A Good 3,800 meter Workout

Today, being Saturday, I went to the pool to start swimming at 9:00 am, when the pool is usually pretty empty for the first half hour or so. After 400m of easy warming up, I rested a little more than a minute and then tried to swim 400m hard. However, I did not feel that comfortable and I occasionally coughed. At the end of it, I checked my time: 7m 10s - at least an improvement over my best such time these last few weeks. Then, after a further 400m of easy swimming, which included some kicking, I did the same 400m again, and this time in 7m 05s. I figure that if I can get this time down to about 6m 45s, I will at least be at the kind of level where I was a few years ago in Kona (given that I have to convert distances since we swam yards there). Then various other swims and kicks, including 6 x 50m on 1 minute sendoffs, got me up to 3,200m. Since the pool wasn't about to close, I went to the jacuzzi and about 10 minutes later came back and did about 300m slowly with the hand paddles, getting some good feel and push towards the end of the stroke, before finishing off with 300m in relaxed but focused freestyle without the paddles, so that I finished the practice at 3,800m.

I generally feel comfortable and relaxed with all of this training. I also slept longer last night, which I think was valuable since in our busy and hectic lives we usually don't get enough sleep.

Today as I sit at home the new air-conditioners are being installed in our house. These are quite an expense but at least the money is going into our own house and not just to pay the rent of someone else's.

I think that where I am at with all this swimming at present is the point where I need to do some land exercises in addition to continuing to swim to build up some more upper body strength as my coach Steve in past years suggested. At least it should help me look and feel a little younger.

So, tomorrow I will have a less structured and easier workout to round off this week, and then I will later turn my attention to what is happening in Florida this Sunday in the world of triathlon.

The above photo is of the beach Chialuoshui (佳樂水), which I visited in early February this year and swam there. With three-foot high waves, it is more of a surfer's paradise. However, I understand that it is often a lot calmer in the summer, and so may be worth another visit, even though it is a little dangerous. The location, about two hours by car (we don't have a car yet) from our Kaohsiung home, is great for running and biking (quiet country coastline roads) and there are nice and inexpensive guest houses.