breathing is for whimps

after a couple weeks of going back and forth between my parents' place and my place, it feels good be finally getting back into the swing of things. since tuesdays and wednesdays are columbia days, i get up a little earlier to run before trekking across the bridge to the pool. i'm trying to extend my tempo run distances so did 4.5 miles instead of 4, starting w/ 8.2 mph and then moving it up every interval of 0.6 miles faster and 0.2 miles slow. i know this probably doesn't sound like very fast but i'll get there eventually! i got a free ride across the bridge b/c usually if you go to the bridge before 6 a.m., random cars will pick you up to save money on the carpool lane. i thought it was shady at first, but heck, you save a whole $1.25.

i actually missed the bus stop for columbia b/c i was so engrossed with Fink's ironman training book! i'm up to the part where he recommends drills for swim and how to turn on the bike.. w/o pictures, it takes quite a bit of concentration for me. there is a really funny swim drill where you swim w/ your fists clenched so you can practice the catch. that must look awesome.

masters was unusually quiet b/c i guess the columbia swim team is on break or off somewhere else. i got into a lane, one of the girls saw me and immediately went into a faster lane (she is probably blogging, "this slow girl got into my lane and forced me into a fast lane." sorry dude) i can't remember what we did- heck i can barely count to 6 lengths- but i do remember doing a lot of flys. fly is fun b/c it makes me feel powerful until i am at the other end of the pool gasping for air. so my lane ended up w/ no alpha males which made the swim more relaxing although i must admit i kind of missed the alpha male (actually a female) from last week who got mad at me for passing her during the warmup (which is apparently not allowed. all these rules!)

it was good to see people again. there is this one lady, dawn, who is a great swimming buddy and highly encouraging. her son was the team captain the US water polo team for 3 Olympics, and she will be going to the olympics to support him as he is the commentator and analyst for the men's and women's games next week. she's a pretty strong swimmer and placed 2nd in her age group for a 1-mile swim at the beach last week. this other lady who led our lane, jean-claudia (?) has a fantastic flip-turn where she ends up starting her swim once her feet have passed the flags. i think it is so adorable when people are super-fast on free are awkward on other strokes.. it is like when you do a bike ride, and everyone is going so quickly and smoothly, but once we are off the bikes, we start hobbling around in our bike shoes. i have this problem (well 1 of plenty) of my head waving around a bit when i swim so i asked one of the coaches for help. apparently the "old school" way was for the water to touch your forehead but the new way is for you to be looking down the whole time? i am confused but will give it a try tomorrow and hopefully i will fishtail a little less. any thoughts on this?

also, any recommendations on how to go from getting used to 60 rpms to 80-100 on the bike? e.g., do a few minutes of 60 and then more on 80-100, eventually phasing out the lower cadences? or should i just try to go all-out on 80-100, increasing the time gradually?