Checking in

I wasn't on fire last night at swim practice. Maybe that's what I get for not having swum in two weeks. I had some really nice, fluid moments but I also found myself fighting against the current for a lot of it. It's been a while since I shared a lane with more than four people or so and we were all going at a good clip and sloshing up the pool. It was a struggle to keep up and I even had some muscle fatigue. Kind of weird since I didn't have that at the last practice, which was harder. Oh well, it happens!

Warm-up
100 free
200 - 50 kick, 50 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim
150 free pull

Main Sets
2 * 100 free working on stroke count - I can't remember ever doing stroke counts in 12 years of swimming (maybe once or twice many years ago?) so I was surprised to learn something new! My comfortable stroke per length count was about 17-18. If I really stretched it out I was at 15-16.
2 * 150 working on stroke count - I was able to reduce stroke count on each 50 of the first 150 but struggled to stretch out enough while maintaining speed to reduce on the second 150. I've always had a slightly fast turnover.

2 * 200 free
5 * 150 free, last 50 easy....I sat out a 50
4 * 75 - 25 drill, 25 swim, 25 sprint

Cool Down
150 swim

Total swum: 2500 yards
Total comments on my suit: 2

Gotta say, the cut of the sushi suit leaves a bit to be desired. In the future I will stick with Dolfin Uglies as I find the cut to be generous and comfortable. This ClubSwim suit goes a bit high on the legs in the front and definitely shows some butt in the back. It also comes a bit low in the chest (not a huge issue for me as I don't have a lot there) and cuts in on the chest sides as well. The lower back cut is very flattering and the straps are comfortable but I did find myself pulling and tugging on the rest of the suit.

...

This morning I went to the gym for 30 min. strength training. I don't think I'm a morning weights person. I can do morning cardio and perform acceptably and feel good afterward but I felt like I lacked strength this morning. Evenings seem to be my ideal lifting period. I've had time to build up glycogen stores throughout the day and at that point I'm looking to seriously decompress after work. Lesson learned!

I also had my body fat % measured this morning. I do that every once in a while to basically make sure I'm not eating too much chocolate along with my veggies. I was down quite a bit in the three different areas measured (upper arm, abs, thigh), especially abs. In May I was measured at 23%. Today I was down to about 20.5%. Wow! I weigh the same as I did then and simply didn't expect such a drastic change. Must be all of my swimbikerun. I am officially (barely) in athletic range. W00t! I am happy at my current weight and I really don't work out to lose fat anymore (although additional firming up and muscle definition is always welcome and is basically the result of lost fat). However, it is a nice side effect of my efforts. :)

Looking forward to my tempo run tonight!