Sunday Funday - Solo Style

This week was supposed to be the launch of my triathlon club's new Sunday Funday weekly swim session.  Unfortunately, our local community center had other plans for us.  The lap swimming pool was closed due to chlorine levels.  The center has a leisure pool with 2-3 lanes in it but it was overwhelmed with families and playing kiddos.

Lucky for me, I have a corporate gym facility with pool options.  I headed over to my gym to get my swim on but it wasn't the same without the rest of my training buddies.

Here's the workout that I did...keep it simple and fun!

Warm up - 1000 m
400 - free
300 - drills as 4 x 75 swimming in IM order, drill, free, drill
200 - pull
100 - kick

Main set - 1000 m
400 as 4 x 100 with 10 sec rest interval
300 as surging 75's - swim continuous and every 3rd length of short course pool swim as a surge
200 as 4 x 50 sprint/cruise swimming back stroke on the cruise length
100 as 4 x 25 swim from the middle of pool as a sprint into the wall and coming off the wall back into sprint with breath control

Cool down - 200 m incorporating stroke work

This incorporated my favorite warm up ladder and then utilized the same ladder concept to build a set with some variety.  It was good to get back into the pool after taking a little time off to rest after my TriFest for MS race weekend.  Going into that race, my hip was feeling tight and it just felt like I needed to take a little rest break.  I took two weeks off and my body and mind are ready to get back into training now.

Up next...laying out my Fall and Winter race plans.

Winter Skin and the Swimmer

Disclosure:  I am a SBR Sports Ambassador and receive product samples of TriSwim products.  All opinions are based on my personal experience with TriSwim products and I was not required to make this post or statements.

Earlier this week a Facebook friend commented on her wall that she was swimming more and noticed that her skin was getting dry and itchy.  I find that this is a common winter problem for the swimmer.
Chlorine is used to treat our pools and the effect that it has on the skin is that it removes the skin's natural oils causing dryness to occur.  It's really important to remove the chlorine from your skin following swims and I turn to TriSwim products for that purpose.  Lots of the feedback that she got on her post were on what types of lotions she should use but if you aren't neutralizing the chlorine the lotion can't do it's job!

TriSwim is a line up of products that includes shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion.  They all contain ingredients to neutralize the chlorine and also return moisture back to your skin or hair.  I have been using TriSwim for several years and some days it is my favorite part of my swims! The products have a light, citrus scent and feel wonderful.   The greatest thing about TriSwim is that it doesn't mask the chemical scent that you normally have after a swim in a chlorinated pool.  Instead, the formulas remove that scent entirely.

Winter is tough on your skin no matter what type of athlete you are but swimmers have to
think about chlorine in the mix too.  My routine use of TriSwim after all of my swims keeps my skin from getting dry and keeps me from smelling like the pool when I return to the office after lunch swims.  I'm not a big fan of lotions until after swimming...slippery pool buoys! After my swim I make sure to use lotion to return moisture to my skin and the TriSwim lotion is very light and non-greasy.

Don't let the winter air and the chlorine stop you from swimming.  Invest in a quality body wash and shampoo and keep your swim training in tip-top shape!

Here's the workout that we did on Monday to give you some swim inspiration to go with you new TriSwim products!

Warm Up - swim 400 - 850 (choice of stroke, kick, drills, etc.)
Set 1 - 500 yd ladder
25 - free on the :30
50 - free/back on the 1:00
75 - free, free, breast on the 1:20 - 1:30
100 - free on the 1:50
100 - free on the 1:50
75 - free, free, breast on the 1:20 - 1:30
50 - free/back on the 1:00
25 free on the :30

Set 2 - 8 x 75 on the 1:20

Set 3 - 6 x 50 on the 1:00

Cool down - 50
Total - about 1900 - 2300 depending on your warm up choice


You can find TriSwim at several online retailers and at SBR Sports web site.  Even better follow TriSwim on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on any specials that they are running.  

12 Days of 25's Christmas Swim

It's December 22nd and I can't help but look for some ways to incorporate the holidays into my workouts.  Today was a lunch time swim.  I arrived at the pool before any of my friends and dug into my gear bag for a copy of an old 12 days of Christmas swim.

The swim totaled 1950 yards which was the perfect distance for a lunch swim.  I went ahead and got started and then my friends joined in later when they arrived. The workout works down a ladder in increments of 25 yards based on whatever day you are on...12 to 1.

12 x 25 = 300 yard warm up swim
11 x 25 = 275 done as 3 x 75 with stroke in the middle, plus 1 x 50 free/stroke
10 x 25 = 250 done as 5 x 50 fast with 10-15 sec recovery
9 x 25 = 225 done as 3 x 75 with stroke in the middle
8 x 25 = 200 done as 200 pull
7 x 25 = 175 done as drill/kick/swim/drill/kick/swim/drill
6 x 25 = 150 done as 3 x 50 on min
5 x 25 = 125 done as a build within getting faster each 25
4 x 25 = 100 done as 100IM
3 x 25 = 75 done with stroke in the middle
2 x 25 = 50 done fast
1 x 25 = 25

There's a lot of variety in this workout and you can easily modify it if you don't like to incorporate strokes into your swim sets.

My favorite swim gear company SBR Sports is offering a fun giveaway this holiday season.  It's a countdown to 2015 and every day they are giving away an awesome prize including great product like TriSwim and TriSlide.  You can follow along via the SBR Sports Instagram feed and enter at the link given each day.

http://instagram.com/sbrsportsinc/

http://sbrsportsinc.com/sbrcontestentry.html

Who says swimmers have green hair???

Here's a quick video blog that I made a few weeks ago after returning to work from a lunch time swim.  Don't mind the goggle rings still faintly visible around my eyes and the lack of makeup!

I love Triswim products and use it after every swim.  The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all have a light citrus scent and a rich lather.  I love that I leave the gym not feeling itchy or smelling like the pool.  Regular products don't get the same results and that's why I stick with Triswim!

I hinted about my swimming schedule in the video.  This week has been an off week for me...work has been jam-packed with meetings and projects and I just haven't had the time to get away at lunch for a swim.  Let me tell you...I miss the pool! My head misses the pool and my body definitely misses the pool!  It is one workout that just takes care of all of me and I can't wait to get my schedule back in line so that my lunch workouts are back on.

Fitting in a Lunch Workout

Disclosure:  I am a sponsored athlete for SBR Sports makers of TriSwim.  I am provided free products for my use however all opinions regarding their products are my own based on my personal experience with the products.

As a full-time professional fitting in the training for triathlon would not work if I didn't include lunch time workouts in my schedule.  Generally I complete my swim workouts during the lunch time but I have done other workouts on occasion.  Today I realized that many people probably find it to be a challenge to fit a workout in during your lunch break.  Here are my tips!

1) Be efficient - plan your locker room usage so that you are most efficient.  If the mirrors are between the showers and your locker, then complete your tasks at the mirrors before moving on to your locker.  At my gym, the showers are closest to the pool doors.  This means that I take all of my shower gear into the pool area so that when I am finished I can walk to the showers and not walk past the showers to my locker and then back to the showers.  Walking back and forth through out the locker room adds unnecessary time that you don't have! 

2) Use quality products - look for products that allow you to multitask. I don't hide my love of TriSwim products.  I utilize the shampoo and body wash whenever I swim.  On days when I'm really rushed I will just use the shampoo lather to wash both my hair and body!  

3) Find a go-to style - how can you style your hair quickly and professionally.  In other words, don't style your hair in the most complex style possible on days you are working out at lunch!  Whether I have a short style or a little longer style, I simply dry my hair straight.  It's simple and quick and works for my style.  If I have big meetings later in the day then I might break out my straightener and redo my morning style.  

4) Use multiple tools - there is no reason you can't use the hand dryer and your blow dryer at the same time to speed up drying your hair! Make sure if you are using styling tools that you plug them in when you start drying your hair so that they are nice and hot when you are ready for them.  

5) Consider applying makeup back at your office.  I'm usually still sweating as I finish up in the locker room and in the summer I continue to sweat in the hot car for my drive back to the office.  That means it makes more sense to apply makeup back at my office after I've had a chance to cool off a little! 

Most days I can get into the gym, swim a 2000 yd workout, and then get ready within an hour to just over an hour.  It really all depends on how social the swim workout is not on my getting ready process!  I keep my time in the locker room as efficient as possible so that the majority of my time at the gym is spent on working out.  Hope this helps inspire you to give lunch workouts a try! 

Open Water Swimming in the Off-Season

There is something unique to open water swimming and many people think that you just can't replicate it in the pool.  Well, today I think I figured out how to do it.  Here are my simple steps:

1) Find a swimmer who is faster than you.
2) Split a lane with said swimmer.
3) Ask said swimmer to swim butterfly with a 5 sec. lead-off from you.
4) Watch the wake form and get into it!

See...it's simple.

I came up with this strategy by accident today.  The pool was busy so my swimming partner and I had to share a lane for our workout.  He's faster than me and can swim a lot more of stroke during the workout.  Even with a 5 second lead-off, I still felt like I was struggling in his wake a few times during the workout.  Though I apparently paid that back to him a few times when we would have the timing off for our flip turns.  As I was going into mine, he was coming out of his which meant he got to deal with my wake for a chance.

For our workout we did the following:

Warm up swim - 600 yds
Set 1 - 500 yd Ladder
His version: 25 fly, 50 back, 75 fly,back,breast, 100 IM, 100 free, 75 fly,back,breast, 50 back, 25 fly
My version: 25 free, 50 free/back, 75 free,free,breast, 100 pull, 100 pull, 75 free,free,breast, 50 free,back, 25 free
Set 2 - Pull 250yd to 300yd
Set 3 - 6 x 50 yds 3 on 60 sec and 3 on 55 sec
Cooldown swim - 100 yds

This year has been a great swimming year for me.  I did have a few months where I swam less than I would have liked as I adjusted to a new work position but I think that I've got that balanced back out now.  I'm looking forward to another great year for swimming in 2014.  As 2013 comes to a close, I have to thank one of my sponsors, TriSwim products, for the awesome support this year.  My hair and skin has felt great all year and I have TriSwim to thank for that.  No green hair for this girl...TriSwim gets the chlorine out and keeps my skin itch-free!

A Swimmer's Weather Dilemma

I love my lunch time swim workouts but every so often I encounter the swimmer's dilemma...rain.  I'm very lucky to have outdoor and indoor swim options during the summer.  I usually spend all but a few days doing outdoor swims because there is nothing better than getting a little sun and a good workout in.  

This week there were two days where rain played a factor in deciding what to do for my lunch workout.  The first was on Monday...it was storming hard and for the life of me I couldn't fathom heading out into the storm to get soaking wet and then jump into the pool.  I know that seems silly but silly I am! 

No matter how great your umbrella is you are bound to get wet in the rain when it is storming hard enough.  I headed to grab lunch from the cafeteria and got a chuckle when I looked around and saw that one of my normal swimming workout partners had also chosen to take a rain check on the lunch swim.  

On Thursday, we were all swimming outside and we discussed the forecast for Friday.  The meteorologists were calling for an 80% chance of rain all day.  No fun! We all decided that we would swim indoors if there was rain.  

Sure enough on Friday it was raining and it seemed like the rain fell even harder right as it was time for my lunch workout.  I got to the gym and got lucky to score a close by parking spot.  Our gym gets super crowded for lunch workouts and I was very thankful. Unfortunately, my parking spot was in an area with horrible drainage.  I swear the water was an inch deep and running fast through the parking lot.  My shoes were platform sandals and my feet and jeans still managed to get wet.  

I jumped into the pool after a quick hello to a friend and began my warmup.  I knew what workout I wanted to do and it was a set of 50's that would hit 800 yds.  I knew my total distance that I wanted for the day so I came up with a warmup and early set to help me hit my goal.  Warmup was 400 yd easy swim followed by 4 x 50 yd of drill/swim in IM order.  

Set one - 500 yd ladder.  25 yd on 30 sec.  50 yd (free/back) on 1:00, 75 yd (50 free/25 breast) on 1:30, 100 pull on 1:50 and then go back down with same.  

As I was finishing up my 500 yd ladder one of my workout buddies showed up.  He had given the rain a little time to let up.  I offered him a 200 warmup because I was ready to hit my 50's.  While he did his warmup I swam a 200 pull.  

Set two - 4 x 50 x 4.  The first set of 4 x 50 are free/stroke on the 1:00.  The second set are all free on 50 sec.  The third set are pull on 55 sec and the final fourth set are free on the 45 sec.  You get a little rest by changing the interval times so that it isn't a complete descend from 1:00 down to 45 sec.  I'm still struggling to hit the 45 second intervals.  I come in right on the 45 seconds so it's just touch and go.  I end up finishing the set of 4 about 3-4 seconds slow which is a bummer but I'll get there.  

A second workout buddy joined us doing the workout during the 50's.  The two of them decided to take the 50's even faster and do a set of 4 on the 40 second interval.  I swam a 150 pull while they did that.  I ended the workout with a 150 yd cooldown to hit 2400 yds for the day.  That's a little more than I would normally swim during a lunch workout but after surviving the monsoon I wanted to get my money's worth in the workout! 

My jeans were still a little damp from the puddles when I got cleaned up and headed back to work.  Thankfully though the rain had let up and it was barely a drizzle as I left the gym.  I was able to avoid any torrential puddles and so my shoes were much drier when I returned to work.  Apparently though one of the lunch crew decided to swim outdoors after all.  

Here's a quick list of some of my swim tips:

1) Variety - it's your friend.  Swim different strokes, swim different distances.  Don't just swim the same thing every time you get in the pool.  

2) Drills and Kick work will make you stronger.  Research different drills and try out new ones every so often.  

3) If there is torrential rain...roll up your pants! (oh wait, that's not a swim tip!)

4) TriSwim Shampoo and Conditioner is your friend...it will keep your hair looking and smelling great.  No green hair here! 

5) Push yourself - you'll never hit a faster interval if you don't try to.  Some days it might work and some days you might fall short but you've got to go for it or you will never succeed.  

Cinco no Sinko!

Today is Cinco de Mayo and in the midst of my swim warmup I decided it was important to come up with a holiday themed workout.  Now we all know that once you have started a workout, math becomes challenging.  I jumped out of the pool to quickly sketch out some workout ideas on the pool whiteboard.  My idea was simple...5 sets of 5 intervals! But we needed a workout that would hit our goal distance for the workout but also was something we could complete in 45 minutes.  Our Sunday Funday swims have just one  requirement...they must finish at 5:00 so we can have maximum hot tub time before the pool closes at 5:30!

Without any further delay here is the Cinco no Sinko workout...and I'm happy to report that no one sunk during the workout so our mission was accomplished!

#1 - 5 x 100 on the 1:50
#2 - 5 x 75 on the 1:20
#3 - 5 x 100 on the 1:45
#4 - 5 x 75 on the 1:20
#5 - 5 x 50 on the 1:00

My workout partner and I swam differently during each set based on our abilities.  Brent is faster than I am so he did more IM work where I spent most of the workout swimming free and adding in some pull as well.  We ended with a slower interval on the 50's so that I could swim stroke and still have recovery time.

During the 50's set I realized that outdoor swimming is just around the corner.  Our pool is set up as long course during our lap swim hours which means that I need to get to work on swimming 50's of each stroke.  Normally I just do stroke/free in order to stay on the same interval as my faster friends.  Today I did the first 4 in that manner as back/free and then on the final 50 I did it all back.  It was pretty painful towards the end so I will definitely need to work on that over the next few weeks.

This week was light on swimming for me since I have accepted a new position in my department.  The transition is going well but on three days this past week I missed my lunch swim due to meetings.  I really hope this week will be better.

This Cinco no Sinko workout was followed up with a hot tub and then the awesome TriSwim products to get the chlorine out of my hair and skin.  I'm so grateful to be sponsored by TriSwim because it keeps my hair soft and healthy even though I swim 4-5 days a week.

Swim Training with The Worm

Do you remember The Worm?  If you grew up in the 80's like I did then I'm sure you saw The Worm in music videos and on the dance shows that still were around then.  It involves lying on your stomach and then moving your upper and lower body in a wave like fashion...but you all already knew that I'm sure!

So yesterday after spending the afternoon visiting dog shelters with my brother in law and niece we were hanging out at my sister's house.  They have a rug in their front hallway that is the official dancing rug.  I don't know why but it is the perfect spot to get your dance on.  And for some reason yesterday I thought that I could do the worm.  I should have watched the video above because now it looks so easy.  My brother in law Scott proceeded to die of laughter and tried to get me to do it again on video.  I'm smart enough to say no to that one since my version of the Worm had no wave in it whatsoever!

Well it all connected today when I headed to the pool to get my swim on.  The workout that I had planned had lots of variety in distances and so I planned to mix in stroke when I could.  I have been trying to work on my butterfly for the last few months and I'm just not making progress.  Tonya was on deck for an indoor triathlon the fitness center was sponsoring so I talked her into filming my butterfly.  She is a certified coach and has given me tips before on butterfly. 

Clearly from the video...I don't have the right body rhythm and kick going on.  My sad attempt at The Worm is a perfect demonstration that I need to work on the wave rhythm to improve at this stroke.  I think I need to try and slow down too and get more of a glide.  I feel like I sink myself when I take a breath so my solution has been to take fewer breaths. 

It takes time to learn a new skill and that's what this will entail for me.  I'm determined to improve at butterfly and now I know that for my dry land training I just need to turn on the music and work on The Worm!

In other swimming news, I'm super excited to announce that I will be working with SBR Sports in 2013 as a sponsored athlete.  I love the entire line of products...TriSwim is always in my swim bag, TriSlide is always in my race bag, and Foggle isn't just the way I feel after a hard swim - it's what I use to keep my goggles clean!

Some Christmas Wish List Items

We are sooooo close to Christmas and I haven't even shared my Christmas Wish List.  Here are a few things that I am asking Santa for this year.


Swim fins...The fins that I have are a longer style and they are starting to tear near the toe opening from how I flip turn and push off the wall in them.  I need to work on that so that I push off the wall from the bottom of my foot versus the fin blade.  Oops...maybe Santa could replace my fins with some new ones!

Road Runner Sports R-Gear Double Time Tank...this looks like it would be so cute and fun to wear to workout classes.  I would like more workout clothes that aren't as running specific but are things I can wear to classes or yoga. 


Nike Free in Leopard...how cute are these! I would use these for running around town versus working out in them since I'm a Saucony girl for my running shoes but I can't resist the leopard print.

Triswim products!!! I love the Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash from TriSwim.  The scents are amazing and it really helps keep my hair in great shape which is asking a lot since I swim 4-5 days a week.  Please Santa...I need to restock my swim bag!



Recovery food is always great and who doesn't love Bacon! Petit Jean bacon rocks...it's a local Arkansas company and it is sooooo good.  I might be treating someone on my list to one of their great gift boxes.  Make sure you visit my friends at Arkansas Women Bloggers to enter for a Gift Box Giveaway.   http://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/2012/12/petit-jean-meats-gift-box-giveaway/

What's on your wish list?  Share in the comments because I love learning about new products!

Run Happy - Giveaway Winner

This morning I drew to determine the winner of the Run Happy t-shirt giveaway.  I wanted a fun way to draw so I listed all the comment names on small slips of paper and placed them into my Shark Sprint pint glass.  The Shark Sprint was my first ever triathlon in 2009 and thinking of that accomplishment always makes me happy.

There were 31 entries into the giveaway. 

The lucky winner was from comment #2 made by Heather.

Heather wins the Run Happy t-shirt as well as some samples from SBR's TriSwim product line.  While Brooks helps me Run Happy...TriSwim helps me Swim Happy! Congratulations to Heather!!!

Heather please email me at runningwhit at hotmail dot com with your mailing information so that I can get your prize in the mail to you.