Date: Saturday, November 19, 2011
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: Mesa, AZ
Short Course Meters/Yards
219 days to Olympic Trials
This morning, I made the trek out to the westernmost part of Mesa for a quick Masters swim meet. All I wanted to do was get some fresh racing under my belt before I prepare to taper in a couple of weeks. Things didn't go as expected.
2,300 yards warmup
100 breast: 1:05.79
400 warmdown
100 IM: 1:01.17
300 warmdown
100 back: 1:00.80
500 warmdown
Since I had done a very tough pool workout and an equally tough gym workout yesterday, I don't know why I put such high expectations on myself this morning. The muscles in my upper body were in knots. The tendons and muscles in my left shoulder (the one afflicted with minor tendonitis) were very sore. Nothing I did could stretch them out.
The 100 breast felt technically good, though I knew the speed wasn't fully there, based on how I felt the first 50. Still, I felt like a 1:03-low was happening, and I would have been pleased with that. I felt dejected to see 1:05 on the scoreboard, and when I got out, I wondered if the bulkhead in the pool was set at 26 meters, instead of 25. For about a minute, it was a joke rattling around in my head, but I briefly wondered if that were true. (I subtly verified that the pool was 25 meters at the end of the meet.)
About 20 minutes after my 100 breast was the 100 IM, and my transitions were not clean. My fly-to-back turn felt weird, and I didn't have much speed coming off the wall. But again, the technique was good.
The 100 back was a victory in that I stayed in the middle of the lane for the last three 25s. That is my major issue on swimming backstroke outdoors, and though I had hoped for a sub-1:00 swim, I was happy with the way it was swum.
Again, I know I worked very hard yesterday, but I am taking a while to process what today's swims mean as I move forward to taper. Does this mean I am working harder than ever? Yes. Does this mean I am overtraining? Not sure.
I don't have much of a benchmark for in-season times in short course meters, but no matter the pool format, I am never four seconds off my taper time in an in-season meet. I've swum three 100 breast races in the past month, and the times were agonizingly slow. At the Rowdy Gaines meet in Orlando, I chalked it up to devoting more time to working than swimming. At the pentathlon two weeks ago, the rationale was that I had raced 750 yards in 30 minutes. I had no real reason for today. I should have been able to step up and swim as fast as I normally do, even with tough workout still lingering in my muscles.
I am not discouraged, but I am being very introspective about this. I just hope that with a good taper, everything will fall into place. I will admit I am a little afraid about how to approach the next 11 days, and the nine-day taper I have planned after that. Should I back off weights and JR's boot camp early? The dryland seems to be the only thing I can figure to be weighing me down right now.
I have a lot of reflecting to do. But on the upside, tomorrow's workout will be largely aerobic, since I did my race pace training today.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
I Did It My Way
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011
Time: 11:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
This morning, I pressed "off" instead of "snooze" on my alarm, and when I woke up again, it was 6:05. Too late to rush to the pool and do anything of worth. I decided to try and make the noon workout, which is always a crapshoot for me. Usually, I'm rushing to the pool in order to get there in time for the first set, and today was no exception. I had one minute to spare, which was enough to do a little dynamic stretching before diving in.
8x100 on 1:45
Odd: Kick last 25
Even: Kick first 25
150 underwater kick
Four rounds:
4x25 kick on :30
100 easy on 2:30
12x25 kick on :40
150 recovery (25 drill/25 swim)
4x50 breast on :55
4x50 fly on :50
4x50 back on :45
4x50 free on :40
200 easy
Total: 3,200 meters (75 minutes)
At the gym:
Five minutes shoulder warm up
Sitting bench press (12 @ 160, 8 @ 180, 6 @ 200)
Lat pull (12 @ 150, 8 @ 175, 6 @ 190)
Leg extension (12 @ 140, 8 @ 160, 6 @ 180)
Bicep curls (12 @ 25 pounds per arm, 8 @ 30, 6 @ 37.5)
Leg adductors (12 @ 160, 10 @ 180, 8 @ 200)
Ten minutes abdominals and stretching
Those who swim at the noon workout have the advantage of seeing the entire workout before they start. Those of us who normally swim in the mornings do not have that luxury. I saw the set of 50s at the end and spent the workout mentally preparing myself for making the intervals, especially the 4 on :40. The wrinkle was that I thought all 16 of them would be freestyle. Only when Mark began describing the set did he mention that the challenge was to do each stroke, but we got the choice of which strokes to do for each interval. I knew I could make breaststroke on 55 or 50 seconds. Doing them on a 45-second interval would have been a big challenge in short course meters, and it would have affected my ability to do the final four on :40. I figured I would do the set the way I did it because I wanted to get maximum rest as the set went on. I realized I would get more rest on the 50-second interval if I did it butterfly, and so that's what I did.
I was very happy that I made all four of the butterfly intervals without any desire to break stroke. I have to give a lot of credit to JR Rosania for making me do that dreaded hip extension exercise. It's strengthened my lower back in a way that's helped me stay with the undulating rhythm of butterfly. My arms and shoulders were hurting on number four, but I was able to keep my body position and technique fairly consistent. I was so proud of myself that before starting the 50s of backstroke, I yelled to Mark, "I didn't break stroke! Take that!" Saying that gave me a little adrenaline for the rest of the set. I felt like I was going to vomit when we finished, but everything stayed down. I just needed to get my heart rate down and catch my breath.
I've been answering a lot of challenges lately, both in and out of the pool. Last week, it was 10x50 breast short course yards on :45. This week, I improved in my dryland work with JR and today, I didn't back down on a very tough set. Mark thought in the future I should try the whole thing breaststroke. I'm not sure I would make it past the round on :50. The last eight might be a straight 400.
In any case, I'm pretty sore tonight, and yet looking forward to racing tomorrow at the Masters meet in Mesa, Arizona. I will start the meet with a 100 breast. I don't really have a goal time, since I don't swim short course meters much in season. I just want to work on race strategy. After that is a 100 IM and 100 back. It's a one-day meet, and I didn't want to overload myself like I did with the pentathlon a couple of weeks ago.
But life doesn't stop for a swim meet. I've got to do some housework before going to bed. I wish I had one of those robot vacuums that could clean my entire house while I put my feet up and watch television. COnsider my bathroom and vacuuming duties as extra dryland!
Time: 11:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
This morning, I pressed "off" instead of "snooze" on my alarm, and when I woke up again, it was 6:05. Too late to rush to the pool and do anything of worth. I decided to try and make the noon workout, which is always a crapshoot for me. Usually, I'm rushing to the pool in order to get there in time for the first set, and today was no exception. I had one minute to spare, which was enough to do a little dynamic stretching before diving in.
8x100 on 1:45
Odd: Kick last 25
Even: Kick first 25
150 underwater kick
Four rounds:
4x25 kick on :30
100 easy on 2:30
12x25 kick on :40
150 recovery (25 drill/25 swim)
4x50 breast on :55
4x50 fly on :50
4x50 back on :45
4x50 free on :40
200 easy
Total: 3,200 meters (75 minutes)
At the gym:
Five minutes shoulder warm up
Sitting bench press (12 @ 160, 8 @ 180, 6 @ 200)
Lat pull (12 @ 150, 8 @ 175, 6 @ 190)
Leg extension (12 @ 140, 8 @ 160, 6 @ 180)
Bicep curls (12 @ 25 pounds per arm, 8 @ 30, 6 @ 37.5)
Leg adductors (12 @ 160, 10 @ 180, 8 @ 200)
Ten minutes abdominals and stretching
Those who swim at the noon workout have the advantage of seeing the entire workout before they start. Those of us who normally swim in the mornings do not have that luxury. I saw the set of 50s at the end and spent the workout mentally preparing myself for making the intervals, especially the 4 on :40. The wrinkle was that I thought all 16 of them would be freestyle. Only when Mark began describing the set did he mention that the challenge was to do each stroke, but we got the choice of which strokes to do for each interval. I knew I could make breaststroke on 55 or 50 seconds. Doing them on a 45-second interval would have been a big challenge in short course meters, and it would have affected my ability to do the final four on :40. I figured I would do the set the way I did it because I wanted to get maximum rest as the set went on. I realized I would get more rest on the 50-second interval if I did it butterfly, and so that's what I did.
I was very happy that I made all four of the butterfly intervals without any desire to break stroke. I have to give a lot of credit to JR Rosania for making me do that dreaded hip extension exercise. It's strengthened my lower back in a way that's helped me stay with the undulating rhythm of butterfly. My arms and shoulders were hurting on number four, but I was able to keep my body position and technique fairly consistent. I was so proud of myself that before starting the 50s of backstroke, I yelled to Mark, "I didn't break stroke! Take that!" Saying that gave me a little adrenaline for the rest of the set. I felt like I was going to vomit when we finished, but everything stayed down. I just needed to get my heart rate down and catch my breath.
I've been answering a lot of challenges lately, both in and out of the pool. Last week, it was 10x50 breast short course yards on :45. This week, I improved in my dryland work with JR and today, I didn't back down on a very tough set. Mark thought in the future I should try the whole thing breaststroke. I'm not sure I would make it past the round on :50. The last eight might be a straight 400.
In any case, I'm pretty sore tonight, and yet looking forward to racing tomorrow at the Masters meet in Mesa, Arizona. I will start the meet with a 100 breast. I don't really have a goal time, since I don't swim short course meters much in season. I just want to work on race strategy. After that is a 100 IM and 100 back. It's a one-day meet, and I didn't want to overload myself like I did with the pentathlon a couple of weeks ago.
But life doesn't stop for a swim meet. I've got to do some housework before going to bed. I wish I had one of those robot vacuums that could clean my entire house while I put my feet up and watch television. COnsider my bathroom and vacuuming duties as extra dryland!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Just What I Needed
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011
Time: 4:40 p.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
221 days to Olympic Trials
Today's workout with Coley Stickels' senior-level group at Phoenix Swim Club was easier than I expected. All of his swimmers are racing this weekend, and he didn't want to overload them with a lot of work. We "only" did about 3,500 meters, and that was fine with me. I suppose I should have stayed in a little longer to do some extra work, but I'm not concerned. I needed a good recovery workout today, and that's what this was. None of the sets were physically challenging, but did have me, as usual, concentrating on various aspects of my strokes. Today did not have a breaststroke focus, which was fine.
Below is what we did for the main set:
300 on 5:15
100 pull/50 drill/50 swim/50 kick/50 swim
2x25 on :30
#1 free with seven strokes, #2 breast pull underwater with flutter kick
150 on 2:30
25 pull/25 kick/25 swim x2
200 on 3:00
50 pull/50 swim/50 kick/50 swim
2x25 on :30, same as above
2x75 on 1:20
25 pull/25 kick/25 swim
100 on 1:40
50 pull/25 kick/25 swim
2x 25 on :30, same as above
3x50 on :50
#1 fly/free, #2 back/free, #3 breast/free
I'm glad I swam this in the short course meters pool. The group was split into the short course yards part of the pool and the short course meters part of the pool, with no discernible reason why some were in SCM and some were in SCY. The first set we did was largely freestyle-based, and it involved a drill that has become very popular, but I have honestly never done before. I"ve heard it called the "bow drill," where you stop your freestyle arm recovery at halfway and hold it there for about eight kicks. I don't have the leg strength to balance my body at that part of the stroke! It was quite difficult for me to do that drill correctly. I'm sure my arm wasn't perfectly positioned on the drill, but no one corrected me.
The aches from working with JR yesterday lingered with me throughout the day. My office is in a retrofitted house, and there is a fireplace with a mantel. The corner of that mantel has become my favorite place for a quick back massage. I put my knotted muscle on the corner of the mantel, plant my feet and dig in. After a minute or so, I feel the knot going away. I had a few of those this afternoon, and though they are still there after swimming, the knots aren't as tight. I'm expecting to get some bodywork with Tod Miller after Thanksgiving, and he'll be able to work out the knots better than the corner of any fireplace mantel.
After today's workout, Coley suggested that I attend the USA Swimming Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in mid-January, as well as the sectional meet in March. I do need to swim some long course meets before Trials, and I won't get that opportunity swimming in Masters until June. The only issue is that I won't shave for the meets, though I might rest a few days for sectionals. If I can get the time off from work, it might be fun to swim in those meets, especially Austin. I went to college there, and I miss that city dearly. I told Coley that if I were to go to the meet there, I might not want to come home!
Time: 4:40 p.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
221 days to Olympic Trials
Today's workout with Coley Stickels' senior-level group at Phoenix Swim Club was easier than I expected. All of his swimmers are racing this weekend, and he didn't want to overload them with a lot of work. We "only" did about 3,500 meters, and that was fine with me. I suppose I should have stayed in a little longer to do some extra work, but I'm not concerned. I needed a good recovery workout today, and that's what this was. None of the sets were physically challenging, but did have me, as usual, concentrating on various aspects of my strokes. Today did not have a breaststroke focus, which was fine.
Below is what we did for the main set:
300 on 5:15
100 pull/50 drill/50 swim/50 kick/50 swim
2x25 on :30
#1 free with seven strokes, #2 breast pull underwater with flutter kick
150 on 2:30
25 pull/25 kick/25 swim x2
200 on 3:00
50 pull/50 swim/50 kick/50 swim
2x25 on :30, same as above
2x75 on 1:20
25 pull/25 kick/25 swim
100 on 1:40
50 pull/25 kick/25 swim
2x 25 on :30, same as above
3x50 on :50
#1 fly/free, #2 back/free, #3 breast/free
I'm glad I swam this in the short course meters pool. The group was split into the short course yards part of the pool and the short course meters part of the pool, with no discernible reason why some were in SCM and some were in SCY. The first set we did was largely freestyle-based, and it involved a drill that has become very popular, but I have honestly never done before. I"ve heard it called the "bow drill," where you stop your freestyle arm recovery at halfway and hold it there for about eight kicks. I don't have the leg strength to balance my body at that part of the stroke! It was quite difficult for me to do that drill correctly. I'm sure my arm wasn't perfectly positioned on the drill, but no one corrected me.
The aches from working with JR yesterday lingered with me throughout the day. My office is in a retrofitted house, and there is a fireplace with a mantel. The corner of that mantel has become my favorite place for a quick back massage. I put my knotted muscle on the corner of the mantel, plant my feet and dig in. After a minute or so, I feel the knot going away. I had a few of those this afternoon, and though they are still there after swimming, the knots aren't as tight. I'm expecting to get some bodywork with Tod Miller after Thanksgiving, and he'll be able to work out the knots better than the corner of any fireplace mantel.
After today's workout, Coley suggested that I attend the USA Swimming Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in mid-January, as well as the sectional meet in March. I do need to swim some long course meets before Trials, and I won't get that opportunity swimming in Masters until June. The only issue is that I won't shave for the meets, though I might rest a few days for sectionals. If I can get the time off from work, it might be fun to swim in those meets, especially Austin. I went to college there, and I miss that city dearly. I told Coley that if I were to go to the meet there, I might not want to come home!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
You're the Best
Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Time: 5:40 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
222 days to Olympic Trials
1900 warmup and main set prep
100 IM fast from push (1:03.2)
300 easy
100 back fast from push (1:02.5)
300 easy
100 free fast from push (59.8)
250 easy
50 breast fast from push (32.1)
200 easy
Total: 3,300 meters
Today's main set as written was 10 rounds of 100 fast/100 easy on 4:30. Before the start of the set, I had only done 1,100 meters of swimming, which is not enough for my body to wake up and start swimming fast. So, I used the first four rounds of the set to do some aerobic swimming and breakouts. I felt like my blood sugar was getting low after the first round, so I hopped out and took a few big chunks out of an apple I brought to the pool. After about five minutes, I felt better. I rarely eat before workout; the apple was to be post-workout fuel restoration. I believe swimming in the warm water had quickly burned up the fuel stores I had in my body, and I was in need of more quickly.
I was happy with my times today, as the 100s were within six seconds of my taper goal time (though I'm not swimming the 100 free in three weeks, I have long hoped to go 53 in short course meters). As for the 50 breast, I felt a little choppy in the first 25, but eased into the stroke off the turn.
Today, my left shoulder gave me some problems. It's the same shoulder that had tendonitis in 2009 -- and will always have issues for the rest of my life, since tendonitis never fully goes away without surgery. I've been negligent in maintaining strength in my shoulder muscles and tendons, and I realized that when doing exercises last week with JR Rosania. Tonight, I put a lot of focus on my shoulder work without overstressing my left shoulder. When I am not doing dryland, my goal is to do some shoulder stabilization exercises to keep my shoulder strong. I feel it mostly on backstroke and freestyle, mostly in posterior muscles (deltoid and rhomboid).
JR toldme that today was the best I've worked since starting with him. I kind of agree, but I still feel as sore as the first session. The difference, he said, is that my muscles have adapted to the stress of the exercises ot the point that I'm able to finish the exercises strongly. The hip extensions, where I lift my legs from perpendicular to parallel to the floor, is still the toughest exercise. My lower back is in knots for hours afterwards. A little Ben-Gay helps soothe the soreness. But that exercise has helped my butterfly, which is my worst stroke. I feel like I'm using my second kick more, which does originate in the lower back and travels down the leg. It helps with the finish of my breaststroke kick, too, but the biggest improvement has been in butterfly. I am anxious to see if it will provide any assistance in getting through the first quarter of the individual medley.
Wednesdays are awesome when I know I am swimming with Coley Stickels' group the next day. I get to sleep in until 6:30! You would think I would stay up later, but usually my body is ready for sleep at 9:00.
Time: 5:40 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
222 days to Olympic Trials
1900 warmup and main set prep
100 IM fast from push (1:03.2)
300 easy
100 back fast from push (1:02.5)
300 easy
100 free fast from push (59.8)
250 easy
50 breast fast from push (32.1)
200 easy
Total: 3,300 meters
Today's main set as written was 10 rounds of 100 fast/100 easy on 4:30. Before the start of the set, I had only done 1,100 meters of swimming, which is not enough for my body to wake up and start swimming fast. So, I used the first four rounds of the set to do some aerobic swimming and breakouts. I felt like my blood sugar was getting low after the first round, so I hopped out and took a few big chunks out of an apple I brought to the pool. After about five minutes, I felt better. I rarely eat before workout; the apple was to be post-workout fuel restoration. I believe swimming in the warm water had quickly burned up the fuel stores I had in my body, and I was in need of more quickly.
I was happy with my times today, as the 100s were within six seconds of my taper goal time (though I'm not swimming the 100 free in three weeks, I have long hoped to go 53 in short course meters). As for the 50 breast, I felt a little choppy in the first 25, but eased into the stroke off the turn.
Today, my left shoulder gave me some problems. It's the same shoulder that had tendonitis in 2009 -- and will always have issues for the rest of my life, since tendonitis never fully goes away without surgery. I've been negligent in maintaining strength in my shoulder muscles and tendons, and I realized that when doing exercises last week with JR Rosania. Tonight, I put a lot of focus on my shoulder work without overstressing my left shoulder. When I am not doing dryland, my goal is to do some shoulder stabilization exercises to keep my shoulder strong. I feel it mostly on backstroke and freestyle, mostly in posterior muscles (deltoid and rhomboid).
JR toldme that today was the best I've worked since starting with him. I kind of agree, but I still feel as sore as the first session. The difference, he said, is that my muscles have adapted to the stress of the exercises ot the point that I'm able to finish the exercises strongly. The hip extensions, where I lift my legs from perpendicular to parallel to the floor, is still the toughest exercise. My lower back is in knots for hours afterwards. A little Ben-Gay helps soothe the soreness. But that exercise has helped my butterfly, which is my worst stroke. I feel like I'm using my second kick more, which does originate in the lower back and travels down the leg. It helps with the finish of my breaststroke kick, too, but the biggest improvement has been in butterfly. I am anxious to see if it will provide any assistance in getting through the first quarter of the individual medley.
Wednesdays are awesome when I know I am swimming with Coley Stickels' group the next day. I get to sleep in until 6:30! You would think I would stay up later, but usually my body is ready for sleep at 9:00.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Just That Kinda Day
Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
223 days to Olympic Trials
24x25 on :30
2 free, 2 non-free
16x25 kick on :30
2 free, 2 non-free
Three rounds:
4x100 on 1:40
(Round 1: 50 fly/50 back, round 2: 50 back/50 breast, round 3: 50 breast/50 free)
4x25 on :30
(Round 1: 2 fly, 2 back; round 2: 2 back, 2 breast; round 3: 2 breast, 2 free)
1 minute break
3x50 easy :15 rest
6x100 IM on 1:40
Odd: Regular order (averaged 1:13)
Even: Reverse order (averaged 1:17)
250 easy (with stretching)
Today's workout fulfilled my butterfly quota for the week ... and then some! The only time I did not do butterfly as instructed was on one of the reverse 100 IMs at the end. I am physically getting through more difficult butterfly sets, and I'm not sure why, but I know it will help my 100 and 200 IMs.
The main set was tough, and the 25s were supposed to be all out, but the 100s on the set were so hard that I didn't have the energy for four all-out sprints in each round. I was concentrating on technique while swimming a little bit faster than aerobic pace. For the first round of 100s, I was averaging 1:13, and about 1:14 on the second and third rounds. That's about 1:06 to 1:07 for those who need those times converted to yards for comparison. I had to do that a little bit today, as this was only the third short course meters workout I've done in a month. With the taper meet being short course meters, I'm glad the bulkhead at the pool was removed, and we'll likely do short course meters all the way through the next three weeks.
When I don't feel like swimming fast, my breaststroke is usually the stroke that falls apart first. I tend to find an easy way to swim comfortably, and that easy way usually involves bad technique. It took a lot of mental effort to continue to think about the kick Tako taught me a couple of weeks ago, and to concentrate on the hand pitch after the catch. Those are my two main focus areas on breaststroke right now, and the more I can swim correctly when I'm tired (and a little bit lazy), the easier it will be to swim fast when it matters.
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Meters
223 days to Olympic Trials
24x25 on :30
2 free, 2 non-free
16x25 kick on :30
2 free, 2 non-free
Three rounds:
4x100 on 1:40
(Round 1: 50 fly/50 back, round 2: 50 back/50 breast, round 3: 50 breast/50 free)
4x25 on :30
(Round 1: 2 fly, 2 back; round 2: 2 back, 2 breast; round 3: 2 breast, 2 free)
1 minute break
3x50 easy :15 rest
6x100 IM on 1:40
Odd: Regular order (averaged 1:13)
Even: Reverse order (averaged 1:17)
250 easy (with stretching)
Today's workout fulfilled my butterfly quota for the week ... and then some! The only time I did not do butterfly as instructed was on one of the reverse 100 IMs at the end. I am physically getting through more difficult butterfly sets, and I'm not sure why, but I know it will help my 100 and 200 IMs.
The main set was tough, and the 25s were supposed to be all out, but the 100s on the set were so hard that I didn't have the energy for four all-out sprints in each round. I was concentrating on technique while swimming a little bit faster than aerobic pace. For the first round of 100s, I was averaging 1:13, and about 1:14 on the second and third rounds. That's about 1:06 to 1:07 for those who need those times converted to yards for comparison. I had to do that a little bit today, as this was only the third short course meters workout I've done in a month. With the taper meet being short course meters, I'm glad the bulkhead at the pool was removed, and we'll likely do short course meters all the way through the next three weeks.
When I don't feel like swimming fast, my breaststroke is usually the stroke that falls apart first. I tend to find an easy way to swim comfortably, and that easy way usually involves bad technique. It took a lot of mental effort to continue to think about the kick Tako taught me a couple of weeks ago, and to concentrate on the hand pitch after the catch. Those are my two main focus areas on breaststroke right now, and the more I can swim correctly when I'm tired (and a little bit lazy), the easier it will be to swim fast when it matters.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
If I Didn't Have You
Date: Sunday, November 13, 2011
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Short Course Meters
225 days to Olympic Trials
12x150 on 2:30
1-4: choice
5-8: 25 breast double pullouts/25 free/25 breast kick/50 free/25 breast pull
9-12: 50 back/50 breast/50 free
8x25 breakouts on :45
100 easy
Two rounds:
25 breast fast from push on :45 (15, 15)
50 free fast from push on 1:30 (28, 28)
75 IM fast from push (fly/back/breast) (47, 48)
200 easy
Four starts
4x100 easy on 1:50
Total: About 3.450 meters (80 minutes)
For today's main set, I was joined by Scott Shake, who normally does a long nonstop swim during the same time I'm swimming, but during my first set, he asked what I was going to do today. When I told him what the main set was, he didn't hesitate to say he'll join me for it. I was a little surprised, since Scott is a middle distance swimmer, and this set was specifically for sprinters. (Yes, I know, middle distance swimmers need sprint work, too.) I have a feeling Scott didn't want to swim alone today. I know the feeling.
If Scott hadn't been there for the main set with me, I might have convinced myself to stop after the first round. With the water at 82 degrees, sprinting was extra difficult today, and though the times were pretty good, I didn't want to deal with a second round of sprinting in warm water. But Scott's presence convinced me to continue with the main set, and I'm glad I did.
I had planned to do some work on the Power Towers after the main set, but I didn't have the energy to do more sprinting in the present conditions. I worked on starts instead. I probably should have done some backstroke starts, but I didn't have a touchpad to put in the water, and I didn't trust that the tiles on the wall were not slippery.
This was a good start to the week. Before the workout I signed up for the Mesa meet which takes place next Saturday. I'll swim the 100 breast, 100 IM and 100 back, and it will be the last meet before tapering, so the goal is to fine-tune all my racing aspects. It will also be the last week of training without any types of interruptions before the state meet. Thanksgiving weekend will be spent in the White Mountains of Arizona, and I may or may not be able to swim every day. The following weekend, I'll be in Atlanta covering the USA Swimming nationals, though I believe I'll still be able to swim every day, since I will be hanging out at the pool all day.
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Tucson, AZ
Short Course Meters
225 days to Olympic Trials
12x150 on 2:30
1-4: choice
5-8: 25 breast double pullouts/25 free/25 breast kick/50 free/25 breast pull
9-12: 50 back/50 breast/50 free
8x25 breakouts on :45
100 easy
Two rounds:
25 breast fast from push on :45 (15, 15)
50 free fast from push on 1:30 (28, 28)
75 IM fast from push (fly/back/breast) (47, 48)
200 easy
Four starts
4x100 easy on 1:50
Total: About 3.450 meters (80 minutes)
For today's main set, I was joined by Scott Shake, who normally does a long nonstop swim during the same time I'm swimming, but during my first set, he asked what I was going to do today. When I told him what the main set was, he didn't hesitate to say he'll join me for it. I was a little surprised, since Scott is a middle distance swimmer, and this set was specifically for sprinters. (Yes, I know, middle distance swimmers need sprint work, too.) I have a feeling Scott didn't want to swim alone today. I know the feeling.
If Scott hadn't been there for the main set with me, I might have convinced myself to stop after the first round. With the water at 82 degrees, sprinting was extra difficult today, and though the times were pretty good, I didn't want to deal with a second round of sprinting in warm water. But Scott's presence convinced me to continue with the main set, and I'm glad I did.
I had planned to do some work on the Power Towers after the main set, but I didn't have the energy to do more sprinting in the present conditions. I worked on starts instead. I probably should have done some backstroke starts, but I didn't have a touchpad to put in the water, and I didn't trust that the tiles on the wall were not slippery.
This was a good start to the week. Before the workout I signed up for the Mesa meet which takes place next Saturday. I'll swim the 100 breast, 100 IM and 100 back, and it will be the last meet before tapering, so the goal is to fine-tune all my racing aspects. It will also be the last week of training without any types of interruptions before the state meet. Thanksgiving weekend will be spent in the White Mountains of Arizona, and I may or may not be able to swim every day. The following weekend, I'll be in Atlanta covering the USA Swimming nationals, though I believe I'll still be able to swim every day, since I will be hanging out at the pool all day.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Faraway (So Close)
Date: Friday, November 11, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
227 days to Olympic Trials
4x(4x50 on 1:00)
1: 3 strokes/10 kicks
2: 25 head up/25 swim
3: 25 free underwater recovery/25 normal
4: breathe every 5
6x100 breast kick with board on 2:00, descend 1-6
(1:40, 1:38, 1:34, 1:32, 1:32, 1:30)
Four rounds:
Three minutes kick (did about 175 yards each round)
40 seconds breast vertical kick
3x(4x50 on 1:15)
1: underwater no breath
2: fast kick
3: underwater no breath
4: fast swim
(Fast swims -- back: 26.5, breast: 29.9, free: 25.5)
Easy 100
50 breast from dive (27.0)
200 warm down (with stretching)
Total: 3,050 yards, not including vertical kicking (75 minutes)
Aaarrrrrgh! I almost broke 27 seconds on my dive 50! I was upset by that for a few minutes, but happy that I got so close. I'm usually a few tenths slower, and in a 50, just a few tenths mean a lot. I'm not sure how I was able to go that fast, since my legs were quite tired by the end of workout. But this harkens back to the kind of things we used to do when I was in high school. My coach used to regularly do a fast swim off the blocks after a tough workout, and though we rarely did anything noteworthy, it always set us up for race readiness when it mattered. I do wish we had non-slip walls, so I could practice my backstroke starts. It's a big hassle to get a touchpad from the storeroom and put it in the lane, especially since we only get about two minutes' notice. I will do some work on my backstroke start on Sunday.
This morning we were visited by two members of the Phoenix Swim Club senior group, Michael Nelson and Walter Ross. Michael had just won the state title in the 100 breast with a 57.1 (56.7 in prelims) and Walter almost got a second swim in the 100 free. Both of these guys kicked our butts this morning, and they were even more awesome when they put the fins on, but then again, who isn't awesome with fins? (Me.)
I did feel good about beating Michael on the 50 at the end. He "only" went a 28.0. Still pretty good a week after his taper meet.
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
227 days to Olympic Trials
4x(4x50 on 1:00)
1: 3 strokes/10 kicks
2: 25 head up/25 swim
3: 25 free underwater recovery/25 normal
4: breathe every 5
6x100 breast kick with board on 2:00, descend 1-6
(1:40, 1:38, 1:34, 1:32, 1:32, 1:30)
Four rounds:
Three minutes kick (did about 175 yards each round)
40 seconds breast vertical kick
3x(4x50 on 1:15)
1: underwater no breath
2: fast kick
3: underwater no breath
4: fast swim
(Fast swims -- back: 26.5, breast: 29.9, free: 25.5)
Easy 100
50 breast from dive (27.0)
200 warm down (with stretching)
Total: 3,050 yards, not including vertical kicking (75 minutes)
Aaarrrrrgh! I almost broke 27 seconds on my dive 50! I was upset by that for a few minutes, but happy that I got so close. I'm usually a few tenths slower, and in a 50, just a few tenths mean a lot. I'm not sure how I was able to go that fast, since my legs were quite tired by the end of workout. But this harkens back to the kind of things we used to do when I was in high school. My coach used to regularly do a fast swim off the blocks after a tough workout, and though we rarely did anything noteworthy, it always set us up for race readiness when it mattered. I do wish we had non-slip walls, so I could practice my backstroke starts. It's a big hassle to get a touchpad from the storeroom and put it in the lane, especially since we only get about two minutes' notice. I will do some work on my backstroke start on Sunday.
This morning we were visited by two members of the Phoenix Swim Club senior group, Michael Nelson and Walter Ross. Michael had just won the state title in the 100 breast with a 57.1 (56.7 in prelims) and Walter almost got a second swim in the 100 free. Both of these guys kicked our butts this morning, and they were even more awesome when they put the fins on, but then again, who isn't awesome with fins? (Me.)
I did feel good about beating Michael on the 50 at the end. He "only" went a 28.0. Still pretty good a week after his taper meet.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Y'All Got It!
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
8x150
Odd: Free breathing every 3 on 2:20
Even: 100 back/50 breast on 2:40
4x300 on 4:30 -- 100 free swim/100 back swim/100 breast kick
(averaged 4:00)
8x75 on 1:30 -- 25 fly/25 scull/25 free with one breath
(averaged 1:00)
10x50 free on :40
(averaged :31)
10x50 breast on :45
(averaged :37)
200 easy
Total: 4,200 yards
I was planning to swim with Coley Stickels and his group this evening, but I had two major projects to finish at work today, and I wasn't sure I would be able to leave work in time for workout. This morning's workout wasn't that taxing physically ... until the 10x50 breast.
The original set called for 24x50 free on :40. Not to usurp Mark Rankin's authority, but I didn't feel like I needed to do that at this point in the season. I compromised with myself and did 10 free. Those 50s weren't extremely difficult physically, though I had trouble keeping count! After that, I was planning on doing some breakouts on :45. But during the rest after the 50s free, Mark suggested doing some 50s breast. I knew it would be painful, but I had no valid excuse to throw at him. I did the set, and felt OK for the first three. Then, fatigue started to build in, and instead of trying harder to go faster, I tried to keep my technique in line. That wasn't easy to do, especially when I was in agonizing pain on eight through 10! I'm glad I did the set, but my heart rate at the end (186) showed me how difficult it was.
Breaststroke is always more taxing for me than freestyle, at least as far as heart rate is concerned. My aerobic heart rate in freestyle is much lower than that for breaststroke. I wonder if that's true for many people. I believe it's because breaststroke uses more muscles.
What will I take away from that breaststroke set? Mainly that my legs were sore from yesterday's workout with JR, and each kick was excruciating. Again, I'm glad I did it, but my legs will be punished for it throughout the day.
I want to share a dream I had last night. I was competing in a somewhat major international meet, but I'm not sure what venue was hosting the meet. It wasn't clean and shiny like most major venues, but had a dank and moldy feel to it. But the venue was packed for the final event, the 400 free relay, and for some reason I was the anchor leg for the United States. We were so far ahead that the third swimmer decided to grandstand for the crowd by stopping at 50 meters and letting the competition catch him. As he pushed off, the crowd went ballistic. I turned around and saw Cesar Cielo enter the building, ready to swim the anchor leg for Brazil. To make matters worse, it was so cold in the pool that I was wearing a heavy coat (not a parka) and when I dove in for my swim, I forgot to take it off!
Obviously, I had a difficult time swimming fast with a heavy coat, but I was able to hold off Cielo until the final 15 meters, when he caught and passed me. Brazil won by half a second.
Why would I be swimming freestyle on a relay at a major international meet? And what was with me swimming with a heavy jacket? Dreams are weird.
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
8x150
Odd: Free breathing every 3 on 2:20
Even: 100 back/50 breast on 2:40
4x300 on 4:30 -- 100 free swim/100 back swim/100 breast kick
(averaged 4:00)
8x75 on 1:30 -- 25 fly/25 scull/25 free with one breath
(averaged 1:00)
10x50 free on :40
(averaged :31)
10x50 breast on :45
(averaged :37)
200 easy
Total: 4,200 yards
I was planning to swim with Coley Stickels and his group this evening, but I had two major projects to finish at work today, and I wasn't sure I would be able to leave work in time for workout. This morning's workout wasn't that taxing physically ... until the 10x50 breast.
The original set called for 24x50 free on :40. Not to usurp Mark Rankin's authority, but I didn't feel like I needed to do that at this point in the season. I compromised with myself and did 10 free. Those 50s weren't extremely difficult physically, though I had trouble keeping count! After that, I was planning on doing some breakouts on :45. But during the rest after the 50s free, Mark suggested doing some 50s breast. I knew it would be painful, but I had no valid excuse to throw at him. I did the set, and felt OK for the first three. Then, fatigue started to build in, and instead of trying harder to go faster, I tried to keep my technique in line. That wasn't easy to do, especially when I was in agonizing pain on eight through 10! I'm glad I did the set, but my heart rate at the end (186) showed me how difficult it was.
Breaststroke is always more taxing for me than freestyle, at least as far as heart rate is concerned. My aerobic heart rate in freestyle is much lower than that for breaststroke. I wonder if that's true for many people. I believe it's because breaststroke uses more muscles.
What will I take away from that breaststroke set? Mainly that my legs were sore from yesterday's workout with JR, and each kick was excruciating. Again, I'm glad I did it, but my legs will be punished for it throughout the day.
I want to share a dream I had last night. I was competing in a somewhat major international meet, but I'm not sure what venue was hosting the meet. It wasn't clean and shiny like most major venues, but had a dank and moldy feel to it. But the venue was packed for the final event, the 400 free relay, and for some reason I was the anchor leg for the United States. We were so far ahead that the third swimmer decided to grandstand for the crowd by stopping at 50 meters and letting the competition catch him. As he pushed off, the crowd went ballistic. I turned around and saw Cesar Cielo enter the building, ready to swim the anchor leg for Brazil. To make matters worse, it was so cold in the pool that I was wearing a heavy coat (not a parka) and when I dove in for my swim, I forgot to take it off!
Obviously, I had a difficult time swimming fast with a heavy coat, but I was able to hold off Cielo until the final 15 meters, when he caught and passed me. Brazil won by half a second.
Why would I be swimming freestyle on a relay at a major international meet? And what was with me swimming with a heavy jacket? Dreams are weird.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Almost There
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
300 warmup
6x100 on 1:45
75 free/25 no free
9x50 free on 1:00, overkicking at various points
Two rounds:
1x100 on 2:00 easy
4x25 free on :30 breath control
4x50 on 1:00 best average
Round 1 50s were free, averaging 27.1
Round 2 50s were back, averaging 29.2
6x50 easy :15 rest
Three rounds:
50 fast (breast from dive: 27.0, back from push: 25.5, breast from dive: 27.2)
50 easy, then 1:00 rest
25 fast (breast from dive: 12.0, back from push: 12.3, breast from dive: 12.1)
25 easy, then 1:00 rest
100 easy
75 IM from dive (41.3)
225 easy
Total: 3,300 yards (75 minutes)
Today marks 31 days until the Arizona State Masters Short Course Championships. It's almost here! Nothing special happens at this point in the season, but the realization did give me a little jolt.
I liked today's workout very much. It had an element of endurance sprinting with the best-average set, but also had a race-pace set at the end. And the remarkable thing is that the rest was already built into the race-pace set! Those rest intervals were not decided by me.
I was very happy with my sprinting today. Despite the warm water making my muscles feel rubbery (felt like 82 degrees), my times were right on target. I was hoping to go under 12 seconds on one of my dive 25 breaststroke, but I'm happy with two times in the 12-low range. I don't think my starts were all that good, though. I felt like I was losing speed too much after my body entered the water, but I wasn't sure if it was my naturally inflexible ankles or something that could actually be fixed. Or were my legs just too tired to spring hard from the block?
I was feeling a big knot in my left rhomboid muscle through the entire workout, and no amount of stretching could remove the knot. When I got home tonight, I tried to work it out on a special wooden kneader that I have, but it's still there. I'm going to put some Ben-Gay on it before I go to bed, and hopefully that will help. The only problem with putting Ben-Gay on at night is my cat is attracted to the smell, and she tries to lick the cream off me, even if I have a shirt on. She won't take no for an answer, so I might have to shut her out of the bedroom tonight so I don't have to wake up at midnight to her trying to get to that strange aroma emanating from me.
I had a very good session with JR Rosania today. Someone asked if my sessions with him are working on building muscle mass. Absolutely not. Some of the exercises use very little weight, and work instead on the explosive speed in my muscles. For example, I do back extensions while holding an eight-pound ball. When I lift up, I throw my arms forward while holding the ball, similar to the breaststroke recovery. The weight of the ball isn't heavy, but the hard part is getting my arms forward in an quick motion.
Another great exercise I do there is standing on a platform about knee height. Holding a 15-pound ball, I throw it down to the ground, imitating the motion of a breaststroke pullout and butterfly pull. The key, JR said, is to lift the shoulders to engage more back and shoulder muscles, and to throw the ball hard to the ground. When I'm in the pool, I try to replicate that motion on my breaststroke pullouts. These exercises and all the others he gives me have a swimming specific purpose, and usually I discover that purpose in the pool the next day.
Jason Lezak does a similar type of training, and it seems to be working well for him in his mid-30s!
Tonight I was so tired when I got home that I couldn't find the energy to practice piano. I need to do so, because my final recital is the same week as the state meet, so I have essentially two championship performances in one week. I am trying to play the song "Scarborough Fair" (which repeats 17 measures five times) and while I have the melody down, it's hard to play the chords. I didn't have much desire to work through that tonight, but I'll make up for it tomorrow.
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
300 warmup
6x100 on 1:45
75 free/25 no free
9x50 free on 1:00, overkicking at various points
Two rounds:
1x100 on 2:00 easy
4x25 free on :30 breath control
4x50 on 1:00 best average
Round 1 50s were free, averaging 27.1
Round 2 50s were back, averaging 29.2
6x50 easy :15 rest
Three rounds:
50 fast (breast from dive: 27.0, back from push: 25.5, breast from dive: 27.2)
50 easy, then 1:00 rest
25 fast (breast from dive: 12.0, back from push: 12.3, breast from dive: 12.1)
25 easy, then 1:00 rest
100 easy
75 IM from dive (41.3)
225 easy
Total: 3,300 yards (75 minutes)
Today marks 31 days until the Arizona State Masters Short Course Championships. It's almost here! Nothing special happens at this point in the season, but the realization did give me a little jolt.
I liked today's workout very much. It had an element of endurance sprinting with the best-average set, but also had a race-pace set at the end. And the remarkable thing is that the rest was already built into the race-pace set! Those rest intervals were not decided by me.
I was very happy with my sprinting today. Despite the warm water making my muscles feel rubbery (felt like 82 degrees), my times were right on target. I was hoping to go under 12 seconds on one of my dive 25 breaststroke, but I'm happy with two times in the 12-low range. I don't think my starts were all that good, though. I felt like I was losing speed too much after my body entered the water, but I wasn't sure if it was my naturally inflexible ankles or something that could actually be fixed. Or were my legs just too tired to spring hard from the block?
I was feeling a big knot in my left rhomboid muscle through the entire workout, and no amount of stretching could remove the knot. When I got home tonight, I tried to work it out on a special wooden kneader that I have, but it's still there. I'm going to put some Ben-Gay on it before I go to bed, and hopefully that will help. The only problem with putting Ben-Gay on at night is my cat is attracted to the smell, and she tries to lick the cream off me, even if I have a shirt on. She won't take no for an answer, so I might have to shut her out of the bedroom tonight so I don't have to wake up at midnight to her trying to get to that strange aroma emanating from me.
I had a very good session with JR Rosania today. Someone asked if my sessions with him are working on building muscle mass. Absolutely not. Some of the exercises use very little weight, and work instead on the explosive speed in my muscles. For example, I do back extensions while holding an eight-pound ball. When I lift up, I throw my arms forward while holding the ball, similar to the breaststroke recovery. The weight of the ball isn't heavy, but the hard part is getting my arms forward in an quick motion.
Another great exercise I do there is standing on a platform about knee height. Holding a 15-pound ball, I throw it down to the ground, imitating the motion of a breaststroke pullout and butterfly pull. The key, JR said, is to lift the shoulders to engage more back and shoulder muscles, and to throw the ball hard to the ground. When I'm in the pool, I try to replicate that motion on my breaststroke pullouts. These exercises and all the others he gives me have a swimming specific purpose, and usually I discover that purpose in the pool the next day.
Jason Lezak does a similar type of training, and it seems to be working well for him in his mid-30s!
Tonight I was so tired when I got home that I couldn't find the energy to practice piano. I need to do so, because my final recital is the same week as the state meet, so I have essentially two championship performances in one week. I am trying to play the song "Scarborough Fair" (which repeats 17 measures five times) and while I have the melody down, it's hard to play the chords. I didn't have much desire to work through that tonight, but I'll make up for it tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Surprise, Surprise
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
230 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
4x(4x25 on :30), one stroke each round IM order
1 drill, 2-4 swim
4x(3x75 on 1:15)
1: 25 fly/50 back, 2: 25 back/50 breast, 3: 25 breast/50 free
6x(3x100 on 1:30)
1: back, 2: IM, 3: free
averaged 1:11 on back, 1:06 on IM, 1:08 on free
12x25 on :35
Odd: breast with 2 pullouts
Even: backstroke as three left/three right/three full strokes
8x25 on :45
Odd: Breast from dive (12.7, 12.1, 12.3, 11.6)
2, 4, 6, easy
8 breast fast from push: 13.6
100 easy
Total: 4,000 yards (75 minutes)
This is the time of the year when I bite my tongue quite often in workout. As the weather gets colder in Arizona, every pool in Arizona cranks up the heat to insanely high temperatures. The only pool I have been to from now through April that is not overheated is the Arizona State pool. I won't defect to their team, but I did swim there a couple of times in 2009, and it was wonderful to do a sprint workout in an 80-degree pool.
This morning, the pool was about 82 degrees, which made the main set of 18x100 difficult to do as written. Mark wanted all of them to be strong, so we would get decent rest. I would have been happy to hold 1:06 on backstroke and 1:03 on freestyle, but I needed a couple of repeats to get my heart rate down after a somewhat fast 100 IM. During the set, Mark suggested that a dive set was coming up "so you guys can cool off." With the air temperature at 50 degrees, we were definitely bound to do that!
I was very surprised at the 11.6 on my 25 breast from a dive. I don't go under 12 seconds regularly in-season, so that made me feel good. My stroke technique was OK, though I think I exposed my legs too much on my kick in an attempt to push more water with my legs. The dive was smooth and clean, and the breakout pretty good as well. I wasn't looking for something this morning to make me feel better about the :59 I swam on Sunday in the 100 breast, but those 25s did the trick for me!
I still haven't decided if I am going to swim in the meet in Mesa on Nov. 19. I won't rest for that meet, but I would like to swim a fresh 100 breast before taper starts. I'll make the decision before Friday.
Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards
230 days to Olympic Trials
300 warmup
4x(4x25 on :30), one stroke each round IM order
1 drill, 2-4 swim
4x(3x75 on 1:15)
1: 25 fly/50 back, 2: 25 back/50 breast, 3: 25 breast/50 free
6x(3x100 on 1:30)
1: back, 2: IM, 3: free
averaged 1:11 on back, 1:06 on IM, 1:08 on free
12x25 on :35
Odd: breast with 2 pullouts
Even: backstroke as three left/three right/three full strokes
8x25 on :45
Odd: Breast from dive (12.7, 12.1, 12.3, 11.6)
2, 4, 6, easy
8 breast fast from push: 13.6
100 easy
Total: 4,000 yards (75 minutes)
This is the time of the year when I bite my tongue quite often in workout. As the weather gets colder in Arizona, every pool in Arizona cranks up the heat to insanely high temperatures. The only pool I have been to from now through April that is not overheated is the Arizona State pool. I won't defect to their team, but I did swim there a couple of times in 2009, and it was wonderful to do a sprint workout in an 80-degree pool.
This morning, the pool was about 82 degrees, which made the main set of 18x100 difficult to do as written. Mark wanted all of them to be strong, so we would get decent rest. I would have been happy to hold 1:06 on backstroke and 1:03 on freestyle, but I needed a couple of repeats to get my heart rate down after a somewhat fast 100 IM. During the set, Mark suggested that a dive set was coming up "so you guys can cool off." With the air temperature at 50 degrees, we were definitely bound to do that!
I was very surprised at the 11.6 on my 25 breast from a dive. I don't go under 12 seconds regularly in-season, so that made me feel good. My stroke technique was OK, though I think I exposed my legs too much on my kick in an attempt to push more water with my legs. The dive was smooth and clean, and the breakout pretty good as well. I wasn't looking for something this morning to make me feel better about the :59 I swam on Sunday in the 100 breast, but those 25s did the trick for me!
I still haven't decided if I am going to swim in the meet in Mesa on Nov. 19. I won't rest for that meet, but I would like to swim a fresh 100 breast before taper starts. I'll make the decision before Friday.
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