Longing For The Good Pool

As I've been ranting and raving about recent swim workouts recently, I was thinking back to some of the better swims I've had over the past year.  I love open water swims with my triathlon club and once in a while get in a good pool workout at the local gym.  But last summer there were two great mornings that I recall fondly.

I was in Indianapolis last summer for work - just a few days, but enough to have to work training into the schedule.  Yep, the few days during the week was just enough for the old type-A / OCD to kick in and I began to worry about getting in my workouts.  The timing was pretty crappy, as I recall.  It was in early June, and I had two races coming up that month.  I can run almost anywhere, but where the heck was I going to get in a swim workout?  I went to Google Maps to locate my hotel, and saw that across the street was the NCAA Collegiate Athletic offices (cool), the NCAA Hall of Champions (still cool) and the National Institute for Fitness and Sport.  I didn't really know what the NIFS was, but it had to do with fitness and sport so I was thinking that this was getting cooler by the minute. Anyway, as I mapped what looked to be a good running route through the Indiana University campus, I stumbled across my savior for the upcoming week:

The IU Natatorium at IUPUI

Okay, the cool factor just went up a notch.  Time to pack the swimming gear.

I checked their hours for lap swimming, and the first morning I was in Indy, I walked the 10 minutes from my hotel to the pool.  Paid for a day pass, and headed to the lockers.  Interestingly, the locker rooms that were open to the public were fairly spartan - they reminded me of my high school swimming locker room.  I had to assume that the locker rooms for the IU team were a bit nicer! Anyway, not to worry I thought.  I'm here for the pool.  I hurriedly changed and got out to the deck.

I wasn't disappointed.

Oh, the joys of a long-course (50 meter) competition pool.   Deep all the way across (9-10 feet) and 8 lanes wide.  Waves were non-existant.  And while there were a fair number of people there, there was never more than 2 people a lane, and in a long-course pool you were never held up.

Cool water temps (they advertise that water being maintained at 72F at the time, but it felt cooler) meant you never felt overheated like I do at my local gym.  On top of that, they had an instructional pool (25 yards) in another area, and a full diving well with boards and platform tower. 

Man, this was great!

In the pool they have a wall covered with the names of all the swimmers who have set records in that pool: 101 American records and 15 World Records.  Walking back out side in the main hallway are photos of all the greats - too many to list, but needless to say I was a little late for work that morning (and the next!)

I write this having just come back from my local gym / pool.  Battling for lane space and grumbling about it to myself all morning.

The Transition Area

I read a post the other day from someone who, in one of their first longer distance triathlons, got to T1 and realized they had forgotten a few important items and had left them at home - HR monitor, nutrition.  I'm assuming it had to be pure oversight and a bag got left behind.  I suppose, similar to getting ready for ones first ever triathlon, that in your first long distance triathlon (a Half-Iron / 70.3 for instance), one might have their nerves a bit on edge.

My first triathlon ever had my nerves frazzled beyond belief.  The thought of just setting up my transition area was frightening.  As I recall, my wife and I went to a local triathlon a couple weeks before our race just to watch people come into T1 and T2.  It did help to see a transition area "live" and to realize that it's not rocket science.  But, I packed and re-packed my transition bag a dozen times before that first race.  And I'm pretty sure I brought waaaaay too much stuff for a sprint tri.

When I came out of the water and got to T1, I recall - not so fondly - a 'deer in the headlights' moment (or, four).  I stood there, frozen, staring at my transition area not knowing what to do first.  Looking back I'm surprised I actually found my way to my bike.  It's overwhelming the first couple of times you get into the transition area.  It's effectively a fenced in area of  controlled chaos.  People running in and out, bikes being un-racked and run to the "bike-out" area.  It can be intimidating for the first-timer - or even third-timer.  And heaven forbid you look up and see a veteran come in and out of T1. For the new triathlete, to see someone get in and out of the transition area as fast as some do can be shocking and humbling.

I've said many a time that I'm by no means an expert, but I've done this enough to know what works - for me at least - and I've found over the years that it has gotten easier to pack for my transition area on race day.  That's not a surprise, as practice does make perfect (or approaches it at least).  What I find more interesting is that it's also become more of an exercise in minimalism.  Over time you do begin to understand what you need for a race, and pack only the necessities.   The main thing that changes is the amount of nutrition that you bring based on the distance that is being raced.

The best advice I received for packing for, and practicing, transitions was simple and obvious.  When you're doing your brick workouts (bike to run, most commonly) lay out your gear in your garage or basement and simulate T2.  You'll realize if you forgot something (hat, gel, whatever) and after doing this enough times, packing your transition bag will become quite easy. 

This isn't to say that you won't forget something on race day.  My first 70.3 event a couple years ago felt intimidating.  I can pack for an Olympic distance triathlon in minutes.  But this felt different.  In the end, the biggest difference was nutrition - more to the point the amount that I had to pack was different.  But, I was thrown off none-the-less and had a few moments of pulling everything out of my transition bag and triple checking everything.

By the way, I didn't pack enough nutrition for that Half Iron race. I bonked badly on the run.  Oops.

The Joys of Lap Swimming

I hate to be that guy.....that lap swimmer snob.....that guy who thinks that he's been there - done that - and that everyone else is just an annoyance during his regular foray into the pool for a workout.   But I hate to admit, I'm treading into deeper water in regards to being "that guy".

Before I go on......I grew up swimming.  I swam through high school and college.  This isn't to say that I'm an expert in lap swim / pool etiquette, but I think I have a pretty good handle on what people should do when confronted with a crowded pool and they're forced to 'circle-swim' and deal with more than two individuals a lane.

So, cut to Sunday morning.  Generally it's crowded, and it's always a roll of the dice as to what you're going to encounter.  With all that said, I had the best experience at the pool yesterday that I've had in a long time (save for that one morning where there were so few of us that we all had our own lane).

I had a workout planned.  Not a huge amount of yardage, but 2,500+ yards to be done before life got in the way and errands had to be run.  I was sharing the lane with another individual (a solid swimmer I've seen before - gender will remain anonymous as it's irrelevant to the topic) and we were each taking a side of the lane.  The pool was quiet, and I thought we were in good shape.  However, as things inevitably turn out, the pool got busy.

At some point during the end of my second warm up set, another individual was at the edge of the deck asking if we could circle swim.  "No problem" I answered.  The person said they already got the attention of the other person in the lane, so I headed down the right hand side of the lane and prepared myself for the worst.   You know what I'm talking about: people have varying abilities, which is totally fine of course, but inevitably people are cutting laps short, or sprinting to pass others before the turn.  I figured it was going to be one of those days and was mentally thinking about my workout and how I could change things up to accommodate the situation.

Much to my surprise, it wasn't necessary.

Everyone in our lane understood circle swimming.  When one was doing a kicking set, they waited for people to do their turn before continuing on and holding people up.  If someone was on a rest interval, individuals would ask if "....you want to go?...." before they headed off into the next leg of their set.  People waited at least 10 seconds before pushing off behind you for their next repeat or interval. 

Bottom line:  It was a good pool day.  I've had days where the lifeguards have taken pity on a couple of us and let us swim in a lane normally designated for kids swim lessons when it's a madhouse in the lap swim lanes.  More to the point, almost every weekend swim at the gym is a trial in patience and perseverance.

I know, the pool snob is coming out in full force.  Sorry about that.  But I think anyone who spends some time at the local pool trying to get a workout in knows what I'm talking about.  Heck, there's even an article in the February Triathlete Magazine on the etiquette for lap swimming (p.46  Checking In section).

Today, was refreshing.  I was so pleasantly surprised at the awareness and courtesy of everyone in the pool today (at least in our lane) that it made the workout today go that much easier.

Halfway Through the Cleanse

I'm at the half way point of my twice yearly dietary cleanse which helps me get my eating (post holidays) back into a healthy groove.  As usual the first week wasn't bad at all.  Jill - the nutrition counselor that my wife and I follow the advice of -  plans our meals during our cleanse: What foods we'll eat, what our snacks during the day look like, and ensures, or tries to, that I drink all the water that I'm supposed to.  (Which doesn't always happen.  Long story, but it's a rarity for me to drink enough water during the day).  So, week one is in the books and I feel good.

The first week was full of whole foods, lots of vegetables, and everything was as minimally to non-processed as possible.  No caffeine, no alcohol.....just water.  Everything is done with a focus on detoxifying the body.  This weekend, however, began the 3 day period of raw foods and juicing.

I'm not opposed to raw foods - heck, I like apples!  And juices?  Sounds yummy. 

Here's an excerpt of my Saturday menu:

Day 7 Juices

8am: Energizer: apple, ginger, beet, lime juice
10am: cucumber, spinach, parsley, spirulina, kiwi, lemon
12pm: carrot, apple, beet, grapefruit, ginger
2pm: cucumber, carrot, celery, kale, parsley, lemon
6pm: carrot, apple, celery, zucchini, lemon

Wait, I'm juicing kale?  I don't even know what kale is!  Well, that's not true, I do.  But I'm pretty sure I don't want to juice it.  And can I just say that my 1000a juice yesterday was, well....how can I put this delicately?.....a little tough to take.

I should have taken a picture of it - it was green, sludgy.  The image is forever burned in my brain.

I'm really poking fun here (mostly) as a lot of the above mentioned juices are actually quite tasty, filling, and I still have energy and mojo.  When I say I'm "mostly" poking fun, it's because there are a couple things on there that I just had to substitute. (I'll leave it to you to decide what got tossed off the recipe list).

In the end, however, I'm feeling good - had a good session on the bike trainer the past couple of days, and I'm headed to the pool shortly.  And with less than a week to go I know that I'll be feeling refreshed and will once again have a firm grip on my diet and the ridiculousness of the holiday season consumption will be behind me.

'Tis the Season (For Indoor Training)

Upon waking this morning, the weather forecast on the morning news show informed me that it was 12F (with a 'real feel' of -2F).  Combined with truckloads of snow and ice, it looks like it's another day on the indoor trainer or treadmill.  Yep, it's winter in the northeast, and 'tis the season for indoor workouts on the treadmill and bike trainer - AKA the dreadmill and brain drainer.

This isn't to say that I'm opposed to running or riding outdoors during the winter.  I've been outdoors to get in a workout numerous times this winter with my usual running crew and rode quite a bit outdoors last winter.  But, heading out the front door when it's below freezing to run is not my favorite thing to do at 515 AM.  I know there are a number of people out there who live in areas where it's much colder than this and get out to run and ride......my hat goes off to them.  I guess as I get older my threshold for suffering in cold temps has diminished.

It's tough for me to to get over the mental hump of accepting that getting mileage in on a treadmill is just as good as being outside.  Most of that opinion is due to the fact that there's no wind, the treadmill mat is moving and not providing the resistance you'd get on the road and, well, it's really boring.  I can't get more than 6 miles on a treadmill under my belt before losing my marbles.  Tragically I know a few folks that can get in two-plus hours on the treadmill.  Amazing.  I'd rather be outside.

A friend of mine, Joe G, wrote about running on the treadmill just recently.  It was a bit of a relief to read as I had just been on the treadmill that morning and, in addition to being bored out of my mind, was sure I was working harder, and at a faster pace, than what was represented on the on the treadmill display.  Low and behold it quite possibly was - due to the combination of a particular gyms ability to keep the equipment calibrated and a number of other factors it seems that the speed displayed on a treadmill display is very likely slower than your actual pace.  Great, another thing to factor into my indoor workouts.

As I said, my capacity to suffer through cold weather has diminished over time.  So now I deal with having to suffer through boredom (whether on the treadmill or bike trainer - both offer zero change of scenery).  I'm not sure which is worse, but the bike trainer is starting to edge ahead in the boredom factor

It doesn't matter what I do...... throwing in some "hills" and tempo / threshold repeats, watching TV, listening to tunes on my iPhone / iPod, I just can't wait to get off the damn trainer.   I put in a two hour ride on the trainer last winter - had to stop half way through for a short mental break.  The bike trainer is something that I am happy to have during the winter months, but when I'm on it, more often than not, I can't wait to get off.  Again, I'd rather be outside.

Looking at my upcoming racing calendar for 2011 I know that all I need to do is just ensure that my base mileage is well maintained over the winter - I don't need to do any crazy mileage - and I'll be able to ramp up training, distance, and time, come March and April.  Hopefully spring will come early this year.  And let's face it, the treadmill and bike trainer are part of the deal during the winter - they're both a necessity.

And as I wrap this post up, I'm about to head into the "office" for an hour or so of time on the good old brain drainer.....I mean bike trainer.  At least tomorrow will be a pool day and that will be a bit more exciting.