First 4K Swim Ever

Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been training like an animal while trying to actually keep my job and it's just been CRAZY. Coach has me doing a bike block, which I need, but I just rode four days in a row and the legs are SHOT. (It doesn't help that we've had absolutely HORRIBLE weather - 40's and pouring - all week so I've had to do half of the rides on the dreaded trainer. Why oh why couldn't it be a swim block?)

Anyway, with the college pool about to close (yes, the only pool in Lake Placid, a town of swimmers and triathletes, closes for several weeks TWICE A YEAR, but that's a rant for another time.) I had a 4K swim. (I will be doing one 4K swim a week until the pool reopens at the end of the month.) I was a bit nervous going into it, but excited too. Nothing like a new challenge, especially in the pool.

Luckily the actual sets were pretty easy - some 600's thrown in there, but mostly 100's with plenty of rest. Helped keep the new distance manageable. I kept all my paces mostly around 2:25 until the last 600 at the very end. Although my "engine" felt fine, my back and shoulders were just shot. I could tell I was going at a snail's pace and my watch confirmed it: 16:00 or a 2:40 pace. Ouch. However, the rest of my splits were not groundbreaking but good. Considering that 1.) I've only swam once a week the past 2 out of 3 weeks and 2.) It was a 33% increase over my previous longest swim, I can't complain at all.

Now back to hitting the bike hard until the pool resumes normal hours (or the lake warms up out of the 30's).