I got up about 5:25 am. Did the same as on other mornings this week, and was in the water at 6:05 am. There were quite a lot of people for the first 2,000m to contend with in the lane, but I managed to keep going reasonably well. Then suddenly, the lane cleared (I think these early guys had to go to work) and for the next 1,000m I was more or less completely on my own. Then more people, so I had to do some wild overtaking at times. Finally, I still had two lady swimmers (fortunately they tended to stay close to the lane dividers), but I wanted to make up for some time I had lost, so I swam fairly hard and did not want to stop for anything. So from being at 1hr 01min plus at 3,000m, I clawed my way back to finish 5,000m at 1hr 40m. That means my Ironman swim time would have been just under 1hr 20min (and conditions would have not been a lot different - having to contend with people most of the time). At least, I have swum the Ironman distance in about 1hr 20m the last four days in a row. Since I finished this "set" at 7:45am, I was able to get 4 mins in the jacuzzi with the sunshine coming through the UV-protected window (the jacuzzi jets are switched off at 7:50 am). So I went back to the pool, swam a little and raced my two friends over 100m. I got second in a fraction over 1m 30s.
Generally speaking, I again felt good today, but I was a little hungry the last half hour of the swim. Yesterday, I did not get all the meals and snacks I should have, as I was busy with work and ended up just skipping steaming the potato I wanted to eat. In addition, I went with my wife to do our taxes today. It went well, and we will get a refund :), but it also took a chunk out of the middle of the day, so I feel I have hardly done any real work today.
Tomorrow (Saturday) I normally only go to the pool around 9:00 am (less people then). It could be a longish workout, but I will try to do more of a variety of things. I don't care about the distance too much. I am already up to 20,150 meters in four days so far.
After swimming I went to the (enclosed) butterly garden, which again is next to the Golden Lion Lake. I managed to get a few nice shots. Some species of butterfly seldom sit still, so it is not easy to get a clear shot. It is a nice way to recuperate a little after a swim. I was amazed at how hard the butterflies worked.
2 comments:
Im impressed with your consistency of swimming long. Yesterday, I had this thought of doing 10k but I guess mother nature did not want me to do it...we had strong thunderstorms passing through. Maybe tomorrow...
I'd love to do the swim but I found out its on a thursday-friday schedule and I have to work. Plus it will cost me over 300 dollars with a car, hotel, kayak-boat to rent. Oh well.
Nice pics of the butterflies!
Still keep thinking about the swim, but I guess you will know inside what is right for you at this time. I hope Bree phones you.
I'm struggling a little with work. I've got a lot to do at present (which is of course good, too), but I don't really want to miss the swims. At least sometimes I just lie on the bed and do work, but I really don't get much done.
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