missed one scheduled run otherwise should have been closer to 20
• Swim 8000 yards (4.55 miles)

I have been carrying a cold for the last week, I think I actually had one on the way out and then caught another so it’s been if nothing a snotty week and after today’s ride had me asking on Twitter:

“Swallowing the snot that is streaming out of your nose when cycling; does this count as hydration or cycling-recycling!”

I also passed the 1000th training mile for the year, this seems insane coming from a more running based background but for obvious reasons a lot of these are bike miles

Finally this week I was able, thanks to a friend, capture me on video swimming, this is just a short clip, the longer version is on it’s way to another pal who is a pretty accomplished swimmer and who has agreed to give me some tips etc. One thing I am pleased with it that I am slowly overcoming my my sinking lower body and managing to get my ass and legs up...I still have a long way to go, but what was a floundering splashfest that barely allowed me to cover 25 yards 10 weeks ago is a comfortable stroke that has me covering 750 yards unassisted…slow but steady progress!

So this week is a step back/taper week leading into my very first Triathlon on Saturday which then kicks off the season proper with basically a race every 60 days through to IMAZ in November!

Hold on...here we go!

Google 'n' Goggle!

There has been a shift in my goggles style over the past few months. As a “newbie” swimmer it was all about vision and non leakage, both are highly required as it is always good to see where you are sinking! A few years ago post 100 in the Hood while recuperating I swam in a good old fashioned pair of Speedos, I didn't know any better and had black tinted ones. Given that I was swimming outside (in a pool) in November and December this was, with hindsight, a pretty dumb thing, the tint would only be effective on a sunny day or during a sunrise or sunset, certainly not after dark which was when I was using them.

Above all beyond the lack of visibility due to light, (to whit I was oblivious to) they leaked…which was a pain! More than a pain it made swimming a misery and when you don’t really like something you really don’t want to make it worse! So when I started to go to the pool which some goals late last year I turned to my "mad Goggle skillz", did a bit of research and made several trips to Sports Chalet and the like in the area to try some alternatives on. After some trial and error I settled on a pair of AquaSphere Vistas, They worked, the vision was perfect, no leakage, zero, nada, nothing! Now as the yards have gone by, by my count a little over 70,000 since September, my form has improved and I started to notice that the goggles was a source of drag in the water. So back to Google I turned, this time I picked up a pair of AquaSphere Seal XPs.

I liked that the still had the semi mask seal but had a lower profile and therefore less drag…it’s actually noticeable when you swim. Nearly a month in them has confirmed that they too are pretty much leak proof, let me correct that, they are leak proof! The one complaint I have actually relates to the seal which is a little pinchy on my nose and after 40 minutes or so I am left fiddling with them and my experience has been as soon as you start mucking about with them they seem to fog up. Fine for a short course swim I thought but no good for a 70.3 or Ironman both of which are coming my way later this year!

So once again I went back to Google, well actually I went to Amazon and I went straight for a pair of AquaSphere Kayannes, I had tooled around on the AquaSphere’s website and these were the goggles (there are way too many references to Google and goggle in the post) of the likes of Amanda Beard, Terenzo Bozzone, Faris Al Sultan and the like.

To be a swimmer…do what swimmers do!

And so I am still transitioning into them but so far, oh my they are nice, as you can see I got the smoked lenses thinking that they would be only used for race day, but they are so comfy I am now awaiting a clear pair for the pool. The decision also covers the train in what you race in angle.

 Top to Bottom: A goofball in; Vista, Seal XP, Kayanne

I suppose this is sort of a review but I have something a little more deeper planned for the future. So now I am left with several pairs of unworn Vistas as they were on special deal way back when!

Finally stay tuned for my Spring Cleaning post due soon…you know what that means; deal time!

Cold and Christmas…been and gone!

Ah Christmas week, the perfect time to catch a cold! So I did…nothing major although I felt pretty crappy for a couple of days and it’s now in the rear view mirror. Inevitable really given that 80% of the people I work with were sick and half of the household likewise. So that was that, I eased off the gas took a day off and then took Christmas day off and that was the week done!

So behind on all fronts in terms of the goals with on 3000 yards covered in the pool (2000 short) and 90 miles on the bike (35ish short). No point worrying about that now. Not sure I mentioned this but I have had a couple of swim lessons. They went “kinda” well, but I ended up with some conflicting info especially about my arms being straight vs. bent on the catch, (I am bending), but I did get a lot of good info, and I am getting better slowly…or should I say I am slowly getting better. I only had two as that was all that was available before the pool shut over the holidays and now it’s up to me to practice. I am shifting my frequency from 3 times a week to 4 or even 5, this is allowing me to focus on my form and create that muscle memory rather then “muscle” through and reinforce bad habits.

On the bike front I took receipt of two ISM Adamo saddles to try out for the next two weeks, the Fizik saddle that came with my Cannondale Slice was just bloody awful so I have the first one fitted and after some fiddling it is feeling pretty good, ironically as a worshipper of the red/black/white color scheme this comes with a green trim…which matches my trainer! I have only an hour on it so far and it is feeling pretty good…of course minus the pineapple! 

So I have another 5 days left with this one the Time Trial Model and then I will switch it out for the Breakaway model which has more surface area and perhaps more fidget room. One thing for sure is that the Cervelo will taking a back seat for a while as I dial in this bike and put some serious training miles on it! I have the following profiles to ride, these are the two longer race days:

Vineman…fast and flat

IMAZ…fast and flatish and far!

I will give you a full report on the saddles in a couple of weeks once I have spent some quality time with them both. I was also channel surfing the other day and I came across some coverage of the 2010 IMAZ…all good recon work:

‘tis the season…

…of sales, sales, sales.

So it occurred to me in a moment of something that I should perhaps try my wetsuit on, that seems of course the perfectly practical thing to do on a Christmas Eve after a 30+ bike ride right! My point being that if it did not fit now would be an opportune time to get one that did; i.e. in a sale!

So from under the bed I pulled it out and unpacked it. It is an Aquasphere Racer suit which by all accounts is a pretty good one, it was designed with Faris al Sultan who won the Ironman World Championships in 2005. I never choose it I was fortunate enough to win this earlier this year in a competition on Daily Mile sponsored by Ford Training Team in conjunction with Ironman, which is why you see all the MDots on it. Much as I would love to sit and describe the smell of fresh rubber and neoprene I figured a photog edition would be best…and so on with the show:

It comes in it’s own case

And is all wrapped up…well it is Christmas

Unboxed…

One foot in…someone in the know told me about using bags!

Two feet in…and with some wriggling…

Note aforementioned mentioned box!

Stupid look is compulsory!

So I adopted one…if I can’t outswim maybe I can make them laugh!

Have a nice day…

My initial thoughts are that it is snug, which I hear is a good thing, there is no room for the forecasted Christmas pounds. It’s also flexible, I windmilled my arms around a bit and that seemed fine. It’s a little tight from groin to shoulder but that is probably just because it is new and I have nothing to compare it to. I did notice it was hot, I put on tri shorts and vest under and with all the wriggling I was getting pretty warm!

So with all that done I need to go and find some open water or at least an outdoor pool to try it some more!

Swim, bike, rinse, repeat!

This week was always going to be a challenge, three days on training courses, two of which were out of town. I booked a hotel that had a pool, no one could answer when I asked about the size, the photo of course was very deceiving and the pool was at best 10 yards long! Fortunately there was a 24Hour Fitness next door which had an outside pool, chilly; yes, but needs must, although the pouring rain, thunder and lightening was a little off putting thankfully it had stopped by the time I got there! It was a but chilly but once I got going it was all good and I even went there after the second day to avoid sitting in the “Orange Crush” as the rush hour traffic is called.

I also had a swimming lesson this week, it just made sense and there is a local school, if fact my sons go to it, and I have another next week, lessons learned:

1) My legs are like a breakdancing frogs - fins, swim from hips, keep ankles straight, point toes
2) Smooth stroke - breath every 4, bi-lateral is not happening, tilt head out don't rotate whole shoulders etc
3) Propulsion - nice long straight arms, pull through water etc
4) Streamline - look down not at angle/ahead

So that was what I have been focusing on…so far so good, kinda! 5250 yards for the week!

On the bike front I rode one Sufferfest in addition to the Threshold test and another TrainerRoad ride. That left a chunk of mile needed for the weekend. So this morning I headed out looking for a bit of everything, rollers, flat, descents and climbing oh and of course miles! Fortunately for me the Santa Monica mountains are criss-crossed with roads which provide the ups and downs and the Pacific Coast Highway is a great place to get on the drops and just dig in.

So a feather short of 5 hours later, including time taken to stop and strip off at a porta-john, (tights and cycling bib take a little wrangling!) I was done with a metric century on the clock, (62 miles). 20 miles of rollers, a 3 mile 1000' decent followed by 25 miles of almost flat along PCH and then a ball busting 1850' elevation gain over 10 miles before a hair raising roll down the other side (some parts are a -10% incline) and back home! Overall I felt solid but I can be stronger on the climbs but my real weakness is going down...nerves from big crash years still ago plague me! Upon reviewing the data I over half the ride was in Zones 1 and 2 which is good.

Obviously all the climbing kills the average pace for the ride but further inspection on the flats reveals an average pace north of 18mph, so I am getting closer to my goal of 20mph, although I was drafting a wee bit off of speedy carbon chick on a TT bike for a mile or two! This coming week I should receive some trial saddles for my Cannondale Slice and I’m hoping the speed will transfer over from my Cervelo…we’ll find out next weekend!

So with 110 miles on the bike here endeth the week!

This week and next…

Not a bad week, not great but not bad! As expected it was all about the bike and pool. I managed to get my 5000 yards in the pool done and even threw in an extra 50 yards for shits and giggles it took three trips to the pool and that seems manageable. At the suggestion of several people I have taken the plunge (no pun intended) and booked up some swimming lessons. I am still struggling with the heavy legs and even though my endurance is improving I need to work on my form, the idea being that I can build up through the rest of the year.

For the bike, all of the week was spent on the trainer humming along to Sufferfest rides, I clicked three off and also threw in an recovery ride before getting outside at the weekend. Family commitments meant I had to have a super early start on Saturday and it was a trade off between being safe in the dark and not freezing my ass off. Things got better when the sun came up and I clocked in 50 miles by 9:30am and that was enough to get me north of 100 for the week but I ended up a shy of my goal of 125…it will all come out in the wash by the end of the month. My miles are being accumulated on my road bike right now, I need to trade in the saddle on my Tri Bike as it is just not working out so I have two ISM Adamo’s coming to me next week for try-before-you-buy, these biggish mile weeks are the perfect time. I have a few more bits to figure out before I can really start cranking the miles in.

Finally I did get my running shoes on for a quick jaunt and that was it for the week.

• 109 miles on the bike (51 road/58 trainer)
• 5050 yards in the pool
• 4.3 mile run…told you it was a quick jaunt

Next week is going to be a challenge, my wife is out of town and then returns with my in laws for the Holidays and I am out of town for two days too, it’s that time of year I guess!

Drills and hills…

So having set myself up with the target of pool yardage and bike mileage it is only fair that I report on my progress…blogging etc tends to keep you honest that way!

My week shook out pretty well, I was in the pool at 5:00 Tuesday, a mile later I got out. Thursday should have been the same but the fly in the ointment was my wife having a last minute trip to San Francisco which stopped me from hitting the pool in the morning so I dashed over at lunchtime for a quick 1000 yards. 2750 done total so far! Most of my swimming is continuous and with a Pull Buoy I am having issues with heavy legs which I am trying to address but I am doing drills to help my glide and catch and other swimming jargon that, like the water, is going over my head! A friend has offered to watch some video of me and suggested I take some lessons to reset the basics that I know. I have bumped into another swimmer at the pool several times who shares the penchant for the early mornings and they have given me several pointers which have helped as well. So come Saturday I was left with 2250 and that was always going to be a stretch. I managed 2000 yards Saturday morning so I ended the week with 4750; close but no cigar!

Heavy legs sinking down and apparently straight arms is a big no no too!

The bike was a bit easier and I set myself up on the trainer three mornings and one evening riding three Sufferfest rides and also a CycleFilm DVD which are all on sale now! Check them out here! By the time the weekend rolled around I was left with 59 miles to make my goal of 125.  As is the usual modus operandi, this would mean an early start on Sunday morning so a good 4 hour ride would not eat into to too much of the day. I was out the door and in the saddle by 7:00am a little later than planed and it was freezing, layers of Pearl Izumi Thermals barely kept the cold at bay and the only break I got allowed my to remove my long fingered gloves and uncover my ears…that’s it!

Pacific Coast Highway…a favorite for cyclists, can’t think why, the view is terrible!

The plan was to ride through one of the canyons to Pacific Coast Highway head north and then sweep around and back home, this would leave a long hard climb around the 50 mile mark, I have only ridden it once well over a year ago and with a triple!

The ride was uneventful, the way I like them and the climb proved a challenge to say the least but I huffed and puffed up it and was very happy to get to the top with no dabbing…or flipping over backwards!

Totals for the week then:

• 4750 yards in the pool
• 131 miles on the bike
• 10 miles ran…a couple of little jaunts!

One week done…four to go!

Swim, Bike and Clif Bar winner

All thing considered this was a quiet week…my legs found there way back to normal form around Wednesday after last weeks 50k. I avoided my running shoes and spent some time in the pool; 4000 yards and on the bike 51 miles (only one ride though), my climbing was steady but I need to work on my confidence descending and more importantly I need to get more miles on my Tri bike.

Still it was a pretty good lead into next week and in fact every week between now and the end of the year. I am aiming for 5000 yards in the pool and 125 miles on the bike a week to take me into Tri Training proper…I am still reviewing plans and trying to formulate my whole 2012 strategy but seeing as my weak area is the swim followed by the bike I think this is a sensible course of action, that and the fact that I have pretty much been on a running plan for the last 6 months and my legs need a rest.

I have also mapped out my 2012 races, my critical A race entries are secured; Vineman 70.3 and Ironman AZ and as it stands I have roughly a race every 60 days…but more on that later!

In other news Thomas is the winner of the Clif Bar giveaway, 4 tweets and blog comment gave him 5 out of a possible 6 entries so the odds were in his favor, congrats!

Weekends are for shopping right…

Got me some of these…

Ordered up one of these…

Unpacked this which has been under my bed for 6 months…

Oh and snagged one of these too, ex-demo <100 miles -$800 discount = no brainer…

In case you’re wondering; yes it does have these…

Oh dear what have I done…

Week end and weekend shenanigans!

Well another weekend is almost in the bag and I started Week 3 of training yesterday. I seem to have screwed up Week 2 and not put in enough mileage, I was about 4 miles short but the miles I did put in were pretty solid and it’s a 20+ week program so I am not losing any sleep over it (see below)! Seven days of training is not something I am used to even at the reduced volumes and I am sitting here with tired legs…it’s been a long time since I have has that feeling and it feels pretty good! Here’s the SportTracks summary for the week, some data is missing, there’s no HR info for the elliptical or swimming.

As you can see there is lots of Zone 2 work; 43% of the week in Z2 and 39% in Z1, this means lot’s of slow controlled miles, so controlled that I walking during runs in places where I would typically run through, it’s insanely frustrating but I know that it will pay off in the long run…pun intended.

This weekend I hit my local trails, but ran out of time, the downside of the walking! 8 was on schedule, I made just over 6 in 1:22, that’s a 13:12 minute mile. I am going to need to factor in more time rather than more miles. Here’s the elevation overlaid on my HR, can you see the walk breaks!

Still the question is, was the juice worth the squeeze…well I think so, this trail system is not huge, but it’s literally 2 miles from my house! Hard to believe that I live in LA right!

I also wrapped up the photos for the Salomon XT Wings hydration vest, review to follow shortly. It’s a bit of an odd fellow…but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. Talking of pack reviews the folks at Wilderness Running Company have really stepped up; I received three hydration systems this week from them!

Today I hit the pool again, I am alternating Sunday’s cross training between the bike and the pool and I swam my fastest mile ever 52:49, yeah I know…but I’ll take it! I have some new goggles, these things totally rock, I put them on and I take them off an hour later, zero leakage…awesome!

I’ve felt for the last couple of days that I am coming down with something but I am doing my best to shake it off. Getting 40 hours of sleep Mon – Fri last week was nigh on impossible, especially when you’re up at 5am! But I did get more than I usually do and I do feel better for it, better mentally too, a bit more chilled! I kept a log of sorts and averaged just under 7 hours per night, so this week I am going to try it again and see.

As mentioned I am bracketing out the hydration options and here they are, it’s all subjective but it makes it a bit more interesting, I need two more to fill out the brackets (I decided to leave out Clip2 as it is specifically for 6 hour + events). if you have any suggestions let me know…I am never ashamed to beg for samples and so I present the competitors. There will be an accompanying Google Doc which outlines the criteria for evaluation as well as the nutritional info etc, I am just finishing that off.

So it’s another week and much like the mercury is heading of late …upwards and onward as they say!

0.95238095238 mile per hour!

Well I would hate anyone to think that I was inaccurate! So you’re probably wondering what the hell is this, Stuart’s gone (more) bonkers! Well that was my speed to swim a mile, yes a mile, I swam a mile, that’s 1609 meters, 64 laps! Can you tell I am excited! It took me 1:02 and change, I would have had a more accurate time but my watch died; when I got home no less!

Let me let you into a secret though…so I had this dangling toe nail, trust me it bought hang-nail to a whole new level! Every time I kicked I could feel it pulling on its last vestiges of skin, then after the 22^nd lap it stopped mostly, at lap 28 it stopped altogether and I looked and it was, yep, gone! Hooray! It’s been hanging on for a week at least! Then on the next lap I saw it lying at the bottom of the pool, no probs I thought I’ll pick it up when I have finished. After the last lap I went to pick it up and, oh the horror, it wasn’t my toenail it was just a mark oh the tiles…ooops, sorry Mr Pool Cleaner!

Pun overload!

There’s a scene in Friends where Chandler is overwhelmed by the jokes he could make about Joey. I felt he same way about the post title…so I chickened out. Tonight I joined a gym, Gold’s Gym…can you see what I mean! It was kinda weird watching people all exercising in a row, I’ve not been in a gym in over three years!

Now there’s a rationale here, it goes something like this. My pool closed..for renovation work…for a month! All is not lost, here’s the dealio, it actually costs in to join the gym, by my math, I am actually $40 a year better off as long as I go at least once a week and I get free sunbeds…err hello Southern California, but that is a third of a pair of running shoes!

There are a couple of side benefits I can work on general leg strength and it’s half a mile from my house; can you smell brick training. Obviously the main advantage and appeal was its pool; (who thought I would ever Ever EVER say that!) which while not very wide; 3 lanes! Is a bit too hot; 83f, is, I am assured, underused, two other swimmers tonight followed by class; one of two a week. So I managed to get in a quick for me 750 meters (820 yds) before I had to go but did manage to cover it 15 minutes faster than I could a scant 5 weeks ago! Progress indeed!

There is still a few hours to vote in the Haiku Gu contest…but it does look like a Frayed Laces sweep, I hope some of her followers stick around and follow me!

Windmills in the water!

Another Friday night another trip to the pool. I managed to get there in good time this evening and didn't have the need to rush off early. I was hoping to get in 1200 meters for a 2000 meter week.

I've been swimming a lot of breast stroke; it's comfy but I need to move out my comfort zone and get on the freestyle wagon so without the time crunch I could spend some time practicing.

I also took my camera which has a pretty decent video camera and with a big enough SD card can just be left to run, I tucked it under my towel just to remove temptation and just left it recording. Unfortunately it did a great job of focusing very sharply on a leaf just in front of it and not much else, everything beyond that is blurred! That being said I was able to see how bad my form is, I was sharing the lane and the recording shows me, by comparison to my more efficient lane sharers, waving my arms like a windmill; very uneconomical. I managed the 1200 meters, so just under 2200 yards for the week. The learning curve continues...

Don't forget if you're interested in entering the draw for some Chocolate #9, add a comment to my previous post.