Today was the beginning of our third week of training. For some crazy reason I decided that the level two swim was not enough of a challenge, so coach Julie agreed that I should jump into the fast lane in the level three group. "You can do it, no problem" said she....I guess that's what the coach is supposed to say when a stubborn trainee gets a bit cocky! So I jumped in the water with these three torpedos, and...well, lets just say I spent most of the workout on the pool deck stretching the charley horses out of my calves and feet. Damn, those hurt! Coach Glen reassured me that this was fairly normal (I don't think I believe him!), especially for runners and that I needed to focus on potassium intake, hydration, and not kicking so much. Did you know that you don't need to kick to go really fast in the water? Since I couldn't get rid of the cramps, even with stretching, Glen gave me a pull buoy which goes between your legs so that you CANNOT kick at all...everything is with the upper body. It worked well...no cramps (well, that is until I woke up the next morning and could hardly lift my arms above my head!). And I did manage to make it across the pool numerous times without kicking, so I think I will continue to practice this way. Apparently the goal in open water is to save your legs for biking so kicking is prohibited (the kick police are bad asses!) Maybe they will let me use a pull buoy?
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