A Broken Kilometer

Wednesdays are swim days. This particular one was cold and blustery--not exactly ideal conditions to plunge oneself into a pool of only slightly tepid water, indoors or not. But a promise is a promise. Not only was Christine, my training buddy, expecting me, but it was also the first Wednesday of the month--test day.

Joe Friel, author of The Triathlete's Training Bible, describes a broken kilometer as follows:

After a standard warm-up, swim 10 x 100 meters at maximal effort with 10-second recovery intervals. Time the entire set, including recovery intervals.

I subject myself to this routine once a month. Some months go better than others. Lots have gone better than today. With so much of my time committed to other activities, training has definitely taken a hit. Something had to. There is only so much a girl can do.

The downside of being such a compulsive measurer is that things don't always improve. This month the broken kilometer took a little longer than usual. Okay... a lot longer.

What do I say to that?

Draft 4 is almost done and, slow swimmer or not, the kids at the school are expecting me. I couldn't be happier.