Swim like a fish? LONG POST

So much has happened since I last posted (WARNING THIS IS A LONG POST).


First I appolgize for not posting in such a long time but there wasn't much going on - just logging the miles, one after another after another after another...you get the idea.


But recently there has been quite a bit of activity. One example, I got my wetsuit. It is black with the Team in Training logo on the front - VERY COOL! I tried it on and while I wouldn't say it was slimming but I was able to squeeeeeze my big butt into it. Wetsuits are supposed to fit tight, but holy cow. It was like someone painting this thing on and let it dry.


Speaking of swimming, I have taken a new approach to improving my swimming skills. A months weeks ago I hired a personal swim coach. I only took one lesson with him because I didn't feel that I got much from the lesson and there didn't seem like a lot of coaching happening, just seemed like the coach liked to talk and got the "opportunity" to pay for it. I didn't know if it was the coach or the student. Either way, I was really gun shy about hiring another swim coach. Based on a recommendation I read from another triathlon website I gave a different coach a try.

WOW! What a difference. This coach was a no-nonsense guy. We met, hello my name is Kevin, we got in the pool and he said, "show me your skills". What? Oh, you want me to swim ok. I swam a few laps and we went directly into correcting my (many) faults and reinforcing them with several different drills. The lesson was fast paced, I learned a lot, and he was able to make several immediate improvements. I thought man, I wish I found this guy months ago, oh well. That was Saturday. On Sunday, I wanted to continue practicing the drills he showed me so after my grueling 6 hour exam (see below), I needed to vent. So, I went to the pool and swam slow, very controlled laps using the drills I learned yesterday. I liked him so much I am going to schedule another session on Wednesday.


More on the training front, Sunday night Angela and I went to a triathlete team meeting. The team is called Team Z (http://www.triteamz.com/). They are a group of triathletes that train, race, and socialize together led by Coach Ed. Coach Ed is a former Team in Training triathlon coach that went off and started his own training program at the request of about 20 of his (now)clients. He has raced many races including IronMan Lake Placid but now mainly focuses on the group training aspects of his clients. His program is like a gym membership, where you pay a monthly fee and train with the group and receive coaching instructions during the training. I am still on the fence on whether or not to join but either way it seemed like a great program.



The past week or so has really been tough on me. Several weeks ago I signed up for the CISSP exam. It is a 250 question, 6 hour, mind boggling exam that makes you wonder why anyone would subject themselves this torture. The answer is, no sane person would but there is a Government requirement - so on with the test. I have been studying for sometime but really needed to make a big push to properly prepare myself. The test itself is so obscure that even the people that pass leave the exam wondering if they passed or not! So, whether I passed or failed at least I tried. I won't know the results for about 2 weeks.

UPDATE -
Last night I had my second swim lesson. Man, he kicked my butt! The coach said we are going to warm up, hold your breath, swim the length of the pool underwater, using only your legs. WHAT?! To my amazement I was able to do this, again, and again, and again. Our warm up ended up being swimming 10 laps of this. My lungs were on fire! I was starting to think this coach was just trying to practice his CPR skills. Thankfully I didn't need them, but there were a few moments that I wasn't so sure. From there we did several drills and ended with another good practice.