Running with Jack

When I got home last night I went for about a 10K run, give or take a hundred meters. I tried to speed up a little bit. My tempo based on 10K was 5:22/K (8:39/M). I noticed that my legs were a bit sore from the swimming on Thursday night.

So after the run I had a quick shower, a little bit to eat, spent a half hour of quality time with my wife, then headed out to my second swimming class. I showed up early to practice my breast stroke, completing about 250 meters before class. Our teacher held the class in the outer race lane of the pool. Last night’s class consisted of the following exercises:

- Showing the teacher what we learned from last week, e.g. swim 20 meters forward with the breast stroke. Teacher said I did much better keeping the proper form. Glad she didn’t see me before the class, it was more disastrous.
- The next exercise involved practicising the breast stroke with a long cylindrical floatation device (kind of like a oversized sausage) under our chest and arms. Here the concentration was proper arm form. Teacher was satisfied with form, whew!
- Then it was swim goggles on and some practice swimming underwater. I was the only one in our group of five that had done that before, this amazed me. Teacher first had us use a kick that normally is used with freestyle swimming. Then we switched to breast stroke kick.

That was about it, 45 minutes goes quickly when you are having fun. After class I swam another 150 meters or so, including 25 meters using Jack’s self-taught freestyle stroke. I noticed the lifeguard was watching me really close when I did this, I must have looked like I was drowning or something.

So tomorrow is my Brandenkopf Mountain Run in Zell am Harmersbach. Zell am Harmersbach is one of the more beautiful areas of the Middle Black Forest, right in the heart of Cuckoo Clock country. The Brandenkopf Mountain is supposed to be the highest mountain in the Middle Black Forest region. In any case I’m running up it tomorrow at 11 a.m. Now’s my chance to prove that I am part mountain goat! I still have a few lingering signs from my cold, so this may slow me down a bit, but it’s only 10K, right. Okay with a little old 700 meter change in elevation from start to finish, what’s that about 2300 feet.

Anyway we are heading out after lunch today and spending the night. We found a hotel with a swimming pool about 5 minutes from the race Start. I’ll have to make sure I don’t get too carried away practising my swimming tonight right before a mountain run. Tomorrow the town is having a street festival so it should be a fun day. The only down side is my wife now has a really bad cold that may prevent her from enjoying most of the weekend. Poor girl, she was looking forward to enjoying the Black Forest. I have to try find something to cheer her up.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to support the various RBFers that are racing, especially in Hartford, CN!