Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Use Those Hips (Plus Bonus Batman and Big Island)

Swim
1 x 200- Warm-up
5 x 200- (100-fist, 1, 2, 3/100- hip focus)
1 x 500- 50 easy/50 hard
5 x 50- sideline kick
1 x 100- cool down
total- 2050yds

Ride
time- 1:42
distance- 30.62mi

First workout back from spring break is always tough, mostly because I forget how to be an adult on break. I stay up too late, I sleep in, the couch gets very familiar with the back of my front. Staying up too late and sleeping in means that first day back is a horrible adjustment. I tried to go to bed at a reasonable time Sunday night, ended up staring at the bookcase until after midnight, then still got up for my morning swim at 4:45am. As I posted on Facebook that day, as soon as my coffee wore off I was going to fall over like someone hit me with a frying pan.
Drill day in the water, not a lot of high energy excitement. Starting to think more about how my hips are involved in the stroke and trying to activate them to pop the front of the stroke and held the pull. That's what the hip focus is on the first 200 set. Open water swimming doesn't allow for gliding, too many other factors work against it, and to compensate I'm going to need to slightly shorten my stroke. This is where generating power from my hips comes in. This about Ali throwing a punch or Pujols driving one deep. The hips are closed and then BOOM they open and power is released. Each freestyle stroke is like that, though on a quicker scale.
And the ride was strong if unremarkable. I've learned to duck around red lights by making like I'm turning right but oh no I'm actually going straight still. Really the best part of my ride was sporting my new kit. Much love to Background Profiles for sponsoring me, because that helped me justify buying this.
What's that? The BikeSignal?

Prepared for my archnemisis: The Driver

So everyone I pass knows who did it
One really cool thing about the shorts is they are bib shorts, so its more like a wrestling singlet. They have straps that go up over my shoulders. This makes them way more comfortable to ride in because there is no sag. This makes them way harder to pee in because first you have to take the jersey off.
And now a couple of pictures from our vacation to the Big Island.
Swim Start/Run Finish for Kona IM World Championships


The beach start of the Honu- June 2

Another shot of the Honu swim start

The run up to T1

Soon I will swim in this water with Lance

4 comments:

  1. All that bike kit makes me think of is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcackzHbBT0 and you running around saying "i'm batman"

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  2. You totally need to get a batman bike helmet. With ears.

    And you have to take your jersey off to pee? Really? Amateur....

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  3. That is definitely a cool kit. Hope to see you rocking it at the next triathlon.

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    1. Not going to be rocking it at a tri since the shorts would really not be swim or run friendly. Too big of a pad. But I think I might register of the Haleiwa Metric, and I would totally be Batman for that. Sean's right, I've gotta figure out a way to attach the ears to my helmet.

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