Swim/Run loops at Ala Moana

Last night we did this: swim 200 meters (from one lifeguard tower to the next, get out and run around the lifeguard tower, then swim back), run 1 mile, repeat 3 times for a total of 4 iterations.

I seemed to average 8 minutes per swim, 10 minutes per run including transition times. I was at 57 minutes at the end of the third run, and 1 hour and 16 minutes at the end of all 4. The key was the transition. Since the run was so short, I didn't bother with socks or even lacing up my shoes. Instead, I just rinsed off my feet with my water bottle, shoved them in my shoes and ran. I think my shoes are still soggy a whole day later.

We've done this workout in each of the last two years I've done this clinic, and this is the first time I feel I really did all I'm capable of. Both times before only had three iterations total, but each time I had stomach and/or breathing issues. This time, nothing went wrong. I felt as strong as I ever have.

I don't know why it went so well, but I'm happy about it. It's always frustrating when you know you could have done better. Still, I'm wondering why I felt particularly strong today. I did make an effort to drink lots of water throughout the day, which is something I've been rather bad about lately. As for food, let's see: I ate a Subway ham & egg on flatbread sandwich for breakfast, then a chicken wrap with lots of veggies in it for lunch, and I split up an Odwalla bar eating half before the workout and half after. Maybe the Odwalla bar made the difference, it's usually a few hours between when I eat and when I workout, so maybe I need to snack to carry me through.

On a side note, there are some really amazing athletes in this class. I was stunned when I finished the first swim and the fast pack was already gone and out of sight on the run before I even got out of the water. I know they're fast, but dang, it's such a short swim I didn't expect to not even see them. Very impressive.

Oh yeah, I've been putting on some weight lately (vacation, got sick, but mostly eating badly and not training enough). On Monday (yesterday) I was 127 (eek!), this morning I was 126.2. I'll be watching what I eat and working out more until I get back down to the happy range.