Some Like It Hot

Date: Sunday, October 23, 2011
Time: 12:20 p.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
246 days to Olympic Trials

300 warmup

12x50 on 1:00
1-4: 25 breast kick drill/25 free with two breaths
5-8: 25 back kick drill/25 free with two breaths
9-12: 25 fly kick drill/25 free with two breaths

Four rounds:
150 free on 2:15 alternate breathing sides each 25
100 IM aerobic on 1:40
50 on 1:00 as 15m breakout/35 easy

100 easy
4x25 IM order fast on :45
200 easy
4x25 IM order fast on :45
200 easy


200 breast kick with board easy


Eight starts (six backstroke, two breaststroke)

Total: 3,200 yards (80 minutes)


I was feeling under the weather today, so my planned Power Tower workout was scrapped. The 200 kick sort of took its place. Plus, the water was rather warm, which didn't do wonders for my sprinting ability. As I have likely mentioned before on this blog, I don't do well in warm water. And with today being the one-year anniversary of Fran Crippen's death from drowning in warm water during a 10-kilometer swim race, I thought about the dangers of warm water swimming constantly. Some people enjoy swimming in warmer water, but I still don't understand why they do. My blood pressure is elevated in warmer water, and my heart rate during aerobic sets is higher than usual.


With me not feeling my best, I figured it was a good idea to lay off the sprinting today. I thought about doing 1,000 yards of aerobic freestyle and backstroke after the set of 4x25, but I wasn't in the mood to stay in the water longer than that.

I needed to do some work on my backstroke start. I haven't done any practice starts since July, and my start in the 100 back at the meet in Orlando was abysmal. I only take four dolphin kicks off the start, so I do not need to dive too deep on the entry. I worked n being a little shallower, so I don't work as hard to get to the surface. I think I got the hang of it, but more work needs to be done. On the upside, my breaststroke start felt very good.