Brand New Day

Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
111 days to Olympic Trials

4x(3x75 on 1:15)
1. kick/drill/swim
2 and 3 IM

4x(4x100 on 2:00)
1. swim aerobic
2. kick
3. drill
4. swim at 90-95 percent effort
(fly: 1:03, back: 1:03, breast: 1:07, free: :57)

8x50 on 1:00
1-4 free with two breaths
5-8 back

25 breast fast from dive (12.0)
75 easy
25 breast fast from dive (11.8)
125 easy

Total: 3,150 yards (75 minutes)

I felt so much better today than I did on Sunday. I'm not saying I'm going to blast a 1:03 in the 100 breast this weekend, but I felt a lot better about my preparation. I'm calling Sunday a little speed bump that probably was hampered by that very difficult vertical kicking set on Friday. My legs today felt like they had much more spring in them, and that made all the difference.

My starts don't feel very good, though. I'm trying to have a good reaction time, but I feel like I'm not getting off the blocks quick enough. I wish we had one of those devices that can measure reaction time in workout, so I can accurately know if my reaction time is normal (about .60 to .70) or too slow (.71 or higher).

The 100s I did at 90 percent effort felt smooth, though not extremely easy. I put in the same amount of effort on the 100 breast today that I did on Sunday, and swam much better and was a little more relaxed on my stroke. I think I could have done two more on a 1:40 interval today, holding 1:07.

Tomorrow will be much more laid back than today. I plan to do no more than 100 yards fast, but it depends on the sets tomorrow. I'll do about 3,200 yards tomorrow, but it will be working on technique and giving my body an active day of recovery.