Skip to main content

The Accountability Factor

My swimming sucks. Plain and simple. I am beginning to think about what it is going to mean when I don't make the swim cut-off time. This isn't something that I'm just not being realistic about. IM WI was in 2:04. No, the waves didn't slow me down. Think barge. Last time I was pulling my daughter in the raft, with no change in speed. I seem to be missing a gear.

Fitness is NOT a factor. Got the bike and run down pretty much without concerns. Can ride century rides without soreness, now doing bricks of 75/5. Those are going very well. I have doubled and tripled the bricks up also. No real issues there.

This time around, I am just avoiding swimming. It doesn't go well, the water is cold. The excuse list could be miles long. The only legit reason I have is that it aggravates my back. Too much extension in a swim position. It needs to be practiced, it will get better.

Swimming has not been made a habit. The biking and running gets done, because I love to do it. More importantly, it is a habit. There is a tendency to love the things you do. Once you get in there and make yourself do it, it gets easier. Ever notice how the longer you miss workouts, the easier that gets?

I am going to try to get up early to swim at Princeton on days that I am on call, as a way to overcome my excuse of swimming with a beeper. On the other days, I can swim after work there. At least once a week, I should get into the race for sighting practice. This will also force me to overcome anxiety about being in open water. This sort of panic can only be really understood if you have or have had this, and seems to be a REAL race limiter for me.

Comments

Unknown said…
For me its the run, I put it off constantly.
Good luck and GET IN THAT POOL!

Popular posts from this blog

Training for Power

It's been a long year. This year was HARD! Lots of injuries kept me from training to my full potential. Nearly 6 months without speed work; and what a jinx that is on performance! Some of you know I had a major back surgery in the spring of 07. My L4-S1 are now for ever fused with titanium rods. Sadly, they are not carbon fiber, as any triathlete would prefer. This has resulted in the loss of mobility/flexibility in the lower back, making my hamstrings prone to tightness and all the fun that goes with that weak link. I've tried to address this on my own. I purchased a set of Powercranks in 08 and used them faithfully. If you don't know what that is, you should. They force you to pedal each leg independent and pull the crank up/around with your hamstrings. They are beastly! They improved my run times tremendously and made my pedal stroke very smooth on the bike. In 09, I went to Mercy Sports Rehab. Brent Wesolek did an assessment of my riding and said he h...

Spirit of Racine Turned Ironman Racine 70.3

Today was the check in for IM Racine 70.3. This is the stomping grounds for my old favorite race; you guessed it, Spirit of Racine. Last year, they sold out to IM. My first reaction was one of uncertainty. This event has always been great, with the swim in Lake Michigan (not hidden in a bay somewhere, but out in the open). The run is along the lake on the road that overlooks the whole thing. It is just beautiful. You cannot help but notice, even when it is 99 degrees and 98 % humidity. Didn't seem they needed the help of the corporate giant event organizer. So from the moment of our arrival, my husband and I were scouting the whole thing out. The check in was easy enough. Festival Park Expo Center. Just like before, only that was less chaotic than it has been in years past. The whole building where the expo used to be is now simply check in. Really overkill, in my opinion. You could run laps inside that building; with check in going on. Outside was the expo under t...

Down Time

Since missing IM WI 70.3 due to the weather, we have been taking it easy around here. A couple of long bike rides just to enjoy the summer weather here in Wisconsin. We have been ignoring the endless pool, unfortunately. It is just not something that either of us seem to enjoy that much. I need to rediscover the motivational groove, but work hours have been crazy. I am currently working four different places, which helped to pay off the pool quickly. Working so many hours has burned out the drive I had left. There hasn't been much play time. I know I am not the only one who has been working too many hours. Americans are taking less and less vacation. Maybe it is financial, maybe too many demands from work to take time away, who knows. Being a workaholic doesn't pay. We become less productive, as we continue sitting and doing the same work for hours. The human mind can only stay on task just so long, and then the quality and quantity of what we produce decreases. We make more ...