Back At It

Yesterday, the day after my race, I was surprised to find that my foot actually felt better than normal, rather than worse.  I could actually walk normally, and the only soreness was in my quads and other leg muscles, but that's a much better kind of hurt.  Still, I figured a day of rest was in order.  Today, though, I was right back at it.  Even though my work shift ended early, I rested for a bit (and fell asleep on the couch), so I didn't get going as soon as I should have.  But I finally got it done: first a 20-mile ride on the trail, then a one-hour swim.  Here's what I did:

Warm-up
4 x 300  Swim/pull/kick/drill x 300

Main set
6 x 100  Free, play with various breathing frequencies/patterns
3 x 200  Free, same

Cool-down
1 x 200  Free, breathing drills
1 x 200  Easy

For the six 100s, I tried breathing every 4 then 5 strokes, every 3 then 4, every 3, and every 2 then 3.  My speed didn't really change much: I was pretty consistently doing each 100 in 1:52.  I did feel a little different, though.  The 4/5 breathing seemed a bit long, and the 2/3 pattern seemed like way too much.  I tried a few different things with the 200s as well, the last one focusing on stroke length rather than breathing.  Interestingly, that was the only one where my speed improved, and it was last so I was tired.  Something good to keep in mind, though.  Perhaps I should be working more on my distance per stroke and worrying less about "proper" breathing patterns.