Next Up, Muskoka Long Course

This is a taper down week as Muskoka Long Course is this Sunday. Funny, I feel more tired than ever. Partly due to running 11 km starting at 4:30 am followed by swimming at 6 am. The swim was pretty much a write off as my swimming buddy bailed on me and I was totally bagged but interesting enough I walked in with a fellow swimmer and when we went to pay it appears that both of us had a run in with the same lifeguard. This lifeguard is insistent that we swim in a circle (as opposed to lane swimming) even if we're in the lane by our selves. Why? Because its the rules that's why! End of discussion! Never mind that even within the fast lane there are people swimming at significantly different speeds and that causes problems when passing or turning at the wall. I've run into this attitude before in the City of Toronto pools before where I came dangerously close to slugging the fat overweight Pool Supervisor last year.

I can certainly understand why its necessarily to swim in a circle if there are more than three swimmers but why is it necessary if there are less? Simply mind numbing. The only thing I can chalk it up to is power trip. Most of the other lifeguards are ok and don't get involved unless there are obvious problems so why is it always the one or two assholes? I can't wait to go back to swimming with the Mallards but who knows when that will start up (September probably).

Anyways, once I found out the name of the lifeguard in question, I left my business card on the windshield of my fellow swimmer and he later informed me that he discussed this swimming lane problem the pool supervisor. Turns out that the pool supervisor was very understanding and agreed to let the lane swimmers "police" themselves with minimal assistant from the lifeguards. Apparently this change in policy was initiated when a swimmer complained that she felt intimidated and harassed by other swimmers when she couldn't keep up with the pace in the fast lane. Which begs the question, "if she couldn't keep up with the pace then why didn't the lifeguard inform her about lane swimming etiquette?"

Tomorrow is a rest day and Thursday is a swim, ride and run. Seeing that swimming is at a fixed time (either 5:30 am with Serge at Thornlea or 6:00 am at Centennial), I'm not sure getting up a 4:30 to do the ride/run before swimming is such a great idea as I am totally starving and exhausted all day long. In fact, today I had to take a gel shot around 2 pm as I was almost falling asleep at my desk.

I'm not sure what to think of the Muskoka Long Course race. I'm not worried about the distance as I view this as warm up to the big event in September (Muskoka 70.3). I talked to Scobie this afternoon and he gave me some great ideas: 1) drive the bike course when I get there on Saturday seeing that I never got a chance to ride it. 2) take it easy on the bike and hold back saving my strength for the second part of run portion. I figure I can hold a 5:45 min/km pace and drop that to around 5:00 min/km by the end, I think...... It would be great to shoot for a four hour time and I'd be pretty happy. I think it will all depend on hilly this damn course actually is!

We're going up Saturday morning as Tammy booked us overnight at Deerhurst. I guess this is our "summer vacation" so I didn't really say much and quietly gagged at the cost and for 70.3, we're staying there for three days/2 night. Tammy and the kids are getting pretty excited about staying overnight and given all of my crap they have to put up, well they deserve it. This week the "tiredness and irritability" have greatly increased. On Saturday and Sunday, I think I went to sleep before 9 pm both nights. I'm pretty sure all three kids were still up

How I'm ever going to train for an Ironman is beyond me.

Race details to follow..............