AQx Water Shoes

Right now I have a $9 pair of Speedo pool shoes that I have used for SWR. Today I ordered a decent pair designed just for this purpose. They were on sale in my size so I said "what the heck?" Sometimes a gear purchase can motivate you to do something. So even if the shoes aren't demonstrably better than the cheapos, if they get me into the water every Wed for SWR, they will have been worth it.

Some good info on SWR workouts:

Run in water that's waist- to midchest-deep, slicing your hands through the water as if you're running on land (but avoid making a swimming motion with your arms). For a serious challenge, try this: Run for 2 minutes at a moderate intensity, rest for 30 seconds (or do an easy jog to stay warm), then repeat for 5 times total. Next, run for 1 minute at a high intensity, rest for 30 seconds and repeat for 8 times total. Finally, repeat the 2-minute moderate-intensity intervals and 30-second rest periods 5 more times. Wear cross trainers (dark-soled running shoes will scuff up the pool) or water shoes.

Source: Super Cool Water Workouts.

I have yet to think through what my SWR runs might be like, but I think that swapping out Wednesday morning runs is a great idea. That's the longest weekly mileage, and if I get to the pool early enough, it will be a perfect fit. Tracking in distance makes no sense. I will go by time, either using 10:00/M or 9:00/M as the yardstick. For example, the plan tomorrow is to do 50 minutes of SWR in place of a 5 mile run. I think 45 minutes would count, particularly if intervals were a part of it.

Another idea for SWR would be to incorporate it into race simulations. Seems like a perfect way to "pre-fatigue" muscles without overloading/stressing knees, PF, etc. For example, maybe I could do 25 minutes of very intense SWR and then transition to the track to get my body to feel like it did at mile 19.

Final note: I did enough SWR to know that it is boring as hell. I think the interval training will really help. Hard to be bored when you're getting your ass kicked. If this goes well, it should also give a real sense of accomplishment.