Wednesday, January 25, 2012

25Jan12 - Things I love

Forewarning - I might ramble here some.
Got up at 0400 and was at the pool ready to be in at 0433.  Kim and I just stood there talking for 7 minutes before finally surrendering to get in. Getting in is BY FAR the worst part of the workout.  I truly feel that once you get in, you are already halfway there. 
Did a 2000 set to start.  There were some long pull sets in the 2k.  Marcia has challenged me to try to keep the pull buoy at my ankles.  This was TOUGH.  I spent a huge amount of time focusing on my ankles, how weird it felt, and how much my creamy inner thighs were tiring out from keeping my legs pressed together.  I kept thinking it would be easier to swim like a slut and keep my legs wide open.  My stroke went to hell quickly.  Doing this shows you your core strength...or in my case, lack of it!  After 200 I moved it to my knees.  I'll have to slowly get better at that ability.
After that I did some 500's going faster each one.  I was on a time limit and keeping the times going faster proved to be difficult at the end.  I made it on each one and was getting faster but at the very end, I was putting forth max effort to get my time faster than before.  I was pretty tired at the end but was happy to have be done.  I LOVE getting out of the pool feeling like I am physically wasted and really tired.  I just know I did good and it will only make me improve.
I also LOVE walking out of the gym at 0630 and walking past people going in thinking....hehe I'm DONE!
I also LOVE walking out in only shorts and a t-shirt when it's 37 and feel WARM!  I can't remember the last time I've worn a jacket outside after a workout this year or even thought that I was close to cold.
One small thing that keeps coming into my head is effort.  For some reason, I do what I need to at the start of a workout but I seem to "hold back" more effort because of a stupid fear of bonking before I'm done with my workout.  I feel like I gotta hold some in so I don't "run out of gas" before the workout is over.  It's another mental obstacle I gotta get over.  It was a habit I had last year and it annoyed me then too.  I would do a 4 mile swim at Pineview and go normal for 2 miles, a bit faster on the 3rd and hardest on the 4th.  I'd be REALLY moving it on the last mile and when I was done, I felt like I could have gone longer.  Why didn't I start/hold that pace at mile 2?  Oh, I'm scared to...that's why!  I need to just go for it and if I crash out then I do.  I've never gone really hard for a long time just to see how long it would take before I crashed.  I need to do that.  I have a feeling I'm going to surprise myself.  I did some of it last year with the Alcatraz swim.  I swam at my "redline" for 30 min straight and never faltered!
Well today during my 500's I knew I was putting in serious effort on the last few.  For once in a long time, I drove to work after swimming not thinking "I could have done more....I could have held that longer...etc".  I drove today knowing I did my best.  If I want to seriously improve this year, I have to stop being a "cat" and I better be willing to crash halfway through a workout...I'm willing to bet it won't come as quick as I "anticipate".

4200 today

3 comments:

  1. I can relate to that feeling of holding back out of fear. I've never heard anyone else talk about it.

    I made a breakthrough on that a few months ago after hearing a lecture about mental toughness. I went to the pool by myself the next day and did 200, 400 and 1,000 speed trials. A new feeling came over me--I realized that the outcome was out of my control. My only part in it was to try. When I got tired, the mantra "I'm in God's hands" came to me. It felt like I was on a conveyor belt, and there was nothing to do other than keep going. Since that day, I haven't had that fear again.

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  2. Thanks...I'll keep that in mind.

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  3. I know that feeling...I have held back on both speed and distance because I didn't know if I could do it. I psyched myself out. Not this year!

    Nice job on your workout. I can't believe you get up at 4am...I have a hard enough time getting up at 5am.

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