Last week my friend Scotty celebrated his 30th birthday. As a good triathlete friend, I was NOT going to let this milestone pass without the most important of festivities: the birthday swim.
The most famous triathlete birthday swim is definitely Hillary Biscay’s 100x100s. But Scotty is a busy helicopter pilot and I wasn’t sure I could count to 100, so we had to come up with another celebration-worthy set. Luckily, Scotty had an idea:
So we went with the ultimate 15 minute birthday set: 30x25s on 30 seconds all NO BREATH!
As a swimmer I despised holding my breath. As a triathlete I love it! It took me a while, but now I see the real value of good breath control – it allows me to talk non-stop for long periods of time without pausing to breathe! If only I’d realized this when I was younger!
Scotty and I roped his fiance, Katie, and our friends Brent and Kidd into doing the set with us. 30x25s might not sound like a big deal, but all those no-breathers add up and it can get pretty tough!
But we all finished the set with hypoxic smiles on our faces! And since we started at 5:30 am, we finished in time for masters swim at 5:45! No skipping practice just because it’s your birthday, Scotty!
Later that day, I got an email from my friend Robinson:
Not wanting to be outdone, I replied with my own email:
Dragon run roasts squirrel run to a crisp and eats it as a snack! End of email chain. Have a great week everyone!!!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok, that sounds positively dreadful to me! I hated hypoxic sets, so now I just don’t do them
Love this post, Haley. Katie sent me your blog and I’m loving it all, too! I remember the days of 100x100s every New Year’s Eve in high school
Looks like a great birthday workout!
My first feature on haleychura.com! I have hit the big time!
HAHAHAH- I’m still laughing from those e-mail pictures. Hilarious. MINE is a fire breathing dragon who will roast your friendly little squirrel.
HAHAHA.