Home Improvement and swimming improvement

My last 2 weekends (My "weekend" is actually Monday and Tuesday, because those are my days off) have been all about home improvement projects.  Last week it was hanging and wiring new lamps.

This week it was refinishing the kitchen counters to look like granite with a DIY kit.

                                               

Before

After

I am not sure how many Ironmen-in-training embark on home improvement projects during training, but if they are relatively small like these, training can work around it.  For instance, the counters had to dry for a long time between each step, so my day went like this:

SPONGE PAINT TO LOOK LIKE GRANITE. SWIM WHILE IT DRIES.

PAINT FIRST COAT OF GLOSSY FINISH.  BIKE WHILE IT DRIES.

My original plan was to do my long run and long ride on my 2 days off, because it just makes the most sense, time-wise.  But that hasn't happened yet.  Right now the weather is still okay to do long runs around sunset and long rides right after work.  (It doesn't sound okay; it was 99 degrees during my long ride and 95 degrees when I started my long run, but in a month that will be the low temp and it won't get that cool till 3 am, so for now it feels great!)  When it gets hotter I will have to do my long outdoor workouts on my days off, because I will need to start before sunrise, and my workdays start at 5:30 am, so workouts before work are not realistic (or safe!).  Which brings me to my other issue: sleep.  The only time I ever get 8 hours is on my days off.  Otherwise I am lucky to get 6 1/2.  I have to get up at 4:15 am for work, which means that for me to get 8 hours of sleep I would have to be in bed by 8pm!  But I guess that is why Ironman training pretty much is your life when you're in it, because if you work, then workout, then eat...suddenly it is time for bed!  Hence the necessity for an understanding partner!

Speaking of workouts...during my Tuesday swim intervals I clocked the fastest 100 yard interval I have ever done!  Then I did the next one even faster!!!  (To be clear: these are still not fast times.  But they were faster than my usual.)  It's like when people find love as soon as they stop looking; I improved as soon as I stopped expecting to.  I really don't need or expect to be good; but I really do want to get better!  So as long as we are on the subject I may as well mention that I ran 9 miles last night and my last 2 miles were faster than the first 7!

I suck at Triathlon! No, no, it's a GOOD THING!

I think the days of crying in my goggles are in the past.

It is nearly impossible to train for an Ironman and not get caught up in the belief that you may actually be good at it.  When you first start thinking about an Ironman, all you want to do is finish it.  But as you commit and start training, you start doing a lot of reading about triathlon, and spend a lot of time swimming, biking and running.  As your training progresses so do your expectations.  You find yourself going from "I can do this" to "Maybe I can actually be good at this!".  It's not like I have aspirations of being a pro, or even ever placing in my age group, but as I have been devoting so much time and energy to this sport, I have found myself thinking, maybe I could be in the top portion of my age group!  I don't know if this happens to everyone, but frankly I don't see how it can't happen to everyone!  It just seems wrong to put in so much work just to be mediocre, and eventually mediocrity no longer feels like an acceptable option!

Then you attempt an s-curve swim stroke and all of your hopes come crashing down.

That sounds like it will lead to more goggle crying, but it is just the opposite.  See, when I first realized that I actually suck at swimming (not just that I am a beginner and have a lot of work to do, but that I actually suck and am beyond hope of ever being a good swimmer), I was devastated to think that I would be spending 12-20 hours a week for the next 6 months of my life engaging in activities at which I suck.  Depressing right?!  But yesterday I came to a new realization.  (Technically it is the same realization, just a different perspective on it.)

Realizing that I suck at triathlon sets me free!

If I showed any natural aptitude for this sport I would feel a responsibility to work hard to live up to that potential.  And in fact I have been working hard...to live up to a potential that doesn't exist!  Beginners with ability tend to progress fairly quickly in the beginning, as they become familiar with a new sport.  (At the very least they start out above average; they don't bust their balls just to get to average.)  But after months and months of consistent effort I have barely progressed at all.  (To clarify, I have certainly increased my endurance and fitness!  Just not my skill or speed.)  So now that I realize that I am never going to be good at this, I AM FREE TO ENJOY IT!  When I was attempting the s-curve and getting frustrated the other day I thought how ironic it was that I used to find swimming therapeutic.  Also, as I have mentioned before, I used to love riding my bike, till I started "training."  And now that I realize that I am never going to excel at this, and I have adjusted my expectations, I can just enjoy swimming and riding like I used to, instead of always beating myself up to reach an arbitrary standard!

MEDIOCRITY IS LIBERATING!

Case in point: Yesterday I had an amazing 39 mile ride followed by a fantastic 2 mile transition run!  I just went for a long ride on a very enjoyable route; a route that does not lend itself to excessive speed because of a lot of turns and  multi-users using the multi-use path.  It is hard to build and maintain a consistent speed on this path, but it is beautiful and enjoyable.  It was 99 degrees when I started my ride but there was a breeze and quite a bit of shade and it felt great.  I loved every minute of it!  I enjoyed my ride because of my new discovery:

I AM A MEDIOCRE TRIATHLETE AND IT IS FUN!

This is what a highly enjoyable 39 mile ride looks like...

Traffic jam on the bike path at mile 7.

Surprise shower at mile 30!

Ran out of water and calories with 10 miles to go.
Pit stop at Safeway for water and my new favorite mid-ride fuel:

The venue of Ironman AZ, and my sometimes training ground!

The S-Curve

The other day I had a long conversation with my dad about swimming.  See, he used to swim.  So, if you are keeping track, my father, who theoretically should have passed down a good portion of his genes, was a good swimmer, and also a good runner.  And now he is a 62-year old cyclist kicking the butts of guys half his age.  My dad definitely passed on his nose and his smile.  The athletic ability, apparently, he kept for himself.

Nose and smile I got from Dad

So my dad called me randomly to share some swimming tips.  (This is normal.  Sometimes we have 20-minute conversations at 10 pm about the fueling merits of Jelly Belly Sport Beans vs. GU.)  What he told me was to try something called the s-curve pull technique when swimming.  I don't think he actually called it that, but when he described it I recognized the concept as something familiar.  It turns out one of my favorite bloggers had mentioned it on her blog (Fitnessfatale.com), where she said she had originally been taught that method, then later learned it was wrong.  My dad said when he was taught that method he got significantly faster.  (Before he learned that method he was already about 15 seconds per 50/yards faster than me!)  I told him that was pretty much the opposite of everything I have read.  But I also said I would give it a try because I really have nothing to lose at this point.

I looked up the s-curve pull on youtube and Google and found out it is actually one of those "controversial" things in swimming.  People seem to be divided about whether it is effective.  On swimsmooth.com I found this:

2. the s-shape pull

The concept of the 'S-Pull' was conceived in the late 1970s by JE Counsilman - who aimed to show how the duration of the pull could be increased by following an S shape: Enter at the front of the stroke with thumb down, sweep outwards, then sweep back in and then finally sweep out again by the hip. You may well have heard of this technique and be trying to follow it yourself.

Any advantage of the S-Pull was disproved in the '80s. It is fundamentally flawed because it was based on a 2-dimensional analysis of the stroke and didn't take account of body roll when swimming.

When trying to perform an S-Pull many swimmers overdid the sweeping action, causing the hips to swing - increasing drag.

These days all great swimmers enter with a flat hand and pull straight back to the wall behind them. It's faster and has a much reduced risk of shoulder injury.

A major disadvantage of the S-Pull technique is that it requires a palm-out, thumb first entry in to the water. This commonly leads to shoulder injuries. If you suffer from any shoulder pain from swimming then you should avoid an S shape pull and read Fix Shoulder Injury.

Instead of trying to create an S-Pull, focus on entering with a flat hand finger tips first and press directly back behind you with the catch and pull. Find out more about this superior technique in our article on Catch And Pull.

Read more: http://www.swimsmooth.com/contentious.html#ixzz2TrJpoDC8


However, I also found a clip on youtube of Michael Phelps (maybe you've heard of him?) swimming freestyle and he was clearly using the s-curve pull technique.  So obviously not ALL great swimmers have abandoned this technique.

Of course, all of this may be irrelevant, because during my long swim today I attempted the s-curve and...I CAN'T DO IT!  I realize that "can't" is not a word one often hears among Ironmen (and Ironman wannabes) so let me clarify.  I CAN do the s-curve, if that is the only thing I am doing.  And I mean only thing.  As in, while doing the s-curve pull I am not completing my stroke with the other arm, I am not breathing, and I am, in fact, not moving.  It takes so much concentration (and it just takes a really long time) to perform the s-curve that nothing else is getting done!  My other arm is just lying there waiting for its turn.  I cannot breathe and do the s-curve at the same time (this may be because I can only move one arm at a time while performing the s-curve, which means I am not rotating which means I am not breathing), so I come up sputtering for air.  Thus, I am moving one arm wildly while not breathing and not moving anything else effectively.  Consequently, I am moving a great deal, but not in a forward direction!  I have never been so frustrated (and if you have read my other posts, that is saying a lot).

What attracted me to endurance sports in the first place is that they reward hard work almost more than natural ability.  As one who clearly has no natural ability, except for the ability to work hard, endurance sports have always seemed like a natural fit.  In high school I was known as the one who didn't run that fast, but who could run forever.  As I described it to my sister, if I work really, really hard, I can be an average runner.  I love running races even though I will never win anything.  I can work and see progress.  I have always only been "racing" against my previous self.  I enjoyed working hard and seeing results and that has always been enough.

But something shifts when you find yourself devoting so much time to something.  When you are training for an Ironman, training becomes pretty much the main focus in your life.  And even though I have always known I am a "middle of the pack" athlete, and have been fine with it, it is difficult to spend so much time and effort in pursuit of something and not allow yourself the expectation of ever being "good" at it. 

Workout buddies

Workout buddies are very valuable.  They can get us to show up for a workout when we would sleep in otherwise, they can motivate us to push ourselves, and they can make working out more fun.  In Phoenix I do a lot of strength and plyometric workouts with my friend Kristin, which is way better than doing them alone.  Today I am in Seattle and my workout buddies are:

My nephew and niece Ty and Sydney

So today's training consisted of:

50 minutes in the pool (40 minutes playing/10 minutes swimming 50 yard fast intervals)

1 hour "run" (a random mixture of running and walking dictated by the whims of a 6 year old boy)

Ty asked if he could go running with me, and insisted that he was "a great runner" (yes, that is a direct quote!), so off we went down the huge hill on his street, then back up.  I kind of assumed that would be the end of our workout, but Ty had bigger plans in mind.  He proceeded to tell me exactly what our route would be, including hills and turns and a bridge, at which point we would turn around and come back.  So we kept going, sometimes walking, sometimes running, me reminding him that as far as we went we would have to come back, and double (and triple and quadruple) checking that he was sure he wanted to go that far.  He insisted.  So we kept going.  Then about 100 yards short of the bridge, our turnaround point, he suddenly stopped short, and began walking very very slowly.  I asked if something was wrong, and he said, "I have to go to the bathroom."  He then clarified, under my questioning, that it was in fact #2.  We had already been going for 25 minutes at this point, and would now have at least a mile back to the house.

Fortunately, we passed a park with an open restroom just minutes later.  But we were not out of the woods yet.  He went into the bathroom, but came out and said the hole in the toilet bowl was not big enough to handle his "really big poop."  After a lot (I mean, seriously, a lot) of reassurance that it could handle anything he could dish out, he went in again.  Again he returned and this time informed me that "no poop came out."  It was a very long mile home from there.

As I have demonstrated previously, I tend to get stressed when I don't get in my quality training workouts.  Well today's "training" was likely the least efficient workout I have ever done, and I am not the least bit stressed.

When Ty was getting ready for bed tonight he asked me, "Can we go running again tomorrow?"

Yes, Ty, my little Ironman, we can!

Me and Ty after our run!

fly.

 
 






I was supposed to fly to Seattle to visit my sister and niece and nephew yesterday, but once again, flights filled up.  What's a girl who flies stand-by to do when she can't get to Seattle?  Fly to Minneapolis of course!

Okay let me explain.  I had only managed to get in my scheduled swim, not my scheduled trainer ride before my flight to Seattle.  Then it turned out that all the flights to Seattle were full.  I was already stressed because of the missed workout (Noticing a theme?  Get used to it.  I suspect there is a lot of it in my future.) and now I was facing a full day in the airport trying to get on full flights, which likely would still not result in me getting to Seattle anyway.  So I decided to push back my trip to Seattle by a day, since the following day (today) oddly all of the flights had plenty of empty seats.  With that decision made, I now had the whole day free, so I got in my trainer ride.

Meanwhile, Karin had planned to fly to Minneapolis to meet her mom for a Twins game, then fly back in the morning.  So at the last minute I decided to go with her.  So before I decided to push back my trip to Seattle I was super stressed because I felt like I was never able to accomplish everything I needed, and planned, to do (like get in all my workouts).  Then I pushed back Seattle and got in a workout and a trip to a Minnesota Twins game.  And suddenly I was stress free!  To recap: I was stressed because I felt over-scheduled, then by adding 2 more things to my schedule, I suddenly became stress-free!  Figure that one out!

And now I am in Seattle.  In the past 48 hours I have been in Vegas, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Seattle, and managed to get in a swim a bike and a run.  So maybe the problem all along is that I have been under-scheduled!  I have not been spreading myself too thin after all.  Apparently I just wasn't spreading myself thin enough!

Viva Las Vegas

On Saturday I flew to Las Vegas to meet up with a friend from North Dakota who was there for a conference.  I had planned to do a swim and trainer ride in the morning before my flight, but then the flights filled up, and since my flight benefits are stand-by, I had to take an earlier flight.  So I arrived in Vegas rather cranky, not having gotten in my training.  Worse yet, my roommate Peggy had flown in the night before and had a great run that morning, and we kept passing people in running clothes which made me jealous.

I forced myself to be a grown up and be flexible and get over my missed workout and I did really enjoy my day with friends.  But the next morning Peggy and I had a great 6 mile run down the strip, while most people were sleeping off their hangovers.  The streets were mostly empty, with our only company being other runners or people who had not yet gone to be from the night before.  We showered and then had an awesome breakfast (which I earned) and when we passed other people in workout clothes I had no reason to be jealous!

Working harder not smarter to go slower not faster

For my long ride on Wednesday I did the Ironman AZ bike route again, because I was curious to gauge my progress and also wanted to re-familiarize myself with exactly what I would face on race day so I could focus my training efforts effectively.  My progress turned out to be less than zero, because I actually averaged less than 15 mph on this go-round, compared to over 16 mph last time I did it.  I felt good for most of the ride, but I was definitely dragging the last 7 miles or so, and I was so exhausted that I skipped my 20 minute transition run afterwards.  I just felt completely spent.  I could barely stay awake to drive home, and once I got there I just wanted to go to bed.  I decided to make Thursday a rest day.  Clearly my body needed to recharge.  The problem was, on Friday I did not feel recharged.  I had rested from training for a day, but I had seriously skimped on sleep for several nights, and I was feeling the affects big time.  Sleep has always been the first thing to go when my schedule fills up, but when you are training for an Ironman, sleep becomes more important than ever.

During my swim on Friday I applied my "breakthrough" swim technique, hoping it would make me faster eventually.  Once again it felt so much more efficient.  It just felt like I was flowing from one stroke to the next in one fluid movement.  But it also felt like I was working harder; like the difference between running fast and actually sprinting.  But once again, the end result was slower than before.  So here is my thought: Even if it feels faster, if it is harder, and is in fact not faster, than it is probably not the most efficient swim technique.

Swimming breakthrough!

Today at the pool I had a swim technique breakthrough!  Okay, brace yourself for some swim technique jargon.  I was reading an article about stroke length (how far you go in one swim stroke) and stroke rate (how many strokes you take to cover a given time or distance).  Everything I have ever read says the key to increasing swim speed is technique, technique, technique; so I am always trying to figure out what I am doing wrong (because it is very clear that I am doing something very wrong).  Based on the video Karin took of me swimming it looked like I was hitting most of the points of good technique, with the very obvious exception that I allow my legs to sink, which causes drag and slows you down.  You still with me?  Okay, so here are the things I try to focus on when I swim:

High elbow catch (This means keeping my arm close to a 90 degree angle after my hand enters the    
                            water as I pull it back through the water.)
Torso rotation (rotating torso toward the side with the hand that is pulling through the water)
Horizontal legs (keep legs high for streamlined position on top of water)
Chin tucked into chest* (helps keep your legs up)

*This is nearly impossible for me because it makes me feel like I am choking, drowning and close to dying.  So, still working on this one!

What I have not payed that much attention to, I realized, is my breathing.  I mean I breathe every 3rd stroke, alternating sides, which is good.  But I often forget to focus on keeping my face close to the water and rolling my head to the side rather than lifting it up, so as to use as little effort as possible to breathe.  In fact, just yesterday I noticed that sometimes when I am tired and going fast (by my standards) I take longer to catch what I feel is a full breath and I almost pause mid-stroke, to make sure I have enough time to get enough breath.  Well this article I was reading mentioned this very thing, this gap, or dead space in a swim stroke.  It's referred to as not "swimming smooth" and it is obviously very important to swim smooth.  (In case you haven't already drawn this conclusion, it can be very hard to focus on every little thing when every little thing is apparently so important.)  Apparently many swimmers often take their head too far out of the water when they breathe, which causes this break in their stroke, which then causes drag and is almost like hitting the brakes, slowing them way down.  (And by them, I think I mean me.) The key is to rotate your head just enough that your mouth clears the surface and you get a breath.  It doesn't need to be a deep breath, and without lifting your head you can keep your stroke smooth.

Still with me???

So, today, I tried this.  Well, the truth is I tried to do everything.  But for several laps I focused specifically on breathing and...IT WORKED!  My stroke stayed smooth!  I seemed to have enough air. It immediately felt faster!  BREAKTHROUGH!  I was composing my victorious blog post while I swam.  But I wasn't timing it.  So I rested for about 20 seconds, then did 100 yards timed.  I couldn't believe how different it felt!  I felt like I was (comparatively) flying through the water!  Here, finally, was the missing link.  I couldn't wait to look at my watch!

1 minute 58 seconds.

If you noticed my last blog post, you will see that is, in fact, 3 seconds slower than my 100 yard intervals yesterday.

So, not exactly the breakthrough I had hoped for.  But I suppose all this technique tweaking doesn't necessarily make me amazingly faster right this very minute.  So I will add the breathing to the 3 million things I have to focus on while swimming, and I will keep working on it and I truly believe (because really what choice do I have?) that eventually it will make me faster.

And the training roller coaster continues...

So after crying in to my goggles during Friday's long swim workout (I wish I was kidding) the Ironman training roller coaster is on another "up."

During Friday's swim I was not making good times on my 100 yard intervals.  The times were, in fact, exactly what they were when I first started training 6 months ago!  I mean, seriously?  No progress?! In 6 months?!  (I trust my liberal use of italics is conveying my distress.)  So that was incredibly disappointing and frustrating, resulting in the previously mentioned crying-in-goggles incident.  Despite my frustration with that swim, on that day alone I did: 45 minutes swimming, 15 minute run, 30 minutes on bike trainer, and a full body strength workout with kettlebells.  Just by the numbers it would look like a good training day!

Today, however, was a different story!  I did an hour long swim including 7 x 100 yard intervals, all of which were about 1 min. 55 sec. (which is good for me!) and a bunch of technique drills and other random intervals sprinkled in.  I didn't want to keep doing 100 yard intervals when I felt I hadn't even recovered from the previous one, but I did it anyway!  Then I did an hour on the trainer watching TV, and going as fast as I could during the commercial breaks.  Some of those commercial breaks were over 4 minutes long!  It was good mental training because I never knew when I was going to be done with the interval.  It is strange how some days I have the mental capacity to push myself and some days I don't.

This is what the last week looked like, training-wise:

Mon: 1/2 mile open water swim
         2 mile run
Tue: 20 minutes sitting in wetsuit staring at ocean/5 minutes struggling in the waves
        5.5 mile run
Wed: 20 min. run w/ random speed intervals
        Full body strength workout
        23 minute swim w/ 50 yard intervals
        45 minute trainer ride with "commercial break speed intervals"
Thur: 35 minute trainer ride
Fri: 45 minute swim
      Full body strength workout with kettlebell
      30 minute trainer ride
      15 minute "transition run" immediately following ride
Sat: No workout (double shift at work)
Sun: 40 minute trainer ride with intervals

Despite the crying, that's a good training week!  It's not a ton of volume, especially on the bike, but I get high marks for consistency!

I got home from my Saturday double shift at about 10 pm, then got up at 4:20 am Sunday morning to get in 40 minutes on the trainer before working my 16 hour double shift.  I can only assume the workout was the reason--but I felt great Sunday!  I didn't even refill my morning coffee like I usually do after the first cup, and at no point in the day did I find myself struggling to stay awake, or falling into an energy slump.  Some days, particularly between a double shift followed by an early morning shift, it is always a balancing act choosing between sleep or training.  Usually sleep wins, but maybe I have been making the wrong choice.  Also, I had every intention of stopping for donuts (yes, plural) on my way to work Sunday, but after my great ride I didn't want to!  So maybe there are benefits to choosing the early morning workout.  Soon, of course, I won't have a choice.  My outdoor workouts will have to be early (4:30 am) or not at all, because come June it will be 100 degrees by 8 am.  A few years ago when I was training for a July half marathon, I remember waiting until almost 11 pm to do my 10 mile run because that is when the temperature finally dropped to 100 degrees!

WHAT IS STRONG? MAYBE STRONG IS JUST WHAT'S LEFT WHEN YOU'VE USED UP ALL YOUR WEAK.

Well I should definitely be running out of weak soon.  I've been training for quite a while now, so my "weak" should be all used up any day now.  At which point I assume my "strong" will show up.  Any minute now...

Ironman training fail

                     VS.

I am back in Phoenix, and boy was it nice to swim in a pool yesterday.  No kelp, no seaweed, no sea lions to dodge, no scary sharks to watch out for (or not watch for; ignorance is bliss!).  

My second attempt at swimming in La Jolla Cove was an epic fail.  I was hoping to get there when there were other swimmers out there, since Karin wasn't with me that time, watching protectively from shore (and filming with the GoPro).  There was only one swimmer, and he was on his way back in.  There was a fairly intimidating swell, with waves crashing in the cove, but it was calm outside the cove.  I sat there for a good 20 minutes, hoping someone else would show up.  (There is a pretty significant community of regular Cove swimmers.)  Finally, a couple of guys were getting ready to go in.  I didn't plan to swim with them, I just wanted others out there around the same time.  I asked one of the guys if the sea lions ever messed with them, and he said no.  Another guy said, "Yeah you don't have to worry about the sea lions.  Just the sharks.  Especially the Great Whites."  Thanks, buddy.  Then the other guy said, "Yeah I've been doing this for 30 years and I still have my 'Oh Shit!' moments out there.  Like, I don't know what it is, but it's definitely bigger than me."

Well great.  Thanks guys.  Oddly enough, rather than scare me, this made me feel better.  He'd been swimming here for 30 years and despite his 'oh shit moments' he was just fine.  So I waded into the very cold, very murky water.  The swell had tumbled everything around and visibility was disheartening.  I started swimming out and was immediately pushed back by incoming breakers.  They were much bigger than they had looked from up on the cliff.  After several attempts with no progress, I finally went at it at 90 degrees, planning to straighten out toward the 1/4 mile buoy once I got past the breakers.  But I didn't get past them.  It was a lot of work, and very discouraging, and frankly a little scary, and eventually I just accepted the waves as an excuse to give up, cut my losses, and go back to shore.   That's when the real fun began.  Getting back into shore was no easy task.  I kept getting pulled back out.  I wasn't scared that I wouldn't make it back in; but I was getting nervous at how long it was taking, and how much work was involved in trying to get back in.  By the time I finally tumbled onto shore, there was a lifeguard standing at water's edge, surfboard at the ready, prepared to jump in and save the struggling "triathlete."  Guess it looked a lot worse from shore!  So not only was it a fail, but pretty damn embarrassing to boot!

A couple hours later I went out for a run along the bay and that was a fail too!  The first few miles felt good, but the last two involved a little walking, and definitely a slower pace for what felt like a harder effort.  Still a lot of work to do in the mental training department!  

I feel like there should not be as much crying in Ironman training as there is in my Ironman training.  But it just gets so frustrating!  Sometimes training feels like an emotional roller coaster!  I have a few amazing training days, and then a couple really, really bad ones!  Just when I think I am making progress, I have a workout (or workouts) that make me feel like I am actually regressing!  I came back from my dismal run just frustrated with the whole thing.

But yesterday, true to form, I had a stellar workout!  20 minute run with intervals, followed by full body strength training (with heavier weights than usual!), followed by 25 minute swim with sprints, followed by 45 minute interval ride on trainer.  I should be able to manage a few more like that before I am due for another training meltdown!