Another Week, Another Round of Hills

Happy Friday everyone! Not having any Friday classes means my weekend starts Thursday at 7 after my intercultural communication class. My last post was about making sleep a priority and am I happy to report Wednesday night I went to bed around 10:30 and slept until 8:30 Thursday morning. It was just what I needed.

Despite this extra sleep, my body is still feeling the effects of a solid week of training so far. I won't get into the nitty-gritty too much here since I'll be recapping the entire week in a few days but three days of swimming in a row plus lifting has left my arms like noodles. I ran easy on Tuesday and noticed some tightness in the back of my calf that extended to my shin. It was very subtle but enough to notice it. I debated whether or not to do my hill repeats on Wednesday but ultimately decided to go off of how it felt that day.

I noticed the tightness off and on during the hill repeats but it was mostly off so I kept going. Once I got back to my apartment I noticed that the tightness was still there as well as some twinges. I tried rolling, icing, sticking and stretching and nothing seems to be doing the trick. Right now I'm not too concerned about it because it doesn't actually hurt but I did decide to skip my Thursday morning run just to play it safe. I'm going to test it out this weekend so see how things are.

So back to the hill repeats. Wednesday evening I did my second set of hill repeats this training cycle. I like doing hill repeats before diving back into true speed work because hills build strength and speed and you are less likely to get injured. Last week I was frustrated with how the workout went but as Laura reminded me, the important thing is that I'm getting out there. Right now I'm feeling like my endurance is pretty decent but my speed is lacking.

From last weekend's sunset puppy walk

I felt good on my warm up, trying to get my heart rate up a little but not too much. I noticed during Wednesday's warm up and Tuesday's run that my easier runs are feeling easier. For a few weeks all my runs felt challenging no matter how much I slowed down. This week I felt like I was gliding.

I forgot to hit the lap button after finishing my warm up so I don't have the split for my first repeat but here's a comparison between this week and last week.

2/19 - 6.7 miles, 9:37 avg - 8:44, 8:32, 8:48, 8:39, 8:41
2/26 - 7 miles, 9:44 avg - 8:39, 8:36, 8:29, 8:35

Still not even close to where I was last year but I made progress and I'll take it. One thing I'm learning is that progress, even if it isn't much, still means moving in the right direction. I had three surgeries that took me out of the pool for months at a time and left me feeling like I would never be able to swim well again. Three times I proved myself wrong. I know I will get back to where I want to be, it just may take more time than I would like. If I keep putting in quality work and keep making progress I will be better than I was yesterday and that's what matters.

Happy weekend!

Making Sleep a Priority

How many of you get at least 8 hours of sleep? 7 hours? 6 hours? As athletes we often swap a little sleep here or there for a workout whether that's getting up earlier or staying up too late. That little bit of sleep here or there adds up though and can put you into a serious sleep debt.

I have always been a person that needs a lot of sleep. I'm 21, a senior in college and rarely have I gotten less than 7 hours of sleep a night. Most nights I get 8. Back in high school I had swim practice at 5:30 in the morning twice a week and 18 hours hours of training a week plus school. I had to make sleep a priority or I would fall asleep during class.

To be honest I'm really glad that I learned the importance of sleep when I did. It makes it hard now when I want to go out with friends and have a workout scheduled the next morning but just one night won't derail me too much. Not only do I feel better when I've had a good night sleep, but being sleep deprived leads me to do some pretty stupid things. I remember sophomore year of college I was up half the night studying for my Russian final and was so exhausted the next day I tried to get out of my car with it still in drive. Yeah, not good.

The past week or so I have been slacking on my sleep and it is showing. While I can normally get away with less sleep once in awhile, only getting 6 hours for an entire week is just not enough for me. I found myself dozing off in class, unable to focus, lazy, and very unmotivated to do any of my workouts.

This week I am making sleep a priority again. I am trying to make an effort to train smarter this year so that I can train harder. It's so easy as athletes to want to do more, more, more. Oftentimes we do workouts in the morning because it is the only time to fit them in. We choose training over sleep.

While I too see the benefits of doing morning workouts and like making them a regular part of my routine, I like to find a balance between early morning workouts and days with no alarm set. This semester I've been making Tuesday and Thursday my morning workout days. Sometimes I feel guilty for sleeping in but I try to remember that this is what works best for me. I have friends who only need 5-6 hours of sleep a night and know of people who regularly get 10 hours.

Some of the things I'm doing to get back on a good sleep schedule are:

• Schedule workouts like meetings. This gives me an idea of not only how much but also when I have free time each day to study and do homework so I don't end up awake until the middle of the night trying to write a paper.
• Getting everything ready the night before. I don't know about you but I am not the most efficient person in the mornings. Not only does getting everything together the night before make it easier to get out the door on a motivational level but it also lets me sleep for an extra 10-30 minutes.
• Keeping alarms not too far apart. If I have no alarm set at all I tend to stay up too late and then sleep until 11 in the morning. I try to draw my line at 9 but if I need the sleep I don't force myself to get up. For comparison, on Tuesday I get up at 6:40 and 7:30 on Thursday.

What tips do you have to get a better night's sleep? How many hours of sleep do you get each night?

Columbia Triathlon Training Week 1

If you've been paying attention you may have noticed that these posts went from Cherry Blossom training to base training to Columbia Triathlon Training. As much as I wanted to do the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler it just wasn't in the cards for this year. I had bought my dad Pirates tickets for the same day for Christmas and didn't realize this when signing up. It was a really hard decision to make but my mom and I want to go to the game instead. This was not going to be a goal race for me and my heart wanted to cheer on my bucs.

The good news is that I am officially registered for the Columbia Triathlon May 18. While this is not a goal race for me I do want to put up a solid time to kick off triathlon season. My mind is having a hard time comprehending triathlon training when there is still so much snow on the ground but focusing on my goals for the year is keeping me going. With that, here's how week 1 played out:

Monday

I kicked off the week with my first swim speed workout of the year. It wasn't long but it got my heart rate up and got both my arms and legs turning over faster. I'm notorious for having a slow turnover in all three sports so I'm making sure to get things moving faster early in the season. This workout was not about increasing endurance or even speed really but more about getting things moving and waking my body up for the work that's going to come in a few weeks/months. Here's the workout in case you're interested:

200 warm up
3 x 100 kick @ 5 seconds rest
200 drill
20 x 25 @ :30 [pull/fast arms]
20 x 25 @ :30 [swim/fast legs]
200 drill
4 x 50 descend 1-4 @ 1:00
100 warm down

2200 yd swim

Tuesday

We got another few inches of snow Monday night into Tuesday morning so I pushed back my Tuesday morning yoga to Thursday. I was able to get in a nice easy morning run. About half of the run was me trying not to fall from the slushy mess on the roads. Although I've been doing better about getting my butt out of bed for workouts in the morning, I'm finding that what really seems to be doing the trick is telling myself that I can run as slow as possible. The last thing I want to do is a hard run first thing in the morning.

I chased my run with a solid gym session.

4.35 mile run, 10:02 avg
46 min strength

Wednesday

I did hill repeats. They kicked my butt.

6.7 mile run, 9:37 avg

Thursday

As hard as it is to get out of bed for the 7:15 yoga class on campus I am really glad I'm making it a regular part of my schedule. I know getting up at 6:40 is nothing to most working people but to a college kid it is early! I was rewarded for going to class with an incredible sunrise.

After yoga I went to the pool for 30 minutes of technique work. It was easy. It was slow. It was just what I needed after bawling during savasana. Sometimes life is hard.

55 min yoga
1500 yd swim

Friday

Friday started off good with a strength session but went downhill after that. I was planning on doing a trainer ride focusing on high cadence and getting my legs turning over faster. About 15 minutes into my ride my bike/trainer started making this whistling noise. I tried to adjust things but the noise wouldn't go away. Not knowing what it was and not wanting to break anything I called it quits about half way through the ride.

I quickly changed into running shoes to head out for a quick 15 minute transition run. I know I hardly biked but my legs felt pretty good while running. My pace was pretty slow but my legs didn't feel heavy or any of the usual adjectives that are used to describe running post bike ride.

45 min strength
4.08 miles bike, 13.6 mph
1.5 mile t-run, 10:15 avg

Saturday

Thanks to unseasonably warm temps I was able to take the bike outside for a ride despite there still being half a foot of snow on the ground. Despite some nasty winds during the first half, the views of snow covered farm lands and fresh air made this ride pretty spectacular.

18.72 miles bike, 14.86 mph

Sunday

Rest day

3700 yards
22.8 miles bike
12.55 miles run
7 hrs 18 minutes

Taking the Bike Outdoors

This weekend we got a nice break from the cold and snow this winter has brought us. Yesterday it hit about 55 degrees so I took advantage of this warmer weather by heading out for my first road ride of the year. I absolutely hate being inside on the trainer so any chance I can get to head outside this winter I'll take. Since I can count the number of trainer rides I've done this year on one hand and still have a finger to spare I decided to keep this ride short and sweet with a favorite 18.5 mile loop of mine.

There had been black ice warnings over night so I waited until later in the afternoon to head out. There was no way I was risking a crash because of ice despite the warm weather. What I didn't expect was the massive puddles that took up almost half the road. Generally speaking the roads were fine though.

I hate to admit it but I was really nervous about this ride. It wasn't long or hard but I was afraid that I would forget how to unclip and fall over and I was afraid that all of my bike speed would be gone just like with running. I practiced clipping in and out a few times in the parking lot to calm my nervous before I set out.

The first few miles were honestly hell. I'd had images in my head of how great and effortless this ride would be and how it would remind me how much I love riding. By mile 3 I was about to call my mom to come pick me up. I thought my legs had all but died. I kept hearing this roaring and thinking a car was coming until I snapped out of my nerve-induced daze and realized it was the wind. The wind was so strong that at times I was worried I was going to fall over. It took some serious willpower not to turn around and call in quits.

Split Time Distance Avg Speed Summary 1:15:35.5 18.72 14.9 1 4:11.6 1.00 14.3 2 4:32.6 1.00 13.2 3 4:12.3 1.00 14.3 4 4:02.6 1.00 14.8 5 4:22.5 1.00 13.7 6 4:40.3 1.00 12.8 7 4:26.9 1.00 13.5 8 5:00.5 1.00 12.0 9 3:56.9 1.00 15.2 10 3:53.2 1.00 15.4 11 3:43.4 1.00 16.1 12 3:46.1 1.00 15.9 13 4:31.4 1.00 13.3 14 3:26.7 1.00 17.4 15 3:51.3 1.00 15.6 16 3:49.3 1.00 15.7 17 3:39.6 1.00 16.4 18 3:05.6 1.00 19.4 19 2:22.6 0.72 18.1

Luckily by about mile 9 the wind has calmed down some. The second half of the ride wasn't entirely ideal but it surely reminded me why I love riding. You can tell how bad the wind was by looking at my splits from the first half of the ride compared to the second. That first half was rough. It didn't hurt that my speed started to make a nice little return. I still have a lot to work on but it's nice to know I'm not starting back at square one. Running, on the other hand...

Post bike ride puppy walk

What surprised me the most during this ride was how sore/tired my legs felt. I chose a mostly flat route but even on those little hills my legs were burning. I could feel myself getting tired much more quickly than normal. I've been slacking on sleep recently and I'm hoping that's the culprit. Overall this ride left me really excited for warmer weather rides [I may have froze yesterday] and some real triathlon training. I love being in the nitty gritty of training and can't wait to be back to pushing myself and racing strong.

Hill Repeats

Yesterday I did my first run workout of the year. During the first half of training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon my coach Mike had me doing weekly hill repeats. This workout never fails to humble and ground me. I remember the first time I did this workout I thought I was going to throw up during it. I wanted to quit after the first repeat and had to fight to finish all five repeats. This was one of the few workouts that left me sore the next day.

It dawned on me that my first race of the season is coming up quicker than I realized. My running isn't where I want it to be and I'm was getting sick of feeling out of shape. The only way to get my running fitness back is to start running more and faster. Enter hill repeats.

The workout: 
20 min warm-up
5 x 2.5 min hill repeats, jog recovery back down hill
20 min cool down

Turns out when you are out of shape and do a hard workout it's just as hard as the first time you did it. The first repeat felt hard but doable. The second one I felt invincible. The last three I had a terrible side stitch, was on the verge of puking, and felt like my legs were going to fall off. I couldn't will them to turnover faster no matter what.

It was even more of a wake up call of how out of shape I am. I probably shouldn't have but I looked up what paces I held the first time I did this workout and the results were crushing. I'm trying to look at it as even more motivation to not give up and keep at it but honestly it's frustrating.

2/21/2013- 5.7 miles, 9:05 avg pace // 8:11, 8:01, 8:15, 8:10, 7:57
2/19/2014- 6.7 miles, 9:37 avg // 8:44, 8:32, 8:48, 8:39, 8:41

Seeing those numbers side by side is really humbling. As easy as it is to feel like all hope is lost and I will never regain my speed, I'm trying to pay attention to things that I can do a better job at. I'm also trying to take a long-term approach and realize that both speed and endurance will eventually make their return.

Base Training Week 2

Monday

I had a crazy day on Monday, starting with an 8:00 AM dentist appointment and ending with class at 8:00 PM. I managed to squeeze in a strength workout between classes but bailed on my swim. I was planning on going after class but just didn't have the energy after being on the go all day. I implemented some of the exercises from Anatomy for Runners and am excited to see some improvements in my running form.

45 min strength

Tuesday

Nothing beats starting the day with morning yoga. I almost skipped class because of the early wake up time but knew I would feel better after going. After class I went over to the pool to get in some technique work. I have to say, doing an entire workout of just technique is so relaxing. No intervals, no pressure.

I was practically falling asleep during my media & communication studies class from the early wake up so I wasn't sure whether I wanted to run or not. I decided to go out for thirty minutes since the weather channel was calling for up to 16 inches of snow Wednesday and Thursday. I ended up feeling really good so I kept going. Although it wasn't what it used to be, my pace finally started to drop during this run. Feels good to be making progress.

60 min yoga
1400 yd swim
4.5 mile run, 9:35 avg

Wednesday

Not all runs can be good and this was certainly wasn't. I felt great after getting a solid nine hours of sleep but after a few minutes of running I knew this was going to be a slogfest. I was planning on doing 4-5 miles but I changed it to 3 once I started feeling dizzy. I was running super slow and thought my body could use some recovery miles but by the time I made it to the turn around point I knew continuing wasn't a good idea. I jogged until I made it two miles since the last little bit was downhill and then walked the last mile back to my apartment. Had I been training for a goal race I probably would have pushed myself to finish the whole run and I know a lot of runners are similar. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your training is to rest.

2 miles, 10:10 avg
45 min strength

Thursday

We got 22 inches of snow.

rest

Friday

Despite getting so much snow the previous day, the roads weren't too bad. I ran 2 miles with Gracie and finished up with another two miles on my own. I was pleasantly surprised that my faster pace from Tuesday was here to stay. This is still slow for me but at least we're heading in the right direction here. Plus my neighborhood at home is crazy hilly so holding the same pace means progress!

4.01 miles, 9:35 avg
15 min core/abs

Saturday

I thought this was going to be a nice relaxing run in the snow but in reality it was a hard as balls run in sleet. My neighborhood is crazy hilly and those hills kicked my ass. My calves were super tight from running in my trail shoes on the road and it was sleeting so badly I could barely open my eyes. How I didn't trip and fall on my face is a miracle.

3.36 miles, 10:19 avg

Sunday

I closed out the week with some more strength work since I got back to campus early. Not much to say here but I'm still making progress

45 min strength

1400 yards
13.87 miles run
6 hours 3 minutes

Snow Day Magic

If you live on the East coast I'm sure you experienced some snow or ice this week. As I'm writing this there are 20 inches of snow in my yard with the white stuff still coming down strong. I've seen post after post of complaints about the snow and running in the winter but to be honest, I love it. I'm at this weird age or stage in my life where 50% of me wants to be a child again and the other half of me wants to grow up and be out in the real world already. The kid in me is why I still get so excited when snow shows up in the 10 day forecast.

For me snow means getting out of class early or not having class at all. It means drinking hot chocolate and eating pancakes for breakfast. It means going sledding and building a snowman. It means walking a mile to get a pizza because the roads are too bad to drive. It means the only time swim practice would be cancelled.

I don't think I realized it growing up, but snow days mean putting life on hold and enjoying being with your family. After losing my dad I've really started appreciating the smaller things more. I used to always be doing three things at once but now I can only do one at a time and sometimes barely. I think the most beautiful thing in the world is a fresh snow covering everything, the trees, buildings, the streets. Before the snow plows come and make a mess of everything the world is covered in a beautiful white blanket that is so pristine and innocent.

Sometimes I want the world to stop spinning and slow down. I'm only 21 but sometimes I feel so darn old already. Wasn't I just turning 10, walking into a house full of my closest friends for my surprise birthday party? Having a snow day lets me be a kid again. Yes that 8 page paper I had due yesterday is now due next week but for 24 hours I can pretend like I don't have to do it.

Sometimes I like to think that my dad is sending me this snow so I can get that break I've been needing. I know my life isn't that hard compared to most but losing a parent sucks no matter how you frame it. It sucks waking up every morning and having that reality hit you smack in the face over and over again. It sucks when you hear a joke that only they would get.

Snow days are my days. Normally they are happy days but lately they have been sad days. They are peaceful and beautiful and therapeutic for me. As much as I love summer and being outside on a warm day, I don't think anything beats curling up in front of the fireplace with someone special, reading a book as the snow is falling.

Swimming for Triathletes

As a former competitive swimmer from age 5 to 17, my strongest leg in the triathlon is by far the swim. I knew that most triathletes struggle with the swim the most but after doing a few triathlons I realized just how much. Swimming is something that comes natural to me but even after all these years I still have to work on my swim to keep it my strength. After a few questions about my swim workouts and advice I thought I would write a post about any and everything swimming. I am not a coach but between 12 years of competing, teaching swim lessons and volunteer coaching I think I know a few helpful swim tips.

One of my favorite pools & the site of Far Westerns

My first piece of advice is that if at all possible try to work with a swim coach or swimmer. The best way to get better at swimming is for someone to look at your stroke and assess your weaknesses. There are a lot of good drills you can do but, just like running, everyone has their own flaws. A coach will be able to address yours and make sure you are doing the right drills, and correctly. If you can't work with someone more experienced don't be too worried. There is still a lot you can do on your own.

The Swimming Hall of Fame pool

Swimming is the part of a triathlon where technique matters the most. You will only get so fast with poor technique. The biggest benefit of having good technique, you will be able to swim easier at the same speed because you will be significantly more efficient. Water is a lot harder to move your body through than air and pulling unnecessary water will only slow you down. No matter how hard you are working or how strong you are you are being inefficient.

Some of my favorite drills include

• Tarzan, which is good for speed and getting comfortable with your head out of the water. [If I start to panic during an OW swim I do tarzan so that I can still keep moving forward]
• Sculling, good for developing arm strength and a feel for the water. I do it with my head out of the water and with a pull buoy
• Finger drag, good for maintaining a straight stroke and not entering your hand into the water too soon

Although I don't do many of these drills anymore, this video includes some really good drills for beginner swimmers or those who need more technique help.

If you're thinking "but Shannon, you've been swimming for 15 years. I'm never going to make enough progress" you're wrong. My swim team got a new coach during my freshman year of high school and he spent the first few months working on correcting our strokes. Twice a week for 75 minutes all I did was technique work, and once a week we would spend 30-60 minutes watching Olympic swimmers to learn what a good stroke looks like.

I know this post has been technique heavy so far but that just shows you how important technique is in the swim. Right now I'm just getting back into the pool after a two month hiatus so I'm spending more time on technique than I would during peak training. I always do technique work and drills during my warm up no matter where I am in my training, and right now I am dedicating an entire swim each week to only technique work.

What I recommend is setting aside a one to three week period where you can go heavy on the swimming. Get yourself in the pool as much as possible and really work on your stroke. It will do wonders, I promise. Don't worry about your yardage or your pace. Doing 50's or 25's is a really good place to start since your stroke starts to fall apart after longer reps. The point of working on technique is to learn what you should be doing and building muscle memory. 

That time I met Gary Hall Jr

For me personally, I can tell when I need to spend some time working on my technique. Sometimes I neglect it and it shows. Once my stroke feels strong then I start moving onto faster and/or longer sets. A lot of my technique work is also done with a pull buoy, as it allows me to focus on feeling every aspect of my stroke and it keeps my body in better alignment.

I find that using the pull buoy in the traditional way actually doesn't help very much. Instead I use the pull buoy between my ankles. This can be a tricky thing to master at first [my first few times trying this the buoy kept popping out] but it will be much more beneficial. This video shows the difference between the two.

As for paddles, I personally NEVER use them but it's up to you and your coach. Using paddles, especially with poor technique can put a lot of stress on your shoulders. Take it from someone who had rotator cuff surgery junior year of high school. Still to this day using paddles aggravates my shoulders. BUT, some of my former teammates and friends use them all the time with no issue whatsoever. Just be careful and use your judgement. If you advanced and know what you are doing paddles can be a great training asset.

Since this is getting long I'm going to end it here but I think there may need to be a part two so keep those questions coming! Please let me know if you need anything clarified :)

Base Training Week 1

Week 1 of base training is complete! I'm calling this Cherry Blossom training since that is my first race of the year but really this is more the early stages of triathlon training. I'm working on nailing down which half ironman I want to do [currently between Rev3 Poconos and Half Full]. My two goal races for 2014 are USAT Age Group Nationals and whichever 70.3 I end up choosing. I'm taking a longer term approach and  putting in some quality training during the first half of the year. Training for the next 8 weeks will be a little more run heavy to get ready for Cherry Blossom.

This week started off great and ended...not so great. I had to go home over the weekend to take care of the pets while my mom was out of town and it really through me out of whack. It's a poor excuse, I know, but it's the truth. I ate things I shouldn't have and my stomach paid for it, and my go-to running route was closed due to snow and ice. I have to come home next weekend as well so I'm planning ahead to make sure the same thing doesn't happen.

Monday

First day back in the pool in over two months.

My shoulders and arms were decently tired after swimming so I did a more whole body focused strength workout instead of upper body focused. I'm happy to report that not only am I getting stronger but I am seeing all my hard work pay off in other ways. My knees are tracking a million times better too.

2200 yd swim
45 min strength

Tuesday

SO happy to be back on my mat. I've dabbled in and out of yoga and always feel so much better when I'm practicing somewhat regularly. Luckily UMBC offers four classes a week free for students. I'm planning on making the Tuesday morning class a part of my weekly routine to help keep things heading in the right direction. Starting my day with some mat time also chills me out for the rest of the day too. Because let's be honest, college can be pretty stressful sometimes.

For weeks every run was a struggle. Even short 2 milers left me huffing and puffing. Not that this run was even close to the pace I normally hold on easy runs, but it felt really good. My legs felt strong, and I just felt good. So happy to be back out there running.

60 min yoga
5.3 miles, 9:58 avg

Wednesday

Even though Monday's swim felt relatively good I was still surprised by how good I felt again on Wednesday. I guess I had thought Monday was somewhat of a fluke. I spent some more time working on my technique and progressively felt stronger throughout the swim.

I closed out the day with my longest run post marathon and more importantly my longest run since being injured. This run included a nice mix of hills and I had no knee pain. As frustrating as it can be to be running slower, running pain free and healthy is more important. This is the base building period for a reason.

2200 yd swim
6.17 miles, 9:59 avg

Thursday

After doing more or less of the same strength workout for the past three months I really need to switch up my routine. I've been reading Anatomy for Runners for some ideas but feel free to toss out some ideas :)

45 min strength

Friday

Was planning on running but felt like crap the entire day.

rest

Saturday

rest

Sunday

rest

4400 yards
11.47 miles
5 hrs 49 min

I've been asked to share some of my swimming tips for triathletes so I wanted to open it open to everyone. Let me know if you have any questions, tips or advice you want me to address or include :)

Finding Hope in the Pool

Yesterday was my first day back in the pool in over two months. I was dreading finding how out of shape I was but ended up being pleasantly surprised. While I did feel pretty out of shape, I felt considerably worse when I started swimming back up last year. My pull felt weak but nothing that some technique work can't fix. After some drills and kicking I did 5 x 100 at a moderate pace and was happy to see times that I was holding over the summer when I was in peak training. At the end of the workout I did a 100 for time just to see where I'm at and was shocked when I put up a 1:09. I don't know if I ever went faster than a 1:08 over the summer.

Those are not my Crocs

I've been running a few times a week but have hardly seen any progress. The paces I'm holding are more than a minute per mile slower than normal. After a few weeks it's pretty defeating. I've been trying to remain optimistic that my speed and endurance will both come back before Cherry Blossom 10 Miler but to be honest it's getting difficult.

I can't begin to explain how happy I was with my swim yesterday. After two solid weeks of doubting everything, seeing that I haven't lost everything restored my faith that my running fitness will come back. It was also a reminder to focus on the big picture. Cherry Blossom is not a goal race for me and while I don't like doing races just for run, I think I will be okay with not PRing. Seeing those paces in the water got me really excited for what I will be able to do in the summer, when it really matters.

This was also proof that all the strength training I've been doing has been working. It's easy to do the strength work and assume it will work because everyone and their dog says it's beneficial. It's a complete other thing to experience first hand those benefits. Although I had no intentions of stopping lifting any time soon, I am going to be even more religious about not missing a trip to the gym.

Here's the workout I did. I've been asked to share what workouts I do in the pool so here ya go!
200 warm up
6 x 50, 25 swim/25 kick @ 10 seconds rest
6 x 50, count strokes @ 10sr
200 drill
5 x 100 moderate @ 10sr
200 drill
6 x 50 kick @ 20sr
1 x 100 for time
100 cool down