Dipping my toes back into the water

I've added something back into my workout schedule that I used to do, but haven't in over a year.

Swimming.

I used to swim at least once a week back when I was training for some triathlons, but last year I made a decision to really focus on running and half marathons. And when I was running five days a week, I kind of lost my way to the pool. As in, the last time I was in a pool was in January 2011, when I did an indoor tri on what just so happened to be my first run with my half marathon group (and also happened to be below zero that day).

So I haven't swam in over a year. But three weeks ago I was up at my parents' house and my mom and aunt were going to head over to the YMCA on a Sunday morning to water walk. They both recently joined t he Y and are really enjoying the ability to use the pool. So I went with.

And as I was floating up and down the walking lane with my noodle, I was glancing over at the people in the other lanes. Swimming. And I was jealous. Wishing I had my goggles and swim cap. Because darn it. I wanted to swim laps.

With broken goggles and no wearable swim cap, I made a quick shopping trip and picked up the necessities.

And two weeks ago I swam. And I did it again on Sunday. Both times I cranked out 925 yards. I admit. That first week? I remembered how hard swimming was. Seriously. I was lucky if I could crank out 50 yards and I'd be gasping for breath. But I took it slow, swam back and forth and got the laps in and in the end felt good. And it got easier this week.

So I'm happy I found my way back to the pool. And I'll be back this weekend. It's a nice change up from running and a little cross training is probably a good thing.

Three Things Thursday

1. Day No. 3 of the Furlough brought a trip up to Lambeau Field. I had to stock up on a bit of Green Bay Packers gear. Because did you hear? We're going to the Super Bowl :) I opted not to get a shirt, I figured I'd save that purchase for a Super Bowl Champions shirt, but I did pick up one of the NFC Championship hats that the players were sporting in the locker room, some green and gold beads in preparation for a Super Bowl viewing party and a copy of the Super Bowl program. My Mom and I then had lunch up at Curly's Pub, our seats looked out at the players' parking lot and we could watch as the players were coming out of practice and going home for the day. No sign of Clay Matthews though - he was probably inside finishing up details for that Suave hair products endorsement deal he inked.

Non-Packer related, but we just managed to miss the craziness that comes when the highway is shut down due to President Obama's motorcade traveling through the area on his way to the airport.

2. Talk about a productive day so far. Not only have I gotten in a short swim while helping out my sister-in-law, I also had a run date with Jess. During the run it became very clear to me that I don't run with other people regularly. Because we don't get together very often, run dates with Jess require gossip. And gossip? Requires lots of talking. And that makes running hard. But it was so worth it. Of course the fresh one inch of snow we ran through was also making things a bit tough, but overall it was a good run. And I'm thinking it might be time to invest in some Yak Trax.

3. Now I've got a few hours to kill before heading out to the Oshkosh Half Marathon kickoff event. You can't really go wrong learning about core strength, raffle prizes, changes in the course (seriously, the event's in its fifth year and I think the course has never been the same) and reduced registration fees? Sign me up!

YMCA Indoor Triathlon Race Report

It's the end of January, which means it was time for the first indoor triathlon of the year at my YMCA.

Honestly, there was a part of me that was considering not doing the event this year. For starters I haven't been in a pool since July. I haven't been on a bike since early December, and that was only for a very short post-run cool down (and mainly to finish watching a basketball game). Running? Well I have been doing that.

But when I have the race director sending me an email earlier in the week reminding me registration is due, well the guilt sets in. So I registered. And originally intended to spend some time in the pool last week and at least get one decent bike session in. But that plan flew out the window.

Add in the fact that I subjected myself to a very very chilly 3-mile run that morning in barely above zero temperatures and got to the YMCA 10 minutes before my wave was set to start (and still had to change into my swim suit) and you could say I was completely winging this event.

I got down to the pool with a couple of minutes to spare, put on my swim cap and goggles and got in the water. It was wet, just like I remembered. And cold. Just like outside. After what seemed like forever it was finally go time.

The swim was a bit different this year. Instead of 8 minutes like in the past, it was a 10 minute swim this time. Given my lack of swimming, I didn't have any expectations. I mostly wanted to survived. The first 100 yards went fine. Took a quick little breather and swam another 50 yards before doing 25 yards of the backstroke. There was one more length of the pool done with the backstroke before time was up. 10 minutes. 400 yards. I'll take it.

A quick change from my swimming suit to bike shorts and a t-shirt and it was off to the bike studio.

Nothing too exciting to report from the bike portion. Although it was here that my legs started to grumble a bit. The five other people in my wave all looked like they were pedaling a lot faster than I was. And at times I felt bad. But then I remembered I had already put in 3 very cold miles this morning, I haven't spent a decent amount of time on the bike in a long time and I was mostly doing this event for fun. So I was pretty happy with my effort, which was hard enough to make me sweat buckets! After 20 minutes on the bike I ended up with 9.1 miles.

Then it was upstairs to the elementary school sized gym where I would get to run in circles for 15 minutes. And to give you an idea of the size of this gym, 18 laps equaled a mile. Yeah. Literally running in circles.

I must have been in a super speedy group of folks because they all took off when the starter said go. I started running and what felt like a decent pace for me. But since they were all clipping along, I felt like I was walking. I didn't have a watch on, so I wasn't sure how much time had passed. I only knew how many laps I had completed. And that was only if I remembered how to count correctly.

I hit the 18 lap mark shortly before the starter yelled that there was 5 minutes left. That would put me at just under a 10 minute mile. Which is what I've been running lately. So even though I was getting passed left and right, I was OK with it. Especially given my legs had miles on them from the morning and this was the run portion of a triathlon. In the end I finished 28.75 laps, which if I can do the math right is 1.6 miles. I'll take it.

After I was done I did a bit of stretching before heading down to the locker room to change out of my sweaty clothes. I stopped by the race director and found out I finished just outside of the top three (the 30-39 year old age group is always stacked). But I was OK with how I had done.

Overall it was an OK event. A couple of things that bugged me:

• Why do we need to put down our shirt size on the registration forms? Because obviously you didn't order shirts according to those forms. When I got there to register? I had a choice between an XL and an XXL. Not the medium I indicated on my registration.
• No post-race snacks left? I realize I was in the last wave possible. But a yellow apple and a really cold slice of pizza isn't appealing. Especially since that pizza was piping hot an hour earlier when I signed in and the first waves were finishing.
• I realize I sent my photographer from work there to shoot photos for a story I'm working on. But that doesn't mean you need to have your camera in my face the entire afternoon. Because guess what? Photos of me are not going to be running in our newspaper. I hope you took some photos of other folks who were doing the tri.

Yup, I can still swim

The good news: I can still swim.

The bad news: Today was the first time I dipped a toe in a pool since early March. Which wouldn't be too bad. Except I've got the High Cliff Sprint Triathlon on June 19. In other words, less than two weeks away.

Yeah, I'd say I might be winging the swim portion of High Cliff a bit. At least I've only got to swim a quarter-mile. And I wish I could say the race snuck up on me. But it didn't. I remember writing on this very blog way back at the end of April that I needed to get back into the pool. But I didn't.

I did today though. Actually planned the trip to the pool out. See we're having kind of cruddy weather this week. And today? All it did was rain. Non-stop. And it was windy. And if you didn't know it was in the upper 50s (what's with the cold temps Mother Nature?), if you looked out the window, it actually kind of looked like it was snowing since the rain was coming down in sheets.

Given the weather forecast, I packed my gym bag. Complete with swimming gear. And after work? I hit the pool. I didn't have any huge plans or set in stone workout in mind. I just wanted to get in the water and make sure I still remembered how to swim. And lucky for me, I remembered.

Did a easy 400 yard warm-up, which included 200 yards with fins. And then I lost the fins and took off on a straight attempt at 400 yards, just to gauge how bad of shape my swimming is and how much I might be resting, floating or (possibly) walking during the High Cliff swim. The verdict? It wasn't awful. I took two short breathers during the 400 probably could have managed to skip them. Granted the swim? Kind of slow. I think about 10 minutes for the 400. Given how much time I've been spending in the pool lately, I'll take it though.

I'm hoping to sneak in two more swims before the triathlon. But swim No. 1 is in the books, and that's always supposed to be the hardest right?

Some randomness

I'm pressed for time tonight, so I give you bullet point style randomness. Because really, is there a better form of randomness?

• Thanks for all the well wishes on my 5K PR from Sunday. But I wasn't done once I crossed that finish line and met up with Running Diva Mom. Nope. The half marathon training plan called for a long run of 10 miles last weekend, and since I didn't want to do it the day before the 5K, I planned on doing it after. So I left the finish line area, headed out to the Wiouwash Trail and logged an additional 7 miles. And let me tell you. It was brutal. Hard. So hard I almost turned around at the 2 mile marker and turned it into an extra 4 miles. But I kept going. Even had a shirt change (in the wooded part of the trail) around the 4 mile point because I was getting too toasty in my long sleeves with a short sleeve tech shirt layered on top. So the run was hard. And there were so many times I wanted to quit, but I kept going. And when I was done? I was thrilled. And then was totally lazy for the rest of the day. I think I earned it.
• During the brutal 7 miles I finally got to try out the mint chocolate Gu everyone in blogland has been raving about. Fabulous! Might actually overtake the chocolate outrage as my Gu of choice.
  
• The legs were still kind of sore on Monday, so instead of a run, I went for the season's first outdoor bike ride. It felt so nice to be on my bike again. I took it nice and slow and only went 5 miles, but it was a nice change of pace. Now I just need to start incorporating more bike workouts because the High Cliff Tri? It's two months away.
• Speaking of the High Cliff Tri, I think I've forgotten what the pool looks like. Yup. Haven't donned the swim cap and goggles in I don't know how long. That's scary. Must get back in the pool. Pronto!
• Talking about the bike and swim reminds me I really need to sit down and try to figure out a training plan of attack for the next few months. A plan that incorporates not only half marathon training but also tri training. Suggestions?
• Tonight's 4 mile run went pretty well, but the legs were still a bit stiff. Thankfully they started to feel better during the second half of the run.

Grumbling legs and a look back at February

The legs were totally rebelling tonight when I stepped on the treadmill.

Are you crazy? You just made us run 6.2 miles yesterday and now you want us to run again? Haven't you ever heard of a rest day?

Yeah, that's what they were screaming at me when I stepped on the treadmill tonight. But I didn't listen to them. The training plan said a 3-mile run was on tap today. And darn it, screaming legs or not, I was going to do the 3 miles.

And the legs apparently figured out it was a lost cause to keep screaming, because after an easy 1.5 miles, they felt pretty decent. So I played around with the speed a bit and when the numbers on the treadmill flipped to 3 miles, I was still feeling pretty decent, so I opted to throw in an extra mile.

Overall 4.1 miles in 42 minutes tonight. And aside from the initial unhappy legs, the run felt pretty good.

*****

So February's done. Ummm, I'm still trying to figure out where January went. So let's take a quick look at the month.

Run: 55 miles
Bike: 29.5 miles
Swim: 0 yards

Oops. Totally slacked on the swimming. I'm going to change that in March. Really I am. And the biking went down a bit, but the run totals? Considering February only has 28 days and I pounded out 55 miles compared to 50.8 miles during the 31 days in January. I'll take that.

Let's take a look at the year:

Run: 105.8 miles
Bike: 96.5 miles
Swim: 338 yards

I'm a tenth of way towards the 1,000 mile running goal for the year. Yes, I'm still behind. But I'm hoping to catch up a bit this month. The half marathon plan has me running 70 miles this month if I follow it exactly. And well, I've never been too good at following it exactly. Take for instance tonight. I was supposed to run 3 miles. I ran 4.1 miles. Goals for March include getting back into the pool, upping the bike mileage again and sticking with the half marathon training!

I couldn't rest with that number within my reach

And on the rest day? There was no resting.

Let me back up a bit.

I had plans to join up with a local running group Saturday morning to get my long run in. The running group is doing training runs for the Oshkosh Half Marathon that's coming up in April. And even though I'm doing the Green Bay Half Marathon a month later, I figured it might be a nice change of pace to run with other people for a change. And since they get together at 7:30 in the morning, I'd get the run out of the way super early.

So I had plans. Knew what I was going to wear and everything. The alarm went off and it was 1 degree outside. With a wind chill below zero. Um, as much as a running with others sounded like a tempting idea, there was no way I was going to do it when it was that cold out. Remember, I'm a wuss when it comes to running outside in the cold.

So I skipped the group run. Which meant I headed over to the YMCA later in the day to pound out my 5-mile run on the treadmill. There wasn't anything too exciting to report about the run. Kept it nice and steady (and slow) during the first two miles and putzed around a little bit with the speed during the next three. Never anything faster than a 10 minute mile though. Once the 5 miles were up, I walked for a few minutes and then threw in an extra half mile.

Run done. Time for a girls night with some old friends (who I hadn't seen in over a year). That was fun.

But today I was entering the run in my running log and noticed I was 1.7 miles short of hitting 50 miles for the month. And even though it was supposed to be a rest day, I could resist the temptation to head over to the YMCA and log a couple of miles to break that 50 mile mark.

So I did. Snuck in a 2.5 mile run at a nice easy pace and hit the milestone. Followed it up with a quick 4 mile spin on the bike. Then the rest day began.

That's one month down for 2010 (seriously, where'd January go?). Eleven more months to tackle the Tall Mom 1,000+++ Mile Club Challenge. Let's take a look at the numbers for the month:

Run: 50.8 miles
Bike: 67 miles
Swim: 338 yards (yes, I've been slacking on the swimming)

And by the way, the 50.8 miles I ran this month? That's the highest monthly mileage total since July 2007 when I logged 62 miles during training for my first half marathon. I think me and running and starting to get along again. I like it.

HBBC Week 5

For a holiday week, I didn't slack too much. Managed to get some good workouts in early in the week and even forced myself to run on Christmas morning. Granted the days after Christmas? Not so much motivation. I thought about running. But that's about it.

One week left in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. Let's see if I can make it a decent one.

Monday 12/21
Swim - 5

Tuesday 12/22
2.3 mile run - 2.3

Wednesday 12/23
5 mile run - 5
45 minutes abs/weights - 1.5

Thursday 12/24
nothing

Friday 12/25
4 mile run - 4
.25 mile walk - .25

Saturday 12/26
nothing

Sunday 12/27
1 mile walk

Total: 23.3

Final swim class of 2009

Monday was the final time my alarm would jolt me awake at 4:45 a.m. for swim class in 2009. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to sleeping past 5 a.m. next Monday.

It was the last swim class of the year and it was a kind of low-key class. Warm up at our own pace. We choose how far. We had 30 minutes from the start of class until the time trial started, and while there was some warm up swimming, there was also a lot of hanging by the wall, chatting.

I think I ended up doing about 700 yards with lots of breaks before getting ready for the 900 yard time trial.

When we first did this a few weeks ago, I finished the 900 yards in 21 minutes, 40 seconds. While I haven't really been working too much on speed the last few weeks, I wanted to shave a few seconds off my time. Heck. Even shaving a second off my time would have made me a happy girl.

Since there were a total of 5 of us in class, we all got our own lane, so no worries about circle swimming or running into your lane partner.

The clock hit 6 a.m., Coach said go and we were off.

And 15 yards in to the swim I had a problem. A goggle malfunction. As in the right goggle was filling up with water. And while I guess I could have continued swimming for the remaining 885 yards with one eye squinted shut, I knew that wasn't going to be very comfortable. So I hit the wall and paused. Ripped the goggles off my head, emptied the water and put them back on. Making sure they were tight against my face this time.

And started to swim again. No water in my goggles this time.

The swim was feeling good. I tried to mix it up. A "fast" 100 yards followed by a nice easy pace. Sometimes I did the "fast" sets. Other times I forgot. Mixing up my speed isn't the only thing I forgot. Around 600 yards in, I totally lost count of where I was. And when I came to the wall I had to pause. I looked at the kick board I had set up with the pennies I was using as counters. And I thought to myself. Am I supposed to move a penny now or in another 50 yards? Looking back, I shouldn't have questioned it. It was time to move that penny. But I sat there and thought about it. Finally I moved the penny and kept swimming.

Goggle malfunction - check. Forgetting how to count - check.

The last 300 yards were uneventful. As I came off the wall for the final turn I had a quick glimpse of the clock which told me I had 20 seconds before equaling my time from the last time trial.

Knowing it would be almost impossible, I didn't give up. I pushed it. Swam as fast as I could.

And hit the final wall in 22 minutes, 2 seconds.

Ugh. 23 seconds is what stood between me and my goal of finishing the time trial 1 second faster. Made me wonder what my time would have been had I not had the goggle malfunction or forgotten how to count.

Next time there will be no goggle malfunctions. And no counting errors. Next time the numbers on the clock will tell me I swam the time trial faster. Next time. In 2010.

HBBC Week 4 update

Four weeks into the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. And Week 4? It went better than Week 3.

Monday 12/14
Swim class - 5

Tuesday 12/15
4.5 mile run - 4.5
45 minutes weights/abs - 1.5

Wednesday 12/16
2 mile run - 2
7 mile bike - 2.33

Thursday-Friday 12/17-12/18
Nothing

Saturday 12/19
1 mile walk - 1 (I feel like I walked forever trying to find those perfect Christmas gifts)

Sunday 12/20
5 mile run - 5
Total points for the week: 21.33

Week 5 has gotten off to a semi-decent start. A swim and the Winter Misery virtual race. I get out of work early Wednesday, so I'm hoping to hit the YMCA for a nice long run and some ab/weight work.

********

And for those of you who like Gu, make sure you stop by Tall Mom on the Run's blog and check out the holiday-flavored Gu giveaway!

Swimmin' and HBBC Week 3 update

The HBBC Week 3 update will be quick. And kind of painful.

I logged a total of 5 points during the week. Between a snowstorm that spread itself over two days while dumping a foot of snow, work and a general down in the dumps kind of mood, it was hard to log some points. There were a couple of short-ish walks. And I spent some time shoveling (that counts as cardio...lifting heavy snow). But that's it.

I'm off to a better start already this week.

***********

It was the second to last week of swim class this morning. And Coach? He worked us hard. The workout was 2,200 yards. Lots of drills and sets focusing on form. And of course we had to end the hour-long class with 10x50yard sprints with 15 seconds of rest in between. Brutal. Hard. But after a 200 yard cool down? It felt so good.

Next week is our last class and we've got another 900 yard time trial planned. I'm hoping I'll be able to shave a few seconds off my time from the time trial a few weeks ago.

I've really enjoyed the class. I learned a lot and feel that I've improved as a swimmer. There's another session starting up in January that I think I'm going to sign up for (hey I'm finally getting used to the early Monday mornings, I should keep doing it) and then another triathlon training class beginning in April.

With my swim out of the way this morning, I had plans to hit the YMCA after work and sneak in a run. But a throbbing migraine (the kind where lights hurts) made me decide to skip the gym and head home. The run will get done tomorrow.

HBBC Week 2 update

Week two of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge went a bit better than Week 1, but it still had it's challenges. Mainly, I was working a night shift this week, which normally wouldn't be an issue. But my work schedule had appointments that required me to be at work in the morning as well, sometimes for a couple of hours, leaving me a small window of time that was considered my "break." Not real conducive to working out when you're only free time is an hour or two in the middle of the afternoon and you've got other things to deal with.

Enough excuses though. Hopefully I'll be able to banish the excuses next week.

So the challenge. What'd the week look like? Take a look.

Monday 11/30

1.25 hour swim - 5

Tuesday 12/1

4.5 mile run - 4.5

Wednesday 12/2 through Friday 12/4
too much time spent at work means no bootie busting for me

Saturday 12/5
4.5 mile run - 4.5
6 mile bike - 2
30 minutes abs/weights - 1
misc. cardio (a bunch of dancing at a wedding counts, right?) - 2

Sunday 12/6
took the day off to put up the Christmas tree and give the apartment a super hardcore cleaning

Total points for the week: 19

Not amazing. Not awful. I'll take it given the week I had - and trust me, besides working nights, it was not a good week.

Saturday helped out though. After an early morning wake up call to pick up a friend at the airport, I headed over to the YMCA. I just needed to run. Clear my head. Not think. And the treadmill allowed me to do that. So I pounded out 4.5 miles on the treadmill and headed over to the bikes for a short cool down. Six miles, nice and easy. And then the weights were calling my name. So I headed over for a bit, do some weights, some ab work. It was a good morning at the gym (granted I feel the effects of the weight work today) and got me in the right mindset for my best friend from high school's wedding.

Busting a move on the dance floor totally counts as cardio, right?

Introducing the time trial

Twelve weeks in and being jolted awake by a squawking alarm clock at 4:45 hasn't gotten any easier. A little less jarring, but not any easier.

Today was swim class number 12 and what did The Coach have in store for us? A time trial. But not right off the bat. First there was a warm up swim and then some kicking work. Throw in some breathing and a couple of all out sprints and we were quickly up to 900 yards.

Then it was time to rest. And grab a drink of water. And prepare ourselves for the 900 yard time trial, just over a half mile.

We lined up, two swimmers to a lane and got ready to swim.

Honestly, I haven't been doing a lot of long, extended swims lately. I think my max has been somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 yards during swim class and even that has included a few short rest breaks. Honestly I think the last time I did a straight half-mile swim was in July at the Trek Women's Triathlon.

But today I just wanted to swim continuously. No breaks. Just swim one length of the pool, hit the wall and turn around. Repeat for 36 lengths.

The clock hit zero and we were off. Knowing I had 900 yards in front of me, I didn't want to take off too quickly. I set out at a nice comfortable pace. Was swimming stroke for stroke with the girl in the lane with me. After a couple of lengths, she paused. I kept swimming. I wasn't really keeping track of time, but I did manage to glance at the clock when I hit 450 yards - 10 minutes, 35 seconds. Not too bad. About what I was expecting.

I kept swimming. And I could tell I was starting to get a little tired in the last 200 yards or so and really would have loved to take a break. But I didn't. I refused to stop. And even managed a bit of a "sprint" over the last 25 yards.

I ended up hitting the wall in 21 minutes, 40 seconds.

Not the fastest - that belonged to the girl who clocked 17 minutes flat - but not the slowest either. In fact, I came in before three other girls. One was the girl swimming next to me, but the other two? Completely took me by surprise.

As I was walking off the pool deck on my way to the hot tub (hey, I earned it), I was talking to The Coach. He asked me how I felt the time trial went. I told him not bad it was about what I was expected. He asked me if I thought I could have pushed myself harder. Probably. And he said that's the next step. To push a little bit harder, swim a little bit faster and make it all a little bit more painful.

Because a little bit of pain is good. Makes you know you're working hard.

Guess that means the next few weeks in the pool will be a bit painful. Because I want to shave some seconds off of that time. And time trial number 2? It's already been scheduled for Dec. 21.

Bring it.

HBBC Week 1 recap

Week one of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge is done.

And I'm hoping the rest of the weeks get better. Because this week? It featured a couple of zeros! Ooops. I could blame it on the holidays, but I don't think that excuse would fly for all the zeros I tallied. And I guess I could blame it on the weather, but that's no excuse when I've got a YMCA membership.

So no excuses. I just threw in some zeros and had a sub par week.

Oh well. It can only get better, right?

Take a look at Week One:

Monday 11/23
Swim 1.25 hours - 5

Tuesday 11/24
2 mile walk - 2

Wednesday 11/25
nothing

Thursday 11/26
5 mile run - 5

Friday 11/27
nothing

Saturday 11/28
nothing - I'm sensing a trend here

Sunday 11/29
1 mile walk - 1

Total: 13 points

Eh. Not awful. Not wonderful either. This week it'll get better. I hope.

Catching up and looking ahead

It was a busy week. And while some workouts got tossed out the window, overall it was a good week.

Got some time in at the pool on Monday and followed that up with 4.5 miles on the treadmill on Tuesday. Then I managed to avoid workouts for the next three days. There were a few dinners with friends, an early morning jaunt to drop a friend off at the airport and trip to The 'burg to see "New Moon" with an old friend. So not very workout-friendly, but I managed.

So by the time Saturday rolled around and it was mid-50s and sunny, I couldn't avoid it any longer. My running shoes were calling my name. I laced them up and headed out. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, I was thinking maybe 3 miles. But I got to the turn around point and the next chunk of road was just calling my name. So instead of turning around, I kept going straight. By this point it was starting to get dusky, passing cars had their headlights on and the sunglasses I was wearing? Not really necessary. It was peaceful though. And enjoyable to run in. The run ended up being 4.5 miles. It felt good. I kept a nice steady pace and finished it off in about 45 minutes.

I should have ran today, but I didn't. Instead there was a trip to Scheel's to replace my malfunctioning, broken goggles before swim class tomorrow and a visit with my parents. And there was football to watch.

So I considered today a rest day.

And I might need it.

Tomorrow kicks off the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, a challenge put together by Amanda over at Run to the Finish. I'll start off the challenge with a swim session in the morning and might even sneak in a run after work. And Tuesday I'll be scampering after Santa in the Santa Scamper, a one-mile run before the Appleton Christmas Parade. And let's not forget about the 5-mile Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning and a possible season-ending 5K on Sunday.

Should be a good week.

Runs, swims and bullet points

It feels like a bullet point kind of day.

So bullet points you get.

• Had to burn vacation time at work, so I just enjoyed a four-day weekend full of gorgeous weather. There was apartment cleaning and a 4-mile run on Thursday and shopping, dinner and catch-up time with friends on Friday.
• Saturday means college football. So I listened to the Badgers beat up Michigan and then snuck in a 3-miler before it got dark or decided to start raining. Run went OK, but legs felt a little dead.
• More football on Sunday, the NFL variety.
• Today it was not only back to work, but back to the pool. After missing last week's swim class, 5 a.m. came really early. And it sounds crazy, but I could totally tell I took a week off of swimming. Legs just weren't feeling it. Luckily it was mostly drills today. Not so lucky? Those drills all focused on the arms, which means my legs were doing the brunt of the work. Dead legs post swim mean no run today.
• Had a bit of an equipment malfunction midway through swim class. Goggles? Busted. Mental note: Make trip to store to get new goggles before next week.
• The rest of the week looks a little crazy with post-work plans. Right now the plan is to hit the YMCA for a run Tuesday after work and force myself to get up early Wednesday for a run. Will take Thursday off, but might have to do the early morning thing again on Friday. I could just opt out of a run, but I've been in a groove lately, don't want to mess it up.

And that's all I've got. Next time hopefully I won't have to resort to bullet points.

Treadmill thoughts

Another night. Another run on the treadmill.

After work was done, I headed over to the YMCA for a quick run. Snuck in 3.5 miles in just over 35 minutes before some plans I had this evening. Took the first two miles relatively easy, pushed it during the third mile and really pushed it hard during the last half mile. Felt really good.

But while I was running, obviously during the beginning of the run when I didn't need to concentrate on not falling off the treadmill too much, I was thinking. I need to find a solution to night time running since it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. now - I kid you not. I'm not allowed to leave my office for the evening until it's pitch black outside.

I really can't run at my apartment since I live on a pretty busy street/highway with no sidewalks. And since the speed limit is 45 mph, that means the cars (including me at times) routinely drive 55 mph or more down this road. Don't really want to get hit by one of those cars.

But on these days when it's still relatively nice outside - mid-40s to mid-50s, it's painful to leave the office and go coop myself up in the gym on a treadmill. Maybe I should just start bringing my running clothes to work, change at the office and get the run in before heading home. At least there's sidewalks. And street lights.

Hmmm. The things I think about on the treadmill.

********

You'll notice there's no swim class update this week. That's because I was a bad kid. I skipped my 5 a.m. wake up call yesterday. But I have an excuse. Really. I do. I tried to go to bed at a normal time Sunday night, but for some reason I couldn't fall asleep. And the last time I looked, I was still staring at the ceiling at 1 a.m., thinking to myself, "My alarm's going to go off in 4 hours and I haven't slept a wink yet."

Folks, I can't function on 4 hours of sleep. It's not pretty.

Therefore, I skipped class.

Swim class No. 8

Speedy and swimmer are two words that aren't ever used to describe me.

A slow, steady swimmer. Yes. A speedy swimmer? Not so much. But today? Today I felt speedy in the pool.

Swim class started off with our warm up and some work with a pull buoy. Then we did a little work on open turns (Coach said flip turns are in the near future...that scares me). After that, it was time to work on pacing.

Coach has talked to us a lot about pacing, how swimmers take a different approach in terms of speed depending on the distance that needs to be swam. A short distance? The swimmer goes all out from the get go. A longer distance, like a sprint tri? The swimmer still swims hard, but at a pace they can maintain for the distance they need to cover.

So we started with 4x75. We were supposed to swim the first 25 at an easy pace, gradually get faster over the second 25 and be at an all out sprint during the final 25. When I was done with the 75? I felt like I was working, but it felt good.

We moved on to intervals then, but first Coach did some moving around. There were four speedy swimmers. They were in the two outermost lanes. And then there were the four not so speedy swimmers. That's where I was hanging out. And I was OK with that. Remember, speedy and swimmer are two words that don't go together when you're talking about me.

So we were doing 50s at an easy pace. And since there were only two swimmers in a lane, we were all starting at once and it felt very race like. We swam. I finished my first 50 in 60 seconds, the second in 61 seconds and the final 50 in 59 seconds - an average of 60 seconds. And all four of us slower folks were finishing at about the same time.

We had a minute or two to rest and then it was time for the fast intervals. The second hand on the clock hit the 12 and I got a good push off. I swam hard. Pushed myself. And whenever I took a breath, I saw that I was pulling ahead of the other girls. Hmmm. Maybe I'm just lucky, I thought. I hit the turn around and pushed it the final 25. Finished up the 50 in 55 seconds. Nice. The other girls finished about 4 seconds behind me.

I was breathing hard. But it felt good. I had just enough time to catch my breath and we were off for round two. Same thing happened. About halfway down the first length of the pool I noticed I was pulling away. I kept swimming. Kept pushing myself. Finished the second at 57 seconds. Still breathing hard, but still felt good. The other girls said their easy was obviously their fast. Not me.

Third time. Really pushed it. Swam hard. Came in at 56 seconds for an average of 56 seconds. Not bad. The other girls all had averages of 60 seconds, same as their easy. Me? I shaved 4 seconds off. I was the speedy swimmer in the slow kids group. And I liked it. And I think the Coach noticed. Today I got the feeling the early mornings are starting to pay off.

As a reward for being the speedy swimmer in the slow kids group I ditched the planned run and spent some time in the hot tub. I deserved it. The run can wait until tomorrow. Because today? I was a speedy swimmer.

A late recap of Swim Class No. 7

It's hard to believe I'm halfway done with my swim class. Only seven more to go. Time flies.

This week it could be summed up in one word. Arms.

There were single-arm drills, high elbow delays, a 3/4 catchup and a moderate swim where we didn't do much kicking.

But the killer?

The set featuring 4x200 with the pull buoy. Let me tell you, 800 yards of swimming only relying on your arms? Killer. My arms were feeling it after the first 200 yards. But I swam it. And wasn't the last person to finish. Almost last. But not last.

And after all that fun was done? Let's not forget about the 6x25 sprints as fast as you can possibly god. Yeah, because I've got a lot of gas left in the tank. But I did it.

And I earned that bagel coach brought us for after our workout was done.

Swim class No. 6

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper lives in a world full of wonder,
Lying there under, under the sea!

OK, so maybe I'm nowhere near the 1960s TV show dolphin, but I sure felt like it for a moment this morning. Or at least enough to make the theme song to the TV show Flipper run through my head. All. Day.

I went to swim class this morning, 15 minutes earlier than usual. Yes, 15 minutes isn't much. But when we're talking about jumping in the pool at 5:15 a.m., that's a lot of extra minutes I could have spent sleeping.

So I jumped in, did my 200 yard warm up. As I put on my pair of fins I looked at the workout sheet:

6x25 w/ fins - dolphin kick under water

Huh? I'm becoming a dolphin this morning? Because I was up so early I thought I was seeing things. I called the coach over.

"What's this about the dolphin kick?"

Yup. Dolphin kicks. Efficient kick to use, especially at the beginning of a triathlon swim, he says.

I watched as he demonstrated while standing on the pool deck. Well, I thought to myself, I've already got my fins on, mind as well try out this dolphin kick and really feel like a sea creature.

So I did. And it was kind of fun and not that difficult. Granted I'm no Michael Phelps when it comes to dolphin kicking, but give me some time.

Only after I finished my 150 yards worth of dolphin kicking did the coach tell me I only had to do it until I came up to the top of the waster the first time. Then I could swim the rest of the length of the pool with a normal freestyle. Me? I'd hit the top of the water, grab some air and head back under for more kicking. I was only following what the folks in front of me were doing. Oh well. It was fun.

So if I felt like a TV star dolphin during the first part of the class, I almost felt like a beached whale during the last 500 yards of the workout when I grabbed the hand paddles and pull buoy - my first experience with either piece of equipment.

Let's just say I didn't feel like I had any control over the bottom half of my body. Towards the end of the swim, maybe the last 100 yards, I felt a little bit more in control, but I think I preferred feeling like flipper.