Gameplay

Yesterday I met TriDamian and Phukér for our first swim of the week. On the schedule it looked relatively hard, the main set consisting of 4 times through a set of a 300 on HIM pace on 4:15, 200 on 1500m pace on 2:15, and a 100 all out on 2:00. After the rest given by the 2:00 100 we were to start back through the intervals. Since my car got broken into (again!) on Monday evening I didn't have any of my swim stuff (if anyone in the Portland area sees someone wearing a new pair of Newtons and lugging a BlueSeventy backpack, someone who doesn't really look like they fit in those accoutrements, please let me know) and faced doing the workout in a dragsuit, sans swim cap. I also felt hugely sluggish in the water. Phukér, warming up next to us, said "Maybe I'll come over and be the caboose for you guys..." Clearly no one felt great, so we turned the main set into a game. Here were the parameters:

1) Each of us would lead one of the first three sets.
2) Each leader would call his shot as to when he would get back to the wall on each interval (ex. I said I'd return on 3:40 for the 300, 2:21 for the 200, and 1:06 for the 100).
3) For each second a leader was off in either direction, he got a point (points are bad in this game, as they are in Hearts).
4) Whomever garnered the fewest points got the privilege to lead the fourth.

I led the first set and got one point (I came back one second under my 200 prediction, on 2:20). TriDamian led the second and got one point each in his 300 and 200 repeats, but made up for the two points but swimming two seconds faster than I did on his 100 (he called and hit, exactly, 1:04), so we decided he and I were tied. Phukér, who wasn't feeling so good, missed both his 300 and 200 repeats by 5 seconds, so he was totally out of the running (kinda like those times that you played Horse when you were younger, and the kid who called a bank shot went on to miss the backboard entirely—we usually gave out multiple letters for that). TriDamian and I decided to share the last set: I led the 300 since I'm the long distance guy, and he led the 200/100. I went for it on my 300 and posted a 3:31 (not bad for no cap and a dragsuit!), and then he just ate the last two intervals alive. I cramped during the 100 and decided to "start my cooldown early."

The result? A hard set no one was looking forward to disappeared quickly. Makes me think that those Swedes (Swedes?) are onto something with their Fartleks.

Play hard.