Before anything else in this post, I want to thank Mr. Iron Wil for the picture at the left, as well as a couple of the images in the current header of this site. Every time I see him at a race, he is everywhere taking pictures. And while his main obective is to get pictures of his wife, he does an amazing job catching incredible shots of others. This is one of several he sent from the Spirit of Racine Triathlon.
This race is very interesting because the swim is essentially a straight line point-to-point swim. Other than short legs from and back to shore, participants can see exactly what a 1.2 mile swim looks like, because it is basically the distance they walk to get to the swim start. Oddly enough, I would rather see the course that way than try to conceptualize the distance as lengths in a pool or laps in a race.
While swimming a a mile or two in the pool might be less demanding in terms of conditions, I would much rather be able to stare the distance in the face and prepare for the challenge. Though waves, water clarity, other swimmers, and current can all add up to one tough swim, it is easier than trying to visualize a "point" in space when swimming the same distance in the pool.
I got to relearn that lesson, this morning, on the second day of my first real week of training since I completed Ironman Louisville. After nearly two years of training (18 months of real training), swimming 1000 yards is old hat. But after a summer of racing in big water venues, long pool swims are especially challenging. Apparently, part of the recovery process is regaining a "love" of the pool. Tough, since I never really HAD a love of the pool.
Those of you looking to regain your "1000 yard stare" in the pool, feel free to join me in November as I once again undertake the "30 Day Swim Challenge." As I learned, last year, it is far easier to make huge gains swimming every day for a month than swimming 3-4 times a week for three months. To make things interesting, the first five people to join me AND confirm they completed the swims will receive a four pack of energy gels, one for each week of training (your choice Power Gel or Gu). It's not much, but it's better than a poke in the eye. And to be reasonable, we'll allow for four missed sessions, since I'm unlikely to make EVERY day, myself.
If desired, I'll figure out some way to post some generic swim workouts that can be adjusted based on ability. That way, we can all work off the same program. And after one month of swim training, I am confident that we'll all be better swimmers.
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