After a whole weekend of family fun, I finally got back to exercising. I was supposed to run the Fireball 5k on Sunday Night, but a bowl of ice cream prohibited me from running. I needed the sleep AND ice cream anyway. With about 600 people finishing, I am sure that my time wouldn't have been all that great. So I will save the shoes for another day.

I went to the pool today to get in 800 meters. I think that I kept each of the laps under 1 minute, which is my measuring stick for how I am doing. On the way out I asked if they had a Lost and Found and sure enough, my goggles were there, back from the Twilight Zone. Salvation!

I doubt that I will get any running in this week, but we will see.

I made it back into the pool today at lunch. I can't say that I had an easy time being back in the water as I had a number of things not go very well for me.

The biggest thing during this swim was that my goggles were taking on water whether or not I tightened or loosened them. I think most of the laps that I did, I had water in one goggle or the other. So it was a pain in the eye for the most part.

Another problem was that since I had not done any exercise for the past 10 days, swimming 800 meters wasn't difficult, but wasn't as easy as before. I know that by weeks end, I will be back into the regular routine and perhaps try for 1600 meters again. I figured that I should keep it relaxed today and not to wear myself out. After all, I do have a 10 day old at the house.

I didn't have a chance to preregister for the Fireball 5k this Sunday, so I am not sure if I am going to do it. It would be the full $20 at this point and that 1/4 of a pair of running shoes. I might not deplete my running budget, so that I can have new shoes for Knoxville next spring, especially if I do Big South Fork and maybe Chickamauga (Nov). So we will see, Pete had offered to pay for the race, but I was slack and didn't register… I'll blame it on the kid until he is big enough to whoop me.

I may try to get a trail run in tomorrow. I'll have to call Beer Boy and see if he is ready to get in trouble again.

I did it, I broke the 1 mile marker in the pool. Seems so short compared to running, but a milestone nonetheless! And the cool thing was that it wasn't that hard to do. I think remembering lap counts is the hardest thing to do. At least in running the scenery changes, but in the pool it's blue sky, bottom of pool, blue sky, bottom of pool, blue sky, bottom of pool, blue sky, bottom of pool, blue sky, bottom of pool and so on. The do make Aqua MP3 player specifically for swimming… having a pair of those would be cool!

So, I'll be taking the next 10 days off from swimming and running with the new baby. I may try to lift weights at home, if I'm not too tired. So we will see. I won't even go running tonight. I think that I have a good enough base that taking the time off won't affect any training up to this point.

I may consider doing the Fireball 5k on July 3rd since Pete and Janet will be here to watch Eric and help jen with the baby. Plus it is at night, so Eric would be asleep anyway. Not 100% on that race yet either… it costs money.

Yesterday, despite having semi-sunny weather it was pleasant swimming in the pool. The past few weeks… my swimming sessions have been increasing in distance. The first week of June it was a 900m and then a 1000m session. Last week, it was a 900m and a 1100m session. Well, yesterday, it was a 1463m session! That is just at 0.8 miles and is just one lap short of the Olympic Swim Distance for a triathlon. And the best thing is that I wasn't all that exhausted afterwards. I do know that I slowed down after my 20th lap since it was taking me 45 sec for a lap, after 20 I was closer to a minute.

The exciting part of it was that since swimming this distance wasn't all that bad. I started to think to myself… hmmm 2000m (1.2 mile) is the Half Ironman distance. I could probably do that. I would have to suffer through the bike, but I could finish. I know I would never be close to the age division awards unless there were 3 of us! It just so happens that Oak Ridge has the Atomic Half-Ironman near my birthday in September. Hmmm… that would be ideal. Train all summer (oh wait… the baby) and be ready for race.

More realistically, I should do an Olympic distance this fall… skip the Atomic H-I this fall, but do something like Chickamauga Marathon in the fall, Knoxville Marathon in spring, trideltathon, then the triathlon circuit in the summer to gear up for Atomic Half Ironman Sept 2006. Unfortunately, I would need some new equipment… wetsuit, triathlon shorts, shoes that I just can't afford… too bad I can't get sponsored.

Turns out that our babysitter called in sick which meant that I had to forego my running for Tuesday. All was not lost, I was able to lift some weights… almost a full workout. So, I was pleased with that.

Today, I swam 1100 meters at lunch. It was really 1097 meter based on calculations, but you'll forgive me, right? Today I felt very strong in the pool. I seemed to have my technique down right until the end when I wasn't rotating my left arm high enough. I was albe to endure 8 lap intervals with only a minute rest in between. 8 laps comes out to be 365 meters or 0.22 miles but in the lane configuration at the pool, it's only 25 yards (23 meters) until the end of lane. This means that you can push off the wall much earlier than if you are swimming when the lanes are 50 meters.

Tomorrow should be a Trail Running Day. It also looks like we will have Pete & Janet down for the 4th, so that means I can run the Fireball 5k! YAY! If I don't get the shirt, it'll only be $7 race although the Fireball shirts have been cool the past few years.

It just so happens that the UT pool is heated, so that even in Dec and Jan the Recreational swim is outdoors. This is true except in inclement weather that all swimming is done outdoors. So the discussion at the office that the pool water would be warm like bath water.

Yesterday was the hottest day (I think) of the summer and so I was going swimming… well, the water was just perfect. It was actually a little chilly, enough to be refreshing, but not cold. So, I cranked out about 960 meters in the pool in a decent time. I believe that my technique is improving and thus making me swim faster, plus my muscles are increasing in stamina as well. So that makes me happy.

I'd love to do one of the Sprint Triathlons here this summer, but with the new baby on the way, I am not sure if that is going to happen at all. But, I will continue to swim none the less.

Today, it looks like it will be another chapter in The Adventures of Beer Boy and Math Boy!