Swim day. While the kids had their lessons, I went over to the deep pool and swam some lengths. I had less than a half hour, so I swam pretty hard. I managed 600 before I headed over to the nearly empty hot tub. I haven’t done a hot tub post-swim in a long time. Usually I swim later, and by that time the hot tub is packed. Not only was the hot tub nearly empty, I had the entire swim lane to myself.
Tag: swimming
Pool Slow
Tuesday I zipped down to the pool for a quick swim. In a half hour I managed to do at least 800M. It may have been more, but at one point my mind wandered and I lost count for a minute.
Of that 800M I did 200M using the kickboard. The kickboard is a lot of leg work, and very tiring. It also feels extremely slow compared to a front crawl.
The best part about the swim? Room. There were three swim lanes open, and I had a lane all to myself for most of my swim. Beauty.
Evening Board
Tuesday night was my swim night. I walked down to the pool after dinner, and what a perfect evening to be outside. The warm springtime air was energizing.
The pool was pretty busy, but the one open lane wasn’t too clogged. It was pretty funny to watch the people taking scuba lessons though. Swimming along with a diver below me was pretty weird.
In total I swam 1000m. I even used a kick board for the first time for 200m of that 1000. Tiring swim, but good for the body.
Delicious Dam
Lat Tuesday I hit the pool for another swim workout. I am feeling pretty good in the pool, but now I want to work on my leg strength, so I think for my next swim I will grab a board and just kick for a few hundred metres. This particular swim though I manged 800.
After the swim I felt the delicious drained feeling. My body certainly got a workout. I’ve decided that I also want to learn how to do the flip turns. Of course, after seeing Rick Mercer try them, maybe I will hold off a bit 😉
On Friday I managed to get onto the trainer for a hard workout. After a five minute warmup, I alternated pushing a hard gear at slow RPM’s with a 1 minute recovery window. That sure got the heart rate up, but at the end of it, I didn’t feel like I had done much work. I should have ridden longer, but unfortunately that was all the time I could squeeze in.
Yesterday, while in Nanaimo, Sue and I got out for a nice ride. We took the parkway trail from Mom’s house and headed south. I pushed a pretty hard gear as much as I could. My goal is to build up my legs strength in training, then when the Tour de Victoria is on, I can run in a lower gear with higher RPM. We’ll see how that plays out.
As we went through Colliery Dam Park, I thought my bike felt a little off. I glanced at the rear wheel and thought it looked a little low. Sure enough, it was going flat. We emerged from the park, and I set about fixing it. With no spare tube (I had to put the spare on my bike earlier), I patched the hole, and used my CO2 to fill the tire.
Thankfully the patch job held or I would have had to call someone for help. The weather for the ride was pretty nice too. I was glad the rain held off, and we even had some sun along the way.
Some time when in Nanaimo, I’d love to figure out some nice roads to ride on so we can get off the parkway trail. It’s OK, but there are some brutally steep sections, and isn’t really that scenic.
Switched Swim
Last night I went swimming for the first time in a
while. The plans was for a family swim. One parent does a workout, while the other plays with the kids, then we switched.
The plan worked out well. The kids had fun, and both Sox and I got our swim in.
My problem was that I ate dinner too close to when I swam, and I didn’t feel very good for most of the swim. Still, it felt good to be in the water, and I managed 700m.
Post swim, while sitting on the couch, the whole body tired began to settle in. It is a good feeling that I get from swimming, and from mountain biking (sometimes). I still feel some muscles this morning.
This is the start of my Tour de Victoria training for 2012. Woohoo!
Thrown Water
I was planing to go for a ride tonight after dinner. There was no Ulti tonight, and I wanted to get some exercise. I sent an email out about riding, but noone was able to make it.
Then last night happened. Around 12 Amy called me to her room because she had thrown up. We got her cleaned up and situated back in her crib, and a few minutes later she called again. Eventually Sue sent me downstairs so I could sleep, and so Amy could sleep in our bed.
In the morning Elliot threw up, meaning neither child was going to daycare. Sue couldn’t take the day off, so I had the kids all day.
With the lack of sleep, I really had no energy. I bailed on riding, and decided to go for a swim instead.
After dinner was done and the kitchen cleaned, I headed down to the pool for some lengths.
It went pretty well. I had the lane to myself, which is a bonus to swimming in the summer I guess. I knocked off 550m, but didn’t exactly feel all that smooth. I kept making mistakes with my stroke, and occasionally taking on water. It was good to get some exercise though.
Sprinted Back
This past Tuesday I got into the pool for a swim, my first in a few weeks. I felt great. I busted out 700m like it was nothing, and really sprinted the last 50. I should have kept going, but I needed to get some work done that night. It sure was a quick workout.
Yesterday, while in Langley, I went for a ride. I was planning on 3 hours, and I wasn’t planning on any distance. The terrain in Langley isn’t like home. Very flat with rolling hills and straight, very straight. This meant I kept my average speed up.
My route took me along the border to the US. At one point there was a tiny 3 foot wide ditch and then another road with a 36 mph sign on it 🙂 Kinda weird to think how close I was to another country, and how easily one could cross there if they wanted.
My route was an out and back, and on my return trip I saw evidence of a beaver. A bunch of trees had been felled by a beaver, and one of the trees had taken out a fence. On the other side of the road was a large pond, and that was when I noticed the lodge in the middle of the pond. Very cool Too bad I didn’t see the actual beaver though. Further down the road was a family of geese, two adults and eight goslings.
View Tour de Victoria, April 22, 2011 in a larger map
Total Distance: 77.86 km (48.4 mi)
Total Time: 3:00:44
Moving Time: 2:57:30
Average Speed: 25.85 km/h (16.1 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 26.32 km/h (16.4 mi/h)
Max Speed: 55.02 km/h (34.2 mi/h)
Min Elevation: -3 m (-9 ft)
Max Elevation: 92 m (302 ft)
Elevation Gain: 528 m (1732 ft)
Max Grade: 9 %
Min Grade: -7 %
Pool Days
Tuesday night is swim night. I at a light dinner and after Amy was in bed headed out for the pool.
The lanes were pretty clear tonight, making a much nicer experience for me. My first leg of swimming I went non-stop for 300m. I took a quick break, then jumped back in for another 300m. I finished off with 200m where I was swimming as hard as I could. I know I could have swam more tonight, but I wanted to end on a high note.
I’m definitely feeling stronger and healthier these days. For the entire ride on the weekend I felt strong and had some gas in the legs. Tonight I could have kept going. I’m really looking forward to the Tour de Victoria.
Lessons Pass
Tuesday night. That means swimming. The pool was pretty good tonight, though I had a hard time warming up.
I am wondering how I can improve my swimming technique. Either I keep swimming more, or maybe I think about taking lessons. Something to consider. I am constantly wondering if my form is off.
My swim consisted of a 200m warmup, 2 X 100m swims (it was supposed to be 200m without stopping), then a 400m stint with tiny breaks to allow a much faster swimmer to pass.
The sad part of the evening was that the hot tub was closed.
Significant Soak
Tonight was my regular swimming night. There is something odd about the pool though. Last Wednesday and tonight I noticed them playing Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight. Odd coincidence.
The swim tonight was good. I got off to a good start, but I pushed too hard before warming up. By the end of my first 200m, I was too winded, and needed to take a significant break to catch my breath. When I got going again, I managed to get in another 500m without stopping. The trick here was to not push too hard, and to concentrate on breathing and on my form. Nearing the end I did push it a little though. The swim felt good. It was also really, really nice that I had the lane to myself for most of my swim. I really enjoy swimming and not having to look out for other people.
After my swim I had a short soak in the hot tub, then it was off to the shower and then home.
As I passed La Belle Patate I couldn’t help but notice their 2 for 1 Poutine Tuesday sign. It was hard to resist.
Then as I was walking through the park I couldn’t help but think about the cougar sightings int eh area the last few days. Rather spooky walking through a brush lined path that is pitch black, knowing that a cougar is in the area. Obviously I made it home fine though.S