Day Twenty-Three

Swim/Run

On a normal Wednesday I swim in the morning and run in the afternoon, but today I did my first open water swim, so times got switched up.  I ran in the morning with the dog.  We ran for 40 minutes with 6 30 second sprints.  I think that dog is a little machine.  She always has so much energy.  But every once in a while she has an off day.  I guess just like I do, was less often than I do, but like I do.  It was warm out, beautiful out, but Samara does not do great in the heat, even if it is just Pacifica heat.  As I did my sprints I was towing her, poor thing!  People probably thought I am a horrible pet owner.  Then I let her off leash for the last few sprints, when I was in safe, ranger free territory, and she still struggled.  It makes me feel good to know that this fit little dog has off days also.  It makes it sound natural, nothing is wrong with me, it is just how living things work.

Then in the evening I went for my first open water swim. It was at Treasure Island with swimart.  This is a great place for beginning open water swimming.  The water is really calm, the instructors are very kind and knowledgeable.  I was able to get some much needed coaching and have the experience of swimming with a group.  It was great.  I chose not to wear a wetsuit because that is a goal for the tris I am signed up for.  Only Liz, the girl I came with, and I did not wear wetsuits.  Liz swam in only her suit, I wore a rash guard that kept me comfortable until the last 5 or so minutes.  The instructors really stressed breathing full breaths from the first second you are in the water.  This helped a lot, kept away that panicky feeling.   We were not in the water for that long, but it is different in the open water, you do not get your break at each lap to glide off the wall.  After it was over I did not feel like I got a great workout, but I thought my body seemed stressed from being cold for so long.  But now that I am home my whole body is tired.  I know my run was different, normally I do my sprints on the treadmill, but  the swimming was more work than I had thought.  My legs and arms are very tired.