...when I need it the most!
I'm doing Big Shoulders on 9/8, first time, longest OWS I've ever done (previous longest was an Oly tri I did in '10).
Every year, the last 2 weeks of August, my Y closes the pool 'til the day after Labor Day for cleaning and maintenance. I totally get it, not upset about it, but it's right at the shank of my training!
What makes it worse is the fact that:
-The "alternative" pools available to us, at no extra charge (which is nice), open at 6am (my Y opens at 5:30am), and they won't open at 5:30am for those of us who are used to the Y's 5:30 opening--I've asked. I need to be on the road for work by 7am, which leaves me 45 min. to work out. If I was tapering, no problem. But it will be the peak of my training.
-I am on an "away" plan with two other Y's in other towns, and they have much better hours, but I have to travel about an hour to/from each of them.
-(If this sounds terrible--sorry!) I finally found a place for OW workouts--a small, murky lake by a friend's house. It's a private development, so one must have a homeowner's permission to swim there, which I had. My friend died last Friday, 8/10, and she was a widow, so there was no one else living there and her family is selling the house ASAP. I am, of course, deeply saddened that I lost my friend--I was very fond of her--but now I've also lost my OWS training venue.
So...I punt!
I'm open, of course, to creative suggestions, but for now my plan is to go ahead and use the "alternate" pools for a few 45 min. workouts, and make those workouts hard/fast/intense.
I'll also do 3-4 longer workouts at the "away" Y pools.
I'll also step up my cross-training, with strength workouts, cycling and running.
And I'll hope for the best!
(Thanks for reading my rant/whine, and as I said, I'm open to ideas!)
I think my best advice is: don't sweat it. You'll be fine! Yeah, 45 minutes isn't a lot, but if you've been training it's going to be plenty to keep you going for the next few weeks especially when you add in a few longer workouts.I agree. What I'd recommend working on during the 45 minute swims is something like this:
5 to 10 minute quick & dirty warmup (e.g., simulate the fact that you won't likely get much of a warmup on race day at BS)
30 minute timed, straight swim -- ideally mixing in
Sighting work every 25 -- e.g., lift your head and practice OW sighting once or twice per lap
Speed / gear changes -- simulate the fast pace of a race start into a smoother pace, then randomly throw in some sprints in the midst of your straight swim
5 to 10 minute cool down
On your away days, when you might have the luxury of time in the water, try to do some 4K to 5K long workouts with a lot of the main workout being at your target BS race pace over repeat distances from 200s up to 800s (e.g., 25 x 200 up to 6 x 800).
Then, on race day, make sure you catch a good draft for as much of the race as possible :)
I think my best advice is: don't sweat it. You'll be fine! Yeah, 45 minutes isn't a lot, but if you've been training it's going to be plenty to keep you going for the next few weeks especially when you add in a few longer workouts.I agree. What I'd recommend working on during the 45 minute swims is something like this:
5 to 10 minute quick & dirty warmup (e.g., simulate the fact that you won't likely get much of a warmup on race day at BS)
30 minute timed, straight swim -- ideally mixing in
Sighting work every 25 -- e.g., lift your head and practice OW sighting once or twice per lap
Speed / gear changes -- simulate the fast pace of a race start into a smoother pace, then randomly throw in some sprints in the midst of your straight swim
5 to 10 minute cool down
On your away days, when you might have the luxury of time in the water, try to do some 4K to 5K long workouts with a lot of the main workout being at your target BS race pace over repeat distances from 200s up to 800s (e.g., 25 x 200 up to 6 x 800).
Then, on race day, make sure you catch a good draft for as much of the race as possible :)
