June 25, 2009

Not One, But Two Breakthroughs

After the beating I took yesterday I decided to stick to the plan and do the 1-1.5 hours on the bike vs. the 50 miles I was planning to ride with friends. I wanted to give my legs a break and I also desperately wanted the extra 1.5 hours of sleep to recover. So I slept until the decadent hour of 6 a.m. and went for a short ride by myself before work. I'm getting spoiled here. It's virtually impossible for me to do outdoor rides Monday through Thursday in NYC, but here it's right out my door so I've been on my bike every day. I realized this morning how happy it has made me feel. Before I even start my day I've spent an hour or two outside enjoying some quiet time for myself.

It's been 10 months now since my accident and finally, this week, I love biking again. I'm still timid, I still don't fly down the hills or coast through intersections. I may never be able to again. But I am enjoying it and I'm no longer seeing it as a survival sport. I actually want to do it rather than have to do it and for me, that's a breakthrough.

Due to the hot, weedy, festering lake conditions around Madison we decided to keep today's swim indoors. I met up with Phil and Jon, who also did HHH last weekend, to swim at the University of Wisconsin's facility. I swam there last year as well when I was in town to sign up for IMWI, but my shoulder was broken so I had to one-arm it. It wasn't quite the same.

Since I was trying to simulate an open water swim I decided to see what I could do in an hour without stopping. I had to pause briefly to complain to Phil about one of my lanemates - a guy doing a tarzan breaststroke with no goggles. He was wearing his regular glasses! Phil promptly had him transferred to the slow lane. I did 3,100 meters (3,390 yards) nonstop and felt really good. When I logged the workout I was blown away by my pace - 1:46/100 yards. Another breakthrough for me. I don't know if it's the big training week or the 50 meter length, but something just made this swim better than usual. I am looking forward to tomorrow's open water swim, which I have to drive 20 miles for to avoid the algae and weeds, to see how I feel. The swim used to be a massive barrier for me. I may still be slow, but at least I feel comfortable.

Tomorrow is another light day. I'll run in the morning before the heat kicks in and then drive to the new lake for a long swim. I'm saving it all up for the big day on Saturday, either a full 112 on the bike course or perhaps more than 120 by doing three loops. Then I have to run. It should be a challenging, exciting, frustraing and rewarding day. Can't wait!

Biking
Distance - 23.57 miles
Time - 1:30:38

Swimming
Distance - 3,100 meters
Time - 1:00:00

1 comment:

  1. Funny - I slept late today - 5:45 AM - and I agree the morning biking sets up the entire day!

    ReplyDelete

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