triwithms

Out for My First Run of the Season

 Well, I finally got out for my first run this year and I couldn’t have been happier.  The weather was perfect (0°C and sunny), I felt surprisingly good, and I was up at the cottage running with beautiful scenery.  I went out with my father in law, which was great since we were both able to inspire each other to actually get out of the house.  He had already done over an hour workout this morning so I appreciated the fact that he would come out again.

The plan was to do a 3 km slow jog if I was feeling up to it, but I would listen to my body to make adjustments.  The terrain around the cottage is very hilly, so I thought if I could could finish this run I would be okay for the 5 km run I signed up for next weekend.  Although I was going agonisingly slow, to my surprise I was able to do a 5 km run, including two climbs of what we like to call heart break hill.

Along the way I was listening to my breathing, and at times I slowed down to the point where I know I could have walked faster.  The batteries of my Nike heart rate monitor were dead so this is the next best way to ensure that I did not start out too fast.

Over lunch I was mentioning how I would love to get a swim coach so I could learn how to do the front crawl.  I was explaining to my wife and my in-laws how I tried in vain last year to find someone who could teach me, and could not even get into the local master’s swimming club as there has been a waiting list that never seems to get reduced.  Anyway, to my surprise and delight my father in law mentioned that he might be interested in getting semiprivate lessons with me in order to perhaps complete a try-a-tri this summer.

I’m thinking about going for a ride on the spin bike later on today or tomorrow.  We’ll wait and see how I feel.  For now, I’m just trying to learn how to create this website using iLife ’09 (which I’m sure will be a work in progress for quite some time), and I am considering if I should create a podcast.

Swim #2 Under My Belt

When I woke up today I felt really good and since I knew I was going up to the cottage for a long weekend I thought I better get out to the pool today.  I saw some familiar faces from the day before (mostly seniors) and was impressed how many of them are still doing over 500m in the pool everyday.  

So after being inspired by a 75 year old guy I talked to who was ‘only’ going to do 500m that day, I decided that I would try to beat my previous longest swim I did just the day before since I was feeling good.  I managed to complete 12 lengths or 600m to my amazement, I was so happy and proud it was so great.

Mind you it at 35 minutes for 600m, that pace would have got me pulled out of the water at most triathlons. :D

I figure if I can increase my endurance to the point where I can do about 750m without stopping, I can then work on learning the proper technique in order to increase my speed.

That’s all for today folks,

I’ll check back soon.

First Swim of the Year

So I went to the pool today with the intention of swimming between 50-100m depending how I felt.  I was happy that somehow the progress I gained from last summer somewhat stuck and I was able to do a total of 400m in the pool.  Mind you it was done 25m at a time with breaks in between and at a snails pace, but I was happy all the same.

I’m going to try to get out 3x’s per week if possible for the foreseeable future.  First with the goal of increasing my endurance to the point where I can get a coach and have enough endurance to do actually do some drills to improve.  I never learned how to do the proper front crawl stroke and think that this is the year that it is actually going to happen.

For those of you who aren’t even sure you can make it across the pool once I can certainly relate.  I was there just a while ago and know the fear and anxiety that can come with swimming.  You just have to look fear in the eye and take action despite of it.  Just take the first step and get out for a public swim.