My arms have adopted Pastafarianism

Monday = cold water. Really cold water in Talisman. I've had warmer lake swims while racing. Nobody knows why, including the people that work there. My (female) lane mate speculated that it was so the (male) water polo players would have their muscles tighten up even more, for the delight of those interested. Its as good a theory as any.

I did 2 K in the pool, trying to hustle, and not finding the gear. First K was 18:50, which I think of as slow. The next K was 19:30 or so, but by that point I was beyond caring. I wanted out of the pool. A cool down was out of the question, since I'd never warmed up. The hot tub felt like it was burning my skin.

Tuesday was a slow run, 4.25 K in 30 minutes, struggling to keep moving. It was a beautiful evening out, the first really warm day of the year, and my legs were heavy. The "run" was a constant slog to not stop.

Wednesday is when the arm conversion happened. My arms channeled the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and emulated His Noodly appendage. They were good for nothing during the swim. The water was back to the normal temperature, at least, and that's the only thing good about the swim.

I was trying to do CSS times, and failed miserably. I have, in the recent past, done 1:50 per 100 m, on a 2 min start consistently for 3 K. It's fair to say that wasn't a fluke, since I've done it several times, and even faster.

Today I gave up before even 1 K. Each 100 was slower than the one before it, no matter how hard I pushed. As I started the 9th one I was feeling really bad about it, and wondering what the heck I was doing. Since the 8th one had been 1:51 at what felt like nearly all out effort, I had to be doing something wrong, and didn't see any point in rewarding that. I rolled over on my back for a couple strokes, then back to the end of the pool. Out. The big hot tub was being cleaned so I settled into the small one for a bit, bailing out when one of the swim clubs started to invade.

All in all, a pair of discouraging swims, and a discouraging run. My legs are still heavy from the bike ride last week. My buddy Katie connected me with someone doing good bike fits, so I think I'll stay off the bike till that happens. I'm suspecting my fit has changed, probably due to reduced flexibility in my low back.

After my massage today, my therapist informed me my left leg was a wreak. Again. Which I had known. I've got an ice pack going on the hams. I'm seriously wondering what our beloved yoga teacher is going to inflict I mean, share with us tonight. I hope I survive.

Mr Money Mustache had rolled up to the top of my blogroll, and I thought his discussion of what trucks say about you was very appropriate, given all the pick up trucks in town these days. It seems like there are a lot more of them, being driven by people that seem a lot angrier than usual. But if I start telling you about that, my blood pressure will be up, and that will make yoga even more difficult.

I'm not feeling discouraged or anything. These times happen during training. A good night's sleep, getting through some training at work, and finding my swim mojo again will do wonders.