Woke up this morning feeling a little tired. I put in a big weekend with the race pace run, long bike ride, and swim clinic. I was getting ready with my planned workout when I realized that I did not have my watch with me. I left it at school. The workout I had planned required timing my splits. So, I had to adapt. I opted to go with an optional swim workout today putting my other two required swim workouts back on Wednesday and Friday. I decided to just go and swim 30 minutes straight to mentally prove to myself that I could swim this long without stopping.
Basically, I decided to go with an easier swim workout with the mindset of a T-30 timed pace. Without a watch I would have to swim by feel which is what I will be doing during my race anyways.
I could not remember what my T-30 lap count was last time. I knew it was over 70. I was thinking 76, but I was off one. It was actually 75. Looking back at my post from March 7th I was interested to see how I felt during my last T-30 compared to today.
Here is part of the post which stood out to me
I recorded my time every 5 laps
Set 1: 4:10
Set 2: 4:07
Set 3: 4:07
Set 4: 4:00
Set 5: 4:00
Set 6: 3:54
Set 7: 3:52
Set 8(5 lengths): 1:50
My total swim time was 30:02
I swam 1875 yards
My total swim yardage with warm-up and cooldown was 2325
Reflecting on this I am happy. However, I know that I could start off
faster than 4:10. I was tired at the end and my stomach was hurting, but
I think I could jump out to at least a 4:00 split and pick up from
there. That will be my goal when I test again.
The reason this stands out is because today I swam 73 laps in about 3:10. I was below my last swim test. I should be bummed, but I am not. First, I did not wear a watch and refused to look up at the clock until I hit 71 laps. I forced myself to swim by feel not time. Because of this I ended up swimming a little bit shorter distance. However, when I finished I was not tired and did not have any stomach pains. I felt pretty good coming out. Yes, my arms and legs were a little tired from swimming straight for 30 minutes, but my HR seemed very much under control. I was trying to mimic a swim pace that would allow me to be set for the bike part of my race. If I can swim this pace and feel this way come May 20th I will be very happy. I felt like I was ready to jump out and tackle the bike. I did not feel depleted and worn out. This is a sign that I am continuing to make improvements in my swim. I still have some technique work to correct, but I know I am still making strides.
Once I nailed my rhythm I felt like I was right where I should be. I hope to remain this calm while in the race. I know my adrenaline will be flowing. I am not used to swimming around other people so close either. The swim clinic where we had to be on the feet of others really spiked my HR. I felt like I was just in a constant blur of motion. But, knowing how I swam today and how pretty easy it felt(on a scale of 1-10 I would rate it as a 6.5) I feel much more confident in myself. Plus, having a wetsuit on will help me tremendously also.
This morning I did
100 free
100 kick
50 kick on back
100 pull
30 min swim - 73 laps or 1825
Cool Down
100 Kick
100 Pull
50 Kick on back
50 free
Total Yardage - 2475
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