Let's promise to NEVER do that again

OK, so by this point we've established that I'm not a natural swimmer, and that 20+ years out of the pool does not make one very fast. We've also established that paying attention to the coach, learning as much as possible, and working hard can get one faster. (Not fast, mind you, but faster.) And further, if you've known me for a while, you are aware that almost 100% slowtwitch muscle fibers. Endurance is my forte.

Why do I mention all this? Because today was among the worst things I've ever done to myself. I've been out of the water for three hours at this point, and I still hurt. Everything from the base of my neck to my lower back, across the lats and shoulders, down to my fingers, aches. Why? Because a few months ago I had the stupid idea of becoming a triathlete, which meant I'd have to swim.

This morning's workout wasn't really a workout. It was a Test Day. (Anything with capital letters should be feared.) This isn't like the 2000m long set we did. That might be called a test, but it was at a reasonable effort and not timed. It can't be a test if there isn't a stopwatch involved. No, today was the Test, and Tests are hard. After a good warm-up, we got shuffled somewhat in the lanes, so that each "heat" would people of reasonably close speeds in it. Then it was 8x100m, on 4 minutes. The faster you finish, the more rest you get. I'm pretty sure this a torture technique developed at Guantanamo Bay. "Water-boarding" has a whole new meaning.

The goal was to go hard, but not all-out on the first few, or else you'd fall apart in the later reps. (Guess what I did?) Lined up beside me was one of the swimmers who is usually in lane 3 (one step faster than my lane, it's my target lane. It's the "suck" lane.) I took off at a good clip, hit the wall at the same time, and was able to make a move in the last 20m to clip her at the line. Good for 1:38.

That was the last time I was close to her. My next five reps were in the 1:44-1:47 range, and the last two were 1:49 and 1:51. I could have saved a bit if I hadn't spent so much on the first one, but pacing in the pool isn't a strong point, and some times competitive instinct overrides every good sense in your brain. My form wasn't great on many of the reps. It felt at times that my left arm was just along for the ride. I get a few good strokes, concentration would go to something else (like "how much further?"), and I'd lose it. Midway through the test, the coach told us that if our times were slipping, not to try to go harder (that won't work), but smoother. That helped somewhat on the last few reps. Taking longer pulls at 90% effort may have cost me a few seconds from my best times, or been the reason I only lost a few seconds from my best times.

After we finished, and I said the line that titles this post, I was informed that we'll be doing this again in about six weeks. We'll be expected to go faster. If I knew that, I would have sand-bagged a little more.

Swim: w/u - 400m ez free
300 as 50 back/50 breast, 100 free, 50 back/50 breast
4x50 hard free, 30"
200 ez pull
8x100 hard free, on 4' (1:38-1:51)
c/d - 2x50 breast/50 back/50 free
Total: 2200m