29 December 2022
Though I made a solid effort at the 400 Kick-For-Time a couple of weeks ago, I felt like my training this fall had prepared me to challenge my best-ever time of 5:35.77 from 2020. Today was not set up for optimal performance as I only got a bit more than 2 hours of sleep due to an end-of-year work commitment that kept me "Power-pointing" until 3 am.
Given other constraints and plans, today was the last time before the 12/31 deadline to get an official time in, so I rolled into my "home" pool to see what I could do. I did a 1,600-yard warmup and then just went for the race, using my Finis Smart Goggles as my timing device and my Funky Trunks "The Beast" kickboard.
I cannot say that my legs felt rested or ready, but I managed to pull out a decent (if still missing expectations) result with 100 splits ...
1:21.4
1:28.1
1:27..2
1:23.0
... which added up to 5:39.70, making this my third-best-ever result from 8 attempts over the last decade, and ranks me 5th in the Top 10 All-Time for the 55-59 age group.
As it was a beautiful bluebird day, I have some vacation time to burn, and had the flexibility to block the morning out of the office, after my swim and one work call, I headed out to Hardwood Ski & Bike to get back on the cross-country skis. I had a gift card from my oldest daughter, Maia, that she had given me for Christmas 2020, but, due to COVID closures, I had not been able to use it until now. I think I've only been on x-country skis three times in my life, only trying it when we moved here in 2019. While I am wobbly and slow (and fell down four times), on a day like today, with the sun up and the temperature just above freezing, it was a glorious morning of skiing. I hope to get back out again in a few weeks!
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