deep eddy
two years ago I registered for my first ever swim meet, only to have my plans thwarted by my first ever swimming-related sinus infection. That infection lasted 3 weeks; 2 years would pass until I had another crack at the swim.
No sinus infection this year. Deep eddy 2009 is a go.
53 lengths of the pecan-tree lined pool; each swimmer being assigned a timekeeper and lap counter (usually friends or other swimmers). khel went in the second heat; I was in the sixth. If you want to hear about her swim, you'll have to ask her. :)
It was getting hot by the time I warmed up; I was cramping just warming up in the wading pool.
My plan was to do my six-point focus on my stroke (head, chest, catch, pull, etc.) For the first 400, "get lost and just forget about the race" for the next 400, do my barton springs mnemonic for the next 400 (diving board after 66, floats after 133, etc), and give 'er hell for the final 400. The plan went as planned, with the exception of cramps after the first 1000. Boy oh boy they were rough. Every wall would either a) cause a cramp. Or b) loosen a cramp from the previous wall. It was tough to swim late in the day in the heat.
Ill send splits and photos out when I'm not on my mobile. I noted that when I saw the splits, the "hardest fought" laps near the end had a slower split than some of the more relaxed splits earlier. When the going gets tough, the tough need to relax. It is a concept lost on many runners, myself perhaps included. I noticed that there weren't many people who hit the final wall gasped, trashed and delerious. That was me for sure, and I'm not swimming as fast as those other folks. They must be doing something right.
It was a real joy to spend the morning with sandy keith and khel. Two years ago when I started those lessons with sandy, I wanted to break 45:00 in the mile. By the end of the summer (and the start of my infection) I thought I had a crack at 40:00. This weekend, I touched the wall at 34:16. My how things have changed.
Splits and photos to come.
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