Sunday December 19th, 2010
Location: Indoor Lap Pool
Workout: 4,500 meters
Wahoo, it’s Sunday, my usual rest day of the week, but not this Sunday, I have scheduled a 4,500 meter swim to keep me on track to hit 1000 miles before the end of the year and the clock is ticking.
I am excited about today’s swim, I am feeling better than I did yesterday and I know today’s dip is going to be short, if all goes well I will be finished up in 1.5 hours or less.
I am not planning on swimming fast today, in fact I decided to not focus on the clock and kick back after grinding it out through yesterday’s tough swim, ” why not take it easy on yourself today”, I say to myself when I wake up, the conversation goes on ” sterling idea, don’t mind if I do”. As soon as I made this decision I felt relaxed, essentially a goof off swim, what fun.
I head down to the pool, the memory of my ” Solo” swim fresh in my mind from yesterday. I am relived to see Paula, my swim buddy and crew member already in the pool, excellent, someone to swim with, all the lanes around Paula are occupied with swimmers working away on their own fitness goals and Paula is close to finishing up her swim and getting out, RATS!
I know today I need company in the pool in the worst way, I spy Peg in the lane next to Paula. Peg has great energy, she is as bright as a button and when you are around Peg you can’t help but smile,
Unbeknown to her she is the one who can get me to perform my best today, how?…. just by sharing a lane with me, Peg has been doing a great job of working on her lap swimming over the last few months, I have noticed her getting stronger in the water, however I don’t think swimming with me is top on her ” things I want to do in 2010 list…swim with Charlotte”. I stroll up to her lane ” mind if we split the lane?”, Peg’s eyes become as wide as saucers, she answers by saying” I may not be the best one to share the lane with you” , “you’ll be great and I promise not to hit you” I blurted out, then jump in and pushed off before she has a chance to voice any further doubts.
Peg swims great, sure we swam at a different pace but we were both working in the same pond, I did my workout and she did hers, I kept my promise and didn’t hit her and spent as much time under the water as possible, especially when we passed each other near the walls.I had fun.
I started with my 10 x 200 meters set, I felt relaxed and pleased to have a familiar face in the lane, even if we had never swum together before I spent plenty of time with Peg on land.
I know I had made a deal to not look at the clock today but after the 2nd 200 I decided to look at the clock after all, I was amazed to see my times were the best I had hit in weeks, it turned out to be a great swim, all thanks to me relaxing and having Peg, my magic lane mate for the day. Before I knew it 4,500 meters was done and I was out of the water.
The lessons from today’s swim….
- One day at a time, never assume something is going to be rough( or a cake walk) just because it was yesterday
- Relax, it makes everything easier
- Motivation can be right there in front of you…..seek it out.
Today’s Swim
10 x 200s on the 3:00 Interval
#1-4 2:50 seconds
# 5 2:45 seconds
# 6-9 2:40 seconds
# 10 2:35 seconds
6 x 250s ( kick/ Pull / Swim)
4 x 250’s Paddles
50 Goof Off!
Total Distance 4,500 meters
Next up off home to eat lunch and then up to Trapp Family Lodge for an afternoon Nordic ski, it was the first cross country ski of the winter, it is funny that I could be swimming in water this morning and then essentially skiing on another state of water this afternoon, this time in the form of snow cover….weird!
I felt clumsy on skis compared to swimming but it was great to get out in the woods and feel some sun light on my face.
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| Trapp Family Lodge Ski Trails Stowe, Vermont |
So the clock is ticking, how far left to go to make 1000 miles before the end of the year?
43.27 Miles
That is 69,636 meters or 2,785.44 lengths of the indoor lap pool
Next time you drive 43.27 miles think of swimming it instead of driving your car, we will conquer 1000 miles together!
