Early bird: 8,500 yards sucka!!

I wanted to get in one last big swim for July, so I got up SUPER early this morning for a long swim in the pool. The weather forecast showed a possibility for rain at Pineview, so I didn't want to risk it. That meant I had to get up even earlier, because the lap swim hours at the rec center go from 5-9 a.m. I took a half-dose of a sleep aid to help me fall asleep early and I was up at 6 a.m. sharp.

The clock in my car just as I left the house. Yuck...

I was in the pool by 6:30 and it was surprisingly busy. The lifeguard said it's usually pretty crowded in the early-morning hours. I'm glad I'm not a morning person. Anyway, I was able to snag a half-lane and got to work. I stretched a bunch after warming up my arms before taking off and it helped, because I settled in quickly. Normally, my arms don't loosen up until about 1,000 yards, but I was good to go after 500. I brought some treats (Cliff GuChomps and a PowerBar Energy Gel) to feed on every 45 minutes, trying to down them quickly, so I could simulate open-water feeding.

After the first 45 minutes, I was going strong, just over 1.5 miles. By the second feeding, I slowed down a bit, but only about 2 minutes off my earlier pace, so I was happy with that. By the time the third and final stop came around, my shoulders were getting tired and starting to hurt. Usually, my bad shoulder is the only one that starts to hurt, but both were by this point. I was almost at 4.5 miles, so I slowed down my pace and eventually switched into breaststroke for the final 500 yards or so, not wanting to injure myself. When lap swim ended at 9 a.m., my watch read 2:32.07 and I didn't quite reach five miles, but I came close. It's still my high for 2012 by far.

Note the suction lines around my eyes. And I look sort
of cross-eyed staring into the little camera on my phone. Ha!

I'm glad I got up early and did it, but my eye sockets are hurting. That's a lot of suction on the skin. I look super racoonish today. I am ordering some new goggles this week for open water swimming, which hopefully, will be more comfortable. The ones I have are great and have served me well, but they are meant more for pool training and hurt after a while in longer distances. Gords (who is just about set to swim the English Channel) recommends a few different pairs, and they are both reasonably priced, so I'll probably order one today.

P.S.: I barely eclipsed the 20-mile mark for this month, making up for a crappy June.

Total distance: 8,500 yards (4.86 miles)