Posts Tagged ‘bermuda’

Running Is Funny Giveaway Time!

It was a good training week, if a bit sobering. I did 12.5 miles, culminating in a benchmark 5k run this morning in 27:15. I’ve got three weeks until race day to improve on that. Yesterday I did my first track workout in a year – 6 x 400 with intervals all between 1:44 and 1:53. That was encouraging, except that last year’s track workout was 8 x 400, all between 1:32 and 1:37. In short, I’ve still got a long way to go.

We’re coming down the home stretch in the No Boundaries Couch to 5k program. My efforts to remain low-key have not really paid off, since even at my slow speed, I’m about two minutes per mile faster than the next fastest guy. I’ve had to explain to people that I’m “experienced,” without getting into details, which might sound like bragging to them. Despite that, I would recommend this type of program for returning from injury, since it forces you to stick to basics and keep your mileage low.

As promised, I’m ready to give away a cheesy souvenir of my trip to Bermuda. It’s a little wooden box from the world famous (?) Onion Jacks Trading Post in Hamilton.

I have two of these. One winner will be selected at random from the commenters to this post. And since I don’t get a lot of commenters, your chances are great! The second one will go to the commenter who gives me the best swimming advice, and that person will receive a bonus cheesy souvenir inside! What a deal! (I know. You’re having trouble containing yourself.)

Here’s the swimming situation. I’m practicing three times a week in the (unheated) apartment complex swimming pool, which is about 15 yards long. I’m steadily improving my endurance and breathing, if not quite as quickly as I would like. There is a heated outdoor 25-meter lap pool nearby, which is open year-round. I’m new to all this, so I have three stupid questions:

1) Heated or not, do people really swim laps in an outdoor pool during the winter? The winters in northern California are mild, but we do get a lot of rain and temperatures in the 30s. It just seems a bit strange to me, but what do I know?

2) How “good” should I be before getting in the 25-meter pool with other swimmers? I don’t want to be “that guy” who gets in everyone else’s way while I figure it out. Tell me about your first experience in the lap pool.

3) What are your thoughts about a swim snorkel? On the one hand, it takes care of qualms about distance and endurance in the lap pool. On the other hand, it’s like using training wheels on a bike. I might as well tattoo “dork” on my forehead.

If I had taken my swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer, instead of in August, I probably wouldn’t be facing this dilemma, but here I am. It will soon be too cold to continue in the unheated pool. What do you think? And thanks in advance.

Bye-Bye Bermuda

Got my 5k in this morning on the treadmill and now we’re about to sail away from Bermuda for the day-and-a-half trip back to New York Harbor. But not before we went shopping in Hamilton, and that means a reader giveaway when we get back!

Though we couldn’t find anything to rival the ever-popular Popener, I’m sure you’ll be eager to do whatever is necessary to win these prizes. I’ll develop some sort of competition for one, and give the other away randomly. Stay tuned to this space for details and I’ll talk to you again on Monday when we get back home. Thanks for joining us (virtually) on our vacation.

Elbow Room

Hopped the local bus this morning to Elbow Beach. It’s a public beach bordered on both sides by private resort beaches. There was some surf but it was manageable. The water temperature here is amazing. There just isn‘t any initial jolt when you enter the water. It‘s perfect.

I swam a bit, and noted the difference between working through the waves as opposed to calm water. But it was great fun and I come away from this trip with a much higher level of confidence.

We sail away at noon tomorrow, so there’s no more beach time. Back to running. I’d very much like to run in Bermuda, but the nearby areas don’t seem to be very runner-friendly. There are sidewalks in town, but not outside of it, and running in the road would be extremely dangerous. It looks like another workout on the Rubber Band of Doom.

Clearwater

Today we spent three hours at Clearwater Beach. The swimming went much better, and the Lovely Mrs. A. shot some video that showed me bringing my arms way too wide in my forward stroke. So I worked on that, plus my side breathing. Great day. The water was bath temperature.

As you can see, I also enjoyed the breaks between swimming intervals. More beach time tomorrow!

Treading Water

When going for your first open water swim, there is one additional question to ask after “How deep is it out here?” I didn’t ask the second question and it made for an exciting morning.

The Veendam anchored off the coast of St. George this morning and we were ferried to shore. We boarded a 40-foot sloop for a sail around the island, followed by swimming and snorkeling in a small cove.

The crew distributed snorkels and life vests for those who wanted them, and I asked the first question. The answer was “Eight feet.” OK, that was deeper than the pool, but I felt confident and the water was calm. So I jumped in off the deck right after the Lovely Mrs. A., who is a strong swimmer.

It was a bit of a rush as I bobbed to the surface, but I overcame my first instinct, which was to flap my arms and scream like a little girl. I maintained my composure and was floating without effort. I took a deep breath and started swimming toward shore. Then I grabbed a breath, and did another interval. Then another breath, and another interval.

About halfway through the fourth interval I realized I was still at about 8 feet, and the shore was still at a distance. The question I hadn’t asked was, “How far do I have to swim to get to 5 feet?” The answer would have been “Quite a ways.”

So as I bobbed up and down, catching my breath and trying to slither my way to shallow water, I realized it was going to be a lot harder for me when it came time to go in the other direction, back to the boat. Fortunately, the Lovely Mrs. A. was nearby, and she volunteered to get me a life vest. While she was gone, I floated serenely on my back, breathing deeply and regularly. For my first foray into deep water, it was comforting to know I wasn’t going to drown, but I was disappointed that I had gotten in over my head, so to speak.

When my wife returned with the vest, I slipped it on, while trying not to look like a sea lion getting dressed for work. I then swam about contentedly for the duration of our time and returned to the ship without further incident.

Tomorrow we’re going to the beach, where I will enter the ocean from the shallow end. I expect things to go better that way.