Decide What You Want....

    I am feeling a little guilty for not keeping up with my writing. Today I read something that touched a spark:
Decide what it is you want.
Write that shit down.
Make a fucking plan
and work on it.
Every. Single. Day.
It brought to mind a mantra I have used for several years:
Rule #1: Train Every Day.
Rule  #2 Make a Plan.
Rule #3 Be prepared to change The Plan.

    I may not have an Ironman in my near future, but I make it a point to train every day. Honestly. Even on days that I'm not hammering on a decent, focused workout. On my "rest" days I am still getting in an hour or so of stretching and flexibility, with some core work thrown in for good measure.
    As we go rolling into the dark, cold days of winter I have fewer demands on my adulting time. Most of the house projects are on hold while the rain lashes the windows and the wind whips the trees. Sure, there will be a decent day now and then, and if it coincides with a day off from work I will go out and putter about. But for now, there isn't a lot of responsible projects on my plate. You know what that means? Yeah, I can get in more training hours.
    I did get my new running shoes, Hoka Bond 4s, and took them out for a quick spin. They are definitely heavier than my Sauconys, but the cushioning is undeniable. But I have to ease into running slowly and gently, despite the plush new kicks, so that won't add much to my training hours.
    Where I am really starting to ramp up is with my swimming. I was in the water 5 times this week. I am making it a point to have specific swim sessions, not just getting in and grinding out lap after lap after lap (though I need t do that now and then too). Tonight I hit the weight room for 30 minutes of heavy upper body weight work. I have decided to use machines twice a week since it lets me lift heavy without the need for a spotter. As always, I do Super Sets. I like working through my different muscle groups without wasting time resting between sets. I've been doing weight pyramid sets: starting with lower weight/higher reps, adding weight each set, until I am doing heavy weight/low reps. I usually do 3 or 4 exercises per Super Set, and 5 or 6 sets. Makes me nice and warm by the time I hit the pool. Tonight's swim was one of my favorites: Individual Medley; 100 yards each breast stroke and backstroke, 200 yards crawl. I like it because it works all my muscles, and it is easy to keep track of my lap count. Tonight I decided I really needed to Burn Off the Crazy, so I decided to "swim until I am done." I had no idea how long that would be, I started with the goal of a single mile. About half a mile into it I decided to shoot for a mile and a half. About 2/3 of a mile in I got the wild hare to go for 2 miles. Now, 2 miles isn't bad when it is all crawl. Crawl i designed to be efficient. Breast stroke and backstroke, however, not so much. Being a neurotic stroke counter I know it takes me 10 strokes to swim one length doing the crawl. Breast stroke takes 22, and backstroke takes 18. Double the strokes = double the time = double the energy. So, swimming 2 miles I.M. is the equivalent of swimming 3 miles. Yeah, I was kinda tired when I was done.
    I am ramping up my swim because I am determined to swim the Bridge Swim come this summer. I need to be able to swim for at least 3 hours in the pool without feeling too gruesome. Tonight I swam for a steady 95 minutes. Not that unusual, but a little longer than usual. 90 minutes needs to become a short, easy swim. And I am working towards that. I know if I swim 90 minutes of the crawl I won't be nearly as tired as I am right now,
    I have also increased my weight lifting/strength training considerably the last couple of months. Strength will increase my stamina. And Strength + Speed = Power.  When the day comes for the Bridge Swim I want to be able to have not only the endurance to finish, but I want to have the juice so I can swim the home stretch with power, beautiful form, and good cadence. In other words: I want to Finish Strong. And I want to have enough strength so that at the end of the swim, in front of all the onlookers, I can manage to get out of the water and back on dry land under my own power, and not so gassed I feel like puking. I think that is reasonable goal setting: Be able to climb out of the water on my own, and not vomit in public,
    So, this is me, Deciding what I want, writing that Shit down, making a fucking Plan, and working on it. Every. Single Day.