Week Six

This week was pretty decent! Rest Monday, or course. On Tuesday I spun at home for 45 minutes while watching a Netflix'd House episode. Then, Saphira and I "ran around" for about 10 minutes or so, her chasing her laser dot. It wasn't exactly running, but I'll call it a brick workout nonetheless. Wednesdays track was great. We did mile repeats, with the first 1200 at level 7, and the final 400 at level 5. In between each mile repeat, we did core work.

On Thursday, I had my LAST set of spinal injections! The doctor suggested I cancel my entry for the California International Marathon in a few weeks. I'm going to just focus on ironteam training. Their calendar is perfect for what my doctor wants: base building for now, ramp it up in January or February after my back has settled a little bit.

On Friday, I felt that my back was strong enough to go to Simpkins and get a swim in. I swam according to our schedule: 1900 yards, plus a ten minute warmup. I found that I was much more motivated to keep going by following the workout on the calendar, rather than "just swimming." I'm understanding the concept of "glide" much more now, focusing on keeping my forward arm from sinking, and my recovery arm moving faster during the glide. I still have so much to learn to be a more effecient swimmer.

SO, on Saturday, my friend Sara took me to my first master's swim class. It was pretty intimidating. I put myself in the "slow section" and everyone was still lapping me. Because masters swimmers focus on all the strokes, there was a lot I didn't know how to do. I do believe that learning and practicing the other strokes will make me a better freestyle swimmer, but it was just a reminder of how MUCH I have to learn. I'm considering joining this group, and swimming with them at 6AM a few mornings a week. I'm not sure yet if I'll be motivated THAT much. We'll see!

One of my biggest swimming challenges is actually comfort level. I'm always cold, and my goggles either hurt or leak, depending on how I fit them. I use a double cap to keep warm, which gives me a bit of a headache, and then the chlorine often makes me nauseas after about 45 minutes. It just makes it harder to enjoy than the other sports.

Body Check: My tendon under my right knee is getting better! I've been taking aleve, icing it, and wearing a support band when I run. I've also been avoiding lunges, which is what I think caused the problem in the first place. My back is a little achy from the shots, but that is entirely normal and will go away soon. Other than that, I think my body is hanging in there, and not feeling too terribly abused!