The Sanders Family » Swimming

OK, We Can Go Now

Paul — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:39:59 +0000

We have a triathlon at Belews Lake next weekend so we decided to go out there for a open water swim yesterday. We were thinking about not going because the water was going to be so cold but when we got up we had a email from the race saying the water temperature was currently 68. That was the temperature of the water when we did the race last year and it was cold but still manageable so we decided to go. Susan is scared of open water and when we got there we saw some fish jumping right where we swim so she was nervous from the start. When we hopped off the dock the water was FREEZING even with wetsuits on. They were either wrong last year and the water was warmer or they are wrong this year and it was colder because there is no way that was the same temperature. It was so cold it hurt to put my face in the water. With Susan being scared, the shock from the cold water and her asthma I could hear her having trouble breathing so I said we could go back and she quickly agreed. I think that if I ease into the water next week and let my wetsuit warm up I will be better but I am still hoping for a big warm up by the race. I am also hoping it will be warm enough for Susan to be able to breath, otherwise it isn’t going to be a fun race for her.

Swimming and the Greensboro Gobbler

Paul — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:32:55 +0000

Wednesday night we took the kids to the pool, and Susan and I planned to do a swim. When we got there we decided Susan would go first and she said, “Are we doing a easy 750?” She knew that was the plan since we were doing a 5K running race the next day. Obviously she had different ideas because when she finished and I asked her how it was she said “13:38, let’s see you beat that.” My previous fastest time for a 750 was probably around 13:50 but I have never been one to turn down a challenge so I took off to beat her time. I finished in 12:20 so I won but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for a easy day before a race.

Yesterday morning we did the Greensboro Gobbler, a 5K running race at Country Park in Greensboro. The race was at 9am and when we left the house it was 30 degrees out so I wasn’t exactly excited (I like cold weather I just don’t like working out in it for some reason). There were 1063 people in the race so it was PACKED in the park but it was still a fun run. The park has a lot of hills so it isn’t exactly the best race for us Clydesdales and Athenas but Susan and I both had a good race. The race was two laps around the park and by the second time around the hills were slowing me down more than I would have liked. In the end I was slower than I wanted to be but it was still my fastest time ever in a race (although I have been faster in some training runs), I was even fast enough to lap a lot of people so I was happy with it. Susan also had her best time ever in a 5K so she was happy. I wasn’t surprised with her time because she has been running really good lately. I keep telling her she is faster now but she doesn’t want to admit it.

Guilt From Slacking = Long Swim

Paul — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:31:26 +0000

I was feeling a little guilty today because I skipped my 3 mile run yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning with a headache and didn’t feel great all day, but I still felt like I should have gone from my run. Add in that I didn’t eat the best on our drive to and from Indiana (I had a iced honey bun on the way there and a regular one on the way back for example) and I felt like I was slacking.

To add to it I went for a swim at lunch with the plan of swimming 1000 meters. About 500 meters into the swim I felt like I was slacking in the swim so I decided to pick up the pace and extend the swim to at least 1600 meters. In the end I did 1800 meters before I ran out of time.

We have a 3 mile run tomorrow and a 14 mile run on Sunday so hopefully I am back on track now.