Finally, it seems like I'll be able to get some swims in! I put 4 swims on my schedule this week, with a possible 5th over the weekend. The weather appears to be clear, the beaches appear to be sparse, and life seems more accommodating. Looking forward, I have a mini-event on my calendar in three weeks. There is 100% chance that will not happen. So, I'm focused on my mid-summer goals, which means I'm quite behind in training. Let's see what my body can do!
With so much swimming this week, I was able to throw in some butterfly. After the brief butterfly, I concluded that I would save non-free strokes for the pool.
Workouts for the Week of April 13 - 19, 2020
Monday, April 13
It was a swim day! Yes! Dang it was gloomy and cloudy in the morning and wasn't very inspiring for swimming. Alas, there was nothing to actually stop me, so off to the beach I went. It was as cold and as dark as I thought it would be. The sun was nowhere to be found, the beach was practically deserted, and the water was dark. Clarity was very low - perhaps 2 feet - for the entire swim. I swam the "flag" route, to the end of the pier, to just shy of the reef buoy (low tide means too much kelp to get close), to mid-pier, to the end of the pier, and back in. I clocked just under 35 minutes and was very glad to get out. I was quite chilled and didn't warm up with my gallon of hot rinse water and warm clothes. As soon as I got home, I jumped in the hot tub. That fixed me!
My shoulders and upper back are fatigued. I've been really focusing on my stroke: high elbow, reach, and the timing of my breathing. I took it easy and just did stroke work and am hoping it will pay off. With so much chop lately, I wonder how much success I am getting from stroke work. Time will tell, I suppose. I have so much work I need to do...
Total distance: 1,501 yards
Time: 34 minutes
Tuesday, April 14
Another day to swim! And today's weather was tremendously better. The water is still pretty nippy, measuring around 53F. We swam from the base of the Avila Pier to the third crossbar of the Poly Pier. Then to the end of the Avila Pier and around to the imaginary fourth buoy. From there, just back to the pier and into the beach. Water clarity wasn't great, but it wasn't brown.
Time: 51 minutes
Distance: 2,426 yards
Wednesday, April 15
After three days in a row of swimming, it was time to give my shoulders a break. I went for a run, this time doing 6 minutes of running with 90 seconds of recovery. I did that five times for a total of 43 minutes of running and went 3.3 miles. It felt horrible. My plantar fasciitis stayed calm and was fine. But the rest of my body told me how terribly out of shape I am. It is discouraging, but running is not my focus these days. I am glad to be able to do a little bit of it.
Thursday, April 16
More swimming! This week is great! I've now swam three times this week, which used to be my minimum! Our local beach is starting to crowd with the nicer weather, so our usual group has dispersed and I swam alone today. I could see other swimmers off yonder, but we didn't swim together. I put in a solid hour of swimming, with an hour and 10 minutes total in the water. I was quite cold by the end. It doesn't help that my wetsuit is wearing out.
Friday, April 17
It was a lot harder to work up some motivation to get out there today. The skies were cloudy and the timing of my swim was going to mean getting wet in windy conditions. Windy, it was. But, I was glad to get out there and the water was a bit warmer in the water today. The buoys were back in the water on the north side of the pier and it was an added bump to my motivation. It was nice to have destinations while swimming. I look forward to the buoys on the south being installed.
Saturday, April 18
After six straight days of working out, today was a rest day. I am surprised I feel as good as I do. I thought my shoulders would be crankier after such inconsistent swimming and then a jump in volume this last week. Looking back, while I swam 5 times since Sunday, the distance wasn't that much.
Sunday, April 19
Today was filled with chores, so I didn't exercise. I'm going to do some timed intervals in the ocean next week and I want to have a good baseline for where I am right now. An extra day of rest will give me a good sense on Monday when I do some timed distances. Overall, I'm feeling good and ready to step it up another level.
Totals for the Week
Total Swim Distance = 8,000 yards
Total Swim Time = 2 hours, 54 minutes
Run = 43 minutes, 3.3 miles
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