Orca Man

Orca Man is what Heather is now calling me whenever I don my brand spanking new wetsuit. It just arrived yesterday and I squeezed into it as soon as I could. I'm glad I fit! It's a little snug, but I think that's how they're supposed to be. I think it's going to take some getting used to. And I haven't even been in the water with it yet. That's on tap for Saturday, the day before Wendy's. I plan on hitting the water at Alum Creek the day before the race to try it out and decide if I want to wear it on race day. I was able to get out of it rather easily, so that would only add a bit of time to my T-1. I'm really curious about how it's going to feel in the water. Because I'm such a slow swimmer, if it can shave some time off my swim, that would compensate for a longer transition. If it shaves off time AND gives me confidence in the water, then the mental advantage outweighs any slowdowns in transition.

I was able to get in the pool last night for the full Steelhead distance, 1.25 miles. That would be 80 lengths in our 25 meter pool. I did it in 1:17, which is of course horrible. But being horrible means I have lots of room to improve. Right? Here are some splits:

First 1/4 mile - 16:19
Second 1/4 mile - 15:56

That would give me a 32:16 for 1/2 mile, which is what the distance is for Wendy's.

Third 1/4 mile - 14:24
Fourth 1/4 mile - 14:38

That would be a 29:02 for the second 1/2 mile. Much better than the first half, but nowhere near the splits that everyone else seems to get.

Final 1/4 mile - 15:46

I could tell I was getting faster. I was messing around with my stroke a little. I felt quicker and more efficient. I wasn't getting out of breath as easily, thereby reducing the amount of rest time at the wall. I'm still getting phlegmy discharge from my lungs, but I don't think there's anything I can do about that. I have to cough it up from time to time because it starts affecting how much air I can breathe in.

We'll be hitting the trails again tonight and I'm looking forward to it. It's always fun to get off the pavement into the quiet of nature to do some running. Thursday nights have become my weekly long runs now that bricks have taken over my weekends. I can't say that I mind too much either.