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My Own Little 40k Swim Camp


Swimming outdoors. I want to go back to Tucson! 

I love training camps. They have been my favorite ever since I was 16 and our team would go to Italy in April for 10 days to swim, bike, run, and have fun! I was in heaven even though the rest of my team consisted of men about twice my age. I have so many fond memories of those weeks and will share those soon because, guess what? I scanned a bunch of pictures of me as a teenager racing in the 90s in a (very modest) bikini. They are too good (i.e. hilarious) not to share!

Since I am not a carefree teenager anymore but a (somewhat) responsible mother and wife, I can't just take off whenever I feel like it these days. Huge bummer, I know. But I make do and decided that I can just have my very own training camps right here in my backyard. I announced to Coach that instead of swimming 30k during swim week like last year, I was going to do 40k. Oh wait. Ha! I just realized that I did NOT tell her that. I pretended like I was going for 36k. But in the back of my mind I was shooting for 40,000 meters in the pool in 6 days. I had it all planned out. And we know what happens when I have a plan. I will do (basically) everything to make it happen. It's one of my strengths and at the same time my biggest weakness. 

'My' pool

I realize that 40,000 meters isn't really that much. Especially not when you are a swimmer. The national teams that come to train up here easily swim twice that in a week. But, for me, it was a big step up from my usual 12-15k per week. I would be swimming twice a day every day and then finish on Saturday morning. I like (self-imposed) challenges and, as we all know, swimming isn't my favorite thing to do. (Unless, of course, it's outdoors.) I figured my body could handle it but I expected a mental breakdown of some sort at some point. Kinda like last year. It just occurred to me that one of the reasons I enjoy endurance sports so much may be that I like to find my (mental and physical) breaking point... Who knows. I am not much into self-analysis... 

Let's make one thing clear: This could have never happened without Karl's support. Swimming takes so much more time and is logistically much more difficult than stepping out your front door and going for a run. Good thing I am a planner and Karl is flexible...! Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be married to this guy? 

Sedona 2011

Here is how it went: 

Monday
11:30 Ok. Let's get this party started with 10*200. Donny saves the day by randomly showing up and swimming the main set with me stroke for stroke. I've lately been dreaming of having a retired, flexible, and fast training buddy! Dreams do come true! - 4,000 meters
5:30 Masters. Something or other. Can't remember. - 4,200 meters 

Tuesday
6:00am Masters. Turns out we are going to be short-course meters all week long! Who decides these things and why didn't anybody ask me for my opinion? That's way too many flip turns for this girl... - 4,400 meters
11:30am Karen comes to join me. I love that girl. Donny shows up again. Life is good. Except that I seem to be rapidly losing brain cells already. The water has been so cold that it gives me a headache. Can't even keep track of a 200 and once home I proceed to not burn 1 or 2 but 4 tortillas in a row. Oh boy - it's going to be a long week. - 4,000 meters

Wednesday
11:30am Lunch swim with Donny and Frank. I am feeling good and maybe for the first time ever I really do go all out for 5*100. It wasn't pretty but it was fast (for me). Thanks to my mates for pushing me and to Shea for the great massage in the morning! - 4,100 meters
5:30pm Masters. My shoulder hurts. Not good. I get'er done and hope for the best. The water is finally a tad warmer! Tired of showering. Hair feels like straw. - 3,800 meters

St. George 2012. Love open water!

Thursday
6:00am Masters. I am in a bad mood because the shoulder is killing me. Kai, friend and chiropractor, adjusts my shoulder before I hop in the water and I make it through the workout. Luckily there was a whole lot of kicking and core work involved today. - 3,400 meters
7:30pm I decide to give the shoulder a break and not go to lunch swim. Kai works on me some more and it makes a huge difference. Time for a nap, a tempo run, and TRF strength training. The evening swim wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. An easy recovery swim with lots of IM. - 3,100 meters

Friday
7:30am Masters. Shoulder is doing much better and after talking to Coach HT I am figuring out how to adjust my stroke. He also assures me that I am not doing any permanent damage by finishing off this week. Yay for knowledgeable coaches! I am still waiting for the mental breakdown... - 3,200 meters
5:30pm Last hard workout. Not quite as fast as on Wednesday but I am just so glad that I am really going to be able to pull this off! It really does take a village... - 3,300 meters

Saturday
6:30am Masters. Only 2,500 meters left! Piece of cake. Done and done! Time for a nice recovery ride with the girls! 

Some of my training buddies.

What swim camp taught me: 
  • Did I have a breakdown? Well, maybe a little temporary shoulder breakdown. But that's not what I was looking for. I was hoping that this week would increase my mental toughness. I am not sure it did. I never sat at the edge of the water and considered turning around. (Although it might at times look like it because it take a long time to convince myself to jump into the wet coldness.) I never questioned whether or not I was going to make a certain set. I never once cried into my goggles. Bummer! Maybe it's time for run camp. Just the thought of it makes me want to run and hide...
  • Short-course sucks. I hate flip-turns because I am not good at it. D'uh!
  • Swimming (in a pool) doesn't make me happy like running and biking does. There is no scenery. Just flags and lines. Every once in a while I would feel a tiny burst of happiness when the sun shone through the windows but that's about it. Good thing I had a few (snowy and muddy) runs and a nice ride sprinkled in there so I could feel happy and have a big smile on my face! 
  • Some swim suits last a really, really long time even after you get sick of them... 
  • Thanks to the new Finis paddles, there is hope for my stroke! Now if I can just get my hands on a pair of them... 
  • I love my Masters swim buddies. Every single one of them. And all the coaches, too. Thanks for keeping it real!
  • I have no problem taking a 15 minute hot shower. I am pretty sure I showered a total of about 2 hours last week. Oops! (Don't worry, Karl. They were all taken at the pool. Our gas bill should be ok.)
  • I wish I knew just how many calories I devoured. I knew I could eat a lot but I managed to surprise myself last week. I was hoping to maybe lose a pound or two and get closer to racing weight but that clearly didn't happen. 
  • Still a firm believer in this quote:




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