Again? AGAIN!!!!!!!!

Before I forget, I just want to set the record straight. I think the girlfriend misunderstood my previous post regarding Palisades Park. I said that I did not remember the name, not that I did not know about the park. She forgets that the three other times that I ran in it, it was 4AM, and the park was pitch-black dark (and... mmm... closed to the public... mmm...). Monday was the first time that I actually got to see the park, even though it was my fourth visit.

I am fully into the whole swimming at 4:45AM thing now. I even get to stand around with the other regulars waiting for the door to be opened, and then stand by your lane until the lifeguard give us the "go in the water" signal; all while displaying my best "charming", "friendly", and "approachable" qualities. I have noticed that I'm not thinking about my form at all, and that the stroke is just coming to me very naturally. I'm so relaxed that now I'm losing count of my laps, but that is OK. I'm working on breathing to both sides as recommended by the coach (I keep telling you all, I'm a bad swimmer), but this has proven more difficult. Good thing that I don't live in England, because if during races I had to swim in a clockwise direction, I would never be able to see the buoys! I'll keep working on it, though.

On Wednesday after work, I went on a 1.5HR bike ride. I was working on my cadence, and just kept shifting a lot as needed. I kept telling myself: "when in doubt, shift gears!", and that was working fine. I covered 32 miles, so that was not too shabby. And then I went for a brick run, and my legs were fresh. They felt like I had not biked at all! I went on a fast 30min run. I think the brick training is working, but I'll only be satisfied when this happens during a race.

This morning after swimming, I decided to run the hills around my gym. Instead of doing my regular 2.5mi loop, I just decided to do "suicide hills", running from the bottom of the longest hill to the top, and then jogging back to the bottom. It takes me a minute to sprint to the top of this hill, and about two minutes to come down. I was planning on doing it 5 times, but because it was such a lovely morning, I ended up doing it 10 times. After the 8th time, my legs were in serious debate with my mind about the whole thing. Legs were asking: "Again? Are you sure?"; and my mind went in full drill instructor mode: "AGAIN!!!!!!" So I finished, went inside, was barely able to do my shoulder routine, took a shower, and came to the office to be a productive person. I am in need of a nap.