My focus is now entirely on Saturday’s Phoenix Marathon. It is unfortunate that the weather forecast calls for heavy rain and nasty headwinds. My race strategy has changed. Out the door are the projected pace times; I plan to race much more by feel than timing. I had put much pressure on myself to qualify […]
MMR
Ouch! 14 MPH Headwinds

3,800 meters is a long swim. At the Ironman in Cabo, I will need to swim that distance in the ocean with a thousand+ other swimmers as the waves crash against the shoreline. Fortunately, I will be wearing a wetsuit for some increased buoyancy. Today, I swam 3,900 yards at MMR. I broke the swim […]
Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark Holiday

There are plenty of “Hallmark Holidays” in the US and throughout the world. Today is one of them. Apparently, the tradition of expression of love started in 18th century England and persists today. Lovers express their emotions by bringing flowers, chocolates, gifts and heart-shaped objects for their partners. I am not much of a romantic […]
Let the rest week begin

Sanjana and Binita enjoying some port Ahhhh rest week. It is only Monday and I’m already loving it. After a few grueling weeks, finally I can relax a bit this week before picking it up again next week. Today’s workout was a mere mile-long swim at MMR that I finished in about 30 minutes. My […]
Absent-minded and annoyed

I went to McDowell Mountain Ranch to swim this evening. I paid the customary $3 to enter and walked over to the pool deck. There were a few lanes open which made me happy. As I started to change, I realized that I forgot my towel at home. I am not used to carrying a […]
Easy MMR swim

I already blogged that I quit Lifetime Fitness. They have closed the outdoor pool at Lifetime and the indoor one is perpetually occupied. Today, I went for a swim at McDowell Mountain Ranch (MMR). It is a nicer pool although the locker rooms aren’t quite as nice and I have to take my own towel. […]
Goodbye Lifetime Fitness – finally!

I have finally decided that I am going to give up my membership at Lifetime Fitness. Their outdoor pool is closed until at least February and their indoor pool is forever occupied. I haven’t visited Lifetime since early November other than for a haircut appointment with Stephanie. For running and biking, there is the great […]
Prep for PF Chang’s Half Marathon
Shelly and I swam at MMR for 1,500 yards. We must have pretty powerful flip turns…just watch! The biggest race of Arizona is this weekend. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but my best guess is that more than 30,000 people will run the half and full marathons this Sunday. I’ll be one of them […]
Pizookie aka Brownie Skillet at Zipps
At lunch today, I swung by Bicycle Ranch to pick up a couple of cartridges for my bike. I owe Kristi a cartridge as I had to borrow one from her on Sunday when I had a flat. At 6PM I met Shelly for Master’s swim at MMR. It is rest week for me; hence […]
Baywatch Lifeguards were at MMR today
We were in the middle of our swim workout at MMR this evening when we heard the life guard whistle. There was commotion and we were told to exit the pool immediately. In the lane next to me was a little girl (age about 10) with her face down and motionless. At first, I thought […]