My priority this winter will have to be swimming, as it's absolutely killing my placement in all my triathlons. I'm making every effort to get in 4, if not 5 solid swims per week of 45-90 minutes each. The good thing is that I think I'm finally making peace with swimming. I've gotten to the point where it's not incredibly frustrating to swim, and I am now good enough that I can actually get quality cardio workouts from my swimming. I was surprised to actually be looking forward to my swim workouts for the first time, as I'm eager to see the benefits that I can accrue when putting in some real workout time on the swim. Already in the past 2 weeks back, I have adopted a more balanced dual-sided breathing approach such that it feels comfortable on both sides, and have also incorporated 200 meter repeats into my interval repertoire. My swim pace hasn't changed much, but on the bright side, I'm easily passing guys in my pool (no fast swimmers in my Ballys!) who were at my speed or faster just a few months ago. This is mostly due to technique, as I've spent almost an entire year now continuously refining my stroke and body position so that it works smoothly.
I've also accepted the reality that in terms of talent for swimming or cross-over from my other aerobic abilities, it's pretty much zero. I haven't made any rapid gains as would be expected from a talented person, and even with coach-approved good fundamental technique, I'm still swimming slowly for a triathlete. I suspect it may take another years for me to get my swim ability to middle of the pack, but I'm hopeful that it will all come together as it did for running. That said, it's definitely exciting to have a whole new discipline of sport that isn't near "maxxed out" like my running is.
Cycling, on the other hand, is something that I definitely have both talent and x-over benefits from. Ever since I got on my Cervelo for the first time, I was a FOP (front-of-pack) triathlon rider. My large glutes and quads allow me to power up hills and sprints with the strong guys, and my aerobic fitness gained from marathon running allows me to outlast the competition. My rides in the past 2 weeks were no exception, as I promptly threw down 2 weekend 5-hour hillfest rides, and even being notably out of shape from nearly 3 weeks completely off the bike, was still easily in front with the intermediate triathlon group. It's nice to be strong at the bike, but the drawback is also that I end up taking the ability for granted. I have had no inclination or desire to formulate a dedicated, incremental training plan (a la Pfitzinger's 70+mpw marathon plan) for cycling, mainly because I'm pretty satisfied with my cycling results. To break myself out of this "rut", I am planning to join the local pure roadies for their fast "Simi Valley Ride" this winter, which amasses all the fastest local riders, over 200 of them, and hammers along a 70 mile route through the Santa Monica mountains. That should humble me very quickly into getting my act together!
I know that at least a few friends who still follow my sports exploits have been encouraging me to get back into marathon as well. For sure, I've relegated running to the backburner in the past year, doing enough to maintain a good speed, but definitely sliding back in terms of performance. Well, it's still very tentative, but I am actually considering running the LA Marathon on 3/21/09! The key words here are CONSIDERING and RUNNING - not RACING, which for me, is a very big difference. I would be using this race to get somewhat back to my running roots, and to enjoy the new marathon course which runs from Dodger Stadium downtown LA to the beach (finally!) in Santa Monica. That sounds like a lot of fun! I will definitely not be racing this one for a PR or BQ time, however, as I am certain I won't be able to do a proper buildup given a big trip in February and my swim-focused training this winter-spring. Still, I would train seriously for it if I signed up, and put up a 3:30ish pace if at all possible. It's certainly on my radar.
Overall though, it's good to be back and training. I really missed it while I was away from it, and I really felt that I was getting back to being me by putting in some good honest hours on the run/bike/swim since I've been back.
