Swimming

17 July 2019

	Swim 1k min.sec	Swim 750m min.sec	Swim 500m min.sec	Swim 250m min.sec	50m sec.100ths
17-Jul	24.37 (5.55)	18.42 (6.10)	12.32  (6.14)	6.18	49.18

Today was the second day swimming after a few weeks. At first I was not swimming because I have a pain in my groin. I'm afraid it is a hernia. One doctor here gave me an ultrasound, and he said he couldn't find anything. Another doctor said that hernias don't show up on an ultrasound. So...and least
it's not something that CAN be found by an ultrasound--like a tumor or something serious. Actually, a tumor would be serious enough. I'd prefer not to have one of those.

Swimming was excellent today. I actually wasn't sure if I had done 5 laps after the 18.42 mark, or 4. At the halfway point, I toyed with the idea of swimming 2k instead of 1k. I decided to really push it, and if I finished 1k in less than 25 min, I thought I'd reward myself by NOT having to do the 2k. The I considered that 25 min is not that a great accomplishment--25 minutes is easy. I decided to try for 24:30. I considered that I would have to swim the second 500 meters in under 12 minutes--something I'd never done before, and I big accomplishment. I decided not to worry about it, but I still pushed it pretty hard. 

I'm actually not 100% sure even now that I did 5 laps after the 750-meter mark. But now I have figured out the times of the legs. I swam the first 250 meters in 6.18, second in 6.14, third in 6.10, and the fourth in 5.55. That all seems quite reasonable.

When I looked at my watch at the 24.37 mark, I figured that I must have done the last 250 meters in less than 6 minutes--something I didn't think I'd ever done--so I quickly did another lap. Ended in 25.42. 

Then I tried to sprint one lab of 50 meters. I have not been able to get under 50 seconds. In my records, it says that on May 2, I swim 50 meters in 48.63, but I'm not 100% sure that is accurate. 

Today, I swam 50 in 50.41. I was going to accept it and get out of the pool. Then I considered that I would do a bit more stretching and try it again. I pushed it to the max, even though I felt like my legs were cramping a bit. I pushed, pushed, pushed. At the halfway point, when I turned around, my left swimming goggle was leaking. I tried to ignore it. Basically, I didn't worry about the legs, but point all my effort into my arms. Success! 

My lungs were burning for air, but life felt great. As I look at my times, I see that I achieved new records for each distance except for the first 250 meters. This tells me that before I do races or swims, I should take some time off before the event. I know that is usually the recommendation, but I'm not sure I've every followed such recommendations. This tells me that when I do the Bosporus swim next summer, I should take a week or more rest before the event.