Almost There

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2012
Time: 11:20 a.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Short Course Yards
120 days to Olympic Trials

300 warmup

Three rounds:
300 free with snorkel on 4:15
200 breast kick on 4:00
100 IM drill on 1:30

8x15 breakouts on :45

100 easy

Four rounds on 6:00:
25 breast swim against Power Tower
25 back swim with Power Tower
25 underwater dolphin kick with short fins
25 breast swim fast
100 easy

100 easy

100 IM fast from push (56-mid)

300 easy (with stretching)

Total: 3,600 yards (80 minutes)

Sorry I forgot to post this workout yesterday, but the Academy Awards pretty much ruled over my day, making me forget  few things I needed to do once the show started.

In any case, Sunday's workout was pretty tough, though my body handled it better than I expected. The only real tough part of the main set was the underwater kick. The only rest I got within each round was the time it took to unhook the belt that connected me to the Power Tower and put on the fins, and then the time it took to take off those fins for the last 25. All told, maybe 30 seconds rest in each round.

The big technique aspect I worked on during the main set was finishing my kick correctly, even as the lactate started to build in my legs. If I can swim technically correct when tired now, it makes it easier to swim correctly when tired at taper time.

We've reached a crucial point in the countdown to Olympic Trials. We're exactly four months from the 100 breaststroke, and I'm starting to see how close we are to the meet. I'm also about a week and a half away from the sectional meet, and I'm feeling quite confident about how fast I'll swim. Mind you, I'm only going to rest at most three days, which is not even half the time I would rest for a full taper. It'll make me fresh enough to race well, but not rested enough to make it difficult to get right back to work after the meet. Sectionals is going to be the last test for me before Trials. I might swim one or two more local meets before Trials, but sectionals will provide an optimal racing experience (i.e. more people at a rested state) than the local meets and also will be held at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington. I've had a lot of success at that pool. I qualified for the 1991 Pan-American Games team in that pool. I swam fast at the 2007 Masters nationals, breaking a fast record. I'm hooping the streak continues, but I won't step on the blocks and allow the "streak" to take control.

Today was a day off from exercise. I love these days. It gives me a little itch to get back in the pool tomorrow and allows me to have a recovery from Sunday's tough workout.