Day 308: Unplanned Morning Swim

I've been wanting to write for a few days, but haven't grabbed the time. Time seems pass too quickly, and we're packing in way too much. It occurred to me yesterday, as I ran through the door with preschooler in tow, having just come from the butterfly conservatory with my kindergartner, and loaded down with food for tomorrow's supper, that I am already a veritable genius at transitions. I manage them all day long, under pressure, and with tight turnarounds necessary. No wonder the transition zone at the duathlon didn't slow me down (much). Yesterday afternoon, I had ten minutes, exactly, to use the bathroom, get the food stored, take the clothes off the clothesline, and gather snacks and piano books for the lesson immediately after school, which was my next stop, all while talking to my preschooler (or, more precisely, responding to him).

Transitions take focus. But once you've got yourself turned in a new direction, it's lovely to settle in and enjoy the next leg. So once I'd gathered and dispersed children at school pick-up, and we'd made it to piano lessons, I could sit on a bench with my preschooler and play and colour and read for half an hour. That's how I felt when I was running and biking: settled in, aware of the present experience, dug right into it.

Monday, I swam and then ran afterward. I keep pushing the pace of that 5km speed-run. It's good practice, mentally and physically.

Tuesday, I went for an awesome early morning bike ride with my friend N. She drew up a route and we explored some parts of the nearby countryside I'd never seen, either on bike or from inside a car. The amazing thing was that we went down a road that seemed completely rural and far from civilization, and then we turned down a dirt road (briefly, thankfully), and then onto paved again, and instantly: there was the city. It had been that close all along. We were surrounded by new houses and development (apparently a controversial moraine development). The weather was perfect: warm, a bit humid, but not too warm. The air smelled like spring and manure (I love that smell, though I realize that might put me in the minority). There were patches of fog in low-lying areas, and as we zoomed down into them, the temperature would drop steeply. Just beautiful. After the bike ride (32km), I threw on my shoes and ran 2km. The first kilometre reminded me of the duathlon run. It's just weird-feeling to get off a bike and run. The muscles are different. It's hard to determine whether you're feeling weary and worn out, or whether it's just a matter of getting accustomed to a different activity. By the second kilometre, my legs felt closer to normal running legs, but were still shaky. More practice needed!

I know that final 10km on the race is going to hurt. It's not going to feel like a regular 10km run, and it's going to require stiff mental determination. Hopefully I can keep telling my feet to lift and land quickly. The quicker the turnover, the quicker the run.

I also went to a yoga class Tuesday afternoon. Not many people wanted to go to hot yoga on a steaming hot day, but it was lovely. Good to stretch. I'm having some pain in my left lower leg and I need to stretch more often. After yoga, I dashed home, threw back huge amounts of supper way too quickly, said goodbye to husband and eldest son who were off for their soccer game, gathered the other three, snacks, blanket, water bottles, soccer stuff, bike helmets, and we biked to the park for my eldest daughter's soccer practice. Phew. Talk about another crazy transition. And then we sat on a hill overlooking the field, rested on the blanket, the little kids snacked and played, and we were again in a state of settled calm. Soccer practice went late, and we biked home (me pulling the stroller) and arrived around 9. Everyone was home again, and the next hour was a mess of bedtime snacks, over-exhausted children, toothbrushing, school-lunch-making, dish-washing, and tucking in. I collapsed into bed just after 10.

Wednesday--yesterday--I was up early again, to run with a friend. We ran out to the "big sky," our first time since the fall (we ran a neighbourhood loop during the winter). We went about 8km. When I got home, I was surprised and pleased to see that the older kids were up and ready for a run, too. We only went 1km, but we sprinted for home, the last 200m. Everyone was pretty grumpy, though. Late nights make for grumpy mornings (I was grumpy, too).

We biked to a birthday party supper yesterday evening, and I was pleased to realize how strong I've become. I pulled the stroller up a long hill without having to change gears or stand on the pedals, and without really losing my breath. Real life pay-off!

The yoga studio is closed for the next four days, so my husband did not get up early for his usual weekly class this morning, nor can I go to the planned class this afternoon. I woke at 6am and realized that this morning, before school, was my lone opportunity to exercise. I slept a bit longer, then decided to drag myself out of bed and go to the pool and swim 1500m (race distance) as fast as I could. The lanes were crowded and disorganized at that hour (7:20, by the time I was suited up and trying to pick one). I went with a fast lane that only had one man in it, but we were soon after joined by another swimmer who was much slower, but who didn't move aside at the ends to let us pass. So I asked the guard was it okay for me to pass (I'm so bad at the pool etiquette! and it felt so rude to swim past her). He said of course. But passing while swimming takes longer than passing while running or biking: you have to get your full body length past the other person's full body length in less than 20m (since that's the length of the lane). I realized this was good practice for the race. I hated it, though. I was swimming so much faster than her, that I had to pass about every 175m, and each time it took a kind of sprint to get past her, and I felt terrible and rude, too. My breath got panicky and out of rhythm. I had to remind myself how to breathe.

The good news is that I swam 1500m in 33 minutes. The other good news is that I was able to calm myself down and find new breath and rhythm as needed. I really tried to push as hard as I possibly could for the full distance. I think that I swim more slowly on a regular day, when I go for the full hour. It would have been difficult to keep this pace up for another half an hour, but I figured that wasn't the point--the point was to go race pace, as best I could. And to make sure that I could do the distance. It will be a challenge, there's no doubt. I find it difficult to swim with my head up, which I might need to get better at in a lake full of other swimmers. It slows me down terribly, and I feel like I'm standing still in the water. My goggles also got very foggy (should have spit in them!) and I couldn't see well; but they never came loose, thankfully. The final good news was that my stroke felt strong and natural. I felt like I was really moving through the water. And I didn't have to think about technique at all.

There isn't much prep time left before the race. I have a couple of critical things left to do for the swim portion. One is to go to the running store that specializes in triathlons, and have them check the fit of my borrowed wetsuit. It sounds like water shouldn't be pouring down my back inside the suit, but should fit more tightly at the neck. If the suit doesn't fit properly, I will need to solve that problem -- buy one???? Lordy, but they're expensive. Borrow? Rent? I just don't know.

And once I've got the suit figured out, I need to get to a lake. Guelph Lake is open for swimming, daily, 8am till sundown, so I plan to head there next week; not sure which day will work best, but it will probably have to be after school. Maybe next Wednesday. And then I can see whether I really can swim, and how it feels to swim inside a wetsuit.

There were good things about today's swim, but I felt nervous the whole time, imagining myself in a race situation. The distance is pretty far, a lot further than 750m. I would like to swim it within the half hour, but that might not be possible given different circumstances. What today's swim did show me is that I need more swimming time. I should definitely add a third or even a fourth swim to my weekly work-out plan in the few weeks left. With my pool pass, it's worth it to go for even just half an hour to do a speedy session.