Working for the Weekend

Date: Friday, January 20, 2012
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
157 days to Olympic Trials

900 warmup

12x50 on :50
Odd: 25 kick/25 swim
Even: 25 drill/25 swim

12x25 on :30
Odd: half kick, half swim
Even: breast swim

Five rounds:
100 easy on 2:00
25 breast fast/30 seconds vertical kick holding 12-pound ball/25 breast fast on 2:00
(Fast part of set took about 1:45, with time used to grab med ball from deck and put back after kicking)

Five rounds:
20 seconds easy treading water/20 seconds vertical kick/four fast backstroke strokes

200 easy (with lots of stretching)

Total: 2,950 yards (not counting vertical kicking)

I am exhausted. This week was a killer, and it ended with two very difficult workouts. I had not planned on doing any breaststroke this morning after yesterday's brutal workout, but the main set (as I worked it out in my head) seemed to work fine for doing some fast breaststroke swimming, which I haven't really done since getting back from Austin. My right hamstring felt tender, and I was hesitant to do so much vertical kicking, but it never got to the point of excruciating pain. I made sure to do extensive leg stretches before and after workout, and it feels a little better, but not great.

I am proud of myself for taking the initiative to do the main set as I did it. As it was written on the board, it was basically a 100 easy kick, then a 100 fast kick. It didn't seem boring, but I felt like I needed to shake it up a little more. The vertical kicking on the main set was completely my idea, and Mark was very surprised that I chose to do it. I was surprised I made 30 seconds holding that heavy ball!

As I mentioned, I'm quite exhausted. I've chosen to not lift weights today, and I'm fine with that. I will resume my weight program next week.

Today, I officially decided to attend the senior sectional meet in Seattle the weekend of March 9. The event schedule works perfectly for me. The 100 breast (the main event!) is on Saturday. I plan to fly to Seattle Thursday night, swim a couple of relays on Saturday to get adjusted to the meet and swim the 100 back and 100 breast on Saturday, as well as the 200 IM on Sunday. I will rest for three days for the meet, but not shave. It will be my last barometer on how training is going before Trials, though not my last long course meet. I plan to swim in the Southwest Classic, as I do every year, though for the second time in six years, I won't shave. The meet is usually the second week of June, but with the timing of Olympic Trials, the Southwest Classic might be moved up much earlier, as they did in 2008.

I'm excited to swim at sectionals. I looked at last year's results, and it appears that the top finishers aren't extremely fast, which gives me optimism about placing high in the 100 breast and maybe my other two events. Coley is very set on winning the team title, and he's taking lots of the kids, including Roland Schoeman, so it could happen. I want the opportunity to do more work on racing skills, and I vow to be better prepared for racing. I won't spend the day before my race walking around a huge mall, and if I have trouble sleeping, I'll take a sleep aid. This meet will be practice for Trials ... at least in the case of race preparation. I doubt I'm getting a second swim at Trials, but you never know!

I'm so excited to have tomorrow off. No swimming, no exercise! It'll be just what my body needs. I might spend the entire afternoon at the movies. I have a lot to catch up on before the Oscar nominations are announced Tuesday morning!