I think it is possible to learn something every day, and many of my fellow bloggers have taught me a great deal. Today I learned that while here in the States today is most often referred to as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, after reading several blogs I learned that many other countries refer to it as Shrove Tuesday or better yet, Pancake Day. Unfortunately I was not able to eat pancakes today in celebration, but I celebrate the knowledge I gained! And eating a few pancakes after my speed swim this morning would have been a nice way to refuel.

Today is Tuesday, speed set day. I also think I am going to add another speed day on Thursday and swim endurance sets on the other days. The good news is I was able to complete all of the speed workout within the desired sendoff times. My first 4×100 on 2:20 were strong coming in between 2:10 to 2:03, the “dreaded” 4×200 is not so dreaded anymore and I was able to come in between 4:20 and 4:12 in descending order on a 5:00 send off. Now the not so good news (trying to be positive here), the last 4×100 I completed on a 2:15 send off, but I still am struggling to come in on descending times. I was consistent at 2:07. Hence my addition of another speed workout in the week to build my endurance within speed workouts. My friend/coach mentioned he has another speed workout for me which I haven’t received yet. (Hint hint if you are reading…) All in all, it was a good workout adding another 3,000 meters total swimming.

This evening my training partner and I were back to lifting weights and now we are in the endurance phase which is two sets of 12-15 reps. Since we took last week off we opted for 12 reps. Tomorrow in the pool I will know how my lifting went, but for now I feel good. And I feel right – my fatigue is gone, I am in a good place, and feeling at peace. Another thing I am learning is to analyze my workouts and modify where I need improvement – adding another speed swim workout for example. Oh, and the count down is on, eight days left in February, six I will be in the pool swimming plus one I will dedicate to my most challenging lesson of all – flip turns. I set a goal of flipping during my swim warm up by the end of the month. You can bet your pancakes I will do it.