Now and then.

Now:

February 1, 2011

 Then:

July 15, 2010

Yep, nearly the same spot-a difference of less than 7 months. Hard to believe I swim out there in the summer! (FYI-that is the IM Racine swim course...as I shake my head in disbelief).

I stopped at the lakefront today and shot a few pics, as you can see. I was out there about 5 minutes and froze my hands off. This was pre-blizzard too. Right now, the winds are howling, near 50mph gusts, almost zero visibility, cold as hell, and 20" of snow forecast for the overnight. No school tomorrow, lots of closings. I am glad to be off work.

Empty seat.

I picked up the kids after this stop, looking north to the lighthouse. The kids got out an hour early because of the weather, and we stopped out at Wind Point afterwards.

Looking back at North Beach from the Point.

Wind Point lighthouse. Winds blowing so strong it was hard for kids to stand.

Workout update: Monday was Masters swim #5. The swim is what I will call, "OK to better than before". #5 was a burner, we did 16X50s, 400 FS with one arm only each side. We did about 3K yds, warm ups are about 1K yds now as matter of routine. Holy shoulder burn! But, the coach is pushing us, and it is helping (at least it is helping myself). I talked it over with my wife, and she agreed that I should sign up for Masters session #2, which runs consecutively to this session. So, I'll be swimming for 16 weeks total very early on Mondays. This will take me right up to (and slightly beyond) my first "race" of the season, the Racine-Mt Pleasant 1/2 Marathon on April 9th.

Today, I did a one hour run indoors at the Pettit Ice Center track. I got in 24 laps for 6.72 miles-I felt really good, no pains or issues, the HR was decent (around 150 avg). I started off stronger than the past few runs, running 2:30 splits per lap for 5-6, then settled in to the 2:35-2:40 pace I had been running. Tomorrow will be bike trainer day, probably about a 90 minute spin. The last spin was on Wed, a 70 min spin with 10X1 hill drills, with 1 min recovery after each. The bike is starting to come easier, after only maybe 5-6 spins. Training is going well now, with about 32 weeks to IM.