Saturday, December 4, 2010

I am a runner, I do not use my arms

Yes, it is true. My arms sometimes hurt when I run hard. They are not trained to work hard.

So today was a wake up call for them. I was asked to time myself in pool so the coach has something to work with.
I warmed up and everything and then the "fun" started. 100m and 400m hard.
I knew I can do 100m, although was not 100% sure about 400m. I mean, I can swim 400m but very slowly. I am a slow endurance swimmer.
I went to 50m pool again and had the whole line only for myself, cool.
50m pool has one advantage and disadvantage. I don't do flip turns (I keep trying but am not good enough yet). For every 100 I "hit" the wall only once then. Which is good because I don;t loose time turning. But at the same time it sucks, because I get to rest for that second or so only that one time. So them probably evens themselves out.

And the workout?
100: My legs hurt. Ups. Were my legs supposed to hurt? That's probably a very good indication that I am not a very efficient swimmer and all my power comes from kicking like it was my job. Yeah, runner in heart and in legs. 1:32. Looong way to go to swim 60s :)

400: Ok, I did not drown. So that's good. And my legs did not hurt, but my triceps did. So it means that maybe I am not such a lost case, I know how to use mostly my arms and still move. But not very fast:( 7:34. Ok, at least I got it under 8min.

My coach told me after I reported my times that I was a "blank slate in water". To me it seems like a nice way of saying that I suck:) Well, therefore I have a coach. I can only keep improving, right?
Overall, this swimming thing is fun. I love it!

I also run today, 6 easy miles. Felt very good and am pumped for next Saturday!

Btw, I still have not received my awards I won at the last race:( I wonder whether I will ever receive them.

And it seems that Michiganians are wimps. There are almost no races until May:(

3 comments:

  1. Ok I did NOT mean that you suck!!!! I meant that you have lots of room to improve! :) That is a good thing. Yours actually a MUCH Bette swimmer than you give yourself credit for. 1:32 is fast for such a new swimmer!

    Btw, that run/swim race would have been fun for you and me to rac today.. Figure you would have put at least 3 min on me on the run then I would put prob that same amount back on you during the swim... That would be a great race! ;)

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  2. I am just kidding:)

    Yeah, too bad I do not live in Hawaii:( Although I would probably drown doing swim in the ocean with waves and all that stuff.

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  3. Good for you for swimming! I am afraid of swimming (as a form of cross training I mean) Thank you for your email and all your help again. You are right about not going to the doctor. In some ways it was helpful but in other just a waste of time. He wasn't even the one that ultimately figured it out.

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