138

138.... was my average hear rate during the 1,500m I swam on Friday night. As a data/gadget junkie, I always felt frustrated about the lack of info on my swimming. My Garmin 405CX takes care of my data needs when running, my Sigma bike computer takes care of my data needs when biking outside, and my good old Polar F6 took care of any other cardio, including spinning classes and the elliptical. Yet, I always missed having some good info on my swimming.

And then... came the Polar FT80. I got it as a replacement for my F6. I collect points through my savings account, and could get it for EUR125 instead of EUR250 (plus EUR10 of administration costs), so it was time for an upgrade. On Thursday, while going through the forums, I discovered I may be able to use it in the pool. So, after a 60 minute ride on the gym bike, I switched to the pool and tool the HRM and the watch along. It took a few minutes for the watch to pick the signal from the HRM, but it worked great after that. It helped that I was able to tuck the HRM strap under my swim top, which helped keep it in place.
So, if like me you are itching to get some HR information during your swim, get yourself a Polar FT80. It looks good, works very well, and you can even pick up a GPS add-on to use it instead of a Garmin.

In other news, training this week is going really well so far, I don't want to jinx anything so I'll wait until tomorrow to post something. We have been in the throes of a huge windstorm since Friday, and while I managed 2.5 miles this morning (running to the gym and back) and 6 miles this evening, I am not sure I'll be able to do my 11 miles tomorrow if the wind does not die down a bit...

So far, so good

So far this week has been good to me. I nailed my Monday AM swim, even though I really didn't feel like finishing the workout. I did 10x100 and if I recall correctly, kept them all under 1.37, but it might have been 1.33. Today I did another 3,200 yards, including 3x400. They clocked in at 6.37, 6.37 and 6.25. I also did 4x50 and I think I did 43, 43, 44, 42 seconds. Monday PM I took a rest. Yesterday included 30 miles on the gym's bike trainer and 8 miles outside in really really hot weather (29C). This evening I did a spinning class which kicked my rear end royally. So 5 good consecutive workouts in 3 days. Only 7 more to go until my next day off...

My dilemma is to Garmin or not to Garmin. Still thinking about that one. I am a data junkie, so I think having numbers to play with may motivate me to run further and faster. But I should be able to do that without 300+USD on a new watch right?

Biking Dragonfly

After my long run on Sunday, I had an awesome swim on Monday morning. I am still not in top swimming fitness. It took me 1 hour and 6 minutes to finish a 3,200 yds workout. Back in the good old days it took me 48 minutes to finish 3,000 meters... That was the summer of 2003, when I was between schools so I went swimming every day for two hours, sometimes twice a day. I have not put as much time in swimming as I have in running and biking, figuring that the swimming would come back to me soon enough.

I bailed on my bike workout last night, my legs and I were all tired and I thought I'd better not push it. I hadn't taken my regular day off and had two long runs in a single week. So I biked 25 miles at the gym this morning and will try to go for a short run this afternoon. The legs are a bit stiff and sore in places. But as long as the aches and pains are not in the same place from one workout to the other, I should be good, right?

So after the totally fantastic bike trainer that my awesome mom got me as an early b'day present, another cool surprise came last night. A package from REI, courtesy of my wonderful mom-in-law. My very own dragonfly bike jersey. I totally love it. The bike capris were also a hit. Now if only the weather could cooperate.