31May11

Good swim today.  My wife and I went to the Great Salt Lake with our kayak.  She wanted one more real practice together before the swim next week.  We drove out to Antelope Island and left from the boatramp there.  The wind was a bit rough at times but it did not give the lake too much of a choppy top.  I did notice a good current under me though.  When we got there, the temp was 65 degrees.  Once we left the inlet, it got colder as the current picked up.   I swam out for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Despite going out into the MIDDLE of the freaking lake, the gnats were still all over Patricia.  How can something so tiny fly so far out??  Anyhow, I noticed she was getting tired of smacking her skin constantly so we turned around.  The current was now against us and the swim back took 20 min longer than going out.  Every time I stopped for hydration, I could feel myself getting pulled back and to the side some and it was VERY visible watching Patricia float back in a direction she didn't want to be heading.  :)
All in all the swim took me 2 hours and 58 minutes.  I'm quite positive I did at least 5 1/2 miles even with the current.  I felt great when done and I know I easily could have gone longer. 
I'm 100% confident in my swim next Saturday! 
I'm VERY grateful for Patricia coming out with me and she is learning to be a good support kayak and navigator.  I am trusting her more as my navigator as opposed to looking up and checking myself randomly to make sure we are on the right heading.  She did a great job.

27May11

Joke swim today. 
I had a lesson and wasn't going to even swim today but I was there and just did 10 laps.
500 total  LOL  What a joke

26May11

Easy swim today.  Went in and did 1000 warmup then just kept plugging along lap after lap.  I stopped once and awhile for a drink or a very short break.  I also mixed in some kicking and breaststroke.
Stopped when my lap counter hit 100.  I had lessons coming up soon after.

5000 total.

24May11

Ladders today by 50 up to 500, repeat then back down.
I then did a 500 CD.

The total was 6000.

What is REALLY important about today is that since I have started keeping track of my training, I have officially swam over 250,000 yards!!!  Woo-Hoo me!  At this pace, I'm curious to see how many I have when I finish for the year...if I don't spend all of Nov. and Dec. on the couch watching football and drinking eggnog like usual.  :P

23May11

Shoulders were not 100% today and neither was my energy level. 
1000 WU
4 x 500 (50 kick then 250 swim, 50 breast then 250 swim)
That was it!  LOL
3000 yards.  I plan on doing a really short swim tomorrow too then a long swim of ladders on Wed.

21MAy11

Distance day today.  Got to the pool and in the water right before noon.  I brought lots of liquids and a few gels with me.  I just got into a nice steady and even pace and held it for the next several hours.
I stopped 30 laps for liquids and every 80 laps for a gel.  The longest I stopped for any break was 1 minute while I talked to another person swimming next to me about our open water group and how he should join us.  I just LOVE the look people get when I tell them how far I plan on going.  "Your going HOW FAR??"  All other breaks were only 10-20 seconds max.  I started to get a bit tired at 10,000 and my neck started to hurt around 11,000.  I pushed through it anyway.  Around 11,500, my brain did some magic and my body went "numb" and all my pain and being tired was gone.  The trade-off was that I got EXTREMELY hungry!  For the rest of the swim, I could only think about all the food I wanted to eat.
Finished my swim with 260 laps pushed into my lap counter on my finger.
13,000 yards today in 3:54.  I"m happy with this.

20May11

My friend Alicia and I drove together to meet with Gords at 1630 at the causeway to Antelope Island.  It has been raining with thunder and lightning all week but the clouds gave us a small break for Friday afternoon.  Gords had one of his sons come along with a kayak for support.  We got in and the water was definitely colder from all the rain the past week.  The temp read 59 degrees.  This is a TINY bit under my comfort zone but I decided to just deal with it and I got in anyway. 

It was the first time Alicia had been in the GSL and she is not used to swimming in such cold water.  It took her a bit of time to get adjusted as to be expected.  I was having to take more time to get adjusted/numb also.  We were hoping to get in around 3-4 miles but doubt immediately came up when I knew how cold I would  be.  Alicia and I finally got adjusted and started our swim a few minutes after Gords was well on his way.  We swam out and stopped every 10 min or so to chat for a sec to see how she was doing etc.  Going out, the cold did not seem to bother either of us much.  When we were about a mile into the swim, I noticed dark clouds away from us that were not there when we started.  Bad weather was supposed to be coming in and I did not want to risk it too much.  I got hold of Gords and he agreed that tempting nature probably isn't the brightest idea!  We headed back to be safe.  The clouds rolled in quicker than expected and the temperature seemed to drop just as quick.  When the sun is not on your back, it makes a HUGE difference on how the water feels.  I started to get very cold very quickly.  My feet were already numb but they were both starting to cramp too...not fun.  We made it back and got out earlier than we wanted but the risk did not seem worth it.  We ended up doing 2 miles.  I really want to get in ONE swim in the GSL of at least 6 miles before my big swim in 3 weeks.  I just need the weather to cooperate.

Thank you Gords for meeting with us and thank you Austin for being a paddler for us and getting us our drinks during the swim.

Alicia and me                                                                               

19May11

Was lucky to get to the pool today.  Had to squeeze in a quick swim before my wife heads out for dinner with an old friend.
1000 WU
100 kick then 400 swim repeated 4 times
1000 swim CD

4000 total...meh, it something. 

18May11

Easy swim today.
2500 all free with some breast mixed in once and awhile.  I had a lesson after my swim so I didn't do anything spectacular.
Easy 2500....longer swim tomorrow for sure!

17May11

Great swim today.  I got over my funk with a good sleep last night.  I woke up feeling better and in much better spirits.  I decided to do a long swim.  I got robbed this weekend so I wanted to make up some yards.
I went in and did 10,000 straight.  I stopped every 2000 yards for hydration and I took a gel at 5000.
My arms got a little heavy at 8000 but it did not last long.  I knew it had been awhile since my last long swim when I got out of the pool and could feel it in my legs and shoulders. 

Very glad I did it though.

10,000 yards  :)

17May11

I'm in a complete mental and spiritual slump right now.  I went to swim hoping to do at least 6000 but I realized it was taking me a minute per lap so I stopped at 1300.  Pathetic swim today.  I feel like I'm going backwards in my training.

15May11

Just an update for my last few swims.  I did not swim Thursday because I was flying to VA all day.  I got screwed out of my seat in Detroit and had to wait there another 4 and 1/2 hours to get next flight.
I was fortunate enough to be allowed to swim at the William and Mary pool.  Our family was given a private tour of the new gym and the redoing of the outdoor rec recently.  It was VERY impressive.  I was given permission to swim in the pool since some members of their swim team were practicing.  I just got in the outside lane and did my slow laps while their team swam in the middle lanes making me look like I was dragging bricks!
I got 40 min in so I'll round to a VERY conservative 2000 yards.  I probably did more than that but don't want to give credit for more than I did so I'll go short on my guess.

On Saturday the 14th, I got up at 0600 and drove down to Hampton to swim at Buckroe Beach.  There was a small storm the night before with high winds but I figured it was gone.  I looked at the horizon and saw red in the distance.....not good!  The waves were rough but I figured I'd just swim out past the break and I'd be fine.  I kept swimming farther and farther from shore but the waves only seemed to get more violent as I swam.  I kept going for a bit anyway but I soon was having difficutly navigating.  I then realized that I had the rental car with me and pretty much NO ONE knew where I was if something were to happen.  I did have Gords SSD with me and it was great but it was never behind me.  It was always parallel to me pulling me to the side.  I decided for safety reasons that I'd better head in.  I have done hundreds and hundreds of miles in the ocean and open water and if I consider it too choppy or rough to swim in, then it was REALLY bad.
I figure I did around a mile.  I'm being conservative again here because I'm sure I did more.
I was VERY disapointed that the water was not cooperating with me because I wanted to do at least 2 hours in "real" open water but the weather gods decided otherwise...oh well.  It was nice to go back to one of my old swim spots anyway.

11May11

Good swim today.  Met with Gords to do a few hours in the Great Salt Lake.  The water temp started around 61 to 62 degrees but seemed to get colder as we went along.  We had no real clear objective other than to keep swimming as much as we can for 2 hours.  We would find an island off in the distance and use that as our navigation point then stop every 20 min or so to chat for a sec and get some hydration.  The water started to get to me a bit about an hour into the swim.  My toes were numb and by the 2 hour mark, my toes were non-existent and my entire feet were quickly joining them!  I finished well and felt good when we were done.  We ended up doing 3.54 miles according to Gords GPS.  I was hoping to do more but there were times when we were clearly headed against the current so progress was slowed.

Overall I had a great time and am looking forward for more swims.  Gotta get more to come out!!  People that plan on doing the GSL race next month may have a surprise or two with the salt content and how heavy the water progressively gets the more you swim.

10May11

Words can not express how bad I felt today.  I'm posting this a day after because yesterday I actually had NO energy to do ANYTHING.  I was up most of the night feeling miserable and only wanted to sleep all day.  I actually DID just sleep on and off all day.  I'd sleep for 2 hours, get up for 10 minutes and go back to sleep.  I called a friend of mine that is a nurse and he told me I was dehydrated.  Stay awake and drink water slowly.  I did and I started to feel better after a couple of hours.  The only thing I ate the entire day was a toasted bagel with butter at night and I only drank water with a touch of gatorade for flavor.  The rest of the time was spend either sleeping or sitting in front of TV with daughters watching Disney movies. 
I went to bed at 1900 and slept really well last night.
I plan on swimming today considering I feel MUCH better but not sure when or where yet.

9May11

WU was
400 swim, 200 kick, 400 swim, 200 pull, then 12 x 50. (I was hitting 38-40 on every 50 then leaving with :10 rest.  I was happy this did not make me tired at all)
1000 free
1000 (50 Breast then 200 swim - each set x4 with no breaks)
1000 (50 Kick then 200 swim - each set x4 with no breaks)
4 x 250 pull
200 CD
6000 total

7May11

Met with Gords today at Blackrock at the GSL.  It was the maiden voyage for our kayak and the first kayak paddling experience for Patricia in a long time.  I viewed this more as a "familiarity session" as opposed to a straight swim workout.  Gords was there with his son and his own kayak so we could do our own thing if needed.  Turns out, it was needed.  It took several minutes of wading out in the water for us to reach a depth where we could swim.  My body took it's usual 5 minutes to get acclimated to the 63 degree water.  My body adjusted well but my face and forehead took some more time to get adjusted.  Once I was fine, I started doing some longer sets between stopping to chat with Patricia to see how she was doing or trying out feeding techniques, where I want her positioned, signials, etc.  I'll admit she did great.  There was a learning curve but she got a handle on the kayak very quickly and did a great job of staying next to me a majority of the time.

Gords and I ended up doing our own thing almost immediately.  He was more focused on getting distance in and I was more focused on teamwork with my wife.  I did get some nice long sets of time in between drink breaks once we got going.  After 30 minutes of swimming out, we turned around and headed back in towards Black Rock.  The last few hundred yards were all wading again but I did 1 hour of swimming total so I figure I got about 2 miles in with all the stops.  No problems for me at all.  The time went by EXTREMELY fast and I was having so much fun I would randomly yell "WEEEEE" to my wife during my breathing stroke!  I hit my chaffing spots with grease very well and had NO red on me when I was done.  Quite happy about that too!

The next time we go out, I'm sure we won't have a learning curve and I'll just do several miles at a time with only a few short breaks for hydration.

5May11

Ladders today by 50 up to 600 then back down.  That ends with 7800 but I couldn't stop there ....COULD I???  I added a 200 for a "CD" for an even 8000.
Felt pretty good during the swim.  Hit a few "tired" spots but they only lasted for 100 yards at most.

4May11

Skipped the pool today and instead met with Josh and Gords at the Great Salt Lake.  I have never swam there before and wanted to give it a try.  The water was 60 so it was perfect.  Getting in was a bit tough but once I got acclimated, the water felt GREAT.  I'm used to swimming in salty water from so many miles at Virginia Beach but the salt content did take me by surprise.  It was HORRIBLE.  I had to make a conscious effort to breathe out of my nose more than my mouth and not let ANY water near the back of my throat.  My lips and togue did swell up some but it was not very bad.  It was also a bit fun being able to be SO boyant.  You can sit on the water like you are on a pool chair and your legs and chest float right out of the water!
We had planned on only doing 1/2 mile but once we got to the 1/2 mile spot, I felt so good that I wanted to go the long way back instead of heading in.  The Josh and Gords felt the same and we ended up doing around 1 mile.  It felt REAL good to get some distance in the open water.  We only did one mile but if time was permitting, I think we all could have easily gone for several more.  We'll have to plan for that next time.  I want to do 3-5 next time.
Josh had a photographer out there for a newspaper/state park rep.  I'm looking forward to see how those pics come out.
I definitely plan on trying for another swim this week.

3May11

Made myself go again today even though my motivation wasn't all there.  Was very glad I did.  I was sluggish the first 1000 yards but started feeling better after that.  The more I swam, the better I felt.  I was very happy by around 3000 and felt back at ease with the water despite my energy level the past week.
I ended up doing 6000 even though I was only supposed to do 4000!
1000 WU
6 x 500
1500 swim with breast mixed in once and awhile.
500 CD

I have a long swim tomorrow so hopefully I feel just as good then as I did during this swim.....still looking forward to the lakes on a regular basis!!!!

I just realized that after today, I have passed 100 miles in my training according to USMS Go the Distance calculator!!!!  Hooray me!

2May11

Lungs still not 100% but I made myself go anyway.  I did 3000 total mixing it up with long sets and short ones.  I'm still on schedule for my training but today was definitely cut short for what I needed to do.  This cold just needs to leave me the hell alone!!!