swimsuit addict

Today I went over to the Y to try a rowing workout with Mr. Addict. Everything felt good, and here’s what we did:

6-minute warmup
3-minute easy/rest
4-minute piece [2:25.8 avg. pace]
3-minute easy/rest
4-minute piece [2:19.5]
3-minute easy/rest
4-minute piece [2:16.5]
3-minute easy/rest
4-minute piece [2:14.2]
3-minute easy/rest
1-minute piece [2:04.4]
3-minute easy/rest
2-minute piece [2:21.1]
3-minute easy/rest
1-minute piece [2:01.4]
3-minute easy/rest

I started out pretty easy then descended, and things felt good and fairly comfortable the whole way. I was pretty happy with my times on the 4s, especially considering that it was 7 @ 2:16 pace that made me want to cry a couple of weeks ago. Today that pace felt relatively easy, although I was only holding it for 4 minutes rather than 7. I gave myself a get-out time on the first 1-minute piece of 2:05 and beat it, but ended up feeling guilty going easy on the following 2-minute piece while Mr. Addict was still working hard, so I cranked it up again for that last 1-minute row at the end.

I’ve also been working on my summer swimming and travel plans this weekend. One thing I’m really excited about is the NE LCM champs in Middlebury, VT in a couple of weeks. I’ve really wanted to go to this meet for the last couple of summers, but other plans have gotten in the way. When I scheduled my surgery for early June, I thought it would nix that meet this year as well. Luckily, my recovery and return to swimming has been way ahead of where I thought it would be, and late registration for the meet doesn’t close until this coming Friday, so I’ve decided to go. I don’t think PRs will be in the works, but it will be great to spend a weekend up in Vermont swimming a long course meet. Plus, there’s a clinic by Bill Boomer leading into the meet that should be very interesting.

At Middlebury I plan to swim longer stuff and off events (probably 200s of all four strokes, and an 800 FR and 400 IM), because I haven’t been sprinting at all and don’t have enough time between now and then get things sharp enough to swim shorter events well. One plus to doing this is that it gives me a shot at swimming all the LC events this summer (or at least all except for the 1500—although this meet allows you to swim both of the distance frees on the first day, I’m sticking with just one. And I’m not sure I’ll want to swim a 1500 later on in the season, even if I get an opportunity to. In fact I’m pretty sure I won’t.]

So, here is my tentative meet and OWS schedule for this summer. Events in parentheses are iffy:

Friday June 25 – Sunday June 27: NE LCM Championships at Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT [preceded by Bill Boomer swim clinic on Thursday and Friday]

Sunday July 11: Wilton LCM meet, Wilton, CT [BBQ after]

Sunday August 1: Governors Island 2M OWS [This is probably my favorite of the NYSwim’s summer series. It will be followed by a 10K Pro swim, along part of the same course.]

(Saturday August 7: NY Aquarium 1M Swim [There’s also a 5K swim, but 1 mile will be plenty for me.])

(Sunday August 8: Jason Nessel Memorial LCM meet, Rahway, NJ)

Saturday August 21 – Sunday August 22: Colonies Zone LCM Championships at College Park, MD

Sunday September 5: John Daly 1M Ocean Swim, Long Beach, Long Island [The traditional season-ending OW swim in these parts.]

We also have a couple of trips planned, to Lake Placid and to Victoria BC (both very easy places to get in swim workouts), so it will be a busy summer! I was toying with the idea of doing a rowing camp weekend this summer, in order to learn on-water rowing, but that will have to wait for fall, or another season altogether. I figure I should do all the LC swimming I can while I have the opportunity!