Speed? Work

Wow. This monday's speed work was the hardest I can remember. For the last few hundreds I was really struggling to make the interval. I made it. But for a little while there I wasn't sure that I would. I know I relaxed my training considerably this month. After completing Kingdom Swim I've dropped my weekly mileage considerably. I may play around with some higher intensity shorter duration workouts during the rest of the week.

slooow

Went for my run today. I haven't actually run my loop in three weeks. Even though I was running pretty well Sunday morning this afternoon it just wasn't happening. Oh well. I'll see what I can do next week.

cut short

My monday speed work was cut short because they had to close the pool. This turned a 2000 yard workout into an 800 yard workout. Oh well. My weekly mileage is not nearly where it was in May but I am getting some distance in open water every week. Since my overall distance per week is reduced I figure the speed work and intensity is that much more important. Maybe I'll make my speed work a twice a week thing instead of just once a week.
On the other hand I think my strength training is going well. I think I'm going to add some more poundage to my deadlift. But maybe I'll do a smaller increment. Up until now I've been doing five pound steps. I'm thinking maybe I could do a two pound step

Canaan Road Race

They claimed that this is a relatively flat course with one challenging hill. I think it would be fair to say that there are two. They are obviously talking about The Hill right after the 2 mile mark. And it is a serious hill. No messing around. But it only shows up at the very beginning of mile three. There is another hill. One that just pops up during mile 4. A hill that under other circumstances wouldn't be such a big deal. But I was trying not to fall off pace too much during mile 4 and so I really felt it. I was impressed with the pacing of my fellow runners. Pretty much everyone around me 1.5 miles into the race was still right around at the finish. I followed one couple for most of the race. They passed me just around the one mile mark and I didn't lose sight of them until they turned into the finish chute some 50 seconds ahead of me.
I finished with the palindromic time of 43:34. Which means a per mile pace of 8:43. I had this same per mile on the second fastest 5K I have ever run. I'm pretty pleased with my run and I'm hoping to build on this for a few more races late this summer and into fall.

5 mile Road race

Who: Northwest CT YMCA
What: Canaan Road Race
When: Sunday July 22nd
Where: Canaan CT
Why: To see

Even though there is still plenty of time for more swims this summer I decided to mix it up with a run. How can I resist? It's just down the road. This was a very fun race. Hopefully I can do it again.

New lakes

I Joined up with the pacemakers for another lake swim. This time in Greenwater Pond. About 1.2 miles out and back. Absolutely beautiful lake. Fantastic swim. There are so many lakes and ponds in the area and I only know a very few of them. This is wonderful exploration for me. Also it is nice to get some swimming in with people who are about my speed.

the trifecta

So I tagged along with some swimmers from up in Massachusetts for a little adventure. We did a swim in three different lakes and biked from each lake to the next. They called it a trifecta biathlon. We regrouped after each leg so we all started together. I couldn't really keep up on the bikes. But I had no trouble swimming. I got to do three great swims in three different lakes. These lakes are all new to me.
I had a great time with this group and I hope to be able to join them for a few more swims in the next few weeks.
I was surprised how tired by arms and shoulders felt. It could mean that I'm still not fully recovered from the Kingom 10 miles. Or it might mean I was up too late on saturday. Or just that the biking is more demanding than I realize.