I love to see improvements

I am constantly asked how I feel this year compared to last year's Ironman. And to be honest, they are different animals. The motivation and drive are totally different (see previous blogs). But as I progressed through training last year, one thing that was apparent was that I was in the best shape of my life. My times were coming down and I was hitting new highs frequently. But is that the case this year?

As I have mentioned over and over, each journey to the Ironman is different. Do I feel like I am in the best shape of my life? No. But my times are much better than last season. Do I feel like I could conquer the world? Nope. But I know I am going to have a better race than last season. Chalk it up to experience, knowing what to expect or maybe just better training. I might not 'feel' like I am in better shape but there is no denying that I am faster.

I had an absolutely brutal swim tonight. It was not only mentally but physically taxing. 2x2000y with a small break in the middle. Ugh. I had an idea what to expect so it was one of the few workouts that I went into with an expectation. I went 33:00 in the first set and 33:22 in the second. I am fairly certain that I could have gone faster in the second set but I lost my mental focus. The amazing thing is that I never really felt like I pushed it. I was set on cruise control for the most part...keeping it in my comfort area.

While swimming, it got me thinking about swimming last season. There is no denying that I am swimming faster this season...but by how much? The actual number isn't all that important. Instead, I can recall two particular swims last season that I felt were 'breakthrough' swims. I was curious how today's swim compared to two of my best swims from last year.

6x500 (9.23, 9.15, 9.12, 9.20, 9.12, 9.38)
3x1000 (18.40, 16.54, 18.07)

Last year, I was ecstatic about these swims. This year, these swim would be horrible. In my first set today I went 4x500 (8.09, 8.18, 8.14, 8.20) That is nearly a minute faster for each set. And to think that I definitely held back. I love to see improvements.

The positive is that I am on target to go 1.10.00 at IMFL. That seems really doable. In fact, I will probably be disappointed if I don't go that fast.