Changes

I'm back at it.
In theory.

My first workout back was last Thursday. I ran a few miles at the slowest pace ever... and it's not like I wasn't working it at all. I woke up sort of achy--achy from a 4 mile run. lovely. Then on Friday I went to my very first Masters swim practice.

I live literally one minute away from a great pool with plenty of good open swim hours. I'm friendly with the lifeguards there, and friends with many of the regular swimmers. The pool's one problem is that it doesn't have a Masters swim team connected with it. I hoped to begin a Masters program, but because of conflicts with the pool director the plan of starting one just never got off the ground. So, all of these years I have been swimming my workouts alone. I'm motivated, and I usually work hard, and for a long time I was making subtle, but genuine improvements in my swim times. That is, until this year.

For six months or so  I have been struggling with my mojo when it comes to swimming. The shift into "struggle" was gradual. First I would just cut back on warm-up or cool-down. Then I would both cut back and not work that hard. Then, when I got to Maine for the summer and pool swimming was not a possibilty, I switched over entirely to open water swimming--which I did without much enthusiasm, all at the same pace, and not for very long each time I went out.

So you'd think my swim would suffer by the end of the season, right?
But it didn't. Not really. My times stayed basically the same throughout the summer, and I actually PR'd at my Timberman swim in August and at the CELT Sprint in late September. Some of my swims were slightly slower in my final races, but in my final analysis of the season I'd have to say my swim times were basically fairly consistent with what I've done in the past.

The conclusion should be, then, why swim? Why bother if I am not getting any faster-- or slower?

But really, what kind of a conclusion is that? A defeatist one. There is a way to get my swim faster. I just haven't really wanted to go there.

My run, too, has stagnated. In truth, the only reason my season was relatively decent this summer is because I have made improvements on my bike. And why have I made improvements there?
I believe it's because I am still relatively new to riding. I'm still in the phase where I can get better just by putting in more hours than before. This phase may end--it may end this coming season.  I don't know yet.

What I do know is that even though I am not a superstar swimmer or runner, I am a true veteran to both of those disciplines. I've been swimming since I was a kid, and I've been running since my early 20s. I can' t just put in hours in the pool or on the road and get better. I may be able to get myself to go LONGER, but I am not able to get myself to go faster. UNLESS.
Overhaul.
I need to overhaul both my swim and run training to see  improvement next season. I cannot keep swimming and running the same way in training. It is not working any more. It needs to change.


So, in short, I'm changing a few things.
But how?

Well, back to the beginning of my post....
I joined the Cambridge Masters Swim Club, and on Friday, I swam with them for the first time. They swim at Blodgett Pool at Harvard which is a full half hour away from where I live. There are no other clubs closer to me, and CMSC offered many different workout times, so they were the ones I chose. This was a hard choice, understand, because I live ONE MINUTE from a perfectly good pool.

I was nervous to attend practice. I admit it. I hadn't been swimming in three weeks. I hadn't done ANYTHING in three weeks.

I arrived early. I said hi to people. I introduced myself to the coach. I twitched nervously.
And then I watched as the coach began writing the workout on the board.  And he kept writing. And writing.

5000 yards.
It was a 5000 yard workout. The warm-up alone was 1000.
Oh. sweet. Jesus.

I tried not to panic. I found a lane with swimmers who looked to be about my pace. I slid in quietly, smiled politely, and I made sure to go last and not get in anyone's way. I can be pushy--but God knows, the first day of Masters practice is not the time for that.

We began swimming. And we swam. and swam. and swam. My lane mates didn't take a long time between sets. They didn't chat and bond. They swam.

And then suddenly it was over!
And I had done it! And I only felt like Jell-o--like a little!
I was unbelievably proud--unbelievably relieved. I could do this. Would it make me faster? I don't know. But it is a change--it is different from what I have been doing. That is for sure.

I went to Masters again on Sunday night for a freestyle swim clinic. This is the number 2 way of changing up my swim training. I am going to improve my stroke if it freaking kills me.

I hate drills. I hate kicking. I hate swimming more slowly and focusing on correction. I hate cooling down. I hate anything that is not time efficient in the pool and which requires slow, methodical patience.

That will change. My new theory is that it is the drill work, the kicking, the focusing on correction and the cool down which will make me faster. This may or may not be true. But it is a change. That is for sure. So far I am focusing on not dropping my right elbow, pulling straight back with my left arm, starting my catch earlier by stretching as I enter the water, and working on my SNAP with the pull as I rotate--especially to my left, which is my side which is rotationally challenged.

As for running? This is harder. I have done all sorts of interesting things in the last few years, most of them Jen-inspired. This year I had to reach deep to figure out what new things I could do....
and here they are:
1. I am running the Boston Marathon in April. I don't care if you think this is a dumb-ass idea. It will give me a huge base going into the final three months of run training for Lake Placid. I know the reasons not to do it. But hey, I haven't done it in the past, and this season is all about trying new things, right?
2. I am focusing on changing my form so I do NOT lean back when I run. This is very hard for me.
3. I am running hill sprints, especially early in the season.

I am going to look to Jen for the rest of my running renovation. She just completed a season of run trianing, and I just know she will have good ideas.

The final way I am changing my training...
I am doing strength work--season round. I am little. I am a woman. I am over 40.
And that's all I think I need to say about that. This training is coming in the form of TRX. I plan to be a TRX master, and I plan to not consider strength training less important than my other training.

So there you have it.
Here's to change.