Swimming, swimming, swimming, swi...

I'm in somewhat of a self imposed swim block right now. Self imposed means that my coach hasn't told me specifically how often to swim but we've agreed it would be good to try and bump up the meterage and see how it goes. My goal for this week is to get in 20k.

Monday was the official start of my week and so I dutifully got up and trekked to the pool for 6 am practice. That afternoon I came back before work and did 1.5k, including a 200m time trial in which I knocked 6 seconds off by best time ever! I was super excited to finally see some significant improvement. I feel that now I've reached another level with my swimming just as I had the breakthrough run on Saturday.

Tuesday was relatively easy with just 2.5k that evening.

This morning was tough as my arms were tired from last night. I had to check to see that they were still attached when I flopped out of the pool after practice. I did the 3k but the pulling was tough (as always) and it doesn't help that February is "Butterfly month." Its alright though. I like fly and I think its good for triathletes to be well-rounded in all the strokes.

So far I'm at exactly 10,050 meters for the week. I plan on getting another 2k in this evening, then about 3k tomorrow morning. I'll then have to see whether I want to do a second workout tomorrow afternoon or wait until Saturday. Friday is my off day and Saturday I'll swim in the SMU 50m pool again at 11 but can go to the Landry Center that evening if I need a couple thousand more to hit the magic 20k mark.

Bike and run are still going nicely. I'm looking forward to my first race at the Athens Tri on March 8th. Sub 18 off the bike baby!!

April 20th is looming ever larger. Thats my shot to qualify for worlds again this year and my chances are looking pretty decent. However, I know I have to stay focused and lately I've been able to do that much better. Sleep and nutrition are the two things that I've worked on to be able to keep improving. You can train all you want but if your body doesn't have the proper fuel and you aren't giving it time to repair itself (sleep) then the training will just negate itself. It isn't always easy but with a clear goal in mind I've found it easier to cut down on the fun stuff with friends and late(r) nights on the weekends.

It was pretty funny when I was at dinner about a week ago and started yawning around 9 ish. I mentioned that normally at 9 I'm either in bed already or headed that way. They looked at me with mouths agape. Complete shock froze their faces into expressions of wonderment. I frequently catch flak for not being willing to hang out late. Or I have to train so I can't do stuff on the weekends. I don't like spending money because I know all the races and events I have to pay for this year, not to mention the equipment. Ahhh welll, if thats WHAT IT TAKES- then so be it.