10-27-2026 Swim

Ann's 65th birthday (<!>). I slept somewhat poorly, got up after midnight and watched some TV, ate some food, and read before I could get back to sleep. Still woke up a little early, took the opportunity to shave. When Ann got up I made her oatmeal, eggs, and coffee for breakfast. A little later she went to the gym, so I took the opportunity to go for a swim at the WWC. I had the pool to myself initially, but others gradually came as well. Intent was to swim for a longer distance than usual for me, mission accomplished. Earlier in the morning I had watched a swim video short about correct hand and body positioning for streamlined form coming off the wall, and I tried it out. Surprisingly, it made a measurable difference in how far I could glide before starting my stroke. I tried it out for much of this swim, and perhaps it helped my time somewhat. Ended up swimming 2000 yds with very short breaks around the 500 yd marks, last 500 with the pull buoy. I had a fair amount of trouble with my swim goggles leaking, need to try and fix that problem. My water-resistant bone conduction phones worked well again, fingers crossed that they will continue to work. Here are the splits for the four 500s, not including the short breaks: 9:23, 9:24, 9:22, 9:26. My form definitely fell off in the last 500, arms were getting tired, so more endurance swims are needed for me.

Avg pace = 1:53/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 37:35 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (seems too low)

Relative Effort = 13 (again, low)

SWOLF = 28

Avg stroke rate = 26 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.40 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20754244038

Got home, Ann was still out. I looked into places to have an early birthday dinner with Ann, then watched some TV while eating a little lunch. I had a little nap in the afternoon, caught up a bit on sleep, then I went out in the garage and patched a couple of inner tubes. I also replaced the tube on the rear wheel (EliteWheels), since it is really difficult to inflate with the hand pump. Don't want to take my bags off my Canyon, so I got my Fuji ready for a couple of rides before the big trip. I took it off the Kickr trainer, removed the aero bars, and put my SPD pedals on (Paula still has my Assioma pedals). Pumped up the tires, put the saddle bag on, and I think I'm ready to go. In mid-afternoon Ann and I drove down to Convoy St and had an early-bird dinner (with happy hour) at Steamy Piggy. I picked this place because it's supposed to have excellent soup dumplings, and Ann ended up getting the taco flight, since it was a happy-hour special. I had a huge plate of fries with kim chi on top, very spicy and quite filling, not so healthy. After our early dinner I drove us to Common Theory, a typical bar on Convoy St that also has a speakeasy, Realm of the 52 Remedies, behind a door and through a dark hallway. The interior vibe was nice, we had a couple of fancy drinks (mine was supposed to have a banana flavor, but the alcohol content kinda overwhelmed it). Then we drove through moderate traffic (were able to take the carpool lane, which helped) to get to Karl Strauss in 4S Ranch, where a number of Bisikleta riders were celebrating Andy's birthday. They all wished Ann a happy birthday as well, and I think she had a good time. She stayed for a while before she left to go to bell choir practice. I stayed until the end and got a ride home with Andy, who dropped Nel off first (failed geography lesson). I ended up getting home just a little bit after Ann did, and I was tired from a busy day.