30May14

Rested an extra hour this morning.  I was supposed to do a longer swim this morning.  Not feeling 100% when I got up so I slept in a bit more.  It was a good thing too.  For some reason my triceps hurt today.  HURT  No idea why.
All snorkel....going to ask my chiro today if I can swim more without it or at least start weening off.

500
500 kick no fins
500 pull
8 x 50  Last 2 were strong
50 back
50 breast

2000 LCM

29May14

Easy day today - still with snorkel
1000
drink
1000
drink
400
50 back
50 breast

DONE - Mainly focused on my stroke today.  I plan on doing a longer swim tomorrow.

2500 LCM

28May14

Woke up this morning confused as hell for some reason.  No idea where I was or what I was doing.  Fun morning!
Decided after Monday to start to pick up my distance a bit.  The snorkel is really boring the hell out of me but I need to stay in the water.
1000 WU
6 (50 Kick, 50 hard, 50 normal)
100 easy
5 (Back down, breast back)
500 pull - right elbow started to get a bit sore.
10 x 50 on the minute.

3500 LCM

On a side note, I talked with Sue last night.  She had a bad day this past weekend and has decided to change from the GSL 8 mile to the 1 mile event.  She is not comfortable at the time doing 8 miles and I commend her for taking her safety and health over her pride.  I know it was not an easy decision but my respect for her has only grown.  She has something going on right now that is having a negative impact on her swimming and she is wise enough to not push it until she figures out what is going on. My prayers are with her that she gets over this speed bump soon and back to cranking out the miles.

26May14

Gordon's 42nd birthday today.  All he wanted was for his friends to join him for his long swim.  4 of us showed up to swim and help celebrate.
We met at Steiner's outdoor 50 LCM pool.  It's a great view and nice pool but it's HOT!
I really have NO idea what I did.  I just did sets of 500's or 1000's.  I chatted quite a bit with everyone and enjoyed myself immensely.
Gordon was doing his 10k postal time trial and everyone left as he was halfway into it.  I needed to stay until 1000 so I got into his lane and would pace him for 50's or 100's.  At first I would just cheer for him or swim under him giving him a thumbs up.  I would have Jonas tell me when he was near a break and I would make sure I would be there to clap/cheer for him.  Pretty soon he started to slow down.  Gordon knows, along with everyone else in the world, that I'm slower than him.  Every time we have EVER done any form of swimming next to each other, he always pushes it to out touch me on the wall.  Well this works great for pacing him.  I would swim right next to him for 50's or 100's and I could feel him picking up his pace.  I would get the tiniest bit ahead of him and I could actually feel him thinking, "OH HELL NO!" and pick it up.  Worked great.  Every time I would stop to rest, Jonas would say that it was his fastest lap yet.  The last lap he was pretty much in a dead sprint to keep up with me.  I pushed off the wall and my right quad cramped.  I started to catch him but then it cramped again.  He finished strong and looked great.

I finished with 6500 LCM.  Not too bad.  My right elbow held up pretty good.  I'm getting REAL tired of wearing my snorkel for all my free sets.  I made sure to mix in a lot of kicking and some back/breast sets.  Glad I could join Gordon on his BD swim.   Good times!

23May14

Was sick the past 2 days so swimming was out of the question.  Laying in bed all day with severe stomach cramps is not a fun way to spend an anniversary!
All snorkel again today.
Sue was there this morning.  I got in her lane so she could swim next to a friend.  She was smiling and looked to be in a better mood.  I gave her a good hug as soon as I could.  We even got to chat a bit after the workout.  She is doing better but still has some concerns.

500 WU
10 x 100 - Odds kick and evens free
5 x 100 - Back down and odds I did breast back, and evens I did free
5 x 100 - Strong pulls down and recovery back

2500 LCM

Elbow is feeling a little better.  It was a tiny bit sore getting out but not the usual pain from before.  Not sure if it's from rest of the chiro but something is making it feel some improvement.  Glad that I can pull without as much fear.  Now I just need to be able to swim 5000 meters without a snorkel and I'll be happy!....baby steps

20May14 - Adjustments

Saw a chiropractor yesterday and my neck and back are "not quite right".  I did not realize how messed up they were and he advised I take it easy with swimming for a few weeks.  He did say I can swim with a snorkel.  I have been noticing that I'm not right when I swim but did not realize how bad it was.  I need to cut back some serious yards until further notice.  This is putting a SERIOUS dent into my training.  I'm not happy.
The KEARNS pool is 50 LCM now so that is nice.
All of my sets are with a snorkel on so I don't rotate my neck.

500 swim
6 (50 kick then 100 swim)
100 easy
10 x 50 on the minute

2000 LCM..........Should be 5000 or 6000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17May14 - Bridge to Bridge swim

Up at 0315 and out the door by 0330.
Forgot to mention that yesterday, Jamie asked about joining my swim.  It had never occurred to me to have anyone join me.  I was always told this was a solo swim since if we get a "group", we would need to have permission.  Sylvia said that 2 is still fine before needing to  get special permission.  Jamie said he might join me.  Once I heard he wanted to join me, I couldn't imagine doing the swim without him.  It would only add to how great it would be.  After a few phone calls, he said he would join.  Could NOT have been more excited. 
Jamie met us at SERC at 0400.  We got our stuff and were on the boat by 0410 heading to the Oakland Bay Bridge.  Water temp was 57.

0400 ready to go

Around 0440 we were at the bridge and greased up ready to go.  I jumped in first and Jamie 5 seconds after me.  He did ask right as I got in how the water was.  It was PERFECT!!  Calm water and FAST current.  The skies were clear and the ambient light from San Francisco helped us see.  The city was lit up on our left and looked great. 

Oakland Bay Bridge

Those green dots are us!

Jamie and I swam nice and easy.  We kept stopping every 5 minutes to make comments about how fast we were moving and how much fun we were having.  At one point, I even yelled, "I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH FUN I'M HAVING"!!!
Patricia did great on the boat and Sylvia had to spend more time telling Jamie and I to shut up and swim than actually direct the boat!  I could go between wanting to swim and forcing myself to stop to enjoy this great experience.

Almost there

The sun was JUST creeping up when we got near the Golden Gate Bridge.  Once we got really close to the bridge, Jamie got in the boat and I floated on my back to look up to see the underbelly of the bridge.  It truly was magical.  I finished the swim in 1 hour and 16 minutes.  The main thing I did was swim easy and keep myself afloat.  The current did 95% of the work!  My kind of swim.
It was great to have Jamie with me.  He is a great guy and a fun person to swim with.  He did punch me in the head once when we swam next to each other.  It was ok because I did get a handful of his ass a few times.  It was dark and near Alcatraz it got pretty choppy.  It was tough to see each other at times.
I made the swim in perfect timing.  There was actually a cruise ship about to come in.  The pilot was talking to the boat and making sure I could make the swim without getting run over.  I won a game of chicken with a cruise ship....kinda.

Cruise ship

Once we got on the boat, we could not stop smiling, laughing, and saying over and over again how much fun it was.  EASILY in the top 3 of most enjoyable and memorable swims. 
I can't thank Sylvia enough for setting this up for me.  You were an amazing host and made me feel very comfortable the whole weekend.  Thank you Jamie for joining me on such an amazing swim adventure.  This goes on a OW swimmers bucket list.

Lastly, THANK YOU Patricia for coming with me.  What makes this swim so great was that I got to share it with you.  You did not feed the fish, which I'm proud of, and gave me great support.  Thanks for coming along with me on this adventure.

16May14

Arrived at Sylvia's house around 0300!  "Slept in" until around 0700 and Patricia woke up at 0900.  Just hung out relaxing for a bit.  Got a text from Jamie Patrick on where to meet him for lunch.  We all headed into the city and met up with Jamie for lunch.  We ate outside and then sat there chatting for awhile.  By the time we got up to leave, we had been there 2 hours!  It was great.  Sylvia and I went to the South End Rowing Club.  Patricia went for a walk as Sylvia and I went for a light easy swim.  I was a TINY bit concerned about the water temp since I have not been in 56 degree water in a few weeks.  Took me all of 30 seconds to adjust and I was fine.

SERC mascot!  HAD to represent SLOW while there!

 Swam REAL casual and slow.  Elbow hurts a bit still on my right arm so we did a lot of heads up breast chatting. 
Did one loop around the park then headed in.  Swimming out there felt great.  I knew I was ready for the swim the next day.
As you get out of the water, they have a sign for a designated spot.  LOVE this sign.  There is only a TINY place to stand here.

.7 miles OW

14May14

Last swim before San Fran.
500 WU
500 snorkel
5 x 100  I descended 1-3.  Easy last 2
10 x 50.  5 and 10 I did back

Rest of my body feels pretty good.  I can do flip turns again.  My right elbow still hurts.  It feels like the actual bone hurts.  It's a concern but it's only been a week so I'm going to wait a bit before really worrying about it.  I'm hoping it just needs some more rest.


2000 SCY

12May14

Another test swim today.  Forced myself to rest this weekend.  95% of my body is getting MUCH better or pretty much good to go.
 2 (200 swim then 50 back)
500 snorkel
5 x 100 on the 2:00
10 x 50 on the 1:00

The only 2 things to note are that I still can't do flip turns.  My stomach is still a tiny bit sore and I don't want to push it.  The main concern I have is my right elbow HURTS.  Pulling was a labor with my right elbow and I had to back off a ton.  It hurts quite a bit still.  I know it's from the shockwave of the impact riding up my arm.  Left arm feels fine but my right elbow feels like it's in a constant torque when I pull.  Still sore as I type this.  Took some Aleve and I'll see how it goes.  It will heal but I want it better NOW....patience!!!

2000 SCY

9May14

Wanted to test how well I could swim this morning since the accident.
Got to the pool at 0630 and slowly got in.
10 x 50 EASY.  Can't do breast since it hurts my right knee too much
My stroke is ok and it felt great to be in the water.  My right chest hurts quite a bit still and pulling made my right arm tingle.  I held back on my pulls and just mainly glided each 50.  I even had trouble getting out of the pool.


500 SCY

6May14

I start class again today so on Tuesdays from now on, I'm going to "sleep in" an hour and only swim from 0600-0700.  I could feel the swim from yesterday.  The sides of my core were a bit sore and my triceps were HURTING.

500 WU
500 snorkel
500 pull
5 x 100 on the 1:45
10 x 50 Desc 1-3 etc  Easy on the 10th
500 snorkel

3000 SCY

5May14

GREAT dinner last night!  Steak, rice pilaf, cornbread, and then cookies after.  It was a good family dinner and felt great in my stomach after a day of fasting....last night!  Still feeling some steak in my stomach this morning while doing warm ups was not as pleasant!

25 x 200 today  I did sets of 5 x 200
 Free - The 2nd 200 I did an IM with Becky the Masters Coach.  NOT a good idea!
Snorkel
pull
100 swim, 50 kick, 50 sprint - sprint is a generous word here.  Too much push and my stomach pushed back!
odds IM and evens are 100 back then 100 breast

5000 SCY total.
Heading to GSL this afternoon for more.

Met with Stacey Schluckebier at 1630.  Water temp was 64 and felt good.  We did the buoy route.  The current was going against us slightly on the way north.  We stopped at each buoy for about 10 seconds to say hi and I made sure she was ok.  After the last buoy, we headed back.  At the exact count of 55 strokes, we felt the current change.  Lucky for us, we now get to head against the current both ways!  When we got to the buoy, she asked if I felt the current change....yes, yes I did.  She said this always happens to her.  Instead of going out slow and coming back fast, we would be slow both ways.  We were actually slower going back because the wind picked up and it got a bit "bumpy".  It was fun regardless.  The temp started to drop and Stacey got cold.  We skipped our 10 second stops for the last few buoys and just headed in.  Good swim and it was fun.
I did push myself some to make up for this morning.  I would swim between every other buoy with strong pulls and pushing myself some.  I could feel my arms getting really tired near the end.  I was working myself over pretty good.  Loving every second of it.
1.65 miles OW

3May14

Met Sue at GSL at 1530
A lot of boats out today so we stuck with the buoy route near the marina.
Nice swim and water was 65.

1.65 total OW