Riding The Struggle Bus

This morning I drove to Roeland Park Aquatic Center for my very first outdoor swim of 2012. I love these first couple of weeks, when the temp outside is in the 50s, I don't over heat during work out, and it is so refreshing when I get out of the pool. Most think it's too cold, but I love it!

First, if you haven't been here before, I'm a father of a child with Autism and I'm competing in the 2012 US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals, and raising money for the Ozark Center For Autism. Go here for more intro blog.

So I was excited to have a great workout, ready to hit it hard and make this milestone a great experience all around. My body didn't get the message. I was sluggish during warm up, which is not unusual. Then the first set, I just kept feeling worse and worse. Normally when I'm not feeling well, I just put mind over matter, and figure out a way to fight through it. But I knew quickly that wasn't going to happen today. I even considered getting out during the first set. I was, as some in the swimming world say, Riding the Struggle Bus. I think today, you might say I was driving it. The best I could do was try concentrate on keeping my form, which is actually good practice for racing. The hardest part is ignoring the clock. It never lies, the clock makes sure you know when you are having a bad day. What do I want you to get out of this? Simple.

IT HAPPENS!! And it happens to everyone. I've seen Olympians talk about it on Twitter. Katie Hoff, Ricky Berens, Natalie Coughlin. It happens, and you can't beat yourself up about it. And if you think about it, it happens even more often if you hold yourself to a high standard, like I do. And I was actually relieved when I realized, I can't remember the last time I felt that bad. That means training has been going very well. And remember I said the clock never lies. Don't forget, it lets you know when you are having a good day as well!

It's been a few days since I've been here, so here are a few workouts I've done, including today's Struggle Bus.

Skipped Monday to help the wife with the kids. Gotta do that sometimes!

For Tuesday, I put out a plea for a workout, since our team wasn't practicing together while the dome over our pool was being taken down. My friend and team mate Tony Stewart gave me this one.

	5/8/2012
	Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
	1	800		800	Warm Up
3	1	200	:30 Rest	600	25 Stroke, 25 Free
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	50 Stroke, 50 Free
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	75 Stroke, 50 Free, 75 Stroke
	1	200	:30 Rest	600	50 Free, 150 Stroke
				0	1st set Fly, 2nd set Back, 3rd set Brst
	1	200		200	Cool Down
				0
				3400	Meters
				2.112662	Miles

Wednesday was a workout at the gym. Again, I did my Workout Trainer app on my phone. I did Smart Dumbbell Class Act, Extreme Plank Pyramid, Quick Cardio Crunch. Solid workout, maybe part of why Thursday was so rough.

And finally, the Struggle Bus

	5/10/2012
	Qty	Meters	Interval	Total Mtrs
	1	500		500	Free	Swim
	1	400		400	I.M.	SKDS
	1	300		300	25Free25Back	Swim
	1	200		200	25Free25Brst	Swim
	1	100		100	25Free25Fly	Swim
2	7	50	1:00	700	IM around	Swim
				0	1st set work trnstn, 2nd set neg split strokes
3	1	100	2:30	300	Stroke	Kick
	4	50	1:00	600	Stroke	Swim	Dcnd 1-4
	1	100	2:00	300	I.M.	Swim
				0	1st set Fly, 2nd set Back, 3rd set Brst
	1	200		200	Cool Down
				0
				3600	Meters
				2.236936	Miles