So last Sunday I did a 67-mile trail bike ride and then swam 2 miles on Monday and 2 miles again on Tuesday. Over the past week I had averaged 140+ minutes per day of working out. Bottom line: over-trained and in serious need of rest, recuperation, and rebuilding.

But on Wednesday I was given the opportunity to do a 5k (3.1-mile) open-water swim today. Not much time to rest and recuperate. No time to train, but I jumped at the opportunity because it is a great event organized by a super nice guy and it is the repeat of my first endurance event ever last year. I rested up as much as I could. The last couple of days I even loaded up on carbs, which is very unusual for me. I've always done 3-6 mile swims on a totally empty stomach, sometimes fasting one or even two days before hand (yes, I know, I'm weird, but I wanted to learn about ketosis and train my body to more easily drain my liver of fat stores).

This first experience of carb-loading was very uncomfortable for me. Felt very bloated and even lethargic, but I have to say it paid off. My time was 12 minutes better than last year at the same event, and, more importantly, I felt strong and and able to sprint hard at the end. Able to recognize when I was becoming unfocused and remedy the situation with disciplined concentration on my stroke and take aim at swimmers in front of me, not all of them, of course, but some of them. Although, I am not better trained at swimming than last year, I am in better cardiovascular shape, so that is definitely part of it, but the carb-loading seems like the biggest difference from last year. Bottom line, I'm beginning to believe my pulmonologist. Do as much as you can do. There are no limits.