Swim TT, and accidental run TT

Last week I was supposed to do a 1K swim time trial, and was sick. I moved that workout to today, and was hoping for a good swim. Funny how knowing the clock is ticking puts the pressure on. I was hoping to have considerate lane mates, and not be inflicted with some bozo breast stroker.

So there I was, standing in the middle lane. There's a fellow there trying to tell me there's a girl going to join him in that lane, and she swims really fast. I think he was a bit unnerved when I said, good, I'm glad because I want a fast swim, or at least people to stay out of my way. She joins us, verifies what we're doing, and promised to let me through if I caught up, and we start swimming in circles. We were both still warming up and we ran the other guy off. She never passed me, and I think I saw her once at the end of the lane putting on fins or playing with pool toys. It all worked out good.

I'm a little disappointed in my result in that it's about the same pace as the last time I did this some months ago, but not crushed or anything. Then, I had a stellar swim, good water feel, and was almost ready to pass out at the end. Today, I had a so-so swim. It happens. I lost focus in the middle, and lost count of my laps for a while. I even forgot if I'd started at the top or bottom of the clock and that had me all messed up. Still, I got myself sorted out and back on track. At the end I was breathing hard, but I wasn't ready to pass out. I'm pretty sure I can take another second per lap off just by fixing my flip turn.

A bit later I headed out for a run. The plan said to run faster than Wed, and to run like I feel. My thought was to do a short walk and easy run, 10 to 15 minutes or so to warm up, then start the real run on my 5 K loop, then maybe another 3 K to round out the 45 minutes or so. The run started well, even though I wasn't feeling particularly light footed or smooth. Still, I had a half decent stride going, and things felt pretty good. I couldn't really settle into a consistent pace because there's a lot of ice on the sidewalks, and crossing the alleys is a rutted pain in the butt. About 3 K I started feeling it, and dug in. My pace might have slowed a bit, but I hung on and finished the 5 K in 29 minutes exactly. That's huge for me. Ran every easy another 10 minutes to cool down. My legs felt fine with the run, though they were a bit heavy throughout. My breathing was at the top of my aerobic range. I'd like to be able to run this pace and be breathing a bit easier. Still, only 8 months ago, I noted that a 36 minute 5K seemed fast for me.