To really up the ante though, I am going to start pushing my swim and cycling. I have a good, strong base in both, so it is time to add intensity and duration. Last night, to test myself, I decided that a good way to ring out the old year was to see if I was capable of a 5K swim, the distance of the swim I will be doing in September. It probably was not wise to have swam the night before, and put myself through sets of my Individual Medley drill (laps alternating crawl, breast, and back strokes), and kicking drills as well. I haven;t been sleeping well, so I was tired when I arrived at the pool at 4pm, and the first dozen or so laps proved my muscles were not at their sharpest either. To top it off, the niggling pains in my left shoulder and right elbow that had bothered me during my last swim were all too present, and giving me grief. But I decided to take it easy, focus on form, take long, full strokes, and find my pace. It worked. Granted, I was a full mile into the swim before my muscles and joints settled down and let me swim in peace. Then it was just a matter of keeping my head down and my arms moving. I did start feeling the burn across my shoulders and down my triceps, but it wasn't unmanageable, or even uncomfortable, it was just my muscles letting me know they were working well for me. The last 20 laps I made sure to keep my strokes smooth and quiet, my reach long, and the stroke strong all the way through until my thumbs grazed my thighs. I powered through the last 10 laps, letting myself push a little harder, to prove to myself that I could. I thought about swimming longer, just to see how far I could go, but decided to stop at 107 laps. In retrospect, I wish I would have gone another 3 laps, since I fell short of a 5K by 100 yards. Oh well, I swam a solid 3 miles, and that is good enough for the moment. I was pleased that when I got out of the pool and walked to the locker room I felt good; tired across the shoulders, but my energy was good, and I felt great from the hips down. That is key; being able to pull off a long swim and get out of the water with ample energy for the duration of the event. As with all things, I have done plenty of research on swim training. Because of this, I have added the Individual Medley drill, to work all the muscles in my upper body, as well as to lessen the chance of repetitive stress injuries from doing countless miles of just the crawl. I figured out that it takes me about 1000 strokes to swim a mile, that is 1000 rotations of each shoulder per mile. I usually swim 1-1/2 miles on an easy night, so 1500 strokes at least twice a week. That is a lot of repetitive stress, and it ain't going to get any less. One key that my research has verified, to no surprise, is that to swim long and easy, you have to swim long, frequently. To this end I am going to try to add 2 long swims per month, aiming for 3 or more miles each time. That should get me to September in great form, if my shoulders hold out.
I have also begun to increase my cycling. Not a lot yet, but aiming for 80 to 90 minute sessions instead of my standard 60 minutes. I am also increasing the intensity with harder gear loads and higher cadence. It is kinda funny, I used to have a tough time pedaling at an 85 rpm cadence, now my standard is about 98 rpms. That is huge. I need to increase average mph as well, if I want to be able to finish the Epic 250K in under 13 hours. 250K. Two Hundred and Fifty Kilometers. I am beginning to think that there is something seriously wrong with me. Maybe so, But none the less, it is time to bump up the training.
No comments:
Post a Comment