Clumsy swim, did it anyway

SWIM 2000y in 45 mins
BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles

So I started my "ironman" training plan with a clumsy swim cobbled together after I forgot my workout card at home. Thankfully the Y master's board had a workout on it, so I put a few ideas together to get a 500WU choice, then MS of 4x100 and 200 pull.  I did this twice.

It felt so clumsy, awkward, and poor form. I felt this Saturday too. My feet felt like (which means they probably were) flailing out of alignment behind me. Felt like my ankles were crossing around each other as if to tangle.

My hands hit the lane line markers. My neck was tight from breathing. I was breathing only every q4 strokes and thus putting my in oxygen debt. Then I couldn't get a decent breath when I did breath.

I joked to myself that my out-of-alignment right ankle was screwing up my swim. The lies we tell ourselves :)

So my CD was all pull. Calm, slow, focused, paused when needed after 25 or 50. I tried to find what I needed to get a form that felt strong, forward feeling. It didn't come easy. I've started listening to a swimming podcast and this had my head full too. So one thing that did seem to help was making sure I rotated and extended my shoulders. That feeling of reaching through the ring then using your arm to pull you through it (this from HapG, many years ago). Years. Ugh.

And GAWD DAMMIT it's COLD. I'm happy to say that I swam before walking the dog (much to the dog's dismay) so that I didn't use the post-walk cold feeling as an excuse to not swim. I modulated my environment! But now I had the bike commute it. Wouldn't you know it, just a few days ago I took the toe covers off my shoes. Thankfully I didn't put away my other cold gear. I almost did, heck it's mid April, don't expect to need it.

So into the wind, right out of the arctic west/north. My commute is is west and north. BRRRR. So by the time I got to work my hands ached. Took a while to warm up. But soon the sun came out, yay!! The forecast can't get colder, can it....?

At TGA and Magnolia my right foot had a pop/click. Is this the feeling I've been trying to get? I'll find out.

Also at work I looked again at the Y master's program. The schedule isn't favorable for me, but the group swim and push would be.