More on the title laterMarch is here, in the Steve Schofield book, its spring although there is several inches of snow at my house. Itll be gone soon. The last couple of weeks have been good while I continue to train for the Triathlon. It still seems far off and God continues to provide good health and ambition to work out. I spent a week not swimming since I was out of town attending a conference. I was able to continuing running on the elliptical and even tried the tread mill. There is a world of difference in running. The second day of training, I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and tried 18 minutes on the treadmill. I was able to run honestly 1 to 2 minutes max. I felt led to start the program (couch to 5k) over, but running outdoors. When I returned from my conference, the weather was nice enough to run around Baldwin lake, a 2.2 mile lake within the town of Greenville. I did the first program, which is 5 minutes walking and then intervals of 1 minute run followed by 1 minute 30 seconds walking. After 2.24 miles, my pace was 9:59 per mile. I was blown away as I did a 5 k walk earlier and averaged 17 minutes. Im not sure the first one counted, but at least 17 minutes per mile was where I had to start. Im hoping by mid-April I can run outside three days a week along with biking 10 12 miles three days a week. My goal is to be able to perform both exercises biking and running together. This will help understand how tired Id be, pray for good weather. PS The funny part when I told my wife, she said thats all, I thought youd do at least eight minutes. I like her high hopes for me, I was a little disappointed at first, but realized 8 minutes per mile would be awesome!
Oh yea, then there is the swimming part. I continue to make baby steps and realize I cant make it 1/4 mile yet. One of the drills I found on the web was called pencil drill, it was meant to float face down in the water and slowly kick to see how far you float after pushing off the wall. This turned into me doing what I call thirds. I divided the pool into thirds and worked on freestyle swimming technique. Each time, I would swim four strokes, stop, breath and start again. It surprisingly made me realize I could swim the length of the pool quickly. This past week was my first to complete this drill. Each time, I finished 10 laps. I need to be able to do 13 for a 1/4 mile. Im getting more comfortable with my face in the water although when I get winded, my technique slips. On Fridays, Im focusing on drills. I walked through the water practicing four strokes, breath. Its what people have labeled, muscle memory. My body is still developing this memory, hope it comes soon!
Ill keep after it. I finished the 7th week on the elliptical, It has me walking 10 minutes and 25 minutes of jogging. Im excited to get outside and start training. Ive been slacking on bike training, its one thing to ride on the spin bike, its another to get outside.
In summary, the title I think has changed from Clean Slate : 21 days to a new beginning to One Reason : 21 days to a new Beginning. Well see if that sticks. Im doing this for one reason, God suggested I do it plus describes the journey. Im hoping the next week coming will have me getting into rhythm being able to put everything together swimming wise. Keep on praying and stay tuned. More to come
Pondering Thought 