Teacher, Teacher

Date: December 2, 2011
Time: 4:15 p.m.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Long Course Meters
206 days to Olympic Trials

300 warmup


6x100 :20 rest
25 scull/25 dolphin kick on back/25 breast with double pullouts/25 free breathe every 3


8x50 on 1:05
odd: 25 fly/25 back
even: 25 breast/25 free


4x150 :30 rest
50 breast kick drill/50 free/50 breast distance per stroke


4x15 breakouts on 1:00


Three rounds:
50 breast underwater swim on 1:15
50 breast fast on :45
3x50 easy on 1:30
(Times on fast 50s: 34.3, 34.7, 34.8)

200 warmdown


Total: 3,100 meters


Today's workout was approved by Coley Stickels, who is here with several members of the Phoenix Swim Club, including Michael Nelson, who is newly qualified for Olympic Trials in the 100 breast! He went 1:04.22 in prelims today, which means he is now seeded faster than me for Trials. I have no plans to shave and taper for a long course meet before Trials, so he'll be in a later heat in Omaha than I will. I know Coley will like that. He wants to be able to watch both of us equally in the race.

The point of the main set was to work on my endurance in the final 50 of the race. I was still a little out of breath from the underwater swimming when I pushed off for the fast 50, so I did feel the fatigue in the final 15 meters. Not only was I under 35 seconds on all three of them (which doesn't usually happen) but I took 21 strokes on all the fast swims! I'm usually 24 strokes! I have no idea what that was all about. Could it be I am stronger? Maybe.

After the main set, I noticed the great breaststroke coach Joszef Nagy strolling the deck. Joszef coached Mike Barrowman to numerous world records and Olympic gold in the 200 breast in 1992. He also helped Roque Santos make the Olympic team in 1992 and currently is world record holder Annamay Pierse's coach. I asked him to look at my stroke for 25 meters, and he obliged. Watching with him was Coach Tako, who was timing me on the main set. After the swim, Joszef said my upper body was very good, but my kick needed fixing. He said I shouldn't kick at a downward angle on the finish, but kick straight back and up a little bit. I tried to maintain my composure as he talked, because it was Tako who suggested that I kick downward! Joszef said kicking straight back will put my body at a better angle, which I agree with completely. I worked on it a little in warmdown and will refine it more tomorrow.

All in all, today's main set was surprisingly good. I wasn't feeling strong in my legs, mostly because I've been standing a lot for work. And it was even better that I got to swim in the pool that hosted the 1996 Olympics!

Now it's time to go to work! But first, some food...

Breaking Away

Date: Thursday, December 1, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters/Short Course Yards
207 days to Olympic Trials

(Short Course Meters)
300 warmup

6x150 on 2:40, last 50 kick

12x50 free on :45, breathe every 5

(Short Course Yards)
6x100 back on 1:30 aerobic

400 kick breast

6x50 on 1:15
25 scull, five seconds rest, then 15m breakout

200 with underwater turns

Total: 1,800 short course meters/1,500 short course yards (80 minutes)

This morning was the first official taper workout of the season! After the set of 50s free breathing every five, I decided to move to the other part of the pool and do some aerobic swimming. Everyone else did 6x300, odds on 4:30, evens on 5:00. I didn't think I needed to do that, so I broke away from the pack and worked on backstroke technique while maintaining a steady heart rate.

Every day in my taper, I will do something fast. Most days, it will be nothing more than a few breakouts. Other days it will be a longer test sprint set. Keep following the blog and you'll see how I plan out the days when I swim fast for a longer period of time.

I am keeping this blog short because I'm quite tired. I'm writing this from my hotel room in Atlanta, where I'm covering the USA Swimming nationals for Swimming World. It's been nonstop for me since I landed in Atlanta, and it is almost midnight here. I arrived at the pool 10 minutes before the finals started tonight, and spent the next 15 minutes trying to find the mixed zone for media. Apparently, it's just a space on deck that the media took control of this morning. Works for me! After the meet I still had work to do, and finally feel like I'm settled in.

Can't wait to dive into the pool at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center tomorrow! It will be my first swim in the pool that hosted the 1996 Olympics. Tomorrow's workout will likely be a longer sprint set, but I haven't officially decided yet.

Putting It Together

Date: November 30, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
208 days to Olympic Trials

12x50 on 1:00
odd: 25 kick/25 swim
even: 25 drill/25 swim

1x50 free with no breath (took one breath)

8x25 on :35 breakouts

3x3x100 on 2:30
Round 1:
75 free aerobic/25 easy
50 breast fast (32.5)/50 easy
25 breast fast from dive (14.1)/75 easy

Round 2:
75 back fast (46.7)/25 easy
50 free aerobic/50 easy
25 breast fast (14.5)/75 easy

Round 3:
75 free aerobic/25 easy
50 breast fast (32.3)/50 easy
25 breast fast from dive (14.1)/75 easy

6x25 easy :15 rest

3x(4x25 on :40)
1-3: free no breath or breast underwater no breath
4: easy


100 easy


Broken 100 IM (done as 4x25 on :45, fly from dive) (12.1, 14.2, 15.3, 13.4 = 55.00)

200 easy

Total: 2,400 meters (75 minutes)


I hadn't expected to so little in the pool today, as it was to be my last official hard-working day in the pool before taper starts. But it was good to be able to do the main set of 100s with a lot of rest.

I didn't feel extremely strong in the pool, but as happened yesterday and Monday, the times didn't reflect that. I was happy with the times, especially the broken 100 IM. I'm all for getting as much rest as possible, but I think the interval on the broken 100 IM was too slow. We should have done them on :30 for a more accurate indication of a broken swim. Usually, you get 20-30 seconds rest on a broken 200.

My breaststroke is starting to come together, and my backstroke pull feels more natural. I've been struggling with backstroke for about a year now, and I think part of it comes from recovering from tendonitis.

I'm really starting to get the nervous knots in my stomach every time I think about the upcoming meet. Once in a while, I visualize the races I will be swimming and when it is over, I visualize a time as fast or faster than my goal time. That makes me excited and a little nervous hoping everything pans out in terms of preparation.

Tonight was my last workout with JR Rosania for a few weeks. We didn't do too much work, just some fast-twitch preparation with low repetitions. I felt good at the end. My muscles were a little fatigued, which is just fine, but more importantly, I felt my fast-twitch fibers reacting positively.

And now taper begins!

Take It Easy

Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
209 days to Olympic Trials

800 warmup

6x125 back on 2:15 descend 1-3, 4-6
(1:43, 1:41, 1:33, 1:42, 1:38, 1:30)

500 fly: 25 kick/25 left, right, full stroke/25 three strokes fly, 3 cycles free/25 swim

4x(3x50) on 1:00
1-2: easy
3: 25 breast/25 free fast (31.3, 30.9, 31.3, 31.3)

Easy 50

300 breast: 25 kick with board/25 pull with board between legs

easy 50

50 breast from dive: 30.3

Four fly-back IM turns

Easy 100

Total: 3,300 meters (80 minutes)

Today was the second-to-last day before taper begins, and I wasn't feeling much like sprinting. I wanted to take it a little easier today and work on stroke technique more than speed, and as such, I wasn't as fast as I should have been on the 125s backstroke or the 50s back/breast. I hadn't prepared my body or my mind for all-out swimming, though I was pleasantly surprised with my times on the 50s. My second 50 in the 100 IM is about 30.8, so to be close to it without swimming my hardest was a good sign.

Since last Wednesday, I have been working on a different approach to starting my breaststroke pullout. After watching me in workout that Wednesday, Coley Stickels suggested that I not pull so wide on the beginning of the pullout. It should be similar to a butterfly pull: start shoulder width apart and pull down. It feels like I am losing less of my speed at that part. On today's fast 50 breast from a dive, I was concentrating so hard on that pullout that I spaced out on my breakout and pulled a lot of air. That prevented me from breaking 30 on that swim, which to me would have been a big shock, since I was feeling much like a sprinter today. And don't go spreading rumors. I have very few days where I don't feel like a sprinter!

It Goes Like It Goes

Date: November 28, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Long Course Meters
210 days to Olympic Trials

8x(3x50)
#1 on 1:00
#2 on :50
#3 on :40

4x200 free on 3:00
1, 3 aerobic; 2,4 strong
(2:43 on aerobic swims, 2:33 on strong swims)

300 easy

6x100 on 2:00
odd: back/breast easy
even: breast strong (1:23, 1:20, 1:19)

200 easy

Total: 3,100 meters (75 minutes)

Today was the first true long course meters workout I've done since July (the recent workout with the Washington State doesn't really count). Every swimmer knows that the first long course workout after months of short course training can be painful, and that was definitely true today. Also, I think being at altitude in Show Low for three days might have had some effect as well. It wasn't easy getting a breath on the 200s, but that could have just been general fatigue setting in.

After that set, I had planned to swim easy for the rest of the workout, but Mark threw in that set of 100s, and while I was thinking of wimping out, I figured I needed to do it. I was surprised that I was going as fast as I was. It was very tough to hold my stroke on the final 25 of each of the strong 100s. When it was over, I was glad I did it, and hope it pays off down the line.

I had hoped the pool would be in short course so I could work on my IM transitions. I figured I'm pushing off on backstroke too early in the IM, causing me to be in bad body position and making it difficult to do an effective breakout. I'm not sure if the rest of this week will be short course or long course, but no matter what, I'll just take it as it goes. I was going to break away from the pack after today's distance set (similar to what I did today) and do 20x50 on 1:00. The first 10 would have been fly/back and the last 10 would have been breast/free. Oh well. The set I did at the end was just as effective.

Show Me

Date: November 25, 2011
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Show Low, AZ
Short Course Yards
213 days to Olympic Trials

400 warmup

5x200 kick with small fins, :30 rest
1-3 free, 4-5 breast

12x25 with small fins on :30
odd: breast pull with flutter kick
even: freestyle, with 12-1/2 kick underwater

100 easy

400 IM -- 50 kick/25 drill/25 swim

4x25 on :45, butterfly with no breath

100 easy

Total: 2,400 yards (45 minutes)

It took everything I had to get through today's workout. Not only was I swimming at altitude (Show Low is at 6,400 feet), but the pool temperature was 84 degrees. I was OK through the 5x200 kick, but I started feeling the effects of the warm water more than the altitude on the set of 25s after that. I made it a goal to do more than 2,000 yards, and to decide the plan after that. I suppose I could have done an aerobic set of 100s freestyle, but I'm not sure I would have wanted to finish.

Since I knew I wasn't going to do a lot of yardage, I decided to do something of worth, hence the 12x25. I thought I could do another set of 12x25 at the end, but I overestimated the altitude effects. My lungs weren't going to be able to handle eight more.

Does swimming at altitude require not just an adjustment to the times you swim, but to the distance? If so, what is it? Did I technically do about 3,000 yards today?

I haven't done much in terms of yardage since Tuesday, and I think that could affect my training in the final 14 days leading up to my taper meet. I will swim on Monday (my usual day off), and try to get some good workouts in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well. I plan to do some good workouts as well while working at the U.S. nationals, but taper officially starts on Dec. 1, so the quantity won't be the priority.

Short and Sweet

Date: Thursday, November 24, 2011
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Short Course Meters

5x200 free on 3:30
50 kick/25 left/25 right/100 swim

10x150 kick on 2:45 with small fins and snorkel
1-3 free, 4-5 butterfly

Power Tower:
3x25 breast fast on 1:15


25 breast fast from a push


6x50 back on :55 (averaged :36)

100 easy

Total: 3,100 meters (60 minutes)

Thanksgiving Day isn't one of those days where it is sacrilegious to swim. I was happy to have the opportunity to put in some laps today, not just because I was planning to eat a lot today and wanted to justify the extra calories. I didn't want to interrupt my training too much, and I had written a workout that was part recovery after yesterday's lactate workout. Unfortunately, the pool at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center was only open until 10, so I had to cut my workout short by about 800 meters.

I didn't want to do much breaststroke today. I needed a break from the stroke for a day, and it was good to focus on freestyle. When I did breaststroke on the Power Tower, I felt strong for the first time in a bout a week. I could feel the catch in my stroke again, and it was great to move smoothly down the pool. If I had been able to finish my workout, I would have done a few 25s breast with dolphin kick, in order to work more on arm speed.

I had a great Thanksgiving meal with Geoff's parents. Instead of turkey, we always have a different meat, such as roast beef. Today, it was a delicious ham with sweet potatoes and spinach, followed by mincemeat pie. No swimming tomorrow, because Geoff and I are going to the White Mountains in eastern Arizona. Hopefully, I'll be able to swim Saturday and Sunday, but it's not set in stone. We might do some (very) light hiking this weekend, so that will likely be my exercise.

The First Time

Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters/Yards
215 days to Olympic Trials

Today's workout with the senior-level age group team at Phoenix Swim Club was definitely one of the most difficult I have ever done in my 33 years in the sport. The goal was to emulate race pace training while building up extreme lactate, and on a scale of 1 to 10, the lactate level was at 9 for the entire workout.

At Coley's request, I can't post the workout here, but the main set was about 700 yards of some very tough swimming using rubber tubing, swim parachutes and fins, in the span of about 45 minutes. Today was the first time I've ever used a swim parachute, and it is extremely tough to swim with one. You can't imagine that small device having the ability to keep you from moving forward, but when it first took hold of water, I instantly felt how effective it was!

The most difficult parts of the main set were the underwater kicks and the variations on what we call in Masters "wall-ups," in which you pull yourself out of the water multiple times. This time, instead of pulling ourselves halfway out of the water, we had to pull ourselves completely out of the water. My legs and lungs were screaming!

The part of the main set I found the most relevant to race pace training were the fast 50s, which were broken into separate components. Using smaller fins required you to work the kick more while emphasizing a faster stroke tempo.

At the end of the workout, I was ready to do a long warmdown. After 100 yards, I asked Coley if he could time me for a dive 25 breast. I went 12.3, which was pretty good given the tough hour I had just endured. I didn't have much leg power to push from the blocks, but my stroke felt strong.

I wasn't sure I could survive the workout, but when it was over, I found myself smiling. I could have done a similar workout with the Masters group, but it would have been essentially a set of push 50s or 25s that might have made me happy with the times, but ambivalent about the workout itself.

Can't wait to attend another lactate day at Phoenix Swim Club!

Fly Like An Eagle

Date: November 22, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
216 days to Olympic Trials

700 warmup

16x25 on :30 (four each stroke)
8x50 on 1:00 (two each stroke)
4x100 on 2:00 (IM order)

8x25 on :40
Odd: fly kick halfway underwater
Even: Double breaststroke pullouts

4x(3x75 on 1:15)
1: fly/back/breast
2: back/breast/free
3: back

12x25 on :45
Odd fast, even easy

200 warmdown (with stretching)

Total: 3,500 meters (80 minutes)

Not a bad workout today, though I had trouble getting my heart rate down during the main set. On the upside, I did not break stroke on the butterfly. I continue to marvel at my newfound ability to do butterfly without breaking stroke. I could never go 200 yards/meters in one set without a desire to do some one-arm butterfly. It's usually because I had no support for the lower half of my body during butterfly, and thanks to working with JR I am able to do the second kick in the stroke much better, which in turn helps set up for the next stroke. I am not saying I enjoy butterfly more, but it makes it less painful. I am anxious to see how this pans out in my IMs in a couple of weeks.

At the gym (6 p.m.)

Five minutes shoulder exercises

Sitting bench press (15 @ 110, 12 @ 140, 10 @ 160)

Sitting row (15 @ 80,  12 @ 110, 10 @ 140)

Three rounds:
12x Medicine ball throwdown (12-pound ball)
10x throwing ball up
10 back lifts (while holding 8-pound ball and extending it out front at top of exercise)

Three rounds:
10 Jumping lunges (while holding 12-pound ball)
15x Cable pull (motion similar to butterfly pull/breaststroke pulldown) 


2x25 breaststroke pull (with 6-pound dumbbells)

Five minutes stretching

I mixed in a weight workout with some exercises JR gave me, since he was taking an early start to his Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Doing his exercises are fun to do at the gym. I got lots of stares when I was doing the jumping lunges, and a few people freaked out when I started doing the ball throwdowns.

My left shoulder is still giving me some problems, and though I don't think this is cause to believe the tendonitis is back, it is cause to believe that the exercises I am doing are putting some stress on the shoulder muscles. Part of my rhomboid muscle on my left side has a lot of scar tissue on it. I felt it when I did some self-massage today, and when I leaned against a corner, I recalled the feeling of the muscle not responding to the pressure. Usually when you massage a tired muscle, you feel a the knots release when you are done. With this rhomboid muscle, I only felt tough sinews, as if they had atrophied. It had a "crunchy" feel to it as I passed the corner of the wall over the muscle. What I need is one of those portable electric stimulating machines. I could put a couple of pads on my back and let the electric pulses shock the rhomboid muscle back to life. That's what my physical therapists did when I first experienced the tendonitis. They shocked the weakened muscles back to life.

This pain doesn't present itself very much when I am swimming. Only when lactic acid starts to build in my shoulder muscles do I feel some pain referral, mostly in my Deltoid muscle. I'm doing more shoulder stabilization exercises now, and those should help.

Playing With the Boys (Girls, Actually)

Date: November 20, 2011
Time: 11:40 a.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
218 days to Olympic Trials

Today, the plan was to do about 3,500 meters in the short course meters pool at the University of Arizona. Before I got into the pool, I went over to the head coach of the Washington State women's team, which was starting a workout in the main pool, to say hello. The head coach is Tom Jager, one of the legends in swimming. Don't know who he is? Shame on you. Here's a link to information on his stellar swimming career.

Tom grew up on the other side of the Mississippi River from St. Louis, in Collinsville, Illinois. He swam for Parkway Swim Club in St. Louis for many years before going to UCLA. Having grown up in St. Louis a generation after Tom left for UCLA, I knew him well. After we caught up on each other's lives, I was planning to go to do my workout. Tom introduced me to the women on his team, and they greeted me joyfully. I was going to wave to them and leave them to their workout, when one of them invited me to swim with them. I agreed to do so, not knowing what was in store.

I only had an hour before I had to teach a swimming lesson, so I had hoped to get at least 3,000 meters in before that. I only swam 2,000 meters (long course) in that hour:

5x100 choice on 2:00

400 kick, with the last 12.5 meters of each 100 fast

6x50 drill on about 1:20

4x50 free on 1:00 (averaged :38)

3x50 free on :50 (averaged :36)

3x50 free on :40 (averaged :34)

200 easy

4x25 breakouts

The team was getting ready to swim against Northern Arizona University on Monday, hence the extremely relaxed workout. Even they were surprised at all the rest they got. I'm sure they'll swim well tomorrow. Today's workout was like a taper! As I was about to head to my lesson, Tom got into the water and showed the team his stroke. It was just as I remembered it from his days of winning Olympic medals. I could tell the team was impressed. Tom said later it was the first time he had gotten in the water with his team in seven years, but it looked like he had probably been splashing around on his own a few times.

Here is a photo of Tom and I, taken today.

So, I didn't get in the workout I had planned today, but after yesterday's performance at the swim meet, it was clear my body needed a little recovery. I didn't mind spending more time hanging on the wall than swimming today. The girls were a delight to talk to, and if I had done my planned workout I might have stopped after about 2,000 meters anyway. The diving well was about 83 degrees, and at that extremely uncomfortable temperature, my brain would have instantly found ways out of the workout. So, the 2,000 meters I managed to get done today was much more pleasant than the 2,000 meters I would have forced myself to do otherwise.

Add in the fact that tomorrow is a normal off day, I should feel better on Tuesday. This week will present a few challenges in terms of swimming. I don't think I will be swimming Thursday, and on Friday morning, Geoff and I are going to the White Mountains in Arizona for the weekend. The closest pool to us will be 20 miles away in Show Low. Hope we have time for it, and that the pool is conducive to a halfway decent swim.