Wiped

I headed to the pool yesterday planning to swim a regular, 3,000-meter workout. I felt pretty tired, but I figured it was the usual mid-day slump—an exhaustion born of sitting at a laptop too long rather than working out too much.

I jumped in, started swimming, and waited for the tension and soreness to wear off, as it usually does after the first 200 meters or so. I stopped after the first 300 to stretch, and thought for the first time: I can always just swim a mile, then go home. This is a little bit like saying, in the middle of a long run: I can turn around at the next light post. You realize you’re gonna make it to the next light post, but the mental trickery helps you get there.

Except yesterday, I never loosened up, and after swimming a 1,650, I got out and headed home.

I’m a good girl when it comes to training: I observe my scheduled off days in an almost religious manner. And I took my scheduled off day on Saturday (see “splash around in ocean” below). But a quick glance at my workout log gave me some insight into yesterday’s exhaustion (again, see below). I hadn’t realized how many double workouts I’d been doing, though it’s funny to think about a light, 30-minute jog as a full workout. Plus, I’ve been swimming a bit more than usual, ahead of the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim in June, and my shoulders were feeling especially tired. My body needed the rest, scheduled or not, and I gave it what it needed.

I’ve got my second long swim to tackle sometime this weekend, and I’m hoping yesterday’s rest will pay off with a good, strong swim a couple days from now.

WORKOUT LOG

Monday, April 4: PT (about 1.5 hour of strength training and StairMaster). Add agility exercises to regular PT lineup: The ladder, “around the world.” 120 lb single-leg press. Run 3+ miles!

Tuesday: Swim 3,000 meters. Run/walk: 30-ish minutes of running w/2-minute walk breaks

Wednesday: PT – with agility.

Thursday:Swim 3,000 yards – New Port Richey pool

Friday: PT workout in New Port Richey gym (about 1 hour)

Saturday: Splash around in ocean (i.e., off)

Sunday: Swim 30 minutes in Ocean in Vero Beach

Monday: Swim 3,300 yards in NPR pool (6X50 sprint at end)

Tuesday: Swim 3,000 meters- Wilson (tired!); run/walk at night (~30 minutes of running)

Wednesday: PT

Thursday: WIPED. Swim a 1,650 and go home.

In other news I got a great report at the doctor at my (almost) three-month post-ACL reconstruction appointment on Wednesday. He said the slight swelling I’m still experiencing is normal (“That’s ’cause we drilled into your bone right there,” he said of one part), and said I’m recovering right on schedule. He also gave me a prescription for a derotation brace, which I’ll get fitted for on April 26, and which should go a long way toward my goal of becoming completely bionic.