Day 1 in the Pool

Thursday, January 7, 2010, that is the day that I started my first winter swimming training ever.  With that said, it is important to note that today, Friday, January 20, 2012, I was back in the pool. starting my road back to legitimate triathlon shape!

So how did my swim workout go?  Surprising well, considering the last time I swam was September 2011.  I kicked it off with an easy 150m, which would have been 300m had my shoulders, back and arms not been feeling the ill effects of a four month layoff.  I managed to add another 100m to my "warm-up" before I got into the next part of my swim....10 x 50m on 20 sec (probably should be 10 sec, but I was so tired).  I managed to keep my 50m's under a minute but I was getting really sore.  On a positive note, I miscounted and actually did eleven 50s (a bonus 50m in distance, yeah!).  I finished up my swim with a 200m cool down with a pull-buoy (cheating, I know, but I needed it).  All in all a very successful 1,050m swim, not bad for my first time in the water for a while.

One thing that I need to get off my chest that I wasn't too thrilled about this morning at the pool.  Instead of having the pool divided into six lanes, the have it divided into three large lanes.  No problem for me I suppose, that is until I see the guy in the "medium" lane (my lane of choice) swimming down along the left lane line and then up along the right lane line, swimming in a "circle".  I know that this isn't anything out of the ordinary for some pools, but this is my first time with this and I am not a fan.  I prefer to have all of the lane lines out with two people per lane with each person staying to their side of the lane.  I just think it works better, at least for me.  This is the one thing that is going to take some getting used to.

Post-swim I did venture into the gym to try some weight training, but it wasn't happening.  My left shoulder is bothering me and I was just beat.  I really didn't sleep all that well last night, nor many nights this week.  I opted to hit the showers and get on the road to Philly.  I'll have to run when I get home tonight.

Ciao!

YMCA....and I don't mean the Village People version

It took a lot of internal debate regarding the cost, potential usage, and benefits.  Even when we were at the facility, we were still talking about if this was something we should do.  After all of the talk was done we made it official, as of 6:30PM last night, my wife and I joined Central Bucks Family YMCA!!! 

Now comes the hard part, getting my sorry ass out of bed every morning at 5:00AM and driving the six miles over there and actually utilizing it.  If I don't get up and get there prior to the crack of dawn, then there is little hope of me going.  [Prepare for an internal pep talk] You did it for ten months when you were training for Ironman Arizona, there is not reason that you can't do it now.  Heck, you were getting up at 4:30AM or even 4:15AM back then so that you were there when the gym opened at 5:00AM so you could get your hour and a half swim work out in.  This is actually going to be easier on you and you will be in better shape as a result.  So buck up, suck it up and get up every morning!!!

The first obvious question is...did you get up and go to the gym this morning?  Sadly, I did not.  Will I be going tomorrow?  I hope to, but I do have a soccer game tonight at 9:30PM, which means I won't get home until around 10:45PM.  Getting up Thursday morning might be a bit tough, but I will try.  Friday morning is a definite and I hope to make it there this weekend if everything aligns correctly.

Oh, a little recap on the past few days of exercise:

• Sunday:  7 mile run - I ran the toe path along the Delaware River from Stockton, NJ, over the bridge to PA, then down to New Hope, over the bridge to Lambertville, NJ and back to Stockton.  It was friggin' cold out, but I had a great run (slow, but happy to be out on a beautiful sunny day).
• Monday:  Was ready to get on the trainer, but my wife was pretty sick, so I had to take care of the little ones.  By the time I had "me time" it was 10:00PM and I was getting ready for bed.
• Tuesday:  45 tough minutes on the trainer.  I adjusted the magnet on my rear wheel and all of a sudden I was riding 2 - 3 MPH faster.  Dang, I guess I wasn't going as slow as I thought for the past two years.
• Tonight:  Soccer game, probably a two mile warm up run before hand to loosen up my muscles...it seemed to work last week.

That is it for now.  The quest for fitness begins, well, it actually began already....the quest for fitness continues tonight!

Oversleeping and the "Jersey Shore"

"Damn it!" Those were the first two words out of my mouth this morning upon realizing that it was 5:50AM and I had overslept, missing my chance to get in the pool today. Although it wasn't entirely my fault, I was and still am mad at myself for not getting up at 5:00AM (I don't even recall my alarm going off) and heading to the gym. When I say it isn't entirely my fault I am referring to the 3:55AM wake up "call" provided to me by my oldest daughter. She wanted to climb into our bed, which I wasn't going to allow since she has a perfectly good bed in her room. Then I realized that my youngest daughter had somehow managed to climb into bed next to my wife and thus created a bit of a situation. so instead of trying to get both girls into their own beds at 4:00AM, I opted to just sleep in my oldest daughters room.

So, it looks like I am not going to be able to get a swim in today. I am planning on getting on the trainer tonight and putting in about 40 - 45 minutes on the bike, hopefully along with my wife as she spends some time on the treadmill.

On a separate note, I did get an easy run in yesterday afternoon with my friend Bill (from work). I was pretty sure from Sunday's race and pretty tired from getting up at 5:00AM and swimming that morning, but I thought it would be a good idea to do an easy run and just loosen up my legs a bit. We ended up doing 4.3 miles at 8:15/mile pace, all the while talking about MTVs "Jersey Shore". It was a solid run and the conversation was the best.

As for "Jersey Shore"....how can you not love "The Situation", Pauly D and Snooki? I've spent my summers in Lavallette, NJ since I was a mere infant, and once I turned 21, I can honestly say that I have hung out at many of the Seaside Heights establishments that the cast of "Jersey Shore" like to go to. Trust me, it is like it is on the show. If you ever want to see a different culture or way of life, hang out in Seaside Heights for a few hours, you will be amazed!

Ciao everyone.