Goal: 300 Meters - 4:00 minutes

I love this photo.  This is getting to the pool, for the 6am workout a couple days ago.  It's a little eerie, a little daunting, and a downright blast to be swimming in the dark, as the sun starts coming up.  The colors are outrageous.  The whole thing is a comfortable transition from not being able to see, and focusing inward, to gradually adding spectacular saturated colors, to the white light of the day.  It's a beautiful way to start the day.

4 minute 300
It's also how I've been feeling about the 4:00 minute 300M.  It just sounds daunting!  It's not a little challenge.  It's, well, I don't know how I'm going to do it challenge.  I had a workout the other day where I was leading the lane, and feeling particularly strong, fast and comfortable.  We were doing 300's and I came in on 4:45!  Everyone in the lane had a comment about how fast we went.  I felt great too.  Glenn even said it's the fastest 300 he's done.  Ever. 

Then I thought about the 4 minute challenge.  Dang!!!  Unfathomable!  I ended up swimming a 4:30 300.  A stellar benchmark for me.  A super strong swim for me.  In fact, a 1:25 100 is a super fast 100M for me.  So, how in God's green earth...  And yes, why? is another question altogether.  How to get to the 4 minute 300?

Get in.  Go back and forth
So much of the challenge is, get in.  Get going.  Swimming a 1:20 pace per 100 is something I've only done when sprinting my fastest 100's ever.  The fastest I've ever done in my life is about a 1:17 100.  So, I'm working on it.  Yesterday I swam 50's as hard as I could.  Feeling how fast fast is, for me.  I swam a 37 second 50.  Dang.  I didn't know I could do that.  Sweet!  :-)  Makes me happy.  And, I can see the sun coming up. It's starting to clear, what I need to do.  No question.  Still a long way to go, but I'm starting to envision what it will take.

Sun coming up

Oak at PCC, after the morning swim