Train Every Day

    I am bored with the training log. Oh, I will probably start back up again soon enough, because I know it is good to document day to day progress. For the moment though, I will content myself with a rambling monologue of the weekend's workouts.
    Yesterday was my long swim, which I am planning on doing a minimum of twice a month. I set the goal of 100 laps, because it is such a nice, round number, although it is 5 laps shy of 3 miles, and 12 laps shy of a 5K. I'm not going to get my panties in a bunch about it though, I like the evenness of 100, it appeals to my OCD nature. Okay, back on track. The pool opens at 10am on Saturdays, once again I planned to be there when they unlocked the doors, once again I was late. I was in the water by 10:30, and it was a little chillier than normal. I had asked about it earlier, since Thursday's swim was a little cool, they are running it at 84 degrees, 2 degrees colder than normal, which doesn't sound like much but it is noticeable. The benefit of cooler water it that I do not lolligag on my warmup laps, I swim faster to get warm. I just started swimming with the lower half of a shorty wetsuit. Basically, neoprene swim trunks with just enough buoyancy that my ass floats instead of sinking. This lets me swim without a pull buoy. But I am having to figure out what to do with my feet now. This was my third swim in my floaty shorts. They are working great, actually, and I wish I had thought of them sooner. I am slowly perfecting the simple flip kick, one kick per arm reach; left foot/right arm, right foot/left arm. Almost like walking, but totally not. This is where swimming gets complicated. With running, it is something that is a natural movement to most people, since we have been doing it all our lives. Swimming is not natural to most of us, and for people like me who got into the game late in life, it can be difficult. But I do love to swim, so I am happy to put in the miles concentrating on form: reach, flip kick, grab, pull, reach, flip kick, grab, pull. Soon, it will be as casual as walking. I swam well, although my back felt a bit tight (likely from my leg workout the night before, which left me with tight glutes and hamstrings). Every 10th lap I did one lap backstroke to loosen shoulders and back. By lap 40 I was thinking about food, a lot. At lap 80 I started having back spasms, and almost stopped. Instead, I slowed my turns a bit so I could spend a split second stretching my back as my legs bent for the turn. About lap 85 I let my stroke shorten just a but, in an attempt to let my back relax. Then at lap 90 I decided that I could not let some discomfort make me sacrifice technique, so the last 10 laps I focused intently on proper form, with the long reach my monkey arms allow me. Lap 100 I did slow backstroke, letting myself relax in the water. It was a good swim, and the back spasms just reminded me of Rule #5, "Be Prepared To Suffer."
    For an evening workout I spent an hour on the treadmill. I had planned on merely running 3 miles and calling it good, but my asthma was flaring up so I spent a little more time walking than I had planned. Regardless, my legs felt good, even if I did have to slow myself down. My asthma has been quite active the last few weeks, which makes me less than pleased. I am back to using my Q-var inhaler twice a day, to try and get it all under control so I can train as I need to.
    This evening I spent 90 minutes on the bike. I had wanted to get out on the road this weekend, the sun was shining, the roads were dry, but it was still rather chilly. My legs felt good on the bike, though 90 minutes of indoor cycling is tedious at best. I think of it as The Hamster Wheel. I followed my cycling with 30 minutes of solid core work, 15 minutes of stretching, and then 15 minutes with my massage roller and ball. I need to do more of the massage roller, especially as I begin to increase my running.
   I was pretty lethargic today, wanting to just eat carbs and loaf about. I eventually did take an hour nap. I needed it, I never get enough sleep as it is. And, truth be told, they say that swimming 3 miles is the energy equivalent of running a half marathon, so I imagine I did deserve to have a bit of a rest day. But, no rest for the wicked, Ruke #1, "Train Every Day." I try, I really do.