There are so many open water swim spots that are closed due to COVID-19. I am fortunate to live a low-population area where the beaches are not overwhelmed with crowd and our infection rates are low. Just last week, the popular swimming bay, Avila Beach, was closed to "hanging out" (no beach chairs, no blankets), but remains open to walkers, joggers, and swimmers! There has been a remarkable uptick in other swimmers, likely joining the bay from the pools that are closed. It is fun to see so many people enjoying the bay. I'm sure the newbies were in for quite a shock with the cold spring temperatures in the low 50's (F).
Workouts for the Week of April 20 - 26, 2020
Monday, April 20
My day started late so the winds were too high to get a swim in. Plus, we had a surprising amount of rain overnight. Between the rain and the wind, it was enough to keep me on land.
I logged a run instead, marking the 5th run I've done since trying to get back at it. My body is still not accustomed to running, but my foot is not getting cranky, so I'll consider it a win.
Distance: 3.3. miles
Time: 41:19
Tuesday, April 21
I had intended to meet up with a couple of fellow swimmers for a morning swim, but I arrived late and they were already half way out to the end of the pier when I pulled up. So, I suited up and went out solo. I did run into them partway through the swim and gave a wave. Ultimately, I was glad to do my own thing and focus on my head position and stroke. I still have a kink in my stroke that is really slowing me down that I'm working on.
Wednesday, April 22
I'm so glad that the weather has been so accommodating. I saw a couple of swimmers going up and down the pier when I pulled up and the lifeguards were already in their stands. The weather was warming up and there was a pretty sizeable swell coming from due east. I had originally planned to swim the Fortune Cookie route, but intersected with a group of swimmers as I head to west buoy #4. They hollered over to me to join them, and I did for a short while. I also almost got run into by one of the swimmer - clearly a COVID violation. :-) I had intended to do a full hour in the water, but I was getting cold and my wetsuit was letting a lot of water in through the arms and numerous holes that have popped open.
Thursday, April 23
What a day! I didn't go until well after 11:00 and the weather was warm! It was a true beach day. I noticed a new sailboat moored in the bay and was excited to have a new place to swim to. So, in I went. I decided I'd work on intensity intervals today so I threw in a lot more kicking and really worked on my thrust. As I swam out the pier, my speed was evident in my improved pace. However, as I swam to the sail boat I hit the current that is generated by the creek mouth interaction and did a lot of going-nowhere-fast. After several minutes of sustained effort to reach the sailboat, which was a mere 200 meters away at the time, I decided to abandon my effort since I wasn't nearing the boat in any meaningful way. So, I turned to shore and aimed for west buoy #4. I could feel the current pulling me east, so I yielded to the current a bit and then turned into it as I neared the buoy line. I then turned and went to east buoy #2 and then back to shore. While it was an intensity session, my pace hardly showed it.
Friday, April 24
My day was packed with meetings, so I squeezed in another run. Wow it was warm. As I ran along the path, a casual cyclist hollered out, "I don't know how you runners do this in the heat!" I hollered back, "It is kind of the point of it." She was shocked to realize that there was intention to it all. When I finished, my Garmin Fenix 6S told me I was 72% heat acclimated. I was surprised, since this was run number 6 over 5 weeks and the first in actual warm weather (above 70F).
Distance: 3.3 miles
Time: 41:17
Saturday, April 25
Today was a rest day. Besides, my husband and I needed to change out the glow plugs in our 1999 Ford F250 7.3L Turbo Super Duty. I almost feel like I should log the process as a workout.
Sunday, April 26
Today was a continuance of the truck repair. I planned to exercise if we finished the project before the day was done. Around 3:00 we got as far as we could, but couldn't finish because unexpected parts were broken and we had to order them. Instead of working out, I did a complete deep clean of my pain cave, including a slight rearranging of equipment. I love it now!
Totals for the Week
Swim Distance = 6,400 yards
Swim Time = 2 hours, 12 minutes
Run Distance = 6.7 miles
Run Time = 1 hour, 23 minutes
In all, a fair week of workouts. I look forward to really working on some key areas next week with body and head position and my pull.
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