Keep counting

I got a really good night's sleep, so I was all ready to go at the pool this morning. This has been something we've been building towards, a 2000m time trial. I had some idea about the kind of time I could do, and I felt ready to go after it. Once we finished the warm-up, I got the call to move up a lane to balance the lanes a bit. I guess this means I have to go that much faster. I told everyone I'd try not to cause too big a roadblock, and we were off.

Two thousand metres. Twenty laps. Forty lengths. A boatload of strokes. I just tried to settle in to a decent pace, and let it go from there. Around 800m, the one thing I wanted to avoid happened. I got passed by someone who was just a shade faster than me. I really wanted today to be a good test of my own abilities and not end up drafting. Once the pass was made, I tried to leave some space so I could have clear water, but without coming to a complete stop, it wasn't happening. Any effort I put in was multiplied by the draft and I'd end up back on the feet within 20m. Finally about 1200m I decided I'd try to make the pass and do my own work, but just as I was catching up, I got lapped again. So there went my chance to pass, but maybe this could open the gap. Unfortunately, I was right back into the bubbles by the end of the length. At this point, I decided the result was counterfeit enough that I may as well settle in, get a decent workout, and call it what it is. At the end, I finished in 37:39, a bit faster than my estimated 38:00, but with a ton of drafting. I'm not sure where I would have finished for real, because obviously the draft helped, but I also wasn't doing any work for 1200m. I was less tired today than after my HIM race swims. So I'm happy with the time, but disappointed with the bogus nature of the time. I'm sure by later in the summer as people are prepping for Muskoka 70.3 we'll do something like this again, so I'll take another swing at a real time.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
4x50 free as 25 hard/25 ez, 10"
2000 free (37:39)
c/d - 500 mixed
Total: 3300m

Run: 2.5 miles, ez