The countdown to Wildflower is on. I have almost two full weeks of base training under my fuel belt/spin shoes/swim cap. More like a month if we count the first couple weeks of January, during which I often - but not too often - woke up early to ease into a 6:00 a.m. spin class or treadmill run.
Before I started training for a triathlon, I figured I'd get in a lot of running, a substantial amount of spinning/cycling, and a couple of swims. But after all this initial training, I have to admit that I have barely run at all. And this week, I haven't even made it to a spin class, yet.
True, work has been a little more chaotic than normal. And the rest of my life has gotten a little more interesting, too. (That's for another post, though...) I have, however, made it to the pool - many many many times - to swim. Maybe it's because the pool is only a couple of blocks from my office. And maybe it's because I like to follow-up my swims with a soak in the steam room. But the fact that I have been swimming more than I have been running is truly a surprise.
And perhaps, maybe the real surprise of triathlon training to date is how much I don't hate swimming. And even better, maybe the surprise is how much I'm not bad at swimming!
When I first started in early January, it took me 39 minutes to swim a mile. (Including rest stops to catch my breath. And to check out the hottie in Lane 1.) But this past Monday I swam a mile in 34 minutes. On Tuesday it took 33 minutes. And today, I swam a mile in 32 minutes.
And tomorrow... Well, I'm going to the pool tomorrow. Oh my god, I like to swim!
Well, I don't know how much I like TO SWIM. But I like TO HAVE GONE FOR A SWIM. Which is how I felt about running at first, too. And that is good enough for me right now, only a couple weeks into Wilflower Training.
So... now that I got that off of my chest... What's a good time for swimming a mile? In a pool and in open water? How fast should I aim to be?
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7 comments:
Good for you. Those are some nice improvements in time.
How would you do brick work outs in a big city like SF? Would your apartment be a transition zone or would you ride your bike to a park and lock it up and do it there?
Woohoo...Your swimming is coming along real well. The range for a mile swim for people I know is mid 20s to mid 30s. I think you are right on track for putting in a good time. You're already faster them me. :)
i can so relate!! i've been swimming and spinning much more than running. and i LOVE the swim!
and i DOUBLE LOVE the steam room!
Those are very solid times! It's taken me ages to get my mile in the 32-33 area!
Dad said ... Swimming does run in the family ... my brothers and I were all on the swim team -- not to mention my parents were pretty strong swimmers too. I think I miss swimming a little bit too. Love, Dad
when i trained for my triathlon, i found that i did a lot more swimming than running/cycling. at first i was a bit worried, but ended up realizing that endurance is endurance is endurance, no matter what you do. so my swimming lots helped my running/cycling too.
32 for a mile is pretty awesome if you ask me! that's maintaining 2-min 100m's throughout, which i can now barely maintain for half a mile. then again, i'm not crazy about being fast and competitive, so that's where my rubrik is coming from :)
good luck!!
I swam for 14 yrs, quit for about 8 and now I've been abck in it for about 5 months. I'm feeling so healthy though! Good luck with it all!
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