Rest swim.
Got up and went to the pool knowing I was going to take it easy.
Did 1000 Warmup to stretch out my shoulders. They were nowhere near as tired as they should be since I had just finished swimming 5 miles only a few hours earlier.
Then I did 1000 kick with fins then some IM work for another 500.
2500 total - cake day!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
8May12 - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Slept in this morning. I knew I was going to the GSL after work so I just needed to do at least 3 miles.
I got to the marina a bit early. The temp read 68 degrees. It's getting too warm for what I need to be training in. For casual swims it's okay but I need to TRAIN in colder water. Gords and I talked about it after our swim and he feels the same way. We are going to have to start doing some swims at higher altitudes and colder water so we can get back to thinking 60 degrees is "hot" for us.
I went with Gords and Chad on a Gridley Straight. I was SO slow the first lap. Gords dropped me before he could blink and I normally am about the same pace as Chad or at times a tiny bit faster but never by much. When we were finishing the first lap, I was seriously considering just doing a buoy route to get my needed extra mile in then calling it good. When I got to the buoy, Chad was waiting for me and Gords was doing extra to keep from getting cold from waiting for my slow ass too long.
As soon as he arrived, he looked right at me and said if I was ready for another. I admit that I was temporarily mesmorized by his beard (mainly out of jealousy since I shaved mine off) and said yes. I almost immediately regretted this decision. I got dropped again quickly and just decided to think about my stroke and sing some songs. When I got to Blackrock the 2nd time, I finished off a small bottle of Cytomax and headed back to the marina. I don't know what happened but something clicked in me. About halfway back I started feeling REALLY good. My shoulders, arms, legs, and everything felt completely fresh. I started to go a bit faster. I went faster and faster and pulled with some real effort on each stroke. I got to the point where I felt like I was doing 100 yard power splits but I was getting no rest. I was encouraging myself to just keep going at this speed and if I crash out, then so be it, I can just coast back to the marina. I never did crash out. I soon caught Chad who had been a few hundred yards ahead of me and even ended up a little bit ahead of him. I was out of drinks and had no food but Gords had his drink out. I finished what he had then I wanted to swim more. Gords and Chad were game and I took off immediately. I went strong still but not as strong. I couldn't keep up with Gords (let's not get crazy here) but I was able to stay with Chad with ease when even trying to keep up with him earlier was too much for me.
I'm not sure what happened but I felt like a completely different person. When I got to the marina, I was actually kinda pissed I had to stop. I wanted more time in the water and more miles to take on. I wish I could feel like that beast that I was for that time more often.
The other thought was that I had just done 5 miles in about 2 and 1/2 hours. That means I was averaging under 30 min miles because of the breaks. I guess I was going at a decent pace after all even though I felt like cold tar for the first 3 miles.
The last thought I had was that 3 more of todays workout = my Catalina swim! BRING IT!!!
5 miles total today
I ALMOST FORGOT...Each time the water got shallow at Blackrock, I don't know why but I stood up and started "frolicking" for awhile. Hopping up and down with a stupid grin on my face and arms waving daintily throught the air. I found it quite hysterical. Gords got a laugh seeing me then asked if I wanted some pics of it. Chad just stuck his head up and yelled, "You're an idiot"....you're just figuring this out NOW Chad?? LOL
I got to the marina a bit early. The temp read 68 degrees. It's getting too warm for what I need to be training in. For casual swims it's okay but I need to TRAIN in colder water. Gords and I talked about it after our swim and he feels the same way. We are going to have to start doing some swims at higher altitudes and colder water so we can get back to thinking 60 degrees is "hot" for us.
I went with Gords and Chad on a Gridley Straight. I was SO slow the first lap. Gords dropped me before he could blink and I normally am about the same pace as Chad or at times a tiny bit faster but never by much. When we were finishing the first lap, I was seriously considering just doing a buoy route to get my needed extra mile in then calling it good. When I got to the buoy, Chad was waiting for me and Gords was doing extra to keep from getting cold from waiting for my slow ass too long.
As soon as he arrived, he looked right at me and said if I was ready for another. I admit that I was temporarily mesmorized by his beard (mainly out of jealousy since I shaved mine off) and said yes. I almost immediately regretted this decision. I got dropped again quickly and just decided to think about my stroke and sing some songs. When I got to Blackrock the 2nd time, I finished off a small bottle of Cytomax and headed back to the marina. I don't know what happened but something clicked in me. About halfway back I started feeling REALLY good. My shoulders, arms, legs, and everything felt completely fresh. I started to go a bit faster. I went faster and faster and pulled with some real effort on each stroke. I got to the point where I felt like I was doing 100 yard power splits but I was getting no rest. I was encouraging myself to just keep going at this speed and if I crash out, then so be it, I can just coast back to the marina. I never did crash out. I soon caught Chad who had been a few hundred yards ahead of me and even ended up a little bit ahead of him. I was out of drinks and had no food but Gords had his drink out. I finished what he had then I wanted to swim more. Gords and Chad were game and I took off immediately. I went strong still but not as strong. I couldn't keep up with Gords (let's not get crazy here) but I was able to stay with Chad with ease when even trying to keep up with him earlier was too much for me.
I'm not sure what happened but I felt like a completely different person. When I got to the marina, I was actually kinda pissed I had to stop. I wanted more time in the water and more miles to take on. I wish I could feel like that beast that I was for that time more often.
The other thought was that I had just done 5 miles in about 2 and 1/2 hours. That means I was averaging under 30 min miles because of the breaks. I guess I was going at a decent pace after all even though I felt like cold tar for the first 3 miles.
The last thought I had was that 3 more of todays workout = my Catalina swim! BRING IT!!!
5 miles total today
I ALMOST FORGOT...Each time the water got shallow at Blackrock, I don't know why but I stood up and started "frolicking" for awhile. Hopping up and down with a stupid grin on my face and arms waving daintily throught the air. I found it quite hysterical. Gords got a laugh seeing me then asked if I wanted some pics of it. Chad just stuck his head up and yelled, "You're an idiot"....you're just figuring this out NOW Chad?? LOL
Monday, May 7, 2012
7May12
Nice day today. I got to the pool and felt good. I have something of importance on my mind so I didn't pay as much attention to my times as I should have but oh well. I did get 4700 in and I had some strong sets. Some of the pulls sets I did really made me tired. Did a hypoxic set at the end and I thought I was going to die. Feels good to finish those sets!
My "new look" was all the talk at the pool today. It was humorous to me actually.
4700 today
My "new look" was all the talk at the pool today. It was humorous to me actually.
4700 today
5May12
I've have been a bit of a slacker this week. I took Friday off and when Saturday came, I did a short swim. I met up with Alicia today. She and I have done a lot of OW swims together but this was her first one of the year. She wanted to keep it casual and I had no problem with that. We went to Antelope Island marina and there was a bike race going on. We had a TON of people looking at us funny and were probably asked about 1000 times, "Are you going swimming"? Gee-wizz, what gave it away? Is it us walking around in speedo's? I just smiled and said yes and could feel lots of eyes on us as we got in. Water temp read 61 and it felt nice. Alicia adjusted quickly and once we cleared the marina entrance, we headed north for awhile. I counted 1000 strokes then we headed back in. She started to get a bit tired toward the end but did great overall. We finished with 1.67 miles. I was happy we got to swim together. I know it will happen a lot more. I just feel like a bit of a bum for not doing more. I should have done 6 miles today.
Friday, May 4, 2012
3May12
Went to the GSL after work. Gords was already there and I said I would meet him once I arrived. I got ready quickly and I ran over to the lookout and saw where he was. I got in and swam back to find him. I got to the red buoy and waited and waited. After about 10 minutes, I started to head back in to change my goggles. I made a poor decision on them and could barely see. Sure enough, at the mouth of the marina was Gords coming to me. I KNEW IT. LOL we had missed each other. I went back and changed goggles then we headed to Blackrock. There was cloud cover and I don't know why but I was chilly for the whole swim. My shoulders were not relaxed and I just felt worn out the whole swim.
The nice thing was that at spots, the water was crystal clear and you could see the bottom of the lake in good detail. It's always beautiful to see that. The bad thing was that there were billions of brine shrimp everywhere so you were swimming through them the entire swim.
Got back from Blackrock and Gords had to head in. I wanted more so I did another mile loop near the marina. Hooked up with Chad and we had a nice last mile together. I finished with 3.58 miles but I'm not happy that I was sore for most of it and I seemed to be struggling today. Could be an off day or maybe I need to change my recovery drink. I used to use Cytomax but I am trying out Infinit from a recommendation of a friend. Not sure what it is but I seem to be sore a lot more lately and it takes longer to warm up when I am swimming.
The nice thing was that at spots, the water was crystal clear and you could see the bottom of the lake in good detail. It's always beautiful to see that. The bad thing was that there were billions of brine shrimp everywhere so you were swimming through them the entire swim.
Got back from Blackrock and Gords had to head in. I wanted more so I did another mile loop near the marina. Hooked up with Chad and we had a nice last mile together. I finished with 3.58 miles but I'm not happy that I was sore for most of it and I seemed to be struggling today. Could be an off day or maybe I need to change my recovery drink. I used to use Cytomax but I am trying out Infinit from a recommendation of a friend. Not sure what it is but I seem to be sore a lot more lately and it takes longer to warm up when I am swimming.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
2May12 - Ghost Fans
Today I got up pretty happy and was not grumpy about going to the pool. I knew my shoulders would be a bit sore from the 4 miles at GSL yesterday but they relaxed quickly enough.
I only needed to get 3800 today to hit my average quota of 5k yards per day during the week. Well there is no way I can just do 3800 is there? It's such an ugly number to end on. So 4k it was.
1000 WU
500 K with fins
ladders by 50 up to 250 with fins then back down without
5 x 50 hypoxic training - NOT FUN
250 K no fins
500 CD
During the CD, I was able to hand out 4 "got salt" magnets. One was for someone that I promised him one. One was for a guy next to me that had "triathlete" written all over him. He said the 1 mile sounded like fun and he would definitely check it out.
The last 2 went to 2 women in the lanes next to me. I asked what they were training for and one said just some Olympic tri's. They asked what I'm training for and I just said that I'm distance swimmer. I told them about the GSL 1 miler and they had heard of it. One woman then asked my name and she not only knew who I was, but follows my blog...THIS ONE! I have a ghost fan! It was pretty neat to be honest. I didn't know more than the 4 people that claim they follow this blog ever read this. She said when she moved here she did a search on Utah open water swimmers and my name came up. I kept my composure but I was thinking, how the Hell??? What search engine is so broken that my name comes up when you search for Utah open water swimmers? LOL She said she was Annie Stanish and she had moved from California to Utah and was looking to get into the open water scene. I think she may have the states backwards as far as what state is good for open water swimmers and communities. We are small but we welcome her with open arms. She said she is interested in the 1 miler and hopefully I'm able to get her out to the GSL with us a few times. It would be nice to have more females in our ranks!
So, thank you to all my friends that read this and a thank you to all the ghost fans that I'm not aware are reading this.
I only needed to get 3800 today to hit my average quota of 5k yards per day during the week. Well there is no way I can just do 3800 is there? It's such an ugly number to end on. So 4k it was.
1000 WU
500 K with fins
ladders by 50 up to 250 with fins then back down without
5 x 50 hypoxic training - NOT FUN
250 K no fins
500 CD
During the CD, I was able to hand out 4 "got salt" magnets. One was for someone that I promised him one. One was for a guy next to me that had "triathlete" written all over him. He said the 1 mile sounded like fun and he would definitely check it out.
The last 2 went to 2 women in the lanes next to me. I asked what they were training for and one said just some Olympic tri's. They asked what I'm training for and I just said that I'm distance swimmer. I told them about the GSL 1 miler and they had heard of it. One woman then asked my name and she not only knew who I was, but follows my blog...THIS ONE! I have a ghost fan! It was pretty neat to be honest. I didn't know more than the 4 people that claim they follow this blog ever read this. She said when she moved here she did a search on Utah open water swimmers and my name came up. I kept my composure but I was thinking, how the Hell??? What search engine is so broken that my name comes up when you search for Utah open water swimmers? LOL She said she was Annie Stanish and she had moved from California to Utah and was looking to get into the open water scene. I think she may have the states backwards as far as what state is good for open water swimmers and communities. We are small but we welcome her with open arms. She said she is interested in the 1 miler and hopefully I'm able to get her out to the GSL with us a few times. It would be nice to have more females in our ranks!
So, thank you to all my friends that read this and a thank you to all the ghost fans that I'm not aware are reading this.
1May12
When my alarm went off this morning, I just looked at it, laughed, turned it off, then was back asleep in 2 seconds. My last thought was, "I'll just do more at the lake today".
I met Gords, Josh, Chad, and Michelle at the marina around 1700. Water felt really good. I had texted Gords that I wanted to do a longer swim today. I knew he would be up for it. We all got out of the marina and Josh and Michelle decided to do the buoy routes nearby to keep it short. Gords and I took off for Blackrock and Chad was right behind us. Going out was fun. There was a nice current from the NW heading SE that pushed us a little bit. Going back was a small challenge but it was nice. I got pushed around a bit and missed some breathing due to a small wave smashing my face when I went for air but otherwise it was great. When we got back to the marina, we asked Chad if he wanted to join us for one more. He just said, "Have fun" and Gords and I took off. I'm glad Gords was up to one more Gridley Straight lap. Even though I can't keep up with him for more than a few hundred yards before he completely drops me then steadily gets farther from me, it's nice knowing I'm doing these swims with someone else. Just that little mental help goes a long way. When I got to Blackrock the 2nd time, Gords was walking out to me. He looked anxious to leave. I asked if he was okay and he said "yes" but his face was contradicting his tongue. I tried to get my drink quickly and THE second I closed my bag, he took off. The swim back was calmer than the first one. Current was still there but the chop had subsided some.
I was happy that we did the 2 laps. I might make this the standard for at least once a week. My shoulders got a bit tight on the 2nd mile but after a bit they relaxed again. I just really REALLY love swimming out there. My tongue was pretty beat up. It's much better since I've adopted a different breathing technique for when I'm in the GSL but salt will find it's way in and will rip your tongue and mouth up some.
On a faux serious note, I've been doing some serious reflection on a topic that is of great importance.
It came to mind when I made the commitment to swim Catalina and I kept putting it on the back burner but now it's coming more and more important and I had to make a decision. I talked to other distance swimmers about it and I got conflicting opinions. I even talked with my church leader and he couldn't help much being as extremely unqualified as he is at this subject.
During my swim in the GSL, it was almost all I could think about. I HAD to make a decision. I knew that it would have a major impact on my channel swim and how my performance might be. My wife has been great at helping me but the decision ultimately comes down to me. I can't remember the last time I had to make a decision on something that was so difficult. It reminds me of those "reality" TV shows where it gets down to the last few contestants and the judges ALWAYS say how difficult of a decision it was but someone had to be cut. Now I know and feel their pain. I had to make a decision and so here it is.
After months of speculation and serious prayer, reflection and many sleepless nights, I've decided......
Just like most female marathon swimmers do, I'm going to swim Catalina topless. HAHA :)
I met Gords, Josh, Chad, and Michelle at the marina around 1700. Water felt really good. I had texted Gords that I wanted to do a longer swim today. I knew he would be up for it. We all got out of the marina and Josh and Michelle decided to do the buoy routes nearby to keep it short. Gords and I took off for Blackrock and Chad was right behind us. Going out was fun. There was a nice current from the NW heading SE that pushed us a little bit. Going back was a small challenge but it was nice. I got pushed around a bit and missed some breathing due to a small wave smashing my face when I went for air but otherwise it was great. When we got back to the marina, we asked Chad if he wanted to join us for one more. He just said, "Have fun" and Gords and I took off. I'm glad Gords was up to one more Gridley Straight lap. Even though I can't keep up with him for more than a few hundred yards before he completely drops me then steadily gets farther from me, it's nice knowing I'm doing these swims with someone else. Just that little mental help goes a long way. When I got to Blackrock the 2nd time, Gords was walking out to me. He looked anxious to leave. I asked if he was okay and he said "yes" but his face was contradicting his tongue. I tried to get my drink quickly and THE second I closed my bag, he took off. The swim back was calmer than the first one. Current was still there but the chop had subsided some.
I was happy that we did the 2 laps. I might make this the standard for at least once a week. My shoulders got a bit tight on the 2nd mile but after a bit they relaxed again. I just really REALLY love swimming out there. My tongue was pretty beat up. It's much better since I've adopted a different breathing technique for when I'm in the GSL but salt will find it's way in and will rip your tongue and mouth up some.
On a faux serious note, I've been doing some serious reflection on a topic that is of great importance.
It came to mind when I made the commitment to swim Catalina and I kept putting it on the back burner but now it's coming more and more important and I had to make a decision. I talked to other distance swimmers about it and I got conflicting opinions. I even talked with my church leader and he couldn't help much being as extremely unqualified as he is at this subject.
During my swim in the GSL, it was almost all I could think about. I HAD to make a decision. I knew that it would have a major impact on my channel swim and how my performance might be. My wife has been great at helping me but the decision ultimately comes down to me. I can't remember the last time I had to make a decision on something that was so difficult. It reminds me of those "reality" TV shows where it gets down to the last few contestants and the judges ALWAYS say how difficult of a decision it was but someone had to be cut. Now I know and feel their pain. I had to make a decision and so here it is.
After months of speculation and serious prayer, reflection and many sleepless nights, I've decided......
Just like most female marathon swimmers do, I'm going to swim Catalina topless. HAHA :)
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