Swim Analysis

yesterday we were all video taped in the pool and then watched and received individual feedback from all 3 coaches.

1)when i roll to breath, i tend to look back (causing my head to lift too high..causing drag and zag).

2) as my arm is entering the water the opposite arm tends to "drop" vs staying elongated ...it was suggested that i practice the "catch-up" drill, my coach also described it like handing off a pencil, imagine as you reach out, that your holding a pencil and that hand stays stretched out (holding the pencil) until the other hand can grasp it.

3)my pull is premature, i need to wait until i see my forearm ...about chest level, then "push" the water towards my feet.

i've heard this feedback before, but seeing myself on tape was invaluable. instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the critique, i know exactly which drills to apply to self-correct. it makes so much more sense now. meeting monica at lake anza today, i will focus less on endurance and more on form.

trading a massage for a swim lesson with coach liz this wednesday. having spent some time in the water, the feedback is more meaningful now. there so many subtleties in swimming...i remember stressing out whenever i just read anything on technique it was all so foreign, not that i'm anywhere close to fluent but i'm starting to get below the surface and understand things better. i think i'll be more prepared when i see coach liz this week.

in need of some hair-apy

my swim has improved alot over the last several weeks but i will admit that i'm under trained and i have what will appear to be an extremely lame excuse. i HATE getting my hair wet. more specifically, i HATE the drying and styling process afterwards. it's fine if i have say a couple of hours to spare which is seldom the case. so i've been swimming mostly on the weekends averaging 2 swims a week.

there's one other woman of color on my team and she keeps her hair really short which i just can't bring myself to do. lately i've been considering going back to nature. transitioning from straight processed hair to my natural curls.
just thinking about going natural again is stressing me out, my thick course wild child mane has been processed into submission for so long the very idea of going au natural is daunting. the curl isn't the issue, it's the poof factor. there's an administrator at work who has completely embraced her nappiness and while i totally respect the snubbing of conformity, i'm sorry but she looks like shit.

clearly, i've got some evolving to do.

i'm a sucker for product. i learned about OUIDA, hair care that claims to tame and enhance ones natural curliness. i'll share more after i've used it before going any further.

FINALLY

I met Monica at Lake Anza today and swam 1 mile for the first time. it was slow going, i didn't pay too much attention to time or speed i just needed to prove to myself that i could go the distance. i'll roughly estimate and say i hit the water around 11:20 and was out by 12:38. i felt good upon exiting the water, totally ready to ride...not that i did...we're meeting for track tonight so we opted to sunbathe instead.

This past weekend some of the team met up at the race site down in Pacific Grove to swim and ride the race courses. the infamous kelp crawl was on the agenda. turns out i'm cool with the kelp...but i am of the opinion that the water in pac grove tasted saltier, brinier than aquatic park...which took some getting used to. we swam approximately a half mile and really focused more on sighting and swimming through "salad". The ride is a series of (4) 6 mile loops, a little disappointing considering all the gorgeous coastline in the area but the event is meant to be very spectator friendly.

not withstanding a generous donation to myself i met my minimum for fund raising....actually went over a little. $3,350.00 for Blood Cancer research, not too shabby if i do say so.

fundraising was both hard and rewarding, i'm pretty sure my next event will NOT involve fundraising but working out with TnT definitely reignited my love for this crazy sport and I made few new local friends who i will want to keep in touch with. i feel like a winner already. just a few more workouts and it will be showtime!

Baby Love

Aquatic Park

this post is a little, the photos weres taken last saturday during our team open water swim in sf. after the coaches demoed how to don a wetsuit we got into ours and did a 20 minute swim and i tell ya it.was.AWESOME!

next to my fundraising (which is going well btw 1 hr. massages at 50 bucks a pop are getting me there) the swim has been most worrisome. after the initial shock of cold i acclimated pretty quickly and i started to swim. i was actually enjoying myself..the calm flat water and blue skies certainly helped and seriously, i was euphoric coming out the water. confidence is the greatest high!

making it up as i go

it was time to inject a little fun into my training today. i wanted to go for an easy run so i headed for the BART trail. i wanted to keep things flat so i could try some fartlek. before i knew it i was at the pivotal turn that leads towards the Marina and quite a few lovely hills. i opted to go left and see what would happen. cruising towards COSTCO there are a number of side streets that are all pretty hilly. i then decided to do a few hill repeats. short but rather steep i pushed hard and recovered longer before repeating. i did this 4xs.

then on towards COSTCO again i slowed down for a good ways until i got past Golden Gate Fields and ran inland towards San Pablo. i would pick a landmark and alternated between running fast and walking the last mile or so. i ran a total of 5 miles averaging an 11:30 pace.

i got home and grabbed a quick bite and then swam for 40 minutes working on some drills and finally swimming 300 yds non-stop.

i'm taking a break at the moment, but the work continues as i tackle my disgusting kitchen floor. bleh! i'd rather be on the bike.

Happy 4th of July

i met up with my team mate Ingrid today at the pool and got a few pointers on some of the drills that were included in our workout. She's a strong swimmer and has done the Pacific Grove Tri twice and will doing the Nation's Tri in DC. the swim went well today, just what i needed to offset the lingering stiffness from yesterday's ride.... an uneventful ride i'm happy to mention.

Happy 4th everyone, i'm gonna get the grill fired up soon. i've been marinating pork ribs since yesterday and can't wait to dig in.