The Slurpee turned on me...

I left work on Friday with a sinking feeling in my stomach, thinking that I was about to walk into the jaws of doom. Voluntarily. Karen and I were about to attempt a 16,000 yd workout, the longest training swim I have ever done (so far, of course. They will only get longer in the next 15 months).

I left work on time, but got a phone call from my boss that left me running a few minutes late. I was left with a choice - should I forgo my usual slurpee run so that I could be on time to meet Karen? Forgo the frozen, sugary goodness that has fueled all my long swims up to this point? Which should I choose - friend or frozen beverage?

Well, my apologizes to Karen but the slurpee won. Karen, I knew, was dreading this swim as much as I was and she wasn't going to start without me. But in my haste to be no later than necessary, I forgot to stash my slurpees away in the side pockets of my swim bag the way I usually do. Instead, I boldly walked into the Homestead Aquatic Center with twin slurpees in hand, plopped them on the counter, and swiped my frequent swimmer's card. "Ma'am," the desk attendant chided, "you can't bring those onto the pool deck."




This was a moment I knew would happen, a moment I had been preparing for ever since I had discovered the wonders of the slupree. My response was prepared - "I'm about to do a very long swim and THIS is my energy drink. It's just a concentrated form of Gatorade and I need it to sustain my glyoogen levels." With a skeptical look I was waved in.

Our workout was written by fellow DAMA swimmer and distance swimmer extraordinaire, Heidi Williams. This was the gist:

Warm-up (1000), 15:00
5 x 200 3:00

Set 1 (3200), 44:45
1 x 800 swim - moderate neg split 10:45
2 x 400 swim - 2nd one faster 5:30
4 x 200 - descend 2:45
8 x 100 - descend 1-4, 5-8 1:30

Set 2 (5000), 67:10
1 x 600 50 drill/50 swim easy 9:00
2 x 500 swim easy/moderate 7:00
3 x 400 swim moderate 5:20
4 x 300 swim moderate/fast 3:55
5 x 200 swim fast pace 2:30

Set 3 (3600), 49:15
4 x 100 build each 100 1:30
3 x 200 neg. split 2:50
2 x 300 maintain mod/fast pace 4:00
1 x 400 fast pace 5:00
2 x 300 one recovery; one moderate 4:30/4:15
3 x 200 moderate/fast pace 2:40
4 x 100 fast 1:15

Set 4 (2800) - aerobic pacing, 37.20
2 x 500 6:40
2 x 400 5:20
2 x 300 4:00
2 x 200 2:40

Cool Down 400

Total Yards 16,000; Total Time 3:33:30 + breaks & cool down

I made it through the beginning without much of a problem, but toward the end of set 2 it hit me. A sick churning in my stomach. A wave of nausea in my chest. A cramp that ripped through the arch of my foot like Jason's teeth through a bacon cheeseburger. The slurpee was turning on me! I couldn't believe it but it was true. It dawned on me then that I might need an energy drink with less high fructose corn syrup and more electrolytes.

Maybe the man at the front desk knew something that I didn't. Next time, I will take a more conventional approach to fluid replacement and drink Gatorade for at least the first half of the swim. I will switch to my beloved slurpee if and only if my energy levels fall and I begin to crash.

In non-swimming news, Jason and I went to Brian Wear and Heather Hilton's beautiful wedding on Saturday. Here are a few pictures:

Week 17:
Mon: swim 4300 yds
Tues: swim 4700
Wed: rest
Thurs: swim 3900
Fri: swim 16,000
Sat: rest
Sun: swim 3200, 40 min abs
Total: 32,100 40 min abs

Stroke of genius

Have you ever had one of those thoughts that, once conceived, you knew that your life - and dare I say it, the world - would never be the same? A moment of truth so profound that its ripples were bound to shape not only your life but those of generations to come? Well, dear friends, I had one such revelation this week. It can be summed up in one word - slurpees.

This weekend Karen had to go out of town, so we did our long swim on Friday after work. We didn't have much time (a 13,000 yard practice takes us about 3 hr, 15 min. The Homestead pool closes at 8:30, so we both had to rush over after work). I also didn't have time to eat much that day, so I grabbed a quick bagel and then stopped at a gas station to pick up some Gatorade. That's when I saw it - sitting inconspicuously in the corner, its juicy insides sloshing around in frozen splendor. The slurpee machine. It hit me - wouldn't a slurpee be a tastier, more concentrated form of Gatorade?

Just as expected, the slurpee proved itself to be a delightful little energy drink. The only problem was, I had only one and it lasted through only the 1st half hour of the workout. After it was gone, I made it through the rest of the practice with noticeably less vigor.

Outside of Halloween, there aren't many occasions where it's desirable to squeeze as much sugar into your body as possible, but long swims might be one of them. Next time I will skip the Gatorade and have 2 or 3 slurpees instead. Of course this will necessitate another kind of training...

Training for the inevitable brain freeze


Now, there are bound to be naysayers. Some might say that the icy waters of the English Channel would not be the place for the consumption of a frozen beverage. But that is the way with all great ideas. Did people not laugh when Galileo said that the earth revolved around the sun?

Week 9:

Mon: swim 5100 yds, 40 min abs
Tues: swim 5300
Wed: swim 4200, 40 min abs
Thurs: swim 4000
Fri: swim 13,000
Sat: run 7 mi, walk 2mi
Sun: walk 2 mi, swim 3400, 10 min core exercises

Total: swim 35,000, walk/run 11 mi, 90 min abs/core exercises