More lessons

Swam 500 yards, maybe? I attended the Masters Swim stroke clinic so my swim workout was on technique rather than distance. The stroke clinic has been really helpful on the two occasions I have attended. I am learning all about swimming "downhill" (finding my buoyancy), keeping my left hand out of the right hand's "cookie jar" and vice versa (focus on reaching straight), and this week I learned that I have been breathing wrong all along. I'm a runner (not a very long distance runner, but a runner none the less) so I am used to having continuous breaths: inhale and exhale, etc etc. This is what I have been doing during all my swims as well, a continuous exhale until I take the next inhale. However, as I learned Monday, this isn't good during swimming. When the body exhales, it sinks lower. So when you turn on your side to take a breath, you have to reach your head up which throws your body out of it's straight alignment and causes more drag than necessary. Or something like that. So, the coach told me to time my breath. I have to hold my breath for a little until just before I take an inhale. It was pretty complicated and confusing at the beginning of the lesson, but after a few laps I felt I was starting to get the hang of it. I could definitely tell a difference from my first lap and my last lap (with the latter being better) and I'm excited to practice this new knowledge in my next swim workout.

Tuesday I ran a nice easy 3.5 miles around the National Mall during lunch. The sun was a little overbearing at times, but overall it was great weather and I felt refreshed (though hot) afterwards. I love runs like that.

It's 10 o'clock and I still have a stat assignment and mid-term due tomorrow. Ugh, only six more weeks of summer classes, not that I am counting.