Alligator Eyes

Saturday started with another AWESOME open water swim! Each time I get into the open water, something clicks, and I make some huge progression in my swimming skills. From the gal that brought us Gorilla Arms, huge thanks again go out to JC, for blogging about Alligator Eyes.
Alligator Eyes was her descriptive term of how to sight when swimming in open water. This is a skill that I really needed to perfect since I tend to pull to the right. If I didn't sight often, I'd probably swim in circles! I used to lift my head clear out of the water, which was very disruptive to my stroke and breathing. Usually on my first look, I wasn't able to clearly focus on the buoy, so I'd have to do several more strokes with my head out of the water, often at the expense of my heart rate.

I am a very visual person, so with the reptilian term in my head, I was easily able to perform the skill. I immediately thought, ahhh... this is how it's suppose to feel!

The skill is pretty easy to do. After taking a breath to the side, instead of turning your head so you are looking at the bottom of the lake, turn your head so you are looking forward. The key is to not lift your head out of the water. Your eyes are above the surface of the water and your mouth below, just as though you were going to blow bubbles in the water. Exhale your breath while looking forward. You can easily swim several strokes this way, or if you want to breath again, turn your head back to the side breathing position and take a breath. Either resume your normal breathing or look forward again. Because you don't have to struggle to lift your head out of the water, your breathing, stroke and heart rate shouldn't be effected.

I've got a race this next weekend, so I'm really looking forward to putting all my new skills to use.

I also wanted to tell you all about a great new place I discovered to run. It's so strange how something can be right in front of my nose, but I'm so focused on the old routine and established habits that I've got blinders on!

Right behind my property is an old abandoned railway access road. It's smooth dirt single and double track, punctuated by deep ruts where ingrates have tried to drive in during the mud of spring. I used to ride my mountain bike on it, and I steer campers with bikes back there for nice little spot to ride. But, I had never run on it until the other night.

A little further out away from my property is another access road that has been graded and graveled. This one is much flatter and easier to run on. The only times I have ever ventured "out the back way" with my running shoes on, I have run on the graveled road... and only for the purpose of following it to asphalt.

That was my intent last week. I ran out the back way to avoid going through the crowded rv park and found that the graveled road I would normally use grown knee high with dead grass and weeds. So I back tracked back to the old dirt road, to find trail running nirvana. Ok, so it wasn't nirvana, but it was pretty darn nice.

I ran out along the 3/4 mile long trail with the intent on hitting the pavement at the end and finishing my run on the road. By the time I got to the end, I was having such a nice run, I thought I'd better turn around and do it again. In the end, I found that 3 out and backs equal exactly 5 miles. (I love my GPS!)

The nice thing about this little route is that running on dirt is easier on the knees than running on hard surfaces. I think I'll continue to do my longer runs (5 miles or more) on the trail. The other great benefit, now that it is so dang hot, is that back in the trees is a lot cooler place to run than out on the street.

It was a productive weekend. Tomorrow morning I'm going to drive out to the site of next weekends race and check out the bike and run course. Will post details!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!