Everybody in the pool......

Friday morning but I have to think back several days to figure out where I am. A little bit of turmoil to deal with so the thoughts are pretty scattered. Except for the issues at home Wednesday was productive at work and strong at the Y (good weight training session).

Thursday morning was a 3400 yard workout. It looked hard on paper with 4 sets of 300,200,100, all close to race pace. Building endurance and speed in the water. As I got in the pool TriSaraTops told me the pool had only been open for 5 minutes because of a late guard. George (pool manager) had to come to the rescue. As I looked around I noticed the pool was full of sharks. Dave, Sara, 2 Team in Training athletes (one of which is an excellent swimmer) and another swimmer I don't know. I slipped in and started my warmup.

When I started my main workout I felt fast. My splits were showing it. To give you an idea this was my workout.

4 sets of 300, 200 100
Sets 1 & 3 build the 300, negative split the 200 and hard 100
Sets 2 & 4 all race effort with 15 seconds rest between

I set myself up for a hard workout as I started with a 1:37 for my first 100. What was I doing? I still had 2300 more yard to go. I was setting myself up for a workout that I thought would degrade over time. But while swimming with the other sharks I could feel the fin coming out. I didn't slow down. I actually got faster at times. I could feel the motivation and confidence building in the pool. I thought about gliding like a shark. I thought about being powerful like a shark. I enjoyed swimming with my shark friends, all of us at different levels but sharks none the less. My final set at race pace I held a 1:32 average per 100. My confidence for this long swim at IM is strengthening.

Late afternoon was my run workout. Being able to work from home at times does have its advantages. Shorts and a long sleeve shirt as another warm day graced Cleveland. I also had new heart rate zones to work with. The lactate threshold testing redefined my zones. I could feel a huge difference during my run. I'm confident these new zones will help me step it up. I know my test cost $150, but I highly recommend doing an LT test to find these zones. I'll provide updates as my workouts change.

Finally on quick note on the turmoil. The past 48 hours had provided a huge rollercoaster of emotions and I haven't been able to get off yet. Last night as I got ready for bed I've thought about what people have said about Ironman. How people often go through a wide range of emotions during a race. Am I getting a sample of what IM will be like compressed into 12-14 hours? I know my body will be strong, I hope the mind will be also.