Transition Time

Early Spring...you know what that means?  MUD.

It also means my brain starts to think less about shredding snow and more about shredding dirt/pavement and this year open water as well.  I am hoping to get in at least one more BC day, hopefully on the big rock pile up north.  Bill's latest pics from their trip to GoS while I was taking beach naps down in Aruba looked pretty sweet.

But short of that last trip my mind is already pretty fully transitioned to the coming of warmer temps and turning cranks.  My list of parts needed to get my rides back to full working order is growing and I'll need to start buying my nutrition in bulk soon so I am ready to go.  There are also some interesting opportunities presenting themselves pertaining to racing MTB this year but that's all still up in the air so right now my focus is still mostly on trying some tri's and making sure my fitness is a bit more rounded and ready.

And I finally got a chance to see how well I shred open water last week on vacation in Aruba...its wasn't ALL beach naps, just mostly beach naps.  I'm happy to report that my fitness and some of the work I have been doing in the gym has paid off and I think I'm just about where I need to be at this point in the season as far as upper body strength/endurance.  Unfortunately if I actually need to get somewhere in the water in a decent amount of time I am in trouble.

I am a 'newb' through and through when it comes to efficient water travel, sure I know all the various strokes and how to execute them 'correctly' (for the most part) but when you really try and make it 'down to that 3rd buoy' in open water it is apparent that I am not efficient in the water and I have a lot of work to do.  From the reading/research I have done on what I should be doing I think my stroke count is WAY too high and I am just trying to force the issue in the water.  Coordinating my breathing was tough and overall I just felt kinda 'stupid'...like I was playing baseball left handed or something.  My shoulder felt ok for the most part, but I didn't swim a full 1/4 mile either and it definitely felt better doing breaststroke than freestyle but we'll see how that goes.

But at least now I have a frame of reference for what I am working with and what I need to work on.  I am hoping to get into the pool at PSU more consistently in the next few months.  I have consigned to never really being fast in the water but I need to not be destroyed when I get on the bike cause that is going to be where I make my time.  That's the goal, less left handed baseball in the water.  I'll keep you posted...