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...

Chey's Bake Sale and Other Stuff

She pulled it off! Made 242.36....Sunday is a trip to Monroe to see Zoey Jane and Phoebe. She will give them the check then with her friends. Tomorrow is my Nephrology Nursing Exam. This comes at a time when I am seriously considering heading back to ICU. Mike has a good racket at the VA. The turnover is incredibly low. Looking at the Surgical ICU. He is in the Cardiac ICU. Every day I work, I am training someone. And I end up with a lot of call because of the turnover. Call is a serious issue, really. Some days you work your 12 hour shift and then you are out on call all night. Then scheduled to work the next day. Your choice-burn your personal time and lose your overtime OR stay the next day and work. I know I am not at my best then and it is so scary. It gives me lots of biking time, but it is eating my vacation seriously. Last time, I was out on call all night with someone's child. I would not have been my first choice if it was my kid whose life was on the line...

Ironman Perform

Ironman Perform Last week, Ironman sent athletes signed up for certain events a case of new Powerbar product called Ironman Perform.  They are intending to serve it at several events and wanted athletes to have the opportunity to train with it ahead of time.  I really appreciated their foresight with this.  After years of struggling with stomach issues, new product is a source of fear that I would rather not deal with. Because my stomach has been so finicky, my attitude has been less than great about this.  Passive-aggressive misspelling of the product to just complete irritation is pretty much where I was at.  But really, I do appreciate having the product ahead of time. So, what about the product?  Well, it brags to be their proprietary C2MAX.  C2MAX is a combo of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose.  Biochemistry was never my thing, but a multi-path energy source is obviously a valuable thing.  Remember good old Krebs?  Your bo...