Good Morning!
Good news this morning – I didn’t miss my early alarm. My coach was at run group last night and stood over my shoulder as he watched me properly set my alarm for this morning’s workout. He even made sure I went ahead and set the alarm for Friday as well. No excuses, right?
The alarm went off at 5:35am on the dot, and I made it to the pool this morning with a few minutes to spare. Woo hoo!
Our team wasn’t the only one at the pool this morning. There was a high school swim club who were all pulling up (or in most cases being dropped off by their parents) at 6:30. I was in awe of the dedication of these kids for being at the pool so early in their first week of summer vacation. If you would have asked my 14 or 15 year old self to do the same thing, I would laughed and then rolled over and proceeded to sleep in until noon. It wasn’t until I hit my early 20s that it hit me that some people actually get up early to get their workouts in. Who would do something crazy like that? Pshhh…
Not only were these kids dedicated, but they were fast! Jess and I kept catching ourselves staring and admiring their skills. Made me wish I had taken swim lessons or joined a swim team as a kid. Those skills would come in handy right about now!
I’m not sure our team’s morning practice was as intense as the younger swim team’s practice, but it still pushed my limits in that short and sweet fashion.
(note this was the coach’s tailored down version of the workout based on my current skill set. the faster swimmers were doing 2 x 300 @ 5:00 and 2 x 200 @ 3:15)
Short and sweet works for me. 
No drills or paddles this morning, just an emphasis on speed and pushing ourselves. The 4 x 50 @ 1:00 (meaning we had 1 minute to do the 50 in, if we made it to the other side in 50 seconds, then we had 10 seconds to rest), was tough for me. I’m used to doing 50 intervals at 1:10 for an average of 20 seconds of rest. Strip away those extra 10 seconds and I only had 10 second of rest (or half the time I’m used to). Boy did I miss those extra 10 seconds. Instead of getting faster with the intervals as I usually do, I got slower and frew more tired. In swimming, an extra 10 seconds of rest makes a huge difference!
We ended the workout about 10 minutes early and I headed home to shower and have breakfast.
In the bowl:
- 3/4 cup Cinnamon Kashi H2H
- plain Chobani
- strawberries
- raspberries
- walnuts
Did you read?! CaitlinHTP went into labor this morning!!!! Ahhh!!! so exciting!! Any guesses on boy or girl? I’m leaning towards girl for no particular reason. I actually admire Caitlin and her husband for going the whole pregnancy without finding out, I’m horrible with surprises and would have thought waiting for the normal 16-18 week anatomy scan would have been too long to find out. Good for them for having patience! Something I clearly lack. 
Don’t forget! Tickets for Healthy Living Summit 2012 go on sale TONIGHT at 8:00pm!!!!!!!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
That breakfast looks amazing!! Strawberries = summer is officially here
Oh, early morning practices. I always watched my friends come to school with wet hair after swimming and thought how miserable it must be to jump into a cold pool in the morning! Good for you for doing it, though!
I am training for my first triathlon and enlisted the help of a former high school and college-level swimmer. I really wish that the area I grew up in offered swimming and that I was aware of it. I love the sport and if/when I have kids, I’ll definitely encourage swimming over some of the more ‘team’ sports.
Also, I wish I had done cross-country instead of feild hockey.
I wish I did cross country too. I cheered and played soccer, but I was never very good at soccer.
I remember the early morning swim practices- in the winter at 5 AM before school- bundling up during the snowy days and then back in the water right after school until dinner time. During the summer it “late” practice from 8- 10 Am and then again the evening. I had a permanent chlorine scent and could eat thousands of calories and not gain weight! Good times— but those practices were harder than any marathon I have ever run!
So excited for the HTP family! I’m leaning toward a baby boy
I always wish I’d done more endurance sports in high school like running cross country or swimming but I prefered team sports at the time.
Your swim practices make me want to join a swim club so badly! Hopefully next summer
can someone explain the Healthy living Summit to a newbie? i live in boston, but i assume i’d be out of place if i showed up, not being a blogger. i assume this isn’t geared for me.
Hi Emily! This year’s summit is geared a little more towards bloggers than years past, but all are still welcome! Please send me an email at mealsandmiles@gmail.com and I’ll fill you in on any questions you have.
Ahh so excited for Caitlyn! Your strawberries in your breakfast look so delicious, love fresh summer fruit!
Don’t feel bad-i was nearly 30 before i became aware of getting up to exercise! Best decision i’ve ever made
Summer swim team practice is the best as a kid/teen. Most club teams spend their summers doing 2-a-days. Your life is consumed by the pool, dry land, the gym, and eating! Oh, those were the days!
I am a swimmer and BOY do I remember those early a.m. practices…brrrrrr. I am glad I learned at a young age though. SO grateful for that! Good for you for going so early!!
I think it’s going to be a boy! And if you don’t finish in 1:00, what do you do? All this swimming talk is making me want to incorporate swimming as part of my marathon cross training!
Then you up your interval. If you are aiming for 10 second rests, then you would leave at 1:10.
Great job getting up with the alarm and getting your workout in!
Hmm I think it’s going to be a girl
Swimming is tough! The last time I went was 8 months ago and rest was the name of the game lol good job though. You powered through anyway!