A week in July

Not much excitement in the last week or so. On the weekend of 18/19 July we had some goggles at dawn (or shortly after dawn) swimming on Saturday: 1km warm-up in the pool at 7.30am, c. 1.6km in the sea, and another 600 metres to re-warm-up in Freyberg Pool again. The conditions, as the photo suggests, were serene, and the water just below 9 degrees. Sunday morning involved swim squad from 7.00-8.30am, followed by an anti-inflammatory fountain circuit.  Tuesday and Thursday morning I had squad at WRAC, where we're in our speed block at the moment, alternating between drills and swims that emphasise stroke efficiency and comfort in the water (so lots of stroke-counting and reduction, while maintaining/increasing speed) and attempting all-out sprints over 50 metres. On Wednesday I did just over an hour, 4.2pm, by myself at Freyberg, but my decision to consume a pie immediately before  going to the pool compromised the quality of the session: I felt quite odd the whole time. On Friday, nourished by a sensible banana, I went through a 5.2km session with far more success.  It looked like this (in a 33 1/3 metre pool).

4 x 533 as 

#1 pull    #2 pull + paddles   #3 paddles + fins   #4 kick with fins.  I did this as 66 fr (i.e. 2 laps) and 33 bk. 

133 of easy swimming br/bk

Main set

Two rounds of:

4 x 200 @3.10

4 x 100 @ 1.35

200 choice (relaxed swimming, kick, etc)

200 easy warm-down.

The main set turned out to be enjoyable. There was one other member of the public in the lane, and as this person had a tendency not to observe lane etiquette I had to cut short some of the intervals to avoid having to make daring overtakes.  Therefore, in the first round I did the two middle 200s @3.00, and in the second round the two middle 200s were @3.00 and @3.05.  The reduced rest increased fatigue, but didn't result in too much slowing. The 100s were all @1.35, as overtaking in 100s made me swim faster, so an all-round win.  I did all the 200s pull with paddles. In the first round I did the 100s swim + paddles, rather than pull. In the second round - because it was Friday, and I felt like a thrill - I swam them with fins to test the engine and bellows. The last 100s were 1.12 each, very gratifying.

After the warm-down and the shower, it appeared that the sun still shone, and the harbour twinkled. Once again, because it was Friday ...

Today, Saturday, involved a pre-dawn swim at WRAC, moving through 2.7km in just under an hour. I leapt out of the pool early, dressed in a dry pair of togs and some warm clothes, enjoyed a scone and a cappuccino, and then pedalled off to Worser Bay. Te Motu Kairangi was its usual glorious self. The morning sun has a special golden quality over there, perhaps because of the contrast between the different layers of green hills to the east, and the depth of the sea.  I wonder, also, whether the reduced air traffic contributes to more clarity in the air. 

The tide was in, and the big pink buoy and Seatoun Wharf both looked inviting. Eliza and I prepared ourselves physically and mentally for the ordeal, and after a slightly awkward interaction with a group of cyclists, we strode forth into the sea ... which turned out not to be as cold as we'd imagined. Possible this was because the air temperature was around 7 degrees C, while the water was around 10 degrees C. The swim itself felt glorious, and we adopted 'majestic' as the adjective of the day. As I 'made landfall' at Seatoun, I swam into a huge bundle of quite spiky seaweed, which draped itself around me like a feather boa.  On the return journey, Eliza saw a crab. So, the excursion was not without its extra excitements.  

The changing rooms at Worser Bay are still closed, but the toilets are now open so I decided to get dressed in there, even though it felt like stepping into a fridge. The cold! Cycling home also proved to be a chilly undertaking. Despite the sun, the northerly breeze had a distinct bite, and by the time I reached Strathmore shops, my hands and feet were completely numb. Stopping to cross Onepu Road, about one minute away from the house, I had to put a foot to the ground, and nearly fell right over, as the foot had lost all feeling. A hot shower and large breakfast fixed the numbness problem.