January Swim Challenge - check!

I challenged myself in the 2nd week of January to swim 20,000 yards by month's end. I was in desperate need of "get into the pool" motivation, so this little challenge was exactly what I needed. And after reading that this girl swam something like 12 miles in a week, I was feeling lazy and the pool was calling my name.

I'm happy to announce that I swam 20,600 yards in January! That includes 10 visits to the pool. I tell myself that it's not worth it to go to the pool unless I swim at least a mile, but I strive for at least 2,000 yards. If I have to wake up early and instantly get in a pool, I might as well swim for awhile! I do a mix of workouts - easy, speed intervals, distance - to mix things up so I never get bored in the pool. Today's workout was aimed more toward distance:

I didn't time all my intervals (I never do), but I was happy with the ones I did time. Over the course of the month, I have gotten my average/100 yards down to 1:52 from 1:55ish. If I really push it, I can sustain sub-1:50 over about 300 yards. Very, very happy with this progression.

So what is my challenge for February? Swim 30,000 yards (13 pool visits) and bike over 200 miles. I haven't been biking more than 16 miles at a time on my trainer, so it's time to up the saddle time and get in some rides outside.

In running news - I'm 99% sure that my IT band is flaring up again. I have had a bad pain (different though from past IT band injuries) on the outside of my knee for the past two week. I was able to run though it for awhile, but this weekend it said no and I was unable to complete my 9 miler. I have an appointment with the chiropractor on Friday, so until then, no running. Sigh. Will running ever come easy for me? Can I please get a freaking break?


What is your February challenge?