About 40 hours until the big swim race, across the Ohio River and back. I did my last workout this morning. My ancient bod needs the time to recover for the race.
I swam a mile at moderate pace for a warm-up. Then, a series of all-out sprints with two-minute rests in between, except for longer than sprint distances.
One of the regular lap swimmers came over during a rest (read that as intense panting). He pointed out that a distance race depends on aerobic endurance and I was focusing on anaerobic with the fast laps. Then, he went into a biological explanation. I thanked him for the concern and said I was due for my next set.
I am aware of the difference. Well, somewhat. You enter the anaerobic zone when you’re in oxygen debt and the demands for that and fuel exceed the supply. I do understand that training for that is more appropriate for sprints and other competition that last up to a couple minutes.
But, I’m training my mind, not my body. This event attracts serious swimmers who have speed, technique and long-term competitive experience that exceed mine. My strategy is to avoid playing the game within the confines of their strengths. When the lungs and muscles start burning, I need to be able to kick it up a gear instead of throttling back. I’ve never been the fastest, biggest or most coordinated at anything and this has been my trump card.
Will that work in this case? I’ll find out Saturday.
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