[87] NSFB

NSFB = Not safe for breakfast.  Caveat lector.

 

ORN:  This morning, I ran my scheduled tempo run in the dark, around 5:15, and since I was in the woods part of the way, it was extremely dark sometimes.  It was so dark at one point that I looked down and thought I had spontaneously grown chest hair.  You know, because of my awesomeness finally paying off.  No such luck.  As I ran under the next street light, I discovered I had been running through clouds of gnats.  I had scores of tiny dead and dying bugs plastered to my sweaty, exposed chest and arms.  No telling how many I ingested or inhaled.  So anyway, I ran six miles in 55'09".  I ran the tempo portion too slowly [8'51"/mile on average], which is closer to my long tempo pace than today's planned medium tempo pace.  But considering the whole tempo phase was up and down the hills of Cherokee Park and that the last mile included a walk break, I'm calling it a win.

 

Yesterday morning, I swam 80 lengths at the YMCA, which is almost one nautical mile.  It was difficult, but I swam more distance, free-style, than I did last week.  I'm improving.  I wish I could use a snorkel, though.  I cannot get the breathing down.  I am convinced if I could breathe better then I would be able to free-style most or all of the workout, because I am not going very fast.  But when I get my face under water, my body screams, "OXYGEN, YOU FOOL!" and I start gasping.  I can suppress the panic, like I said, for about a lap and a half. Beyond that, I freak and switch to the breast stroke, at which I am inefficient but can swim all day long.  The workout was built around a sequence of eight laps plus two kick-board laps followed by a minute rest.  I repeated the pattern four times.  I was supposed to do five, but see above about panicking and breathing and whatnot.  I was less exhausted afterward, even though I swam more than last week, which causes me to think I am slowly improving.

 

Still trying to figure out how/when I am going to get my long run accomplished this weekend.  We're going to be quite busy.