Wanted: Cardiovascular Fitness. Price is no object.

There’s a song my husband says reminds him of me.  It wouldn’t be my pick for a theme song, certainly.  I think the defining lyrics go, “She only drinks coffee at midnight / When the moment is not right / Her timing is quite, unusual / You see her confidence is tragic, but her intuition magic / And the shape of her body? / Unusual” (Train, “Meet Virginia”).

I heard the song on the radio coming home from my swimming today, and it got me giggling.  My timing is truly questionable.  To decide 5 months to Half Ironman was plenty from my level of unfit obesity is both poor timing and admittedly tragic confidence.  So what?   My magical intuition says this race is just the ticket; and the shape of my body is certainly changing for the better.

After last week’s disheartening exhaustion and a bit of panic at Triathlon Swim Clinic, I decided to get humble and take the last heat in my swim lane.  My focus was to keep it slow, not compete with others, learn the techniques,  and have fun.  It was a good plan.   Except the coach stopped us on the first lap and told me I need to move up to first heat.  I am, indeed, the fastest of the very slow.  The irony is not lost on me.

I did great for the first hour and 20 minutes.  Then I started getting tired.  My technique is getting good.  My cardiovascular fitness is not.  Coach said some really nice things and gave me some great pointers today.  I need to do a scissor instead of a flutter kick.  We did fingertip drills and I worked on ensuring my stroke continues past my hip and up into the air before making a shark fin with my elbow.  I had a great time pretending to be a Great White during the drills.  This really is fun, and I ended class with a smile on my face. 

I am so lucky I get to spend time in the pool.  The swim clinic is teaching me so much that I need to know.  It’s a great class.  I am so happy I took it, and as a result my swimming is really improving. 

This week I need to get to the point where my fitness and endurance are up enough that my technique doesn’t fall apart due to fatigue.   That means more workouts.  That means pushing harder.   That means getting serious about heart rate, and interval training, and staying fully engaged in the workout.  No going through the motions this week.

I also checked with hubby, and am scheduling a week at a fitness resort for March.  It is good to have goals.  It is even better to have a game plan. 

I’m good.  I got this handled. 

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