Last week conditions were very odd with the current giving us a fast swim down to the turnaround buoy and a brutal fight to swim back. Kevan and I (at my request) gave up last week and headed in after 1.5 miles as I was exhausted at that point and wanted to get out of the water. This week I was determined to complete the entire length of the swim loop. We were greeted with what looked like flat calm conditions but once out in the ocean there were some gentle small swells. Nothing too challenging though at all and it was a really enjoyable swim. We made it out to the turnaround buoy without too much trouble and I was really happy when we turned around to head back to realize we weren't fighting the same current we had last time. In fact the swim back was really enjoyable. Kevan and I swam the way out together making sure to stay nearby each other but on the way back we sort of went with an everyman for himself approach and it was nice not to stop at all and just keep swimming.
I'm very pleased to say that I set a new longest swim distance for myself tonight! I swam the entire course which worked out to be 1.63 miles. Nice! And I felt like I could have kept going as I kept a nice relaxed pace the entire time. Part of me wanted to go for 2 miles today but part of me was also ready to be done. I do feel a two miler in my near future though. I'd love to get to 2.4 miles in open water before the season is over just once just to try it.
Below is the GPS image from my garmin. I'm surprised I swam such a tight line. Apparently I managed to sight well and keep to the buoys. There were a few times though when I got a bit lost and drifted off the buoy line once or twice. Some of the buoys are pretty far apart so its hard to sight the next one. You just sort of have to swim on faith and hope you find it once you get closer. I felt like I swam a worse line than this but its nice to see that my out and back are pretty close to each other.
Definitely a good solid swim today and another boost of confidence that I'll be fine in the FIRM swim. In fact I'm looking forward to that swim. Good day today!
Next up....
Tomorrow will be a two hour ride with a bunch of intervals thrown in. I'll leave from my house and go through providence hit the bike path REALLY early for the intervals. So hopefully I'll have it mostly to myself. Its also a nice and flat course just like the FIRM so it will be a good simulation. I'm really excited about this weekends hard effort brick coming up. Its going to be a great test of where I'm at fitness wise. I really hope I can get my average up on the course to 19's. We'll see what happens.... I can't wait!
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