05.27.09 - c-c-c-cold

I decided that I'm going to make the 20 minute trek to do some outdoor LCM this summer. I was going to just swim near my house all summer but swimming outdoor long course is too enjoyable. The break-even point on the summer pass is a little over 1.5 workouts per week, so I'm doin' it.

LCM @Carpenter

400 wu

4 x {
2 x 200 @3:00 (went 2:50 on first 2 sets, 2:45 on sets 3 & 4)
1 x 100 stroke @1:50
}

The water was Very Cold. Very. I didn't even warm down. Once I stopped moving on the main set, I just got out and went right to the hot shower. I thought I'd heard it was mid-70's before I got in but the official reading ended up at 67.

An interesting effect of the cold water was that I became hyper-aware of my stroke. It really made me focus on head position and really relaxing my hands and pulling with my forearms.

I need over 1000 yards/meters before I can work up into any kind of speed. If I try to go fast under that, I feel clunky.