Gettin' Registered and Goin' Swimmin'

Swim Day

1 x 200 Warm-up
4 x 250- 3:45
1 x 100- 1:20
1 x 500- Pull
4 x 200- (100-5,7,9; 100- fingertip drag) 3:30
1 x 150 Cool down

You'll notice the 1 x 100 on the 1:20. Yeah, that was supposed to be 5 x 100 like the last two swims but I'm having training doubts about the effectiveness of short, fast sets. My initial logic, that I'll slowly increase the number of 100s on the 1:20 until it's an easy pace to hold for a long time, still feels solid. But at the same time, it seems wrong to train at such a repeat of short distances when I should be preparing my body to chug for a longer period of time. Maybe once I'm done base training and I'm getting into it a little more I'll bring that set back. Right now I think maybe I should be stretching the length of my sets out and trying to get my stroke as smooth as possible.
Other than that it was another good swim. I got up early, so it was a 5:30am workout, but I'm starting to like that (aside from the waking up at 4:45 thing). I don't have to worry about working out after school, I can relax a little more and spend time with the wife. Plus, once real training kicks in I'll be swimming in the am and having a ride in the afternoon. Might as well get used to it now.

AND NOW....*Dirtbag Drumroll*
I'm officially registered for the Honolulu Triathlon- Olympic distance! (pause for applause) Its a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike, and a 10K run. For the Americans out there, that's a 0.9mi swim, 25mi bike, 6.2mi run. So, its about twice as long as the last two races. Which means the training will be more intense and more brutal, but I like that. It'll be fun.
And to start the first third of the training cycle off, the wife and I just registered for the Great Aloha Run. This is something that even a year ago I had no interest in doing. Get up early and run eight miles? Yeah, no. But now? Now it makes perfect sense. It'll make me a better triathlete, a stronger runner, and mentally tougher. And it might actually be fun. That thought kinda blows my mind.
So base training stays strong, trying to build my engine up. The trip to Dallas and then to New Zealand is going to cut into that, but I can run in Dallas and I'm certainly not going to complain about not training during the honeymoon. I need to get the bike all fixed up and then I'll really be able to focus on that, which will be the most important portion of the training.
Long run this weekend.