This morning, we did an interesting set that ended with fast 200s. After a 200 warmup, we went twice through the following:

200 Distance per stroke
2×25 Kick fast
200 Build
2×25 Kick fast
200 Distance per stroke
2×25 Kick fast
200 Fast
100 Easy

My first 200 Fast was 3:28. My second 200 Fast was 3:14. I was pretty pleased with that. I think I could have gone even faster had we done a third set. I think the elongated swimming with the distance per stroke swims really helped.

Aside from being in the pool, this has been a good week generally. I ran with Jenny on Tuesday and followed that with a lifting session with Jake. We did upper body work, and I’m still tender from it. I think I did a good job of isolating the muscles he wanted me to isolate, and he did a good job of pushing.

This weekend, I have a race in Galveston. I’m not concerned about the distance, but I am concerned about the water. Between oysters, jellyfish, and oil pollution, I could be talked into staying in town for the Capital 10K. Should be fun though. It’ll be my first race in my wetsuit.

I didn’t get my run in after work on Monday. On Tuesday, I had a trainer session with Jake. I had a 2 am sort of night Tuesday night, so I skipped my swim on Wednesday. On Thursday, I caught up on my sleep and, as a result, skipped my swim. Then I had to work late and ended up missing my Texas Iron workout, which I really didn’t expect to make because it started at 6 up north rather than the usual 6:30 near downtown.

This morning was the bright spot of my week. I met Jenny for a run (possibly 3.5 or 4 miles) and then had a trainer session with Jake. We did lower body, and he exhausted me. I really enjoy my sessions with him because he makes me think about muscles and identifying the ones that are working with any given exercise. It’s good for me.

This weekend will be a big workout weekend for me. I’m planning to swim and bike tomorrow and then bike again on Sunday. I may even try to make yoga on Sunday depending on what my family’s doing for Easter.

After a couple of weeks out of the pool, I finally made it back. Today we did the following:

300 Warmup
10×75 Swim (25 drill, 25 build, 25 pure technique)
10×100 on 2 minues
10×75 with every third fast
50 Easy

That comes to a total of 2850. Not bad for a first day back. Now if all goes well today, I’ll get a run in after work.

After a long and stressful week leading up to the Endurance Camp, I made it to Kerrville and had a great time. On Thursday, we did a trail run and some core work. On Friday, I biked 31 miles, ran about 45 minutes, and swam about 20 minutes. On Saturday, we did an 80 mile ride through some pretty tough hill country and then swam just a bit in the Guadalupe before doing a bit of core work. Then on Sunday, I ran ten miles before heading back to Austin. It was a wonderful weekend of lots of exercise, lots of food, and lots of sleep. I gained a new appreciate for the “hill” in “hill country.” At the end of each day, I was so tired that my roommate and I did not stay awake to see 10:00 p.m. roll around on any night. I think we were even in bed at 8:30 one night! The best part, though, was that I got to know a bunch of the folks from Texas Iron. I think the weekly workouts will feel more like home for me from here on out.

The sad news is that I came home on Sunday to be with Skylar in the hospital. It’s not entirely clear what was wrong with him, but he was limp and nonresponsive after being totally normal just the night before. His temperature was terribly low, and even after they warmed him up, he remained limp. The vet said that, given that he had been losing his vision, had different sized pupils, and was totally nonresponsive, odds were that he had something going on in his brain that was affecting his ability to function. After a couple of hours of holding him and talking to him, I made the decision to put him to sleep. So my sweet little old man is gone. Mom and Dad buried him in Henly near where I will one day build a house.

My house is without Skylar, but it isn’t empty. Marline and Armineh went to the Humane Society on Sunday and adopted a little black shorthaired boy. I went back the next day and met and adopted his sister, so I have two kitties at home. Their names are Bread and Butter. They are skittish for now but terribly sweet. I don’t know what Skylar would think of them, but I’m working on moving the three of us out to Henly to be near him.

It’ll be nice to be in a new house in the hill country with my kitties and my little old man. Once I’m out there, it’ll be like training in Kerrville every day. Gotta love those hills.

I was reading Erin’s blog yesterday about her total milage, etc. on swimming, biking, running and strength work. I’m especially impressed with the bike mileage, which just affirmed for me that I need to get on the bike as often as possible. So this morning, I did some spin work before my session with Jake. And this weekend, since I’ll be at the Texas Iron Endurance Camp, I will be spending lots of time on the bike. The trick will be keeping up that kind of effort and momentum after I get home from camp.

On Friday morning, I met Jenny for our usual morning run, and then had a session with Jake, both of which felt fantastic. Then Saturday, Marline, Poppe and I did the Pedal Thru the Pines ride. It was my first time back out on the bike since I hurt my arm in January. I’d been on my trainer, but not on the open road, so I was a bit nervous. The crowd was large, which made the start especially hairy, but I survived without a fall. I needed to do something before training camp, so I wouldn’t be hopping on my bike for the first time there.

This morning, I meant to get up for a run, but I slept in. I’m tired from doing a whole lot of work right now, and I don’t see an end in sight where work is concerned. Somehow, in that, I have to find the will to work out as often as I know I need to work out. I just haven’t been very good about that lately.