Race Simulation

Good morning.

Another beautiful day in Chicago. In fact, this whole week looks awesome. Solid sun with temps averaging around 80. The weather for this Sunday's Chicago Tri looks great as well. It may be a little warmer and more humid. Cool!

I am tapering this week but also fine tuning my swimming, biking and running.

Yesterday I went to Ohio St Beach for a race simulation workout. I want to position myself near the front of my swim wave and start fast so I can swim without congestion.

After donning the wetsuit I wadded into the greenish blue water. I placed my Garmin on top of my head and covered it with the swim cap. I do this so the Garmin does not lose satalite reception.

When everything was in order I pressed start and took off as fast as I could for a few hundred yards. After the torrid start I settled into a good solid pace. Not all out though. My breathing was excellent. I have come to realize that breathing while swimming is an acquired art.

I breathe "almost" like I do while running. I take a fast, small breath and when my head is under water I breathe out as I turn my head for the next breath. It is a smooth non-stop process. There is no holding the breath. Air in air out.

Also, I make sure that the middle of my head stays in contact with the water. No looking up to breathe, only a small left head turn. There is only a small window of opportunity to get that important breath. Sometimes, if I look left and see water the breath I so desire will have to wait for the next attempt.

I have also come to realize that my lungs and body do not need gobs of oxygen. The body has acclimated to less air.

I swam hard using good catch and solid pulls. The goal was to round my usual 1/2 mile bouy and head back. When the Garmin signals one mile with it's strong vibration I would stop to check the time. Why? Because one mile is slightly farther that the swim distance in the Chicago Tri and I wanted to see what to expect while competing.

Vibration....I stop, pull off the swim cap and check the time. I was so happily surprised when I saw 24:29. I just swam a mile in 24:29, wow. And, I could have gone faster. How awesome.

I placed the Garmin and swim cap back in place and swam hard to the finish. End result: 1.41 miles in 34:17. Love it. I felt good but a little fatigued. No problem.

Later in the day I went for a moderate fast twitch run to reinforce speed to my legs. All in all a great day.

Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:04 0:08:55 1 0 5 9:04 8:55 7:05 124 133 0 67
2 0:08:13 0:08:08 1 10 0 8:13 8:08 5:12 135 145 0 69
3 0:07:16 0:07:17 1 3 0 7:16 7:17 5:48 150 155 0 67
4 0:07:07 0:07:07 1 0 3 7:07 7:07 5:16 153 160 0 66
5 0:07:21 0:07:22 1 0 4 7:21 7:22 5:22 155 161 0 68
6 0:07:37 0:07:35 1 0 8 7:37 7:35 6:03 157 163 0 72
7 0:00:35 0:00:36 0.07 8 0 8:25 8:33 6:53 162 163 0 6
Summary 0:47:17 0:47:00 6.07 21 21 7:47 7:44 5:12 144 163 0 415



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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