Great Aloha Run Training - Week 5

The vog has subsided, the air has been clear all week, and thank god! However, just because the air cleared up doesn't mean my lungs did. Still had a cough all week. Wasn't as bad as before, but still there...irritating. But I did manage to get a few workouts in.

Monday I continued with the stretching routine. Check out last week's GAR training blog for more details about it. It's been about 2 weeks since I began dedicating an entire workout to stretching but I already see improvement in my flexibility. When sitting with both legs extended in front of me, I can easily reach my toes and if I curl forward my forehead is only an inch away from my knees. Before I could only reach my toes after a warmup.

Tuesday was a rest day...and a cough day. Really miss running and jiu-jitsu.

Wednesday the cough was pretty light so I decided to go for a swim. I met Waimea and Kalani at the Manoa pool, an Olympic size pool (50 meters in length). Waimea swims, Kalani doesn't...one day we'll get him in the water. Our other friend James was in the water doing laps. He's only been swimming for one month and I gotta say he's doing pretty damn good. I played coach a little bit and gave James some basic tips like keep the legs together to stay streamlined and bend at the elbow during the arm-stroke to engage the back muscles. He'll be a strong swimmer in no time. For my workout, I did about 800 meters, all freestyle. It was my first workout in almost a month...fricken tiring! Before I went to the pool I watched some videos of Ian Thorpe, an Australian Olympic gold medalist. He has one of the most efficient swimming styles of all time so I try to mimic it. If you watch any his Olympic races you'll notice he's the fastest one in the water but his arms move the slowest. He has a very smooth freestyle.

Ian Thorpe swimming freestyle. Check out this video to
get a better look at his style

Thursday was another swim. This time at the Salt Lake pool, which is a short-course pool (25 yards in length). I like the short-course because I can do more flip-turns, those things are fun. I also use the short-course for speed work. I did a few 200 yard swims at a moderate pace followed by some speed swims. I did a few 100 yard builds. I start off at an easy pace and go faster each length. The last length should be almost a sprint. Then I did a few 100 yard intervals: 1^st length easy, 2^nd length fast, 3^rd length moderate, 4^th length sprint. I swam a total of 1200 yards.

Friday was another rest day. I felt good about getting back into the pool the last two days. Unfortunately, my cough was a little worse today. Some friends were having a bbq that night but I decided not to go in order to rest and sleep early. I really want this cough gone.

Saturday I woke up feeling really good. The cough was a lot lighter and there was almost no congestion in my chest. What a relief! No workout today.

Sunday and the cough is almost gone. I did another stretching workout. I also cleaned my place a little. Figured less dust and germs would mean better health.

The Great Aloha Run is in two weeks and I haven't ran in about 3. I figure my cough is mild enough that I can try a light run this week. I'll definitely make my way to the pool again.