Morning Has Broken

Date: Friday, January 12, 2012
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
164 days to Olympic Trials

1300 warmup, swim and kick

6x100 on 2:00
15 breakout/85 free breathe every 5

100 easy

Two rounds:
16x25 on :30
Start with 15 strokes on #1, then 14 strokes on #2, all the way to zero strokes on #16 (similar to a 25 kick)
Round 1: free
Round 2: 8 back, 8 breast

8x50 on :50
4 back, 4 free

100 easy

Total: 3,300 meters

Another workout perfect for the type of swimming I wanted to do today. On the set of 100s on 2:00, everyone was doing fast kick, but I was able to make perfect changes.

I probably should have done a fast swim today beyond the 15-meter breakouts. Before the final set of 50s, the team did a fast 200 kick for time. I hung out on the wall, watching Alan Carter go 2:57 backstroke kick with fins. I could have done a 200 breast kick for time, and my prep for this weekend would not have been hampered. I think I was just being lazy and using the excuse of resting for the meet too much. I would have like to see how fast I could go. Maybe under 3:20? We'll never know.

It was extremely cold this morning. My car's thermostat read "36 degrees," and it sure felt that way. The pool was comfortable (about 81 degrees), but most times I could feel the sting of cold air when I took huge gulps of air. I think it'll warm up very soon!

As I've mentioned before, I'm very excited to be racing in the Austin Grand Prix this weekend. The uncertainty of how I will place in the 100 breast makes me very nervous, but I'm excited to be back in the pool I lived in for five years. The last time I raced there was at Masters nationals in 2008. I did very well there. In fact, I think I have swum well every time I've raced in Austin ... with the exception of a few dual meets here and there.

I won't have computer access in Austin, so I'll be back here Monday with a recap of how things went!