Africa Hot.

Wow.  I never want to be somebody who rambles on about the obvious, but it's hot outside.  Just dry heat.  To anyone who has never felt the Phoenix summer heat, imagine a hair dryer blowing in your face as you peak into the oven.  It's just inescapable.

Honestly, I don't really mind it until mid September through October.  Especially the few years the heat has crept all the way through the end up to Halloween.  I mean, it's just weird to be in the 90's with costumes on.  And the oh-the-humanity of melted candy.

The outdoor pool absorbs this heat and easily creeps into the danger zone.  Our gym does a pretty good job of not having it excessive (as I felt last year when they kept pumping the solar heating system even in July).

The bottom line is that it's a specific challenge to push out many yards when you're basically immersed in a hot tub.  The muscles relax and it plays a real game with your head to stay focused.  Kind of a Wizard of Oz poppy field feeling.

I vastly prefer the outside to indoors.  Would love to have the lakes be more conveniently located as they were in our last home.  So I try to endure the outside as much as I can.  Then when I slip into the much cooler water of inside, it's absolutely refreshing.  Like a cooling mint feeling that can really recharge.  I'm better at finding that balance now - before I would go too long outside and just be spent even with relatively fewer yards.

Interesting to me that I'm learning how to adapt and train in warm water when the goal is the exact opposite for my long term.

Had a great swim, even if the yardage is still well below what my mind is telling me I should be doing.  I know I can do 8 to 10k per workout.  Though it would just be reinforcing weak habits in my stroke.  I'm getting better at believing the more focused swims are ultimately better.

Tried to hit my inside swim right at my goal race pace for the 8k.  I want to be under 1:40 / 100m which would put my time at 2h : 13m for the Vegas race.  This would represent a 57 minute decrease on my first year's swim!  Anything under 2:20 I will be very happy.

Just as I pushed off my 4th lap of 30 for a 1500 timed, another guy went out right with me.  His pace was just a touch ahead of mine, so it made me step up.  I was not going to be beat by anybody on this one.  He must have done a respectable 700 or so - it was the kick I needed to really feel good about that swim.  I could imagine myself holding this pace through the first 2 miles, then focus on pure efficiency through the middle of the race, then give it a good fight for the last mile and a half.

Outside (no current):

2000m (2200 yards) 36:00 ish (1:48 / 100m)
500m - stroke work

Inside

1500m timed at appx race pace (25:35) (1:42 / 100m)
Felt very strong - long pulls and relaxed speed