Date: Thursday, September 30, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Short Course Yards
269 days to Olympic Trials
7x150 on 2:40
#1 is six lengths swim, #2 is five lengths swim, one length kick, etc...
Six rounds:
75 kick with fins on 1:00
25 kick fast with fins on 1:00
(Rounds 1 and 2: free, rounds 3 and 4: fly, rounds five and six: back)
(Averaged :53-:55 on 75s, so very little rest before fast 25)
100 easy
10x50 breast kick no board on 1:00
Averaged :45
12x25 swim on :30
Odd: backstroke
Even: head up freestyle
Six rounds:
75 swim on 1:00
25 swim on 1:00
Descend 1-3, 4-6
(#3 backstroke time was :53, #6 freestyle time was :50 from a dive)
200 easy
Total: 3,350 yards
It's been a while since I've done two workouts within 12 hours. I had little to no energy this morning. A small part of it had to do with the fact that I did not go to sleep until 10:00, a full hour later than usual. But the other factor was something that's been an issue for a few weeks: I'm not eating right.
Last night after workout, I went to Subway for dinner. I had a turkey breast and ham sandwich (only $5 in September!) and was fairly full after that. I woke up this morning feeling a little hungry but was reticent to eat anything. As a rule, I rarely eat before workout, to avoid the nauseous feeling I often get while swimming. I ate half a banana, which did nothing to ease the hunger. Usually the hunger pangs are followed by dizziness and feeling light-headed, but that didn't happen. I just didn't have any zip to my swimming.
After morning workout, I head straight to the office, where I eat breakfast (as well as lunch). This morning, my options were limited, and instead of going to the grocery store (or Einstein Bagels) for other options, I ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with vanilla yogurt. Delicious, but not very filling. I was hungry about 90 minutes later. For "second breakfast" I consumed about five handfuls of Honey Nut Cheerios, which wasn't enough, because an hour later I was starving. I know my body needed lots of calories to replenish what I had spent this morning, but I didn't bring enough food to the office to satisfy myself. When I get home at night, a well-balanced dinner is never a problem. There's always protein, carbs and veggies on my plate.
I know many of you will wag your finger at me, with a "tsk, tsk" accompaniment about my breakfast. I should know better. I do know better. I will be better. I want to lose about five pounds in the next six weeks, and I thought eating less would help. But I think the key is just eating smarter. If you have recommendations on what can get me to this goal, please drop your suggestions in the comments. And keep in mind that I don't want to turn on a stove or oven for breakfast at the office. A microwave is fine.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Shake it up
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2011
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Short Course Yards
270 days to Olympic Trials
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I plan to do one workout a week with the top group of swimmers at Phoenix Swim Club. This group is made of mostly teenagers who have USA Swimming sectionals or senior national cuts. I think a couple of them have Olympic Trials cuts, but they came from Oregon when Coley Stickels was hired to be the head coach. Among that group is Olympic champion Roland Schoeman, who definitely looks out of place, only because he's Roland (expletive) Schoeman!
At Coley's request, I cannot post the workout here, but it was about 4,000 yards in 90 minutes. That doesn't seem like a lot, and you may be right. Coley doesn't hold to the traditional way of training age groupers, and he never focuses on pounding out the yardage just to build a base. He also seems to be building swimmers who swim perfectly and are mindful of their strokes. When you swim "garbage yardage," you tend to not think about the stroke, only the fact that the workout never seems to reach the end.
Today, all I thought about were the strengths and weaknesses of my breaststroke. And I had plenty of time to think about them. Nearly 90 percent of the 4,000 yards we swam was breaststroke, and of that 90 percent, about 10 percent was done full stroke for at least 25 yards. We did lots of breaststroke drills, breastroke pulls and breaststroke kick. As far as my strengths, I confirmed that I am an upper-body breaststroker, that my momentum, strength and speed come mostly from the first half of the stroke. When it comes to the kick, it's OK, but when I took the time to think about it, I noticed I wasn't maximizing the full potential of my kick. This is something to correct in the next 269 days.
The important thing for me today was to not race the people in the pool. When you're doing breaststroke drill, you need to slow down a little and feel the stroke. I went fast enough to get enough rest each time. Roland "won" a lot of the time, as did Michael Nelson, who has promise as a senior in high school.
The only true difficult parts of the workout were the underwater swimming portions. And there was a lot of underwater swimming. Because I couldn't make a 25-yard breaststroke underwater, I felt like I wasn't in shape cardiovascularly, but I think the truth is I don't do enough underwater work. Breaststroke in a short course pool is about 45 percent underwater, so it is something I should be working to improve. Even though my ultimate goal involves a race in a long course pool, working on lung capacity is key for me.
I liked Coley's workout today, and it was good to shake up my routine a bit. I plan to go back next week! It's time to go to bed now. I have to be back at the pool for Masters workout tomorrow at 5:45 a.m.!
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Short Course Yards
270 days to Olympic Trials
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I plan to do one workout a week with the top group of swimmers at Phoenix Swim Club. This group is made of mostly teenagers who have USA Swimming sectionals or senior national cuts. I think a couple of them have Olympic Trials cuts, but they came from Oregon when Coley Stickels was hired to be the head coach. Among that group is Olympic champion Roland Schoeman, who definitely looks out of place, only because he's Roland (expletive) Schoeman!
At Coley's request, I cannot post the workout here, but it was about 4,000 yards in 90 minutes. That doesn't seem like a lot, and you may be right. Coley doesn't hold to the traditional way of training age groupers, and he never focuses on pounding out the yardage just to build a base. He also seems to be building swimmers who swim perfectly and are mindful of their strokes. When you swim "garbage yardage," you tend to not think about the stroke, only the fact that the workout never seems to reach the end.
Today, all I thought about were the strengths and weaknesses of my breaststroke. And I had plenty of time to think about them. Nearly 90 percent of the 4,000 yards we swam was breaststroke, and of that 90 percent, about 10 percent was done full stroke for at least 25 yards. We did lots of breaststroke drills, breastroke pulls and breaststroke kick. As far as my strengths, I confirmed that I am an upper-body breaststroker, that my momentum, strength and speed come mostly from the first half of the stroke. When it comes to the kick, it's OK, but when I took the time to think about it, I noticed I wasn't maximizing the full potential of my kick. This is something to correct in the next 269 days.
The important thing for me today was to not race the people in the pool. When you're doing breaststroke drill, you need to slow down a little and feel the stroke. I went fast enough to get enough rest each time. Roland "won" a lot of the time, as did Michael Nelson, who has promise as a senior in high school.
The only true difficult parts of the workout were the underwater swimming portions. And there was a lot of underwater swimming. Because I couldn't make a 25-yard breaststroke underwater, I felt like I wasn't in shape cardiovascularly, but I think the truth is I don't do enough underwater work. Breaststroke in a short course pool is about 45 percent underwater, so it is something I should be working to improve. Even though my ultimate goal involves a race in a long course pool, working on lung capacity is key for me.
I liked Coley's workout today, and it was good to shake up my routine a bit. I plan to go back next week! It's time to go to bed now. I have to be back at the pool for Masters workout tomorrow at 5:45 a.m.!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
If you're happy and you know it...
Date: September 28, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
271 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
6x75 on 1:20
Odd: fast turns (backstroke)
Even: build (freestyle)
(At least 25 seconds rest on these)
8x25 on :35
Odd: two stroke cycles fast
Even: two breaths, freestyle
5x100 on 2:00, best average (about 200 pace)
Freestyle -- 56.5, 57.0, 57.0, 56.5, 57.0 (may have been a little too slow)
8x25 on :30 recovery
5x (100 fast/100 easy) on 4:30
Backstroke: 58.1, 57.8, 57.6, 58.3, 58.1
12x25 on :30 recovery
Broken 100 breast from a dive, five seconds rest at each 25
Time: 55-plus (according to the coach)
200 easy (with stretching)
I'm beyond proud of myself for today's workout. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, today's workout would be an indicator of my conditioning before I begin the sprint phase of the season next week. On the best average 100s, my heart rate was getting pretty low at the start of each repeat. I checked it after number four and it was 174 at the finish and 144 40 seconds later. That means I'm in shape (which is very good, since I've been training hard for seven weeks), and ready to do a lot of sprinting!
The fast 100/easy 100 is a staple on sprint day at Phoenix Swim Club, and the set has its advantages and disadvantages. I think the set should end after round three, but doing two more sets was not only a great physical test, but a great mental test. It wasn't easy getting my arms moving on the last two. When this set comes up during my sprint phase, I might do rounds one, three and five fast. That gives my body more time to recover and do actual race pace swimming. My backstroke times were about 1.5 seconds off what I did a couple of weeks ago in Tucson, so I know what's in me.
As for the broken 100 breast, I initially thought I had swum a 56, which was very good for the end of workout. Then, Mark told me he yelled out 1:10 when I touched the wall, but I heard "1:11." (Subtract the 15 seconds rest total in the broken swim to get your actual time.) So, 55 was a nice bonus to the day. I've been feeling crappy in my breaststroke this week, and today wasn't great in the technique department, but at least the speed is there, and I can take the time to find that technique. My breaststroke is the first to fall apart when my body is broken down, and during the sprint phase, there's usually some time I build into workouts for drill work, especially during recovery sets.
A reader asked me if I find it difficult to swim with Phoenix Masters, since I'm the only one going to Trials. The answer is an emphatic no. I might be the only Masters swimmer going to Trials (at the moment), but we all have a goal of being the best athletes we can be, and that makes workout fun, even at 6 a.m. If I'm doing fast breaststroke, I typically find someone a couple of lanes down the pool who is doing freestyle at my speed, and pretend we're racing. It is difficult being the only breaststroker, but that's nothing new to me. Growing up from ages 13 to 17, I was the only breaststroker on my age-group team, so I had to race against the freestylers a lot.
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
271 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
6x75 on 1:20
Odd: fast turns (backstroke)
Even: build (freestyle)
(At least 25 seconds rest on these)
8x25 on :35
Odd: two stroke cycles fast
Even: two breaths, freestyle
5x100 on 2:00, best average (about 200 pace)
Freestyle -- 56.5, 57.0, 57.0, 56.5, 57.0 (may have been a little too slow)
8x25 on :30 recovery
5x (100 fast/100 easy) on 4:30
Backstroke: 58.1, 57.8, 57.6, 58.3, 58.1
12x25 on :30 recovery
Broken 100 breast from a dive, five seconds rest at each 25
Time: 55-plus (according to the coach)
200 easy (with stretching)
I'm beyond proud of myself for today's workout. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, today's workout would be an indicator of my conditioning before I begin the sprint phase of the season next week. On the best average 100s, my heart rate was getting pretty low at the start of each repeat. I checked it after number four and it was 174 at the finish and 144 40 seconds later. That means I'm in shape (which is very good, since I've been training hard for seven weeks), and ready to do a lot of sprinting!
The fast 100/easy 100 is a staple on sprint day at Phoenix Swim Club, and the set has its advantages and disadvantages. I think the set should end after round three, but doing two more sets was not only a great physical test, but a great mental test. It wasn't easy getting my arms moving on the last two. When this set comes up during my sprint phase, I might do rounds one, three and five fast. That gives my body more time to recover and do actual race pace swimming. My backstroke times were about 1.5 seconds off what I did a couple of weeks ago in Tucson, so I know what's in me.
As for the broken 100 breast, I initially thought I had swum a 56, which was very good for the end of workout. Then, Mark told me he yelled out 1:10 when I touched the wall, but I heard "1:11." (Subtract the 15 seconds rest total in the broken swim to get your actual time.) So, 55 was a nice bonus to the day. I've been feeling crappy in my breaststroke this week, and today wasn't great in the technique department, but at least the speed is there, and I can take the time to find that technique. My breaststroke is the first to fall apart when my body is broken down, and during the sprint phase, there's usually some time I build into workouts for drill work, especially during recovery sets.
A reader asked me if I find it difficult to swim with Phoenix Masters, since I'm the only one going to Trials. The answer is an emphatic no. I might be the only Masters swimmer going to Trials (at the moment), but we all have a goal of being the best athletes we can be, and that makes workout fun, even at 6 a.m. If I'm doing fast breaststroke, I typically find someone a couple of lanes down the pool who is doing freestyle at my speed, and pretend we're racing. It is difficult being the only breaststroker, but that's nothing new to me. Growing up from ages 13 to 17, I was the only breaststroker on my age-group team, so I had to race against the freestylers a lot.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Agony
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
272 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
4x(4x25 on :30)
Rounds 1 and 3: fly
Rounds 2 and 4: breast
Within each round: first 25 kick, second 25 drill, third and fourth 25 swim
8x75 on 1:30 descend 1-4
50 back/25 breast (descended to :48)
Four rounds:
1x100 free on 1:30 aerobic (averaged 1:08)
2x25 fly on :30 (I was a wimp and did this drill)
1x50 fast on 1:30 (breast -- 29.8, 30.0, 29.3, 29.4)
500 kick easy
4x(4x50 IM order on :45)
Averaged 31 on fly, 33 on back, 35 on breast, 31 on free
100 easy
Broken 100 IM from a dive (done as 4x25 on :20)
11.4, 13.5, 14.3, 11.4 = 50.6 100 IM
100 easy (with stretching)
Total: 3,800 yards
I was really hoping for a mostly aerobic workout today. My wish did not come true. The two main sets were quite tough, and it had to do with me feeling like I was dragging on the bottom of the pool. On the fast 50s in the first main set, I was happy to go so fast on the last two, but I was having difficulty keeping my hips near the surface of the water, which affected my kick and how I was setting up my pull. Amazingly, my breaststroke felt better on the last set of 50s.
Remember the term "social facilitation" that I brought up on the last blog entry? I was very much using that today. I was the only person doing all breaststroke on the first main set, so I didn't really have anyone to race, but it came in handy on the second main set.
Speaking of that last set ... I originally thought we were going to do it as 4x50 fly, 4x50 back, etc., instead of the way we did it. I wanted to get all four of the 50s fly out of the way, but I think the way we did it will help my 200 IM. Butterfly hurt so much on the third and fourth rounds ... BUT I DID NOT BREAK STROKE! I was really fighting through the agonizing pain on the last four 50s, but I was able to hold my average.
And that broken 100 IM? It was suggested by our coach just before the warm down, because we had a few minutes left. As I did the warm down, I thought it would be good to see how fast I could go. I thought if I broke 52 on the broken 100, it would be a success. And I thought Alan would do the 100 IM, which would be good for me. (Again, social facilitation.) He didn't do it, so I kinda did it on my own, since the other two who elected to do it weren't keeping up. Needless to say, I was quite shocked when I added up my times to find out I didn't just go under 52, I went under 51! My goal is to go under 51 in the 100-yard IM, but I don't know when I will do that. I don't plan on shaving for the short course yards season in 2012, so I can focus on Trials. Hopefully, this will mean good things for my taper meet in December. I do want to go under 57 in the short course meters 100 IM, which would be a national Masters record that Ron Karnaugh has held since 2003. I almost got it last year, going 57.14.
I didn't post an entry yesterday about my exercises in the weight room. Here they are:
Five minutes shoulder warm up exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 110, 12 @ 140, 10 @ 160)
Leg extensions (15 @ 95, 12 @ 125, 10 @ 155)
Bicep curls (15 @ 15, 12 @ 27.5, 10 @ 32.5)
Leg abductors (15 @ 75, 12 @ 100 10 @ 130)
3x25 breaststroke strokes *
Fifteen minutes ab work and stretching
* The breaststroke stroke exercise has been a great addition to my weight program since spring 2010. It's a perfect way to build the muscles used in breaststroke, as well as the tendons linking the shoulder to the lats. Lay on a big therapy ball and plant your feet on the wall. You might have difficulty doing this exercise if your body is perfectly parallel to the floor, so anchor your feet a little bit lower than your hips. I take a five-pound dumbbell in each hand and do 25 breaststroke pulls. The best way to do it is to not grip the dumbbell with each finger, but hold it with your thumb and keep your other fingers open so you can swim accurately. The first round should be done slowly, about 200 breast tempo. For the next two rounds, pick up the tempo and simply do the strokes with very little stopping at the end of each stroke. Keep your head down and make sure to balance the therapy ball on your pelvis.
So, after yesterday's gym workout and this morning's swim, I was in dire need of a massage, which I had an appointment for at 5:45 today with Tod Miller at his revolutionary Bodywalking Institute. Unfortunately, I was told it would have to be rescheduled for next Tuesday. If my muscles could write, they would have typed out a sad face emoticon. I did a good deal of stretching after swimming today, but I don't the 100 warm down was enough. In place of my massage and bodywalking, I sat in the tub at home for 45 minutes. I feel much better now. If you're sitting in the tub without anything to do ... perfect! All I do is sink into the water and listen to the score from the Martin Scorcese movie "Kundun." I'm not thinking of everything waiting for me at the office, the chores I have to do this week or what movies I want to see. I just absorb Philip Glass' music for 45 minutes, and my brain is also relaxed.
Tomorrow is sprint day, and Coach Mark Rankin has already said we're doing a few broken swims. Bring it on! This is the last week before I start my eight-week speed phase, so it'll be a good indicator of where I am in terms of conditioning.
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
272 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
4x(4x25 on :30)
Rounds 1 and 3: fly
Rounds 2 and 4: breast
Within each round: first 25 kick, second 25 drill, third and fourth 25 swim
8x75 on 1:30 descend 1-4
50 back/25 breast (descended to :48)
Four rounds:
1x100 free on 1:30 aerobic (averaged 1:08)
2x25 fly on :30 (I was a wimp and did this drill)
1x50 fast on 1:30 (breast -- 29.8, 30.0, 29.3, 29.4)
500 kick easy
4x(4x50 IM order on :45)
Averaged 31 on fly, 33 on back, 35 on breast, 31 on free
100 easy
Broken 100 IM from a dive (done as 4x25 on :20)
11.4, 13.5, 14.3, 11.4 = 50.6 100 IM
100 easy (with stretching)
Total: 3,800 yards
I was really hoping for a mostly aerobic workout today. My wish did not come true. The two main sets were quite tough, and it had to do with me feeling like I was dragging on the bottom of the pool. On the fast 50s in the first main set, I was happy to go so fast on the last two, but I was having difficulty keeping my hips near the surface of the water, which affected my kick and how I was setting up my pull. Amazingly, my breaststroke felt better on the last set of 50s.
Remember the term "social facilitation" that I brought up on the last blog entry? I was very much using that today. I was the only person doing all breaststroke on the first main set, so I didn't really have anyone to race, but it came in handy on the second main set.
Speaking of that last set ... I originally thought we were going to do it as 4x50 fly, 4x50 back, etc., instead of the way we did it. I wanted to get all four of the 50s fly out of the way, but I think the way we did it will help my 200 IM. Butterfly hurt so much on the third and fourth rounds ... BUT I DID NOT BREAK STROKE! I was really fighting through the agonizing pain on the last four 50s, but I was able to hold my average.
And that broken 100 IM? It was suggested by our coach just before the warm down, because we had a few minutes left. As I did the warm down, I thought it would be good to see how fast I could go. I thought if I broke 52 on the broken 100, it would be a success. And I thought Alan would do the 100 IM, which would be good for me. (Again, social facilitation.) He didn't do it, so I kinda did it on my own, since the other two who elected to do it weren't keeping up. Needless to say, I was quite shocked when I added up my times to find out I didn't just go under 52, I went under 51! My goal is to go under 51 in the 100-yard IM, but I don't know when I will do that. I don't plan on shaving for the short course yards season in 2012, so I can focus on Trials. Hopefully, this will mean good things for my taper meet in December. I do want to go under 57 in the short course meters 100 IM, which would be a national Masters record that Ron Karnaugh has held since 2003. I almost got it last year, going 57.14.
I didn't post an entry yesterday about my exercises in the weight room. Here they are:
Five minutes shoulder warm up exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 110, 12 @ 140, 10 @ 160)
Leg extensions (15 @ 95, 12 @ 125, 10 @ 155)
Bicep curls (15 @ 15, 12 @ 27.5, 10 @ 32.5)
Leg abductors (15 @ 75, 12 @ 100 10 @ 130)
3x25 breaststroke strokes *
Fifteen minutes ab work and stretching
* The breaststroke stroke exercise has been a great addition to my weight program since spring 2010. It's a perfect way to build the muscles used in breaststroke, as well as the tendons linking the shoulder to the lats. Lay on a big therapy ball and plant your feet on the wall. You might have difficulty doing this exercise if your body is perfectly parallel to the floor, so anchor your feet a little bit lower than your hips. I take a five-pound dumbbell in each hand and do 25 breaststroke pulls. The best way to do it is to not grip the dumbbell with each finger, but hold it with your thumb and keep your other fingers open so you can swim accurately. The first round should be done slowly, about 200 breast tempo. For the next two rounds, pick up the tempo and simply do the strokes with very little stopping at the end of each stroke. Keep your head down and make sure to balance the therapy ball on your pelvis.
So, after yesterday's gym workout and this morning's swim, I was in dire need of a massage, which I had an appointment for at 5:45 today with Tod Miller at his revolutionary Bodywalking Institute. Unfortunately, I was told it would have to be rescheduled for next Tuesday. If my muscles could write, they would have typed out a sad face emoticon. I did a good deal of stretching after swimming today, but I don't the 100 warm down was enough. In place of my massage and bodywalking, I sat in the tub at home for 45 minutes. I feel much better now. If you're sitting in the tub without anything to do ... perfect! All I do is sink into the water and listen to the score from the Martin Scorcese movie "Kundun." I'm not thinking of everything waiting for me at the office, the chores I have to do this week or what movies I want to see. I just absorb Philip Glass' music for 45 minutes, and my brain is also relaxed.
Tomorrow is sprint day, and Coach Mark Rankin has already said we're doing a few broken swims. Bring it on! This is the last week before I start my eight-week speed phase, so it'll be a good indicator of where I am in terms of conditioning.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
I Can't Do It Alone
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2011
Time: 11:25 a.m.
Short Course Meters
274 days to Trials
10x150 on 2:30
Odd: free
Even: 100 back/50 breast
(descended efforts down to 1:50 for free, 2:00 for back/breast)
8x25 on :45, fast to 15 meters
8x25 on :40
Breast kick drill (two kicks, one stroke)
100 breast fast from push (1:08)
6x50 free easy on 1:00
4x100 on 1:40
50 back/50 free descend to aerobic (about 1:18)
100 IM fast from push (1:03)
8x50 choice easy on 1:10
100 back fast from push (1:03)
4x100 easy :20 rest
Total: 3,700 meters
This weekend in Phoenix, two Masters meets are taking place. I couldn't take part in either because I was in Tucson for the weekend. So, my plan was to do some fast swims today. On a scale of 1 to 10, my excitement level for these swims before I dove in was a 6. Just before the 100 breast, it grew to an 8. Physically, my body was still sore from all the hard work I did on Thursday and Friday, both in the pool and at the gym. One day off didn't do much to recover my muscles.
I wanted to do some short course meters sprint work today, since my taper meet for the season is in short course meters. As a reminder, it's the Arizona Masters state short course meters meet the weekend of Dec. 8. As usual, the goal was to be six or seven seconds slower than my shaved time, and I hit that goal for all three of my swims, which were all seven seconds off my shaved-and-tapered goal times for December. I wasn't very agressive on my 100 breast. My stroke rate and stroke count were OK, but I didn't have much snap to my stroke and my legs weren't being very responsive on the second 50.
As I do every Sunday, I swam alone at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Not to sound like a broken record, but swimming sprint sets on your own is not easy, especially when your excitement level is only an 8.When you're at a meet, whether in-season or at the end of a season, the excitement level should be at or close to 10. In workout, race-pace swimming should not only train your body to swim as fast as you want to race, but train your mind to be excited for the swim. I was fairly happy with the times, and think this is a good launching pad for the sprint phase of the season, which starts one week from today. Essentially, it will entail similar types of sprint swimming, but maybe not three 100-meter/yard swims in one session.
After my workout, I coached the Dolphins of the Desert Swimming Academy's long distance swimming group. After my own workout, it was weird giving them a broken 1650 (3x550), but it's what they signed up to do each Sunday afternoon! I told one of the swimmers in the group, Karin Bivens, about swimming alone today, and how she was lucky to have people to swim with today. She went into a spiel about sports psychology, and threw out the term "social facilitation." According to Wikipedia, it's defined as " the tendency for people to do better on simple tasks when in the presence of other people." I like that term, and it is very true for me, but not exactly for the same reason defined on Wikipedia. I do swim faster when other people are in the pool with me doing the same set at essentially the same speed. If I had a coach watching me from the side of the pool during my workout today, and no one else was in the pool, I doubt I would have swum faster. If I had, say, Steve West swimming next to me on the 100 breast, and my Phoenix Swim Club teammate Alan Carter in the adjacent lane during my 100 IM and 100 back, I might have gone about a second faster.
I last felt the impact of social facilitation two weeks ago, when Alan and I raced a 200 IM in workout. I went 2:05 to his 2:04 (short course yards). I hadn't gone that fast in Masters swimming. Just a few minutes earlier I had gone pretty much the same effort, only to go about 2:09. Anyone who has swum a major race alone will tell you racing the clock is not as effective as racing a human being.
Back with Phoenix Swim Club on Tuesday. I'm sure social facilitation will be running rampant all over the pool Tuesday morning!
Time: 11:25 a.m.
Short Course Meters
274 days to Trials
10x150 on 2:30
Odd: free
Even: 100 back/50 breast
(descended efforts down to 1:50 for free, 2:00 for back/breast)
8x25 on :45, fast to 15 meters
8x25 on :40
Breast kick drill (two kicks, one stroke)
100 breast fast from push (1:08)
6x50 free easy on 1:00
4x100 on 1:40
50 back/50 free descend to aerobic (about 1:18)
100 IM fast from push (1:03)
8x50 choice easy on 1:10
100 back fast from push (1:03)
4x100 easy :20 rest
Total: 3,700 meters
This weekend in Phoenix, two Masters meets are taking place. I couldn't take part in either because I was in Tucson for the weekend. So, my plan was to do some fast swims today. On a scale of 1 to 10, my excitement level for these swims before I dove in was a 6. Just before the 100 breast, it grew to an 8. Physically, my body was still sore from all the hard work I did on Thursday and Friday, both in the pool and at the gym. One day off didn't do much to recover my muscles.
I wanted to do some short course meters sprint work today, since my taper meet for the season is in short course meters. As a reminder, it's the Arizona Masters state short course meters meet the weekend of Dec. 8. As usual, the goal was to be six or seven seconds slower than my shaved time, and I hit that goal for all three of my swims, which were all seven seconds off my shaved-and-tapered goal times for December. I wasn't very agressive on my 100 breast. My stroke rate and stroke count were OK, but I didn't have much snap to my stroke and my legs weren't being very responsive on the second 50.
As I do every Sunday, I swam alone at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Not to sound like a broken record, but swimming sprint sets on your own is not easy, especially when your excitement level is only an 8.When you're at a meet, whether in-season or at the end of a season, the excitement level should be at or close to 10. In workout, race-pace swimming should not only train your body to swim as fast as you want to race, but train your mind to be excited for the swim. I was fairly happy with the times, and think this is a good launching pad for the sprint phase of the season, which starts one week from today. Essentially, it will entail similar types of sprint swimming, but maybe not three 100-meter/yard swims in one session.
After my workout, I coached the Dolphins of the Desert Swimming Academy's long distance swimming group. After my own workout, it was weird giving them a broken 1650 (3x550), but it's what they signed up to do each Sunday afternoon! I told one of the swimmers in the group, Karin Bivens, about swimming alone today, and how she was lucky to have people to swim with today. She went into a spiel about sports psychology, and threw out the term "social facilitation." According to Wikipedia, it's defined as " the tendency for people to do better on simple tasks when in the presence of other people." I like that term, and it is very true for me, but not exactly for the same reason defined on Wikipedia. I do swim faster when other people are in the pool with me doing the same set at essentially the same speed. If I had a coach watching me from the side of the pool during my workout today, and no one else was in the pool, I doubt I would have swum faster. If I had, say, Steve West swimming next to me on the 100 breast, and my Phoenix Swim Club teammate Alan Carter in the adjacent lane during my 100 IM and 100 back, I might have gone about a second faster.
I last felt the impact of social facilitation two weeks ago, when Alan and I raced a 200 IM in workout. I went 2:05 to his 2:04 (short course yards). I hadn't gone that fast in Masters swimming. Just a few minutes earlier I had gone pretty much the same effort, only to go about 2:09. Anyone who has swum a major race alone will tell you racing the clock is not as effective as racing a human being.
Back with Phoenix Swim Club on Tuesday. I'm sure social facilitation will be running rampant all over the pool Tuesday morning!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Feet don't fail me now!
Date: Friday, September 23, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Short Course Yards
276 days to Trials
12x50 on 1:00
odd: swim/kick
even: kick swim
(averaged :45 each 50)
20x25 on :20
(This set was supposed to be kick with fins, but since I did not bring my fins, and because I couldn't make the interval with the fins I wear (or any fins, for that matter), I decided to swim freestyle. I held 15s on each one.)
8x50 on 1:00
odd: kick with arms in front
even: kick with arms at side
100 easy
9x100 on 1:45 -- 75 swim/25 kick descend 1-3, 4-6, 7-9
(Descended from 1:15 to 1:02 freestyle. With my horrible kick, breaking 1:00 would have a minor miracle.)
Five minutes vertical kick, done as 30 seconds arm scull only, 30 seconds vertical kick (rounds three through five done while holding 10-pound medicine ball)
200 easy
6x50 on :50 non-free
Did 25 back/25 breast, held :32
Two minute break, then 75 fast from a dive
44.6 breaststroke
225 easy
Total: 3,300, not including vertical kicking set
As I mentioned in my previous post, I worried about doing tough leg exercises at the gym the night before a kicking-oriented workout. My fears were realized this morning immediately. Every time I pushed off the wall, I could feel the soreness in my hamstrings. Those "basketball jumps" that I did yesterday were the culprit!
By the end of workout, my legs were fried, but I did everything I could to swim that fast 75 under 44. I was doing well for 40 yards, then my legs stopped pushing water. I was taking eight strokes on the second and third lengths, which is one stroke more than usual. My arms felt fine, but I knew my distance per stroke was severely affected by lack of leg strength. This will all pay off in 10 weeks when I step up for my taper meet!
Yesterday after work, I stopped by the pool to say hi to the new head coach, Coley Stickels. He told my coach that he hoped I could find time to join him for the occasional workout. Since Coley is known for a different mindset toward training, I knew it was an experience I wanted to have on this journey. I picked a good day to visit him. Thursdays have a heavy breaststroke focus, and the people in the water (which included Roland Schoeman) were doing some interesting drills. So, I'll start working with Coley next Thursday, and continuing it every week for the foreseeable future.
I am very much looking forward to a day off tomorrow! I might be getting into the pool, though. I have to teach some swimming lessons in Tucson, and one of them is fairly new to the sport, and I'll have to get in the water as I show him how to push off the wall and stay balanced on backstroke.
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Short Course Yards
276 days to Trials
12x50 on 1:00
odd: swim/kick
even: kick swim
(averaged :45 each 50)
20x25 on :20
(This set was supposed to be kick with fins, but since I did not bring my fins, and because I couldn't make the interval with the fins I wear (or any fins, for that matter), I decided to swim freestyle. I held 15s on each one.)
8x50 on 1:00
odd: kick with arms in front
even: kick with arms at side
100 easy
9x100 on 1:45 -- 75 swim/25 kick descend 1-3, 4-6, 7-9
(Descended from 1:15 to 1:02 freestyle. With my horrible kick, breaking 1:00 would have a minor miracle.)
Five minutes vertical kick, done as 30 seconds arm scull only, 30 seconds vertical kick (rounds three through five done while holding 10-pound medicine ball)
200 easy
6x50 on :50 non-free
Did 25 back/25 breast, held :32
Two minute break, then 75 fast from a dive
44.6 breaststroke
225 easy
Total: 3,300, not including vertical kicking set
As I mentioned in my previous post, I worried about doing tough leg exercises at the gym the night before a kicking-oriented workout. My fears were realized this morning immediately. Every time I pushed off the wall, I could feel the soreness in my hamstrings. Those "basketball jumps" that I did yesterday were the culprit!
By the end of workout, my legs were fried, but I did everything I could to swim that fast 75 under 44. I was doing well for 40 yards, then my legs stopped pushing water. I was taking eight strokes on the second and third lengths, which is one stroke more than usual. My arms felt fine, but I knew my distance per stroke was severely affected by lack of leg strength. This will all pay off in 10 weeks when I step up for my taper meet!
Yesterday after work, I stopped by the pool to say hi to the new head coach, Coley Stickels. He told my coach that he hoped I could find time to join him for the occasional workout. Since Coley is known for a different mindset toward training, I knew it was an experience I wanted to have on this journey. I picked a good day to visit him. Thursdays have a heavy breaststroke focus, and the people in the water (which included Roland Schoeman) were doing some interesting drills. So, I'll start working with Coley next Thursday, and continuing it every week for the foreseeable future.
I am very much looking forward to a day off tomorrow! I might be getting into the pool, though. I have to teach some swimming lessons in Tucson, and one of them is fairly new to the sport, and I'll have to get in the water as I show him how to push off the wall and stay balanced on backstroke.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
I feel good!
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
277 days to Trials
1300 warmup
For today's main set, the whiteboard listed "4x800," but the swimmers got to choose how they wanted to do it! Yes, the swimmers got to choose! How often does that happen? We could do all four 800s, or we could break up each 800 into a set of 50, 100s, 200s, 400s ... or even 25s! I don't think anyone opted to do a straight 3,200.
Here's how I did it:
#1: 800 free (9:20) I am going to admit that I took a bathroom break at the start of this, and rejoined the group at the 250. I dove in at the 3:00 mark, which would have been holding about 1:12 per 100. I built the 800, and averaged 1:10, which is my aerobic pace. Felt good through the whole thing, and I didn't lose count (major victory!).
#2: 16x50 back on :45 (averaged :33 per 50) I was going to do them on :40, but I figured it might get real tough to do for 16 of them.
#3: 8x100 free on 1:20 (averaged 1:05) Bonus points for doing it alone! Another lane did them on 1:15. I probably would have done that, but might not have held such a fast average pace.
#4: 2x400 IM with :30 rest, 50 drill/50 swim ... and yes, I swam a 50 fly.
To make up for missing the first 200 of that 800, I did a 200 fairly easy after the 400s.
Today was one the best workouts I've had in a while. From beginning to end, my body and mind were one. Rarely do I feel this good in workout. Either I have to convince my brain to wake up and concentrate on the workout, or I have to convince my muscles to work harder than they want to on that day. Today, I was one with the water. I know it won't last!
At the gym:
Five minutes shoulder warmup exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 115, 12 @ 135, 10 @ 155)
Standing cable pull (bent at 90 degrees, simulating breatstroke pullout/butterfly pull) (15 @ 20 lbs. per arm, 12 @ 25, 10 @ 30)
Sitting leg press (15 @ 150, 12 @ 180, 10 @ 210)
Tricep press (15 @ 70, 12 @ 80, 10 @ 90)
This next exercise is a little difficult to describe. I'll call it "Basketball Jumps." Starting at a squat position holding a 12-pound ball, lift the ball above your head and jump, as if you were shooting a basketball at a basket directly above you. I did three rounds of this. On the first round, I did not jump. The ending position was on my toes.
Fifteen minutes abdominals and stretching
Tomorrow is kicking day. Was I wrong to focus on leg exercises tonight? We'll find out ...
On a somewhat unrelated note: While I was swimming this morning, George Bradbury was celebrating his swim across the Strait of Gibraltar, which took him three hours and 57 minutes. His coach was my partner, Geoff Glaser, who had coached another swimmer across the Strait in 2009. George went through a lot to make that swim happen. During some of my workouts in Tucson on Sundays this summer, I would see George do three-hour swims in the pool, stopping only to ingest a little gel pack or checking his pager (he's an orthopedic surgeon). As much as I loathed swimming alone, I couldn't imagine what George was thinking during those three-hour swims. I knew I would be done in a little more than an hour. George had to get through three hours! So, join me in congratulating George and Geoff on this amazing achievement!
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
277 days to Trials
1300 warmup
For today's main set, the whiteboard listed "4x800," but the swimmers got to choose how they wanted to do it! Yes, the swimmers got to choose! How often does that happen? We could do all four 800s, or we could break up each 800 into a set of 50, 100s, 200s, 400s ... or even 25s! I don't think anyone opted to do a straight 3,200.
Here's how I did it:
#1: 800 free (9:20) I am going to admit that I took a bathroom break at the start of this, and rejoined the group at the 250. I dove in at the 3:00 mark, which would have been holding about 1:12 per 100. I built the 800, and averaged 1:10, which is my aerobic pace. Felt good through the whole thing, and I didn't lose count (major victory!).
#2: 16x50 back on :45 (averaged :33 per 50) I was going to do them on :40, but I figured it might get real tough to do for 16 of them.
#3: 8x100 free on 1:20 (averaged 1:05) Bonus points for doing it alone! Another lane did them on 1:15. I probably would have done that, but might not have held such a fast average pace.
#4: 2x400 IM with :30 rest, 50 drill/50 swim ... and yes, I swam a 50 fly.
To make up for missing the first 200 of that 800, I did a 200 fairly easy after the 400s.
Today was one the best workouts I've had in a while. From beginning to end, my body and mind were one. Rarely do I feel this good in workout. Either I have to convince my brain to wake up and concentrate on the workout, or I have to convince my muscles to work harder than they want to on that day. Today, I was one with the water. I know it won't last!
At the gym:
Five minutes shoulder warmup exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 115, 12 @ 135, 10 @ 155)
Standing cable pull (bent at 90 degrees, simulating breatstroke pullout/butterfly pull) (15 @ 20 lbs. per arm, 12 @ 25, 10 @ 30)
Sitting leg press (15 @ 150, 12 @ 180, 10 @ 210)
Tricep press (15 @ 70, 12 @ 80, 10 @ 90)
This next exercise is a little difficult to describe. I'll call it "Basketball Jumps." Starting at a squat position holding a 12-pound ball, lift the ball above your head and jump, as if you were shooting a basketball at a basket directly above you. I did three rounds of this. On the first round, I did not jump. The ending position was on my toes.
Fifteen minutes abdominals and stretching
Tomorrow is kicking day. Was I wrong to focus on leg exercises tonight? We'll find out ...
On a somewhat unrelated note: While I was swimming this morning, George Bradbury was celebrating his swim across the Strait of Gibraltar, which took him three hours and 57 minutes. His coach was my partner, Geoff Glaser, who had coached another swimmer across the Strait in 2009. George went through a lot to make that swim happen. During some of my workouts in Tucson on Sundays this summer, I would see George do three-hour swims in the pool, stopping only to ingest a little gel pack or checking his pager (he's an orthopedic surgeon). As much as I loathed swimming alone, I couldn't imagine what George was thinking during those three-hour swims. I knew I would be done in a little more than an hour. George had to get through three hours! So, join me in congratulating George and Geoff on this amazing achievement!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Take it to the limit
Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Time: 5:40 a.m.
Short Course Yards
278 days to Trials
300 warmup
12x50 on 1:00
1-4 kick/swim
5-8 drill/swim
9-12 swim descend to 90 percent (freestyle descended to :28)
12x25 kick on :35 -- 2 fast 1 easy
(Put on fins and kicked either flutter or dolphin....didn't get times on this, but probably was :15 on the fast ones)
100 easy
10x25 on :35
Odd: three to four stroke cycles fast
Even: one breath per 25
Four rounds:
25 fast/75 easy on 2:15
50 fast/50 easy on 2:15
100 fast on 2:15
100 easy on 2:15
(25 fast was breast from a dive: 12.6, 12.7, 12.4, 12.1)
(50 fast was freestyle from a push: 25.4, 25.1, 24.9, 24.7)
(100 fast was breast kick with a board: 1:25, 1:24, 1:24, 1:23)
100 easy
Total: 3,300 yards
I felt much better in the water today, as you can see from the times on the main set. No more pizza the night before swimming! Well, at least not a full pie.
When "16x100" appeared on the board, I feared it would be the typical "every other one fast" type of set. I don't recall doing a set like this before, especially at Phoenix Swim Club, but I could be wrong. When I woke up this morning, I wanted to do a good deal of kicking today, only because it will become a major focus during the sprint phase of this season. Today's main set afforded me the opportunity to do so, and because we had a lot of empty lanes in the other half of the pool, I took one of them and got to swim straight, which I always like to do on fast swims. You don't swim circle in a race, so every chance you get to do race-pace training without circle swimming, take that opportunity!
I haven't been faster than 1:30 on my kicks in a very, very long time. It's mostly because I never put a lot of focus on my breaststroke kick. But after participating in the seminar with Tennessee coach Matt Kredich two weeks ago, I've been thinking a lot about my kick and how I can make it more efficient (as efficient as I can make it with my horrible ankle flexibility). To go those times in the fast 100 was awesome, especially since I did some tough leg exercises at the gym last night.
Also, my freestyle is showing a lot of improvement in the past month. Is it because Alan Carter is training with us, forcing me to work more on my freestyle just to keep from getting lapped by him on a 200? Probably. To be less than a second slower than my final 50 in the 100 free shaved and tapered gives me a lot of confidence, especially for the end of my 100 and 200 IMs.
Time: 5:40 a.m.
Short Course Yards
278 days to Trials
300 warmup
12x50 on 1:00
1-4 kick/swim
5-8 drill/swim
9-12 swim descend to 90 percent (freestyle descended to :28)
12x25 kick on :35 -- 2 fast 1 easy
(Put on fins and kicked either flutter or dolphin....didn't get times on this, but probably was :15 on the fast ones)
100 easy
10x25 on :35
Odd: three to four stroke cycles fast
Even: one breath per 25
Four rounds:
25 fast/75 easy on 2:15
50 fast/50 easy on 2:15
100 fast on 2:15
100 easy on 2:15
(25 fast was breast from a dive: 12.6, 12.7, 12.4, 12.1)
(50 fast was freestyle from a push: 25.4, 25.1, 24.9, 24.7)
(100 fast was breast kick with a board: 1:25, 1:24, 1:24, 1:23)
100 easy
Total: 3,300 yards
I felt much better in the water today, as you can see from the times on the main set. No more pizza the night before swimming! Well, at least not a full pie.
When "16x100" appeared on the board, I feared it would be the typical "every other one fast" type of set. I don't recall doing a set like this before, especially at Phoenix Swim Club, but I could be wrong. When I woke up this morning, I wanted to do a good deal of kicking today, only because it will become a major focus during the sprint phase of this season. Today's main set afforded me the opportunity to do so, and because we had a lot of empty lanes in the other half of the pool, I took one of them and got to swim straight, which I always like to do on fast swims. You don't swim circle in a race, so every chance you get to do race-pace training without circle swimming, take that opportunity!
I haven't been faster than 1:30 on my kicks in a very, very long time. It's mostly because I never put a lot of focus on my breaststroke kick. But after participating in the seminar with Tennessee coach Matt Kredich two weeks ago, I've been thinking a lot about my kick and how I can make it more efficient (as efficient as I can make it with my horrible ankle flexibility). To go those times in the fast 100 was awesome, especially since I did some tough leg exercises at the gym last night.
Also, my freestyle is showing a lot of improvement in the past month. Is it because Alan Carter is training with us, forcing me to work more on my freestyle just to keep from getting lapped by him on a 200? Probably. To be less than a second slower than my final 50 in the 100 free shaved and tapered gives me a lot of confidence, especially for the end of my 100 and 200 IMs.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Food, glorious food
Date: September 20, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
279 days to Trials
1300 warmup
Main set:
Three rounds, descending effort by round:
4x25 fly on :25
1x100 back on 1:40
2x50 breast on 1:00
1x100 free on 1:40
(Descended to :15 for fly, 1:05 for back, :34 for breast, 1:00 for free)
100 IM fast for time (:59)
200 scull/swim
4x(3x100 on 1:40)
#1 backstroke (averaged 1:06)
#2 IM (averaged 1:06)
#3 free (averaged 1:01)
200 warm down
Total: 4,200 yards
At the gym (6:15 p.m.):
Five minutes shoulder warm up exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 115, 12 @ 135, 10 @ 155)
Sitting row (15 @ 80, 12 @ 110, 10 @ 120)
Sitting leg press (15 @ 140, 12 @ 170, 10 @ 200)
Dumbbell curls (15 @ 15 lbs each arm, 12 @ 22.5, 15 @ 27.5)
Hamstring curls (15 @ 70, 12 @ 100, 10 @ 110)
Standing lat pulldown (15 @ 50, 12 @ 60, 10 @ 75)
15 minutes abdominal exercises and stretching
A common story about swimmers is that we can eat whatever we want. Because we train so hard, we need lots of calories to replace the ones we burned. That's true for those in their teens and 20s who swim 10,000 yards each day. It's not true for this 37-year-old Masters swimmer who averages 3,500 per day. I wish I had thought of that after eating an entire Digiorno pepperoni pizza last night. I was extremely hungry after a long day at work and a tough day in piano class, and it was the only thing that would be ready in 30 minutes (except for pasta, which I had for dinner on Sunday). The pizza was still digesting in my body this morning, I believe, because I felt like a ton of bricks through the entire workout. I didn't feel bloated, just unable to make my muscles move through the water as fast as I expected. Plus, all the sodium in the pizza made me very thirsty, and I almost drank the entire contents of my water bottle in 70 minutes, which I rarely do. To make the morning more bizarre, one of my lanemates said he thought I had lost weight!
(I was much smarter with dinner tonight when I got home from the gym: Two chicken breasts, some broccoli and a protein shake.)
If it weren't for Alan Carter pushing the pace in the lane next to me, and if I had done today's workout alone, I would have quit after the first round of the main set. Today was tough to get through, but I'm glad I did. The times on both of the sets you see above were above aerobic pace, and my heart rate got pretty high. I checked at the end of both of the big sets and my heart rate was at 174 (29 beats for a 10-second count).
I know that every swimmer experiences a bad workout or two occasionally. After more than 30 years in the pool, I know that all too well. But I always get excited for Tuesday workouts because they are stroke-oriented, and I'm swimming with a group of talented people after my lonely Sunday workout. I was a little mad at myself for not being able to swim better today. And when your stomach isn't feeling its best, working on utilizing your core on your strokes is a little bit of a challenge. I think tomorrow's sprint workout will be better. No, I know it will be better!
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Short Course Yards
279 days to Trials
1300 warmup
Main set:
Three rounds, descending effort by round:
4x25 fly on :25
1x100 back on 1:40
2x50 breast on 1:00
1x100 free on 1:40
(Descended to :15 for fly, 1:05 for back, :34 for breast, 1:00 for free)
100 IM fast for time (:59)
200 scull/swim
4x(3x100 on 1:40)
#1 backstroke (averaged 1:06)
#2 IM (averaged 1:06)
#3 free (averaged 1:01)
200 warm down
Total: 4,200 yards
At the gym (6:15 p.m.):
Five minutes shoulder warm up exercises
Sitting bench press (15 @ 115, 12 @ 135, 10 @ 155)
Sitting row (15 @ 80, 12 @ 110, 10 @ 120)
Sitting leg press (15 @ 140, 12 @ 170, 10 @ 200)
Dumbbell curls (15 @ 15 lbs each arm, 12 @ 22.5, 15 @ 27.5)
Hamstring curls (15 @ 70, 12 @ 100, 10 @ 110)
Standing lat pulldown (15 @ 50, 12 @ 60, 10 @ 75)
15 minutes abdominal exercises and stretching
A common story about swimmers is that we can eat whatever we want. Because we train so hard, we need lots of calories to replace the ones we burned. That's true for those in their teens and 20s who swim 10,000 yards each day. It's not true for this 37-year-old Masters swimmer who averages 3,500 per day. I wish I had thought of that after eating an entire Digiorno pepperoni pizza last night. I was extremely hungry after a long day at work and a tough day in piano class, and it was the only thing that would be ready in 30 minutes (except for pasta, which I had for dinner on Sunday). The pizza was still digesting in my body this morning, I believe, because I felt like a ton of bricks through the entire workout. I didn't feel bloated, just unable to make my muscles move through the water as fast as I expected. Plus, all the sodium in the pizza made me very thirsty, and I almost drank the entire contents of my water bottle in 70 minutes, which I rarely do. To make the morning more bizarre, one of my lanemates said he thought I had lost weight!
(I was much smarter with dinner tonight when I got home from the gym: Two chicken breasts, some broccoli and a protein shake.)
If it weren't for Alan Carter pushing the pace in the lane next to me, and if I had done today's workout alone, I would have quit after the first round of the main set. Today was tough to get through, but I'm glad I did. The times on both of the sets you see above were above aerobic pace, and my heart rate got pretty high. I checked at the end of both of the big sets and my heart rate was at 174 (29 beats for a 10-second count).
I know that every swimmer experiences a bad workout or two occasionally. After more than 30 years in the pool, I know that all too well. But I always get excited for Tuesday workouts because they are stroke-oriented, and I'm swimming with a group of talented people after my lonely Sunday workout. I was a little mad at myself for not being able to swim better today. And when your stomach isn't feeling its best, working on utilizing your core on your strokes is a little bit of a challenge. I think tomorrow's sprint workout will be better. No, I know it will be better!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
All by myself
Date: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Time: 11:15 a.m.
Short Course Yards
281 days to Trials
Three rounds:
150 free on 2:15
100 IM on 1:30
50 breast on 1:00
8x25 on :45 (15m fast)
3x100 back descend to 90 percent on 1:40
(1:18, 1:08, 1:05)
One minute rest, then 100 back fast (:56)
8x25 on :30 recovery
4x50 breast kick drill (one pull, two kicks) on 1:00
One minute rest, then 100 breast fast (1:03)
8x25 on :30 recovery
Power Tower (bucket 3/4 full)
4x15 on 1:00 (2 back, 2 breast)
One minute break
4x25 on 1:30 (2 back, 2 breast)
6x100 on 1:40 easy, 50 back/50 breast
Total: 3200 yards
I suppose I only had one fast 100 in me today. I wish it had been breaststroke. I was very happy with the backstroke swim. I haven't been :56 in a long time, stuck at :57 for about a year. What does this mean about my backstroke? I don't know. I've been stuck at the mid-51 range in my tapered 100-yard backstroke for eight years, and haven't gone under 1:00 in long course meters since 2008. It would be great to go under those barriers again, but obviously, the focus is on breaststroke until June 25 (which is not to say I'm not keeping up on my other strokes).
Going 1:03 in the fast 100 breast wasn't horrible, given that I only had 10 minutes to recover after that tough 100 back. My legs were still tired, and pushing off the walls was difficult. The upper body felt strong, though. I'm usually 1:02-low on my fast 100 breast swims, but I dont' do them as often as I should.
To add to the difficulty of the workout, I did it alone. No one else was in the pool at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Doing aerobic sets alone is tough, but doing all-out sprints with no one to push you is a Herculean feat. Racing the clock is nothing new to me, but when your muscles are flooded with lactic acid, your first instinct is to back off when you have no one to keep you moving forward. I'll be doing more sprint workouts on Sunday, especially since the sprint phase of the season is just a couple of weeks away. I'll have to work on the mental aspect of swimming alone if I want to reach my goals this season and next.
Time: 11:15 a.m.
Short Course Yards
281 days to Trials
Three rounds:
150 free on 2:15
100 IM on 1:30
50 breast on 1:00
8x25 on :45 (15m fast)
3x100 back descend to 90 percent on 1:40
(1:18, 1:08, 1:05)
One minute rest, then 100 back fast (:56)
8x25 on :30 recovery
4x50 breast kick drill (one pull, two kicks) on 1:00
One minute rest, then 100 breast fast (1:03)
8x25 on :30 recovery
Power Tower (bucket 3/4 full)
4x15 on 1:00 (2 back, 2 breast)
One minute break
4x25 on 1:30 (2 back, 2 breast)
6x100 on 1:40 easy, 50 back/50 breast
Total: 3200 yards
I suppose I only had one fast 100 in me today. I wish it had been breaststroke. I was very happy with the backstroke swim. I haven't been :56 in a long time, stuck at :57 for about a year. What does this mean about my backstroke? I don't know. I've been stuck at the mid-51 range in my tapered 100-yard backstroke for eight years, and haven't gone under 1:00 in long course meters since 2008. It would be great to go under those barriers again, but obviously, the focus is on breaststroke until June 25 (which is not to say I'm not keeping up on my other strokes).
Going 1:03 in the fast 100 breast wasn't horrible, given that I only had 10 minutes to recover after that tough 100 back. My legs were still tired, and pushing off the walls was difficult. The upper body felt strong, though. I'm usually 1:02-low on my fast 100 breast swims, but I dont' do them as often as I should.
To add to the difficulty of the workout, I did it alone. No one else was in the pool at the University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center. Doing aerobic sets alone is tough, but doing all-out sprints with no one to push you is a Herculean feat. Racing the clock is nothing new to me, but when your muscles are flooded with lactic acid, your first instinct is to back off when you have no one to keep you moving forward. I'll be doing more sprint workouts on Sunday, especially since the sprint phase of the season is just a couple of weeks away. I'll have to work on the mental aspect of swimming alone if I want to reach my goals this season and next.
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