Am I a Fish? Getting There.......

December was the final month of my Fall swimming challenge, which started in October and was a focused effort to swim more. The monthly stats for December were:

Total Yards: 55,550

Total Miles: 31.56

Total Swims: 15

Yards/Swim: 3,703

Over the three months I have been pretty consistent with a monthly average of 56,450 yards and just a tad over 15 swims. Compared to the rest of the year that was huge as my average yardage was only 27,000 coming into October! Periods of not swimming for a few weeks early in 2009 skewed that but even so I wasn't hitting the pool enough.

So where to go from now? I want to try and maintain the Fall average of 56,450 yards and 15 swims a month. I think that should be doable particularly once the mornings become lighter and the weather outside isn't so daunting to escape the comfy bed!

I have definitely reaped the benefits of the past three months and I don't want to lose all that I have gained. Swimming more quality and quantity will be such a boost for races this year that I am already psyched to see what I can do at the first triathlon of the year.....

In the meantime it's onto the running focus for the next three months as I build to the early Spring marathon in late March.

For The Fishies.......

Another month into my fall swimming challenge and with the exception of a shortened Thanksgiving week it was pretty good. So the monthly stats were:

Total Yards: 56,950

Total Miles: 32.36

Total Swims: 15

Yards/Swim: 3,797

I didn't quite get to the aim of 64,000 yards but without the Thanksgiving break I think I might have got there. Compared to October I did increase total yards (just!), the yards per swim by over 200 yards and that was with one less swim in the month.

The goal for December is to hit the pool 18 times and try and get to 64,000 yards. That will mean no slacking over the Xmas period or while my parents are over here for the Holidays! It is definitely harder to try and prize myself out of the warm bed now that the mornings are getting darker and colder.......... Perhaps a pool like this would help.

Is That Chlorine I Smell......

That's what I keep getting from people in my office as I try and swim more this winter. For the month of October my swim training was gradually ramped up and it will continue as the winter continues. So the monthly stats were:

Total Yards: 56,850
Total Miles: 32.30
Total Swims: 16
Yards/Swim: 3,553

I didn't quite get to the aim of 72,000 yards but perhaps that was bit too aggressive for the first month. It was good to be in the pool more often and even after a month I feel the difference in power, speed and just being comfortable in the water. It actually worked out that it was my biggest month of the year in terms of yardage and time spent in the water.

I guess because it is a challenge that I have set myself, I want to get into the pool more and as I become stronger, swimming gets more fun....yes I smell of chlorine more often and those early morning meetings have me coming in with panda eyes, but I feel better for it.

For November I have a target of 64,000 yards in 16 swims at 4,000yds/swim and then will try and bump that up again in December. Hopefully it will pay off come June and July!

October Swim Challenge - Update.......

Back on September 16th, I outlined my Fall swim challenge. So far so good, I have got into the pool five times (another one tonight) and have totaled just under 17,000 yds. My aim for October is 72,000 yds with 18 swims at 4,000 yds/swim. The workouts have been great to date and I'm getting a better feel for the water after not really swimming that much during September. I have found that the more I swim, the stronger I feel and the more I want to swim....hopefully the vicious circle will continue until I am strong enough to be in the lead pack of age groupers as the triathlon season comes around.

A sample workout from last week:

10/09/09 (4,100 scy)

Warm-up (400)
400 free

Transition (200)
4 x 50 (25 kick / 25 free)

Main Set (3,300)
200 Free on 3:00 1 x 100 (1:35)
200 Free on 3:00 2 x 100 (1:35, 1:30)
200 Free on 3:00 3 x 100 (1:35, 1:30, 1:35)
200 Free on 3:00 4 x 100 (1:35, 1:30, 1:35, 1:30)
200 Free on 3:00 5 x 100 (1:35, 1:30, 1:35, 1:30, 1:35)
200 Free on 3:00 6 x 100 (1:35, 1:30, 1:35, 1:30, 1:35, 1:30)

Cool Down (200)
200 free

One advantage is being able to use Fluid Recovery products after sessions. I used to really feel sore after longer, harder swim sessions and with Fluid I have definitely been less sore and able to swim hard the next session. At the moment it is really just trying to get into a swimmers mindset and trying to swim consistently. Now that the first few sessions have been done it is feeling easier to get into the pool and I actually want to go swim......I'll update again in a few weeks.

Wow....I Remember This!.......

Finally I got back in the pool on Monday evening. It was the first time that I had swum since the 2.4 miles down the Ohio River in Louisville. Normally I am a morning swim person but with the next few weeks being the "off-season" I went and swam amongst the swim classes and water aerobics. It reminded me of why the early mornings are better!

The swim was good and I was surprised at how little speed I had lost in the period since IM. The period between now and Oct 1 is just a get out and enjoy the three sports kinda period before the swim months of October and November. Those are the months I really want to hit the pool hard (not that hard as pools are pretty solid objects) and make some headway with my swim conditioning for next season. You heard it here first....I want to be in the pool at least four times a week and five if possible. The cycling and running will always come back relatively quickly and I have always neglected swimming in favor of the former two sports. It shows in my races too when I am an average swimmer leaving me with work to do in the rest of the race. Coming out front of pack in the swim will enable me to hopefully run away from people and make those top five finishes into 1st place finishes.

I need to get motivated to get into the pool and make a concerted effort. By posting my weekly swim sessions perhaps it will provide me with the motivation....after all I don't want to be called out by people for only swimming two or three times a week. So there you have it....it's up to you guys to rag on me if I don't get to the pool often enough. The Fall Swim Challenge starts October 1.......