Friday was meant to be a rest day, but I felt a bit guilty about not having been to the gym for a few days so I went in and semi-thrashed myself. I have found that doing my dumbbell squats first means my legs and arms don't want to kill me halfway through my workout, and my form is much better. Thanks for the tip, Dan!
Yesterday I had my first swim at Parnell Baths. For those of you overseas, it's a 60-metre outdoor saltwater pool, not far from Auckland City. I think it's the only one of it's kind in NZ, which is pretty cool. It's also deep water, 2.6m at one end and over 3m at the other.
To swim here successfully, you need to be able to swim 60 metres nonstop, be comfortable in salt water and be able to cope with not being able to touch the bottom. These criteria assist greatly avoiding the provocation of pool rage from the other people in your lane. Of course, picking the correct lane for your own swim speed is helpful too. I was lucky - we had four slow people in my lane, but the lady in the other slow lane next to me had to put up with some muppet with new flippers swimming down the middle of the line at warp speed.
Swimming outdoors at 9.30am usually doesn't invoke some kind of panic around slathering youself with sunscreen. Unfortunately, it should. The hole in the ozone layer above the Parnell Baths seemed to have rapidly expanded yesterday, and I now have lovely tan lines from my new-ish togs. These tan lines are complemented by swim cap and goggle lines, which are now on top of my sunglass and bike helmet lines. Can I have an "O for Awesome"?.
I did my 1km and survived happily. Swimming in salt water gives you a buoyancy I've never experienced before. I had "wave action" from the speedy people in the fast lanes, didn't need my pull buoy at all (although the extra speed it gives me is cool) and I got jostled by some clown who couldn't quite figure out why a lane rope was separating him from the occupants in the next lane (i.e. us). I tried to admire the guys in their fancy wetsuits but was quietly jealous instead. Mental note to self, get a bloody wetsuit!
I got talking to a lady in the spa afterwards, who was wearing an orange Activa swim cap (from the She Triwoman series). She's also doing Narrow Neck next week, so we've planned to meet at the after match function and swap notes. Those caps are indeed badges of honour - you get one in your race pack, and aside from being useful on race day and later to keep your hair out of your face, you can spot one and start a conversation with fellow triathletes at the pool or beach later on.
After my swim it was off to get a new battery for the car alarm remote. It conveniently went flat after I got the car open on leaving the pool, but then the immobiliser kicked in and shut off the engine. Fortunately I had the pin to override it in my phone, so I was able to get going to the nearest electronics shop. I'd have been happier spending the money on a race number belt, but had no choice! There's nothing quite like having to "hack" your car engine; I felt like I was in grand theft auto.
I spoke to my trainer late afternoon and we decided to go for a run at 6pm. Seriously, who the heck has a hot date with a 400 metre running track on a Saturday night? Oh yeah, that would be me. What actually transpired was me running 200 metre intervals and my trainer sitting on his jacksy barking out instructions. Just when I thought the torture was over, I had to run shuttles. Remember those from PE or Gym class? Grrrr! Apparently it was to prove the point that I can run. So, I proved my point that I hate running by saying that I hate running.
Well, actually, I don't hate running. It's just that I have this mental block thing from not being able to run for so many years due to my stupid knees. I'll get there, it's just going to take a while. For years I thought I couldn't do squats, and now I'm doing them. So, the same will happen with running - it won't happen overnight, but it will happen, wah wah wah!
Today I was meant to head out on my bike for 30km, but after the gym on Friday and running last night, my quads and glutes just weren't in the mood to cooperate despite compression tights, stretching and good recovery eating. I decided it was time for a recovery walk around the shops instead. Perfecto, found a pair of cute sandals on sale and that was my first non-triathlon purchase in weeks!
So, my schedule for this next week is as follows:
Monday - swim and run
Tuesday - gym and bike
Wednesday - swim and run
Thursday - gym and bike
Friday - sit on butt, register for the tri on Saturday and pack my transition bags.
Saturday - Narrow Neck Triathlon
Sunday - long bike
That's all folks. Have a great Monday!
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