Category: half im (Page 2 of 3)

Today I swam 2100 yards in 54:17 without stopping! Just 12 yards shy of the 1.2 miles I have to swim three weeks from tomorrow.

Granted it was in a pool, not a lake, but still when I started swim training for the Half Redman Aquabike I couldn’t swim 50 yards without stopping to catch my breath. Today except for 1/2 a length of floating on my back (Lap 35, each lap is 50 yards), I did all freestyle with no rests.

I am simply amazed that I did it and I couldn’t have done it without practicing the techniques taught in Total Immersion. I love TI and their whole philosophy of swimming.

I know swimming in a lake in a pack is entirely different and so much harder than swimming in a pool but at least I can do the distance. It’s time for another open water swim. Wish me luck.

I attended a meeting for local Redman athletes – seems less than truthful calling myself an athlete, I’m just someone who loves to ride a bike and now swims – but okay I like thinking of myself as an athlete so I’ll use the term.

Anyway back to the meeting; the RD (race director- I’m learning a new language – triathlon-ese to augment my bicycling vocab – oh boy) mainly just answered questions and provided basic info about the event.

Most of the questions had to do with the swim – and the lack of water in Lake Hefner. The RD told us water is to be released into the lake in the next couple of weeks which besides allowing for people to swim rather than walk the course should also reduce the blue-green algae problem. A little rain and cooler temperatures would go a long way in helping with that.  Which would also help with my own problem of needing to wear a wetsuit. I need all the help I can get to swim my 1.2 miles and although I wasn’t a fan initially I’ve grown to really appreciate the buoyancy of my wetsuit and the improved ability to slip through the water dolphin style. Well, more like hump-back whale style but you get the idea.

If the water temperature is 78 or below we’re wetsuit legal; if the temp is between 79 and 83 you can swim in a wetsuit but you will become ineligible for awards should you place or win your AG (age group). If the temp is 84 or higher no wetsuit allowed… period.

I’ll be wearing mine unless they aren’t allowed. I’m praying for rain and cooler temps. Hell, everyone here is praying for rain and cooler temps – it got up to 104 today.

Fall is just around the corner?

A forced training hiatus – i.e., against my will.

Three weeks ago we flew back from Cleveland, OH – 3 days later my husband was sick with a respiratory bug of some kind. Several days later I had it. Fever, cough, sore throat, headache and the worst part: absolutely no energy whatsoever. The fever and sore throat went away after several days, both the cough and “absolutely no energy” remained.

Antibiotics and over the counter meds didn’t kick it. Time did – or seemed to. Last Sunday, since we both felt relatively good, we took a 32 mile bike road. Flat roads – easy pace (14.8) – nothing to put ourselves back – or so we thought.

Three days later – today – I’m sick again!  Sore throat, cough, and “absolutely no energy” at all. I have chills too, resisting taking my temperature.

I can’t afford this!!  I have my first ever triathlon event coming up next month and I need to train! I’m doing the half ironman distance Aquabike (Redman Triathlon) on my birthday, September 24th.

Prior to this setback my training had been going perfectly. I biked 440.8 miles in July despite being out of town almost a week and not riding. I swam a total of 9.5 miles too. I felt strong and great!

I don’t know what to do. The doctor says to rest and recover. I hate that! I suck at lying around. Really. But on the other hand, I find myself not feeling like doing much else.

I have to get back in the pool, and swim in the lake since I haven’t done an open water swim yet. I’ll be okay on the bike, 56 miles I can do pretty easily. A 1.2 mile open water swim is another story. I have to start swimming again but I need to be well or I fear I’ll just get sicker and weaker.

The ride Sunday (plus 3 hard days of clearing downed limbs from our lot after the big storm) may be why I’m relapsing now. In the past three weeks – I’ve been sick for 2+!

What to do… press on and train and run the risk of getting worse or rest up until I’m well and then hit the training again with perhaps less than 4 weeks to do it (and taper)?

Any doctors out there?  Nurses?  Any one with advice or special healing potions??

The hot weather – temps over 100 – started early this year.

It isn’t even officially summer and yet we’ve had several days of highs in the low to mid – 100’s. 

And the wind. UGH. High winds to blow that hot air around.  I can certainly understand how the dust bowl happened.  Thank goodness for those few heavy rains we had last month. 

What do do when it is too hot and windy to ride?  Now days I’m swimming.  I swam .5 miles today in 33 minutes. I’ve swam every day this week and can see some progress in my stroke and breathing. 

Haven’t registered for the Redman Half Aquabike but am leaning that way.  I have roughly 3 months to get my swimming up to the 1.2 mile distance. 

Because of my rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder I’ve been building slowly on my distance and continue to ice my shoulder after each swim.

I have to practice swimming in a lake since Redman is a open water swim (ows) in Lake Hefner.  Open water swims are much more difficult than pool swims, so before too long I have to take to the lake.

Any swimmers out there?