A Deuce and a Half (With Friends) - January 10, 2009

My bagel dreams from yesterday came true.  I woke up on time and headed to Lifetime Fitness in Alpharetta to join a group for a Saturday morning swim.  My goal was to just get in the water and swim some laps but with some encouragement (and some organization from Gerry Halphen and Michelle Shoup) I was swimming a very structured workout.

An hour and ten minutes later I was saying to the group, "No MAS!!"  3,600 meters of swimming as my first day back was enough.  I skipped the sprints at the end of the workout but I don't think I was ready for that anyhow.

A few things that I noted during my return to the pool; First, over the summer and up to the time of Ironman Florida in early November, I was swimming in the 1:40 to 1:45 range per 100 meters.  I found myself feeling like I was swimming as I was then.  I felt good, my stroke felt ok and I felt like I had a decent feel for the water while pulling myself through.  But that's not what the clock was telling me.  Consistent paces in the 1:55 to 2:00 per 100 quickly told me that I'm not in the same swimming shape that I was just 10 weeks ago.  I expect that it would return in a reasonable amount of time contingent on my return to consistent pool workouts (yet to be determined).

The second thing I noted was that for the first time, I saw the effects of a swimmer that turned aninjury into an opportunity to address a weakness.  Michelle Shoup was injured and couldn't really bike and run for about 4 months.  She did what many athletes say they would do (but hardly anybody really does it.)  She swam her butt off for 4 months.  Yes, it helps that her husband is a swim coach.  And yes, I think he takes it serious enough that he was on her case constantly about being aggressive in her pursuit of better swimming.  But boy is she turning into a fantastic swimmer.  With a much improved kick, she has the stroke of a real swimmer (as opposed to a triathlete).  She was lapping me with ease and was a total torpedo in the water.  She was swimming sub 1:30/100's with ease.

How many times have we heard of a triathlete get a running or cycling injury and rather than spending their down time in the pool 5 to 7 days a week working on what needs improvement, they let themselves turn to mush while feeling sorry for themselves as they come up with excuses on why they can't do ANY type of training?  Anyway, it actually was quite motivating to see somebody (a triathlete) turn into such a swimmer.  It can be done!

Post swim Gerry Halphen, Jerome (the Frenchman) and I went to Einsteins Bagels where I had my glory.  45 minutes of laughing, telling stories and catching up was a lot of fun and made the swim workout that much more enjoyable.  Gerry is an intense athlete (and also coaches triathletes).  When I see him in action I see a guy who sometimes motivates with a carrot and then at other times motivates with a stick!  I'm not exactly sure if I was getting the carrot or the stick but I left Einstein's Bagels and made my way straight to the Sport Factory in Alpharetta where I participated in the Saturday morning group strength session with him.  It was a large group.  I remember when the program started with only four or five athletes.  I didn't get an exact count but there were three groups of similar size and I know my group had about 7 or 8 athletes in it. 

Unfortunately on the very first walking lunge set I felt something pull in my right knee which felt irritated and painful for the remainder of the workout.  I didn't over-do it and was smart by easing into a strength program.  No need to really injure myself in a big way when I'm starting to really get into a groove with my training.  The knee is sore if I squat down or go down stairs so I'm going to have to monitor what exactly pulled but it feels fine walking and running.

I also got in 3 miles of running after the strength session just to keep my running on track and so I wouldn't have to do it later in the day.  But the one hour and ten minute swim workout, the one plus hour strength session and the thirty minutes on the treadmill gave me in excess of two hours and 30 minutes of training time for the day (my first deuce and a half of 2009).

As to be expected, getting in multiple hours of training is far easier and far more enjoyable within a social group.  It's easy to get through a tough workout when there is laughing involved and chit chat in-between sets.  It was also a lot easier to get in the amount of training by dividing it up into three types of training (swimming, strength and running).

And the bagels and social time was worth it!  I am going to take advantage of these Saturday swims/bagel stops and strength workouts as much as I can over the winter.  It makes training fun again.

So my final thought is this...if you feel you are stuck in a training rut, can't seem to find motivation, are unsure of the role of triathlon in your life, it may be time to just shake things up and mix in more group exercise into your routine.  No, the group isn't going to just do what you want to do.  No, the group won't work around your personal schedule.  No, the group won't let you off easy when you want to go easy.  But you may learn some new tricks, you may make a few more friends, you may smile a lot more during your training and you might even become faster as a result of it?

By the numbers;

• 179.8 - today's weight (January 1, 2009 weight was 184.2)  Goal weight for 10/25/09 is 165.

• 202 - Days until Ironman Lake Placid

• 287 - Days until the Marine Corp Marathon

• 10 - Total Days Trained in 2009

• 3.00 - Miles run today

• 54.25 - Miles run in 2009

Comments

[amy kloner]

The true joy actually is experienced the day or two following your return to strength training.

Have fun trying to sit down on the toilet!