I DID IT!

Today's workout: Bike to work (8.71 miles according to MapMyRide), swim 700 meters

I can't believe I did it. Today, I swam 500 meters without stopping. FIVE HUNDRED METERS! I know it doesn't sound like much, but those ten laps felt like they would go on forever.

This is the distance I have to swim in the triathlon. Of course, I'm swimming in a pool and the race swim is in open water, but lets enjoy my baby steps for a moment, mmmmkay? I couldn't do the whole thing freestyle, but here is what I did to be successful:

100m freestyle
25m backstroke

Repeat this two more times

125m freestyle

I felt so accomplished at the 475 mark I decided to freestyle the last 25m. The breathing technique that Morgan gave me at the last master's swim class really helped. I have a problem with holding my breath under water, which is just taking more energy than it should. So, I asked her about it and she told me to hum under water. It sounds crazy, but I've been able to get a pattern down where I get all of my breath out before I come up for more oxygen. Sometimes I can make it four strokes; if I'm feeling tired I can only make it three before having to come up. But, I know that I can modify things as I go to make it work.

There were a couple of times where I just couldn't make the whole 100m freestyle, so I would do the breaststroke for 10m or so to catch my breath. I wish I had a video camera to see how ridiculous I looked trying to be a "froggy" in the water.

The best part is that my fabulous husband bought me a heart rate monitor for our wedding anniversary. I was able to time myself, and I did 500m in 15:28. I'm certainly no Michael Phelps, but my goal of 20 minutes for the swim leg of the race seems easily attainable. The HRM came with a footpod that I'll try out tomorrow when I do my brick workout.

Side note: I was coming home on my bike and signaled at a stop sign that I was turning right (so it looked like I was waving). Some high school kid thought I was waving at him and waved back from his Jeep! BWHAHAHA! A good end to a productive and encouraging workout.