Swimming!

I met with my masters swim coach Johnathan Tunstall again on Monday and I can already feel my stroke improving. Swimming is like golf. It is a technique sport so nearly anybody can learn how to do it (some easier than others obviously). I am still not a terrific swimmer, but these next 5 weeks I am trying to get in the pool at least six days a week in hopes of giving me an extra little oomph on race day.

Here is my training schedule this week:

Monday: Brick workout: 1 hour swim followed by a 40 minute run
Tuesday: Brick workout: 30 minute swim followed by a 2 hour bike
Wednesday: Brick workout: 1 hour swim followed by a 55 minute run
Thursday: 2 hour and 40 minute run and a few hours later a 30 minute swim
Friday: 1 hour swim
Saturday: Brick workout: 5 hour 30 minute bike followed by a 30 minute run
Sunday: Brick workout: 30 minute swim followed by a 1 hour 30 minute bike and then a 30 minute run

Total: 6 swims, 5 runs, 3 bikes
Total: 18 hours 35 minutes

On the other hand, Phoenix is starting to get hot! It has been in the 90's all week and is showing no chance of cooling down. My bike ride on Tuesday was a unbelievably strenuous, it was about 90 and windy. I have not quite adjusted to the heat so my body just sweats profusely when I am training. I am having to drink nearly 24 ounces of fluid an hour to ward of dehydration. It is actually a chore to drink and eat while riding or running because you are not necessarily thirsty or hungry at that moment but you know you have to get it down because you might feel good now but in a few hours that "feel good" feeling might not be there. And when you start skipping those little meals it will most likely just come back and bite you in the ass. So usually my nutritional goals during my long workouts are: drink 18-24 ounces of fluid an hour, and eat roughly around 300 calories an hour. I have started to experiment with different foods my stomach can handle during these long workouts. The newest workable food source has been none other than Fig Newtons. What an excellent little workout food. They are perfectly portioned, around 200 calories, low in fat, high in fiber, and actually have more carbohydrates than Cliff Bars and Powerbars. But I must say, they do not work very well when running because of their dry texture and crumble-bility (yes I just made up that word), but on the bike they work magic. A little number that has also been working well on the bike is rolled up tortillas with peanut butter and Nutella. Although messy and sometimes hard to eat will riding, they provide just enough calories to keep me going. I have yet to come up with a strategy other than race gels for the run, but I am working on a few different products at the moment. I will let you know how that goes.

Daley

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired"
-Jules Renard