Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)

Date: Sunday, May 20, 2012
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Long Course Meters
36 days to Olympic Trials

300 warmup

Four rounds:
50 with :20 rest -- 25 scull/25 underwater kick
100 free, breathing every 5 on 1:40
150 with :30 rest -- 50 back/50 breast/50 free (25 kick/25 swim each stroke)

4x50 on 1:00 free descend 1-4 (descended to :30)

200 easy

Broken 100 free -- 50 fast/50 fast with small fins

6x50 choice easy, :10 rest

Broken 100 breast -- 50 fast with small fins/50 fast no fins

6x50 choice easy, :10 rest

50 breast fast from push (32.9)

200 easy

Total: 2,950 meters (75 minutes)

This morning I started watching "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" on ABC Family. It's probably my favorite in the series, and when it comes on TV (as it seems to do a lot on ABC Family), I will watch it. This morning, my body wanted a brief nap before workout (despite waking up three hours earlier).

I planned on a 15-minute nap. It became a one-hour nap. This made me late for workout. I had swimming lessons to teach this afternoon, and I had planned the start of my workout to give me time to get dressed and have a bite to eat (as well as guzzle my P2Life Nutriboost shake) without feeling rushed. I dove in right at 1:00, about 15 minutes later than planned.

As usual, I put the workout on the wall of the pool gutter. At this time of year, you have to make sure the paper is always wet, because the heat will dry it up quickly, and it'll float away. That's what happened in the middle of the first set. When I looked for the paper, I could not find it floating in my lane or on the deck. I was pretty sure I could remember the workout, particularly the sprint sets I had in mind. After the workout, as I rushed to write it out on another piece of paper to remember it later for typing this blog post, I realized that I had missed a 400-meter warmup set. Would it have made a difference? I don't know.

I was fairly lethargic in the pool today. I wasn't sure if I had the energy to swim fast. But when you mentally challenge yourself, some good things can happen. My legs were overworked on that broken 100 free, and that was the goal. I wanted to overload the work on my legs on that final 50, which is when the legs should be working hardest, especially in a freestyle swim. I'm planning on swimming the 100 free at the Masters summer nationals in Omaha, so I do need to train for that as well!

I took about 15 seconds rest between 50s on my broken swims, just enough time to either put on or take off my fins. I was pleased with how my body responded to the sets. I was very, very tired at the end of each 100, but unlike Wednesday, I was able to put forth some great effort on each one because I did a recovery set in between. Nothing against Coley Stickels' lactate workouts, but I prefer the ability to flush out a good portion of the lactate before ramping up the speed again.

As for that fast push 50 breast at the end. I had my partner, Geoff Glaser, time me, and after he told me the time, he said he thought he started a tick late. Therefore, the actual time might have been a 33-low. Still, that's a great time after those fast 100s.

With five weeks left until Trials, this is a crucial time in training. I think the power focus in my dryland has really helped me, but i have to be careful to not get too bulky. I don't want my muscles to get in the way of fast swimming! It is possible to be too buff in swimming. You want to have strong muscles, but you also want to be hydrodynamic. Having arms and legs like tree trunks can often work against you.