Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Everybody showed up to swim this morning, except the lifeguard. We hung around and had a bit of a social hour waiting for someone with a key to come open up the pool, but eventually a few of us bailed on the waiting and went to the ocean. No wind meant perfect glassy conditions and Mark, Nalani and I knocked out a few miles side by side just cruising and it was probably the best way I could have imagined starting the day.
It's been way too long since Nalani and I have swam ocean together (seriously, like almost a year!?!). It was just like old times though today like we never even skipped a beat. At the end both Mark and Nalani tried out my new Roka R1 goggles- those things really do increase field of vision- it's almost trippy. They both agreed it was like seeing the ocean through a magnifying glass. I think Roka sold out of their first round of those goggles in like a week but I'm assuming they're making more as I type. When they become available again, do yourself a favor and pick up a pair. I will need a tinted pair. I wore clear this morning and while my vision underwater was great, I was blinded by the sun every time I took a breath. #oceanswimmingproblems #crymeariver

Managed to get out on my bike today but only had ~90min so figured I better make the most of it. Went to a hill not too far away and did some strength reps. It's an undulating hill where some sections are steeper than others, and it takes ~2.5 min to get to the top. I used a moderately heavy gear and stayed seated at all times, grunting it out when it was steep. No HR/power data today but I'd guess my cadence was <60 at times but then 70+ at times as well when the hill flattened out in certain short sections. Anyway, I did a total of 12 reps, broken up as 5/4/3 with an extra 3min spin around the block between sets. That was more of a mental break than anything. Funny as I was riding today I got to thinking about the concept of repetition... When Scott was coaching me in 2013 he always had me doing repeats for long sets... 30x400's on the track, 15x3 min running, 20x2min riding, 60x50's in the pool... Super repetitive stuff and to be honest at times I felt really bored with that (can't say I loved it, at all) but I have to admit, it did coax me into being quite mentally strong. Feeling like I needed a mental break after 5x up the hill today pointed out maybe a mental weakness I have now that I think I didn't used to have. Anyway. Just some of my thoughts as I was riding today. I still got some work done and felt adequately tired at the end so I'm not beating myself up about it. But I might go back to some of that more boring repetitive work b/c I do remember liking the feeling of being an unstoppable machine. #RepeatRepeatRepeat

Hip actually felt quite solid today like maybe I could have run but I opted to be conservative. Will run tomorrow as I've put myself on the Every-Other-Day plan for running.

No comments: