Putting It Together

Date: November 30, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
208 days to Olympic Trials

12x50 on 1:00
odd: 25 kick/25 swim
even: 25 drill/25 swim

1x50 free with no breath (took one breath)

8x25 on :35 breakouts

3x3x100 on 2:30
Round 1:
75 free aerobic/25 easy
50 breast fast (32.5)/50 easy
25 breast fast from dive (14.1)/75 easy

Round 2:
75 back fast (46.7)/25 easy
50 free aerobic/50 easy
25 breast fast (14.5)/75 easy

Round 3:
75 free aerobic/25 easy
50 breast fast (32.3)/50 easy
25 breast fast from dive (14.1)/75 easy

6x25 easy :15 rest

3x(4x25 on :40)
1-3: free no breath or breast underwater no breath
4: easy


100 easy


Broken 100 IM (done as 4x25 on :45, fly from dive) (12.1, 14.2, 15.3, 13.4 = 55.00)

200 easy

Total: 2,400 meters (75 minutes)


I hadn't expected to so little in the pool today, as it was to be my last official hard-working day in the pool before taper starts. But it was good to be able to do the main set of 100s with a lot of rest.

I didn't feel extremely strong in the pool, but as happened yesterday and Monday, the times didn't reflect that. I was happy with the times, especially the broken 100 IM. I'm all for getting as much rest as possible, but I think the interval on the broken 100 IM was too slow. We should have done them on :30 for a more accurate indication of a broken swim. Usually, you get 20-30 seconds rest on a broken 200.

My breaststroke is starting to come together, and my backstroke pull feels more natural. I've been struggling with backstroke for about a year now, and I think part of it comes from recovering from tendonitis.

I'm really starting to get the nervous knots in my stomach every time I think about the upcoming meet. Once in a while, I visualize the races I will be swimming and when it is over, I visualize a time as fast or faster than my goal time. That makes me excited and a little nervous hoping everything pans out in terms of preparation.

Tonight was my last workout with JR Rosania for a few weeks. We didn't do too much work, just some fast-twitch preparation with low repetitions. I felt good at the end. My muscles were a little fatigued, which is just fine, but more importantly, I felt my fast-twitch fibers reacting positively.

And now taper begins!