One stroke at a time

December 30th
Location: The indoor Lap Pool

The final week of 2010, this year has taken me on a wild ride, from pool training, to swim meets, into lakes, reservoirs and the ocean, racing in the USMS 10km nationals in Indiana in water that was in the 80s like swimming in a hot tub to my last ocean swim in November when the water was 47.5 degrees. I have swum with loons, beavers, fish, slimy things that I dare not speculate what they were, amongst surfers, fishermen, people in canoes and kayaks who stared at me like I was the creature from the blue lagoon, there have been frogs, tadpoles, butterflies, seagulls, all of natures best enjoying the water with me, I have swum in water that was crystal clear and in water that was so murky I could not see my own hand under my face. I have swum in the pouring rain, in hail where the hail has pelted my shoulders and back like little rocks being hurled at me from the skies, there have been amazing sunrises, I have started swimming in the dark and the sun has come up, a bright red ski as it rises from behind the silhouette of the hills and there have been times when dark stormy clouds have swirled in and I have anxiously picked up the pace with the thought of possible thunderstorms.
 It has been a great year, one that is only 23 miles away from coming to a close, what is left to punch out before the end of the year:
 Christmas Day December 25th 5000 meters
 Boxing Day December 26th 2000 meters plus Yoga class
 Monday December 27th 6000 meters and weights today
Tuesday December 28th 8300 meters
Wednesday December 7050 meters
Check, all complete, only the following to go, it is Thursday December 30th...If I swim 7,911 meters today I have done it and finished a day early, I lay out some liquid fuel and my swim gear on the pool deck and get started.

Fortunately I have lots of people to swim with today, thanks to Paula, Cara, Luke, Jessica and Jenn the workout moves quickly and is fun.
The workout goes like this
Jessica and Luke swim 200's with me for:
15 x 200's on the 3:15 in the deep end, I tread water with my hands in the air between 200's
4 x 250's Pull
500 EZ
Luke and Jessica get out and Jenn joins me for:
4 x 50's Fly
2 x 200's Pull
4 x 50's Back
2 x 200's Pull
4 x 50's Brst
2 x 200's Pull
4 x 50's Free
2 x 200's Pull
Jenn gets out and Cara gets in:
4 x 250's Pull
100 meters to go, I have been dreaming about this last 100 meters, swimming it easy and slow, with Cara in the lane to my right and Paula in the lane to my left, I could just float like lettuce and enjoy.....I CAN'T!
The final push is going to be an all out effort, I figure I have just under 1000 miles under my belt to tire myself out, lets go for it on this last 100 with a sprint. Cara swims it with me, as she leaves the wall she shouts " I get a 15 second head start, try and catch me", now you know me I love a bit of a race......I am instantly in attack mode, 15 seconds takes forever while I wait and them I am off, chasing her like a hound chases a fox in a hunt, minus the barking of course, 25 meters trailing, 50 meters gaining, 75 meters in my sights and success I power into the wall Cara arriving some time after laughing at my silliness, I am so predictable and she played me like a violin to get a fast 100 meter sprint out of me to finish the swim, a 1:14, very good!
 1000 miles done with one day to spare, for grins another swim on December 31st.
 My total distance for 2010 ends up being 1003.32 miles or 1,614, 683 meters.
 Next up....a 2011 training game plan and more English Channel research.

Christmas Eve Present..100 x 100 meters of course

December 24th, 2010
Location: Stowe Vermont
Conditions: Snow covered hills & frozen ponds
Inside......82 degrees TOASTY!

5:15 I am up and getting ready to head down to the pool to set up for the 100 x 100 meters on the 1:40 interval, there are 13 other swimmers swimming with me today and I want to be sure everything is in place for a fun and smooth event. I have a fuzzy soft fish that could double as a Christmas decoration for each swimmer, a white board listing all the instructions for the swim and the lane assignments, an extra pace clock to put right in front of the lane for those of us who do better seeing things up close, a chair, table and clip board for our counter and referee, that is Deb today, she is kindly going to spend the 2.7 hours counting how many 100s we have swum and ringing a big authentic cow bell ( not on a real cow of course) every ten one hundreds so we know where we are at.
 We have 4 solo swimmers swimming all one hundred 100s and 3 teams who are sharing the workload.
 If anyone bails out early they are required to write " I quit, I quit, I quit " on the large board in front of the lanes.
 6:30am the cow bell rings loud and we are off. I of course have a plan it goes like this:
# 1-40 1:30-1:35 for each 100 meters
# 41-60 1:30 for each 100 meters
# 61-90 1:25 for each 100 meters
# 91-99 1:20 for each 100 meters
# 100 1:15
 I have also planned my feeds, a straight swim for the first hour, then 250 mls of a mixture of water and Maxim, a carbo powder, in the mix is a cap full of ribena, a black current concentrate that adds flavor. I will gulp down these feed after repeat # 40, 60 and 80.
My plan is to get faster as the swim progresses and then sprint hard for the last 100.
 We set off, I am excited to swim and I have an inkling that my first 100 might be a little faster than my cunning plan, it is, I swim in on a 1:25 and say " one", then another on the 1:25 "two", two down ninety eight to go!
 I knew after number one I was not going to swim any 1:35 or 1:30's, "might as well hold the 1:25's"and I did, it came down to patience, if I stay relaxed I can power through the first 80 on a 1:25, then I can get down to the business of getting faster. My kids and I made up a song when they were little, I am talking 2 and 4 years old, they were at the "I want it now stage", what I wanted to pass on to them  the idea that if you get all your needs met NOW, you tend to not appreciate the need being met, it becomes a cheap thrill, a quick fix, you quickly move on to the next " I need it now', the wants get bigger and more frequent and the satisfaction dwindles each time a " want" is satisfied. So in comes the song we would sing, it goes like this...." because you gotta WAIT, WAIT , WAIT" ... that is the extend of the lyrics, they are 10 and 12 now and still remember the song.
 So I had to " WAIT, WAIT , WAIT", well I did, I waited until repeat number 75 then it was game on, between #75-89 my hundreds descended from 1:23 to a 1:20, EXCELLENT GAME ON!
# 90 was a 1:20, then I began swimming them harder, 1;18's down to 1:17's, the pinnacle of the 2.7 hours was on the horizon, number 100 was my sprint to France, my beat the tide final 100, I am close, I can feel it in every bone in my body. Finally number 99 arrives, a 1:17, the cow bell rings and it is time for my all out sprint. What can I possibly pull off after 99 repeats of 100 meters. I blast off the wall and spin my arms as fast as I can, it is a frenzy, an all out effort, I punch the wall at the end of the 100, the cow bell is clanging loud, I look at the clock...a 1:14. I am pleased.
 That however was not the best part of the swim, the best part was my team mates swimming beside me, some swimming solo, some in a team, some had on fins, some swam with hand paddles, it was a team effort for sure and we all celebrated with the final cow bell clanging signalling that we had accomplished our mission.

 What's next? 23 miles to swim before January 1st, 2011 if I want to achieve my 1000 miles in 2010 goal and a New Years Eve Day Challenge