Friday: Back in the Saddle

Pic of Ivan and I at Chrissy Field watching the fog roll over the
Golden Gate Bridge

This morning, jet lag and all, I hauled myself blearily out of bed begging my husband to make coffee, since I don't trust myself to count scoops when I am sleep impaired.  Luckily he is accomodating or there would have been a real caffeine drama this morning. I was running late, and I left Ivan, who is mightily jet lagged to sleep late and watch TV with his dad.  It was nice driving to the gym alone after over a week of JUST ME AND IVAN TIME.  I made a smoothie, a huge class of tea and then the coffee situation to get me through the morning.  When I arrive at swim with a multitude of beverages, I realize that my appearance is ridiculous, but it is something that I have embraced.  Like my huge goggle masks and my campy bathing suits that look maybe more suited for roller derby than competitive swimming, my beverage bar at the end of my lane is perfect for my level of comfort.  I do not like to swim without eating breakfast, and this morning, I did not want to be late based on having to wait around and eat.

I enjoyed being back in my usual pool and having long and serious discussions while kicking about all of my adventures in California.  It was a great morning.  I returned my wetsuit to Endurance Sports and Rec and was secretly very glad that the owner was on the phone and so had to cut our "how was your Alcatraz swim" conversation short.  I ran by the dry cleaners and discussed each stain that Ivan had spilled on my silk blouses at each delicious restaurant in San Francisco.  It is just the way of the two year old, and I am caught in a battle of vanity that I will never win.  

I could wear t-shirts and sweat pants to dinner or better yet a tarp with a garbage receptacle as an accessory, but I refuse.  Therefor the guacamole on my silk tuxedo shirt may be a permanent fixture, and I really have only myself to blame.  It is a great misfortune, and a great expense as dry cleaning bills are just crippling.

Anyway, apologies for my interlope into dry cleaning bitterness and onto swim workout.  When I have been away from the pool for a few days, it feels a bit like swimming through mud for the first few laps, before stroke automaticity locks in on me, and I swim as if freed from a cage.  Today's workout was:

• 12 x 100 swim @ 1:40
• 800 kick (Jaime and I had to catch up)
• 3 x 300 pull
• 400 kick

So yes, too much kicking, but it was a great reentry workout.   I will get faster and work harder next week.  At home, I got in a Gilad workout, which was quite hard.  Tomorrow morning, I am off to Clarksville for a Metric century!!!  Can't wait!