GPS data from swim

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I got a new to me GPS system to track swims.  I'll do a full review of it in the future, when I've used it a bit more, but here's the data from this week's swim and a little about why it is interesting. (really, when is data not interesting?)

First, the GPS provides a map of the swim, with a heat map for pace.

The swim was a simple out-and-back to the third staircase. I was just shy of 800m with 16 "laps" of 50m each (the last one was 47m).

I like seeing how straight my swim was, and where I turned around (a bit past the third stairs). I would like to be able to zoom in a bit more. Which the ap doesn't seem to have the ability to do.

Now the more interesting stats:

That's my pace (in yellow) and my stroke rate (in pink).  Even if you can't read the numbers, you can draw a few conclusions about my swim.  The biggest one is current.  Knowing I turned around half way through (out and back swim) you can see what the current did to my pace. Sloooooowed it down!!  And, to compensate, about 100 m later, I picked up my stroke rate.  I must have realized I was going slower, or just wanted to finish.

I find the very high stroke rate for the first 100 m also very interesting.  That must be a response to the cold and wanting to just MOVE to warm up.  I don't think I realized it was that dramatic. I will want to see if that data is repeated in future swims.

I was having such a good time out there, that my 32 min earned me the "last swimmer" out there award this week.  Here's a shot a friend got before I got out.

Awakening the dolphin

Last night I went to an amazing panel discussion on women in open water swimming. It was, appropriately, called "Awakening the Dolphin Within".

Four of my incredibly talented and accomplished swim buddies served on a panel to discuss everything from training plans to how to pee while swimming. It was sponsored by Guila of Say Yes To Life swims.

The super cool aspect of this panel was that, even though I know these women, swim with them, and rewarm with them over donuts on a regular basis, I learned a ton and was inspired by their stories.

They spoke of training plans.  The hours they put in.  For an English Channel crossing, Melissa trained 35 hours a week. That's a full time job! Learning to understand what pain was "back off" pain and what pain was "suck it up cupcake" pain was important. From this I can take away two things.  One, I never want to swim the English Channel (this is not news). And two, I can learn when to push through pain.  I'd been reflecting on this question even prior to the panel. My sprained ankle back in September left me in a boot for 10 days, and with severe atrophy of muscles and weakening of my ankles and knees after.  I'm in physical therapy now to correct the issues. I've realized that I tend to respond to any pain with 100% rest.  I plan to talk to my physical therapist about when I should be doing active rest, or even pushing against the pain.

They spoke of bodily functions and swimming.  One of my most viewed pages in this blog is the one about peeing in the pool. I didn't realize, until this panel, that some folks struggle to pee while swimming. This has never been an issue for me.  There was also a discussion of #2 and of menstruation and sea life.  I did learn that it is better to have people see you poo than to get pulled for stomach cramps. AND blood and pee are the same to sea life, so if you can pee while swimming, you shouldn't sweat your period.

They spoke of the ways that swimming helps with depression.  I don't want to tell someone else's story about this topic. I do agree that sometimes, the water is the only place that the world make sense.  Major stresses can be solved by a good swim.

For me there wasn't a call to action, so much as a pointing out of how lazy I sometimes am about my workouts. If I were to push a bit harder, what could I accomplish?  This has especially been on my mind this week because I did a mile in the pool on Tuesday.  It took me about 8 min longer than I expected.  This is a huge slowdown.  And I want to get back to the speed I believe I can swim-- or even faster.  To do so, I'll need to work harder.  To swim faster you have to swim faster. It may be time to kick back into "training" mode.

I'm glad I spent my evening with these lovely and accomplished ladies. It woke up my dolphin!

I'll post the video when it is available.