The Slow Lane Of Life

Morning Workout
SWIM...
3000 meters
Main Set: 3000 meters. Yeah, it was just a non-stop 3000 meter swim.

...BIKE - RUN - BIKE - RUN - BIKE - RUN
I know, I was shocked too.

Heart Rate Zones: 15 minutes bike at Steady State Threshold (Zone 4) / VO2 (Zone 5) and then jump off the bike and do a 2 kilometer run at Steady State Threshold (Zone 4) / VO2 (Zone 5). Take three minutes of active recovery then repeat the whole enchilada two more times.

Random Comments: There were only two people in the slow lane when Cat and I got to the pool. The medium and fast lane both already had five people swimming laps in them. Needless to say, we got into the slow lane to swim. As it was completely expected, within fifteen minutes of us beginning our workout, five other people started swimming in this slow lane. For the record, I am definitely not a swimming snob, throwing my nose up at those who are beginning swimmers. After all, I'm not that great of a swimmer myself. However, I do have a very short fuse for those that don't bother to learn the rules of the pool before diving right in (pun completely and utterly intended.) The thing is, the rules are simple. Like, for example, if you are resting at the edge of the pool, let the faster swimmers pass you by before you begin your paddling. Which leads me to the fat, flailing fifteen-ish year old who could only swim 50 meters at a time before he needed a big long rest. Now, believe me, there is nothing wrong with being able to swim 50 meters. To the contrary, I applaud the child for making the effort. However, this little Beelzebub in a bathing suit wouldn't just swim his 50 meters and rest. No, no... it couldn't be that easy. He had to race me in the process. So here I am in the middle of my slow and steady 3000 meter swim, and every 200 meters when I touch the wall and turn around, my newfound nemesis had to push off the wall at the exact same time and flail as hard and as fast as he can to race me the 50 meters to the other end of the pool. The thing is, he would swim just a hair slower than the pace I was going... Not slow enough for me to pass him by without missing a beat, and not fast enough for me to drop back and wait for him to finish his lap. Now keep in mind that the lane only allows for 3 people to swim side by side. You swim one way on the left, another way on the right and you pass in the center, making sure not to crash into any oncoming traffic. So with my friend racing me down the length of the pool just a tad bit slower than my pace, my only choice was to continually sprint much harder than I wanted to in order to pass him and not ram head-on into the swimmers coming the other way. It was tiring and aggravating. At one point I tried swimming this kid right off the edge - you know, forcing him to swim into the wall in order to get him to slow down, get out of my way and give me more space. But then I felt guilty and moved out of the way again. Finally, after 2000 meters of these shenanigans, I could take no more. I looked over and realized that the medium speed lane only had three people swimming in it. I quickly moved over and continued my workout, where my pace clearly annoyed the just-a-slight-bit-faster swimmer that was tailing behind me every single lap.
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