A word from the swim coach

I was very happy to receive the results of the swim stroke test today. The coach sent me a note where he says, "The results of your test set are pretty damn impressive".
These are very encouraging words. It turns out the stroke count is very good. The plan now is to continue to practice with the team to work on improving my speed and endurance while maintaining efficiency.
Good stuff...

Now, where do I get a pair of these..?

A Chicago Blue Dolphin

Yesterday I went to my first Chicago Blue Dolphin session. It was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago's 50 meter olympic sized pool. Cool stuff!

In this first session we did a warmup, followed by 8 x 100 meters freestyle swim during which a partner jotted down the number of strokes per 50 meters. The goal is to cover the distance while using the least number of strokes. This results in improved efficiency. I had an average of 36 strokes per 50 meters which I think was pretty good. However, our coach will be sending out the overall results so we can all see where we stand in comparison and what the figures really mean. The plan now is to practice with the Chicago Blue Dolphins once a week.

This was our complete workout:
4 x 100
4 x 50 kick
1 x 100 Alt. 25breast, 25freestyle
1 x 100 closed fist
1 x 100
8 x 100

Total: 1h 30min, 1700 meters

Soccer-Tennis is an actual sport

Yesterday I ran 7.1 miles to meet my good friend Fern at the tennis courts to play a few games of soccer-tennis. When I got there he had a large bottle of Gatorade waiting for me which was a heavenly surprise. We had a lot of fun and ended up playing for an hour and a half. I think we would have stayed longer but the lights were turned off. After that I ran back home another 7.1 miles.

I just looked it up and it turns out soccer-tennis really is an actual sport. I had thought it was just a made up game. Oh well, I guess all sports start up that way..

Still registered...

So today I checked to see if I was still registered for Ironman Lanzarote 2009. hmm, yes, the search results are still showing my name...

In the last few weeks I have been attending my swim and bike training sessions. I have also been doing a bit of training on my own. With swimming I have mostly been focusing on technique. I have been trying to adjust my stroke using the drills learned in the class. I am hoping this will allow me to be much more efficient in the water to be able to conserve energy while going faster. As far as cycling, I have been going out on short training rides when I get a chance and the weather allows. For instance, yesterday, a friend and I went for a two hour ride by the lake. I just had to take advantage of such a nice day. It was an enjoyable ride. Today I hope to go running. I have been running about two to three times a week and hope to start increasing the length and frequency of these sessions.