swimsuit addict

This morning I swam at Riverbank with a couple of friends and enjoyed a good workout with them. We must have made the following set look fun--one of the regulars in the neighboring lane dubbed us “the trio with brio.” (He’s the same guy who came up with “It goggles the mind.” It’s fun sharing the pool with nice people who like wordplay.)

Here’s what I did:

800 lcm warmup (400s, 200k, 200p)

500 FR, negative split
400 IM fast
100 easy
400 FR, negative split
300 IM fast
100 easy
300 FR, negative split
200 IM fast
100 easy
200 FR negative split
100 IM fast
100 easy
100 FR negative split
0 IM fast [I used this time to practice my synchro moves*]
100 easy
[This set originally had paired FR swims separated by 100s easy—I substituted an (n-100) IM for the n FR in each pair, but stayed on the same interval as my friends who were doing all free. That worked out well—I liked getting more and more rest as the set progressed, and my IMs felt powerful today.]

400 there-and-back-again IM kick (200 IM + 200 reverse IM)

200 warmdown + play

*The synchro moves at today’s workout were inspired by the Brooklyn Peaches practices I’ve been attending the last couple of weeks. They are a for-fun synchro group—think synchro without any of the unpleasant stuff, like having to hold your breath for eons. It’s a smidge more serious than beach synchro, mostly because it’s taught by a couple of women who actually have some background in the sport. We’re learning a routine to David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” It’s a real hoot, and worth trekking out to Brooklyn for every Tuesday night.

The Peaches practices are part of an effort to diversify what I do for exercise this spring. I finally admitted to myself over the winter that I had become pretty burnt-out with open-water stuff, and that the anxiety associated with those swims had come to rival the pleasure I got from them. I floundered about for a bit, initially thinking entering some pool competitions would restore my motivation to train, but I ultimately decided that what I really needed was a break. So I’m de-emphasizing the swimming for now, and trying out other stuff that seems fun to me. Activities that involve learning lots of complex new movements are especially appealing. Currently my night-time schedule looks like this: Monday—ballet, Tuesday—synchro, Thursday—diving. (I thought I could wedge in adult gymnastics on Wednesdays as well, but my gym has stopped offering that class). I’m also emphasizing weights (3x week) and stretching (more flexibility would be good for my diving). So far, this new regimen seems to agree with me—after a couple of months of taking it easy on the swimming in Florida, I seem to be finding some joy and ease in the water again.