Beginning of the Season Benchmarks

What a day! Today we had one of those monster workouts where you walk away afterward feeling SO strong and able. I just feel awesome looking back at how hard we all worked this morning.

I had butterflies and knots in my stomach during the drive over to Pleasant Hill with Phil. It's that fear of the unknown that gets me everytime.



We pulled into the pool parking lot and met with the Team ~ must have been about 30+ degrees this morning. The Coaches had decided to split up the Team, and I was in the group that would jump in the pool first. There I was. Terrified and shaking in my swim cap over how far and how fast I would need to swim. And then, Coach Sedonia gave us our instructions: 400 yds without stopping. No breaks for water, no hanging on the walls. Just continuous swimming. Well. Despite all my fear, and despite all apprehension I had, I did it. I had to throw in a couple laps of breaststroke but I kept going, kept breathing, and swam 16 continuous laps. And not only did I make it, I felt awesome afterward! We continued on with our swim workout for another hour and a half or so (drills and such -- I got to share a lane with BK) and ended with a nice cooldown. I totally surprised myself again!



After we dried off and changed, it was time for our 2-mile run benchmark test with Coach Simon. We started with a mile warmup, followed by some plyometrics. My 2-mile time was pretty good. Like the swim marker, I'm satisfied with it. It's going to be great to see all the progress & improvement I'll make throughout the season ~ which is the purpose of the benchmark testing: to see where you are and how you can get better.





About a half an hour of running and up next, we had Core and Strength Training with Coach Doug. During this part of the day, I had reached my "hurts to so good phase", which I just learned and realized I had! This had been our fourth hour of training for the day and despite the little aches and burn from pushing our bodies, it honestly felt so good! It had to be the endorphins! Or maybe the Gu Phil lent me before the run. I may have a change of heart later, but I can safely say that I loved today's core workout. Pretty evident, wouldn't you say?





Grabbed some pizza with the Team after our morning at the pool & track, hopped into a nice hot shower when I got home and promptly passed out for a 2-hour nap. What a fantastic training day.

And now, on to recover and tackle the bike...

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Week #1 Workout Summary

Swim: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Bike: 0 hours and 30 minutes
Run: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 40 minutes
Total Workout: 4 hours and 20 minutes