Personal Record 14.99 seconds

This weekend I actually trained with the Team in Training group. They are a great group of athletes and coaches, but my schedule is a polar opposite of theirs. And since I don't need that extra of dose of motivation to train, I usually skip the group workouts and do my own thing. Plus I am a "middle of the pack" kind of person, so I don't get a lot of attention for the coaches anyway...they are busy with the people that are still struggling with getting through the event.

This week the group trained in VA, about 1 hour from my house. Since the triathlon is getting close I wanted to make a concerted effort to bond with my team. When I got there, the coaches stated this was going to be the hardest workout we had all season, and I thought to myself I should have stayed home. We biked for just over 2 hours, completed 32 miles of hard riding filled with challenging hills, then followed by a 30 minute run. I thought my legs where going to give out at any moment. But I made it!

Afterwards, the team organized a picnic. I had a great time talking to different coaches & athletes. As I was talking to everyone, I noticed that my legs felt fine, no aches, pains, soreness. I thought Man, I need to pushed myself harder.

Yesterday, I had another swim lesson with my coach. He always kicks my butt, then as I am gasping for air, holding on to the edge of the pool, he telling me remember keep the elbow high, etc, etc. It is amazing how you can focus on these instructions while you feel you are seconds away from death. At the end of many, many drills he said last drill....two 25 yard sprints. I am going to time you - so push hard. My first lap, was 18.04 seconds. The coach said not bad, now we are going to do one more lap. My next lap was 14.99 seconds - a record time for me! Rather than the coach being happy for me, he said you didn't push hard enough on the first lap, so we need to do it again. UGH!!!! He was right - I guess because my third lap was 16.xx seconds. These times are pretty good (for me) after a hard 1500 yard workout. I am very happy with the progress of my swim.

Lastly, now that I am feeling better about my swimming. I am going to spend the next two weeks focusing on the run. I can easily complete the distance on the run, but I am so SLOW. During my run last night, I ran for 45 minutes and never felt good. My rhythm was off, times were slow, and felt goofy footed during the entire run. I will work on that.