Weekend Review

Good morning.

Another busy and fun weekend of workouts has transpired. I guess the workouts become more fun and enjoyable as you see signs of progress with your efforts.

A good weekend was all set up by a restful Friday. I took Friday off from all physical activities. As we know, the only time your body becomes stronger is when you recover and rest. You get stronger from the rest. I wanted to get a weight workout in on Friday but after doing one set of pushups I said, "lets rest." Good choice.

Saturday, June 5

I want to do at least one open water swim (OWS) each week. If I can fit in more, I will. Saturday was, OWS, day. I got up early, and enjoyed some coffee as the day began. There was a little rain in the area but so what. I am not even sure I would notice the rain while swimming.

It is such a peaceful scene driving south on Lakeshore Drive in the morning. With the calm lake on your left and the Sun coming up, it is just up-lifting. The lake has that glimmer on it. There always seems to be a lot of activity on the lakefront path. Many runners and bikers were already persuing their morning fitness.

I parked in my usual spot, grabbed my gear and headed for Ohio Street Beech. Once again, quite a few triathletes were already in the water, swimming quietly. Once in a while you would hear an...exhale, like a dolphin.

I was excited to meet some members of the Chicago Tri Club this morning. They provide free gear watch on Saturday mornings. Once dressed in my wetsuit I walked over to gear check and introduced myself. Then it was time to swim.

Water conditions were calm. The water was cool. You really do not notice the cool lake temperature on your legs as you enter the water because of the wetsuit. You just feel a slight pressure from the water. You notice how cool the water is when you put your head down and start swimming. It feels like a cold head ache for just a minute. After that, you are off with the pod.

My goal for the swim was to work on technique, efficiency, sighting, speed and endurance. No stopping. This was my little practice race. So, off I went, heading north. My sights were set way out there on a bouy about .65 miles away. I never see other tri-swimmers go this far. Not sure why.

I would swim, sight, continue. I tried to sight without lifting my head up out of the water. It was working. I was cruising after a while. Just going along. The bouy was getting closer. I decide to swim around it just like what I will do in a triathlon. Around I went and headed back.

Stroke, pull, breathe, sight. Stroke, pull, breathe, sight. The action continued for a while. I would think of technique. How fast am I moving? It felt good and right. My pulls felt strong. The building I decided to aim at was getting closer. I would swim until my finger tips touch sand. I could see the bottom but it is deceiving on how close the bottom is. Ahhh, sand. I stood up and started moving towards the sand and unzipping the wetsuit.

The 1.3 mile swim took 41:40. Not bad. The funny thing was when I walked over to the gear check I started talking with other Chicago Tri Club members, my lats seemed like they wanted to cramp up. My lats were very sore and tired from the swim. I had to stretch them for a while. This was a good pain. A good swim.

When I returned home from the swim I wanted to do my weekly long run. Today was 13/14 miles. It was raining and I enjoy running in the rain. The run went well. I basically retraced my steps when I went for the swim. Instead of driving I ran along the lake. I enjoyed the tunes, the rain and the run.



Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:00 0:08:48 1 0 7 9:00 8:48 5:48 127 170 0 94
2 0:08:14 0:08:13 1 14 0 8:14 8:13 6:00 135 147 0 90
3 0:08:03 0:07:57 1 0 0 8:03 7:57 6:15 137 147 0 90
4 0:07:58 0:07:54 1 0 20 7:58 7:54 3:41 140 144 0 92
5 0:08:05 0:08:06 1 9 0 8:05 8:06 7:26 142 149 0 97
6 0:08:05 0:08:06 1 0 9 8:06 8:06 7:28 142 145 0 97
7 0:08:06 0:08:01 1 1 0 8:06 8:01 7:35 142 144 0 96
8 0:07:59 0:07:56 1 0 0 7:59 7:56 6:31 143 147 0 95
9 0:08:02 0:08:03 1 0 0 8:02 8:03 7:14 144 148 0 94
10 0:08:11 0:08:09 1 8 7 8:11 8:09 4:25 146 149 0 97
11 0:08:17 0:08:17 1 19 0 8:17 8:17 6:50 139 148 0 85
12 0:08:12 0:08:05 1 0 4 8:12 8:05 6:24 136 145 0 70
13 0:08:36 0:08:37 1 0 4 8:36 8:37 7:27 145 149 0 98
14 0:08:25 0:08:25 1 9 7 8:25 8:25 6:24 149 152 0 102
15 0:00:00 -- 0 0 0 --:-- 8:54 --:-- -- -- 0 0
Summary 1:55:22 1:54:37 14 60 58 8:14 8:11 3:41 140 170 0 1,297


Sunday, June 6

This was long bike ride day. I decided to join some members of the Chicago Tri Club on their Buffalo Grove Sunday 38 mile ride. Good to meet new people. The ride was a nice change for me. Much hillier than my usual routes. The one thing about hills is that they are challenging to go up and very easy coming down. Some of these were butt busters.

So we went 38 miles. The only weird thing that happened was one guy in our group wiped out when he blew a tire during a turn. He was in front and he started swerving back and forth. I avoided him and heard the crash. He was ok and needed help changing his tire so we all stayed around to help.

I enjoyed the group ride and fit in nicely. I think I am one of the stronger riders in that group. I will join them again.

That's all I did this weekend.



Edited by Silentrunner 6/7/2010 5:51 AM

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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin