Taper Week

Kurt and I went to the lake early Monday morning on a whim. I normally swim on Monday afternoons at 4:30 but the forecast was calling for thunderstorms so we decided to go early (and for once Kurt could go on a Mon morning - very rare!).

This was the view from the dock - the water looked like glass.  Kurt checked the temp and it was 77 degrees!

Then, of course, he needed to do one of his famous cannonballs into the lake, which pretty much destroyed the tranquility I was enjoying. Men!

We swam in sync around the perimeter of the island. Like biking in the AM, it's very quiet and serene swimming at the time of day too. All you can hear is the swish of the water - very relaxing.

I'm finding that I can swim farther and farther without feeling fatigued. I'm not getting much faster (well, maybe a little bit) but my endurance is much higher and I seem to be able to keep going easier than before. This makes me very happy!

When I think about where I was a few years ago with my swimming and where I am now, I am really happy that I stuck with it. I can really relate to people who come into triathlon afraid of open water swimming.  More on that later.

And I have more good news: I ran 50 mins this morning with NO heel or hip pain!  I know neither hip nor heel are completely healed (they both hurt last week) but for some weird reason, they didn't hurt today. I ran very slowly and maybe that's why but I'd rather run slow than not run at all.

I also swam today. I usually go on Weds at Centennial by myself but decided to go during Master's swim. I didn't have the AC on and it was really hot in my office at home so the pool sounded good. Didn't really talk to anyone, just swam. I think I did around 10 laps and felt like I had hardly swam at all which is good - didn't push it since it's a taper week.  Not sure why but I left early - just not feeling like I fit in this group anymore.

I've been going through some tough times lately. Thankfully, I have a wonderful spouse and good friends who are very supportive.  Training also seems to help - its one reason i love endurance sports. A good long run or ride can do wonders for the psyche and although they won't solve the problem, they sure can help me feel better about myself and that's half the battle.

TTFN - more soon!