Funny How Time Flies (When You're Having Fun)

Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
200 days to Olympic Trials

300 warmup

4x200 free on 3:30
Odd: 25 swim/25 drill
Even: focus on turns


1x50 free at 90% effort (28.3)


4x(4x50 on 1:00)
1. 25 breast/25 free
2. free breathe every 3
3. 12.5 scull, rest swim
4. 12.5 kick, rest swim


1x50 breast at 90% effort (34.7)


200 easy


10x50 free on 1:00, four breaths per 50


2x15 breakouts

150 easy

Total: 2,900 meters (75 minutes)


The terrifying thing about taper -- at least for me -- is wondering if I am doing enough to stay in shape, but not swimming so hard that my body isn't recovering well. Today, my body felt great in the water, and when Mark said those tapering for this weekend's meet were done after 2,200 meters, I knew I needed to do more. But what to do? I definitely wasn't going to do the next set on the whiteboard: 4x400 on 6:00! So, I decided to do some breath control work, which got my heart rate up slightly yet didn't require a lot of exertion.


Two days before the start of a meet is when I start to feel good. If I didn't feel good today, I would have been concerned. I'm feeling more confident mentally about this weekend (though concerns about weather are still sticking around), and usually that translates to my body making the proper adjustments. The psych sheet was released yesterday, and I'll have some tough races on Saturday. I'm seeded first in the 100 back, ahead of four fellow Phoenix Swim Club teammates, all of whom were backstrokers in college. One of them, Lauren Rogers, was a finalist in the 100 back at the 2008 Olympic Trials! It would be great if I -- a breaststroker who has been surprisingly successful at backstroke in Masters -- could beat all four of them. And my training partner Alan Carter is going to put up a good fight in the 200 IM, and I am very much looking forward to that. I haven't been able to race anyone in a short course meters 200 IM in years, and that event is difficult to do when I am racing just the clock. When someone is pushing me, the race is actually very fun, as you try to capitalize on your strong strokes and push your weaker ones. Alan is very weak on breaststroke, but I have a feeling he won't just "roll over" on that stroke. And he's vastly superior in freestyle, which will make the final 50 meters interesting!

The most important thing to do during taper is relax. Unfortunately, that means housework goes by the wayside. My house looks like pigsty more and more each day as my dirty clothes pile up and little things get pushed aside for next week. On Sunday afternoon, I'll have no excuse for putting off cleaning, and I'm sure my husband will have a long honey-do list waiting!

Only 200 days until Olympic Trials! It feels like June 25, 2012, is so far away, but it feels like July 10, 2011, the day I qualified for Trials, was nearly a week ago. Time flies when you're having fun!