First coached swim, new running shoes and fencing push

I finally hooked up with Ed from Salmon Bay swim club this afternoon. He liked my stroke overall - especially my hip motion - but started the long path of working on the details of my stroke and strategy. He corrected a small issue with my hand entry right away then we started work on my turns. We did push-offs at this point with the intent of getting the push right, then we'll start the flip turn later. By the end of the lesson I added about four feet to my push off and probably took about 4 seconds off my time. I still need to streamline a little better off the wall, but that's just a flexibility issue more than anything...getting my big rower's body to do really squeeze in off the wall. It will happen though.

After the swim I went up to the The Foot Zone to get my next running shoe. I think my eight month old shoes were part of the back and foot problems I've been having. The Foot Zone is one of the best places in Seattle to find outdoor and athletic shoes and clothing. I was really impressed with their video setup...they video tape you running on a machine to figure out which shoe is best for you depending on your running style. I got the Saucony Grid Web and some new active orthotics. It felt great, I can't wait to really put the new shoes to the test. Dick and Bonnie Robbins are sponsoring my running shoes, so a BIG thanks to them.

Finally, another fencing lesson. This time Allen had me work on pushing the blade. I still am trying to muscle the blade more than finesse it. By the end of the lesson I was doning OK, not overdoing it both in strength and motion, but it took a while to get there.