I am blessed

I have not only one coach that wants to kick my ass. No. I have two. Two coaches that want me to be fast. Two coaches that will push me. Two coaches that each have a specialty and a purpose.

I have my tri Coach. And I have my masters coach. Aaron really wants me to learn how to swim fast. I also believe he wants me to dismantle the belief that "I am not a swimmer".

This morning's practice began with a decent warm-up of 6x50 where the first 25 is sharkfin kick (REALLY?! I am World's slowest kicker. I create drag for myself. there is not forward propulsion. Aaron laughs at me. Seriously!) second 25 is swim. Then comes the swapping of the lanes...

Somehow, I end up in Lane #1 with 3 others, all faster than me. And that's when we got the main set. 18x100. Doesn't seem so bad, right? It's just 1800. But I'm no dummy. I know there's a catch. Yup! It's 18x100 as in 2x100 on 1:20, 1x100 all out on 2:00, six times through. Then check heart rate.

Yeah, so I made the first 700. Then, things started fading. I made all the first 100s of each mini-set (of 300. are you following me?)on 1:20 (because I had some rest after the third, being on 2:00). By the fifth time through, my times for each 100 were 1:20, 1:25, 1:30. I see Aaron on the side of the pool, running along side me, telling me to "GO! SWIM! FASTER! GO!" I could feel myself flailing about, poor form, barely cutting through the water. But I made it through. And check this out: my HR got up to 180. One freakin' eighty! In the pool!

Then we all did some hypoxic pulling - 6x75 w/specific breath instructions. Fine with me. My arms/lats/back do not use much oxygen. My legs? They suck it all out. Actually, i think it's just keeping my ass afloat that takes so much effort. Thank God for floaty little buoys!

I got exactly what I stated I wanted...the kind of swim that makes it hard to pull myself out of the pool after.

And on Sunday, I asked Eddy if I could do the TT on Tues night. His response? "YES! And hammer it! And then do a 15 min run".

So, I'm pretty lucky to have not only one, but two, coaches that care enough to push me like that.

Fear and Respect Are Not the Same Thing

Check out my sweet new Cincy Express jersey! The pic was taken after my brick last night, which was very sweaty...and very speedy, by my standards.

Monday, I just didn't get up in time to swim before work...and as I've said before, the old lady acquatics class is at 6:30 and the perfume starts wafting around 6:15, so getting in my 3400 in 45 mins seemed an impossibility. I didn't yet have my training schedule for the week, just the swim for Monday. I decided to take the matter into my own hands and assume (yes, I know it makes me an ass, blah, blah) that I'd have a run on Tuesday and just do it on Monday, go to Masters swim practice Tuesday morning and call it even.

Monday evening was blazin' hot, about 90 degrees and humid as hell, but I was determined to begin this acclimation to the heat for IMKY. So, I went out for just under an hour. I swear I think the heat just cripples me. And then it was time for bed because that 4:30am alarm comes awfully early!

Masters practice never lets me down! Lots of 100s. Lots. And some laughs.

And THEN....I get my schedule.

Tuesday calls for a 90 min ride with some cadence work right into a 30 min run. So much for my assumption. Coach also made direct orders to NOT push it. Even if I'm feeling good.

Tuesday evening and again, it's scorching. I cross the bridge to Cincy with every intention of making this a nice z1 ride, as instructed...but for some damn reason, when I ride alone, I have to turn the thing into a flippin' time trial. Whatever. I blame it on the rabbit in front of me. I slowly closed the gap on him for a while, but God had other plans and stopped me at a red light right after he cruised through. By the turn-around, I had regained some ground, but not enough. I just waved as he cruised back toward the city. I ate a gel and refilled my aero bottle with my spare water bottle and headed back home. Best to just let him go and do my work.

I averaged 19.9 mph for the ride, which is good for me...and I think what helped was each time I'd start to think about that run I had to do afterward, I'd re-focus. I had to tell myself "Stop. Stay right here. Right now. And right now, you're on the bike. Worry about the run when the run gets here. Right now, just spin your legs."

So, I got back to the apartment, carried my bike upstairs, changed shoes, chugged water...and off for the run. I was already dripping sweat. The run called for some intervals in the first half which made me question the sanity of Coach. But turns out, legs felt great...and they had better turnover just getting off the bike. He writes some insane workouts and it seems that by the end of them, I'm just craving food like you wouldn't believe.

And once I got home and hydrated and showered, I realized just how exhausted I was. I hadn't had a three hour training day on a work day in a long time.

I was a little afraid to 'fess up to Coach that I'd added a workout with that run I did Monday...and that I went to Masters instead of following his swim. But, I emailed and did it anyway. His response? "Great job. Sounds like you're coming back." Ahh...

And I realized, I don't really fear him. I respect him. And fear and respect aren't the same thing.

Yesterday was my first official day under the direction of a coach! And, thus far, I've survived two planned workouts.

Yesterday was a swim that included lots of drills. I was really concerned about swimming on my own because for now, I'm told "no masters". I don't particularly like that idea and I plan to whine about it until I get my way. Coach has me concentrating on my weakness - the bike, so swims are used for recovery. Anyway, it felt great to be back in the water. I couldn't help but think how incredible it is that I can go swim a couple miles without hurting. The very simple acts of swimming and breathing, knowing how to use a pull buoy, do drills, and concentrate the effort on my lats are pretty amazing. As I swam lap after lap, I became very grateful that Paul had spent so much time with me in the water, analyzing my stroke, helping with the catch phase. As Judi pointed out, I could've spent a LOT of money learning the tings he taught me for free. Even if that is the greatest thing I receive from my experience with him, I'm grateful. I suppose you never know when or why healing will occur...

This morning I awoke and went for a run in the rain. It's been raining for over 24 hours. It's just a drizzle, but it's wet. Warm-up, strides, cool down. I didn't feel particularly great, but I also didn't feel awful. I think I was half-asleep until nearly finished with the strides.

I've been having night sweats lately...the kind that soak the pillow, make my hair curl and mat to my head; the kind where beads of sweat drip down my chest when I stand to go to the restroom...even when I sleep with the windows open (and it's only 50 degrees outside).

There's a bike session on the schedule for tonight, which includes 40 mins at steady state in z4. that requires focus. It will probably take place on the trainer. I'm looking forward to the concentration it will require. I welcome the hurt. I'm finding peace with pain...in it's various forms...and I see that with it, come better days and strength and joy and laughter.