Gotta Quit Slacking!

It's been a week since I posted on the blog, and I must admit I've slipped a little on the training, too. Here's the run down of what I was supposed to do, and what I really did...

Thursday (7/16): Bike 55 minutes. Did it early in the morning (yuck... I'm not a morning exerciser). I actually had the tires pumped up all the way, too. My hopes were high that I would cruise MUCH faster than before, with far less effort. The fact was I cruised a little faster, but not THAT much. I also discovered that the first half of my route is mostly up-hill, which means it's hard work heading out, but easy sailing coming home.

Thursday night, I went in for my regular strength training. I was tired, and it was a tough session. The next day, my neck was more kinked than it had been in previous days. I think I need to lay off the strength training until the Triathlon is over.

Friday (7/17): Swim (200m warm up, 1 x 400m 'spot the buoy' practice, 6 x 50m (TI4) with 10 seconds rest between 50m lengths, 6 x 50m (TI5) with 15 seconds rest between 50m lengths, 5 x 50m various drills, 200m cool down). Did this one early in the morning, too... so I could go to Steve Miller Band Friday night (they were great, by the way).

Two things:

1. swimming early in the morning really sucks... especially after having a hard strength training session the night before with heavy concentration on legs
2. Training intensity level 4 is bad enough. Training intensity level 5 is ridiculous. The only reason anyone should have to swim that hard is if they are dipped in seal blood and dropped in a tank of great whites. I made it through the level 4 sprints. But honestly, I had to quit after 3 50m lengths at level 5. I was so winded, I thought I was going to blow chunks in the pool. Enough is enough! I did, however, continue with the drills and cool down, so I only dropped 150m of my total 1650m workout. It wiped me out for the whole day, though. No second wind for me... I was dragging!

Saturday (7/18): Run 60 minutes. Nope. I decided to make Saturday my rest day, and defer run to Sunday. Then I would defer my bike on Sunday to Monday (which was supposed to be my rest day). In theory, I would be caught back up that way...

Sunday (7/19): Run 60 minutes (make-up). I had a great run. In 60 minutes, I ran about 7.25 miles on hilly terrain. It felt good, too!

Monday (7/20): Bike 75 minutes. Nope. Didn't do it. I didn't sleep well Sunday night, and I was so tired on Monday that I just couldn't bring myself to bike for that long. This is where things started to derail this week...

Tuesday (7/21): Run 35 minutes. My hope was to either make up the 75 minute bike or just do the 35 minute run, depending on my energy Tuesday morning. I couldn't train Tuesday night, because that was the Billy Joel / Elton John concert (which ROCKED, by the way). Problem was I didn't wake up early enough to do either. So I just didn't do it.

Wednesday (7/22): 1600m Open Water Swim (in Lake Michigan - Ohio Street Beach). This was my first open water swim, and there was NO WAY I was going to miss it. I battled rush-hour traffic after work to get downtown by 7pm, and just barely made it in time. They had my new wetsuit waiting for me, and I was relieved to discover that it fit me perfectly. Getting into the water, I was actually fairly confident that I would do pretty well. After all, I've been swimming a lot, and have been doing pretty well on longer distances. However, swimming in a pool at the gym and swimming in Lake Michigan in a wetsuit are two totally different experiences.

The swim was far more stressful than I expected. The water was warmer than I anticipated (or at least the wetsuit really did its job), and the extra buoyancy of the suit was nice. But it was also choppy due to afternoon storms, and there was a lot of seaweed in the water. After just a short distance, I started to get a little panicked that the water was so rough, and I couldn't touch bottom. I choked on a few mouthfuls of water here and there, and my breathing became more and more rapid. From there, it was more or less a spiral. I kept having to stop, tread water, try to catch my breath, float on my back for a little while, try to catch my breath, swim a little further, stop, tread water, try to catch my breath, etc, etc. It was not fun!

The good news is I ultimately finished the swim without drowning. The bad news is I had to 'cheat' by swimming closer to the shore line and putting my feet down a few times. I just couldn't get my swim strides or my breathing to settle out. The second half of the swim was a little better than the first, but overall I just didn't cut it.

My only consolation comes from a couple of points that I will cling to:

1. I was clearly not the only person on the team who had troubles. Lots of people were treading water, floating on backs, etc. Many of us shared a similar sense of fear.
2. The coaches reassured us before and after that getting used to open water swimming is a major adjustment. For many people, this was their second open water swim, and they were struggling. It was my first. The coaches insist this is a normal reaction, and repetition will ease the anxiety.

All I know is that I need to get back out there several times before race day. I have to feel confident in the open water, and I certainly don't want to feel panicked when I am out in deep water - with no ability to 'cheat'. After this experience... I'm starting to get nervous about this event!

Thursday (7/23): Bike 45 minutes. Nope. I just didn't sleep well last night... perhaps because of the open water swim anxiety. I was tired all day, and I left work late. I just didn't have it in me. I need to get back on track!

Next up... swim tomorrow night (more endurance training in the pool). This weekend... 'mini tri' workout, with abbreviated distances on each event: 20 min open water swim, 30 min bike, 30 min run. I'll get to practice transitions for the first time! Sunday is a 75 minute bike.

In this past week, I skipped three training sessions, which is not good. Next week will be even more difficult because we have friends coming to visit for a long weekend. Somehow... some way... I need to find time for all training sessions next week. No more excuses!