Swim Whine: My shoulders! Had my first swim with Texas Iron yesterday and "Oh . . . my . . . goodness! My shoulders are sooooo sore! I know I'm whining, but damn! The workout wasn't a LOT of distance, but it was pretty intense. We started with a warm-up of 300-200-100, with the 300 being a normal swim (freestyle), last 25 meters of each 100 was done as a drill (working on technique). The 200 was a "pull" meaning we used a pull-buoy that eliminated the ability to kick. The last 100 was a "kick" using only a kickboard. I hate the kicks! I need to work on core strength, because my legs get exhausted from kicking only a short while, and that's just not good. After the warm-up, we did 15 x 100 meters, broken into 3 sets of 5 x 100's. The first 5 were a normal swim on 2:25 intervals. Not too bad, but I pushed my tempo to maximize my rest periods! The second set of 5 was a "pull" set on 2:20 interval. That was a bit harder. I don't have a great kick, but it's amazing how much faster you can go even with a bad kick. I was struggling to get done with each 100 pull within 2:00. The last set of 5 was a normal swim on a 2:15 interval. Surprisingly, this was my easiest set. For some reason, I settled in and was swimming well, maybe on 1:50 or so. I got a lot of rest between 100's. Finally, we warmed down with an easy 100 meter swim. Total swim distance was 2200 meters. At this rate, the 1750 meters I have to swim at Iron Star will be a walk in the park! ;-p But, seriously, I was pretty tired when we finished and this morning, my shoulders are SORE, but it feels great! Can't wait for the next one!

Today should be an interesting training day. At mid-day, I'm doing a VERY easy ride/run brick with my friend, Shelley, from work. We'll ride slow (for me) because Shelley is a much more casual triathlete than I am. Distance will probably be about 12-15 miles. Then, we do a short run, maybe 3 miles, at an easy pace.

After work, I have my second day of Iron Star training. Thursday is their "miscellaneous" day. Depending on the week, it could be running, biking, swimming, transition, or core-strength training. This week's session is bike/run transitions. We'll be doing a series of short bike rides (probably only a couple of miles), ride into a mock transition area, and work on shortening the time between getting off the bike and getting onto the run. Then, we will do a short run (a mile or two) and repeat the drills. I've never "trained" transitions like this, so I'll be interested to see how it works out.

Okay, now on to the personal stuff . . . .

Last night was a "tough" night. Lisa did her weekly dinner with her mom while I was at swim practice. During the evening, her mom's dog, Dutch, a sweet (but huge) German Shepherd/St. Bernard (they think) mix had a serious seizure. Dutch has been having seizures occasionally for some time, but he's on medication and it's been a while since his last one. I've never witnessed one, but Lisa has dealt with several. She says they are NOT pretty. He loses control of bodily functions, gasps and wheezes for each breath, and thrashes around on the floor. Lisa isn't sure how long they typically last but, in her words, it seems like a REALLY long time.

Anyway, she came home pretty emotional about it. I can only imagine how hard it is to watch a pet you love suffering like that. I just gave her a big, long bear hug and told her how lucky Dutch is to have people who care so much and who will hold him and protect him during the seizures despite the mess that it makes. She seemed comforted by that, but I could tell she was still pretty sad and shaken up by it all. What else can you do but offer a sympathetic ear? I know how I'd feel if it was Reese or AJ and I'd want someone to listen to my grief. I didn't get to see much of her this morning, but she seemed to be in better spirits when I called to make sure she was awake.

Well . . . enough of that! More to come on the Iron Star training tomorrow!