Daily Practices

So happy to finally have a meet right at home today! Every other meet is so far "out there" that it's nice to be able to swim right at home. Today was nice as well, because I had some very nice competition today from that guy who lives on the west side of the state: That Guy! It's not too far timewise, aside from the mountain passes which can be an adventure at times.

1650 Free - 18:03.13 (masters best time, new LMSC record)
I was feeling pretty good about this event beforehand, and I probably took it out a bit faster than I should have. For some reason the splits didn't get recorded on the official computer results in Meet Manager...not sure why, but being the Top Ten Recorder person for the LMSC, I have the hard copies of all the meet paperwork/deck computer timing tapes/etc., so I can actually look up my splits for BLOG purposes.
For That Guy's info, I will place his splits next to mine, as he also had a very good neck and neck race with me.
Dist. / James / T.G. / (Differtial me vs. him)
100 - 59.53 / 1:01.13 (1.60)
200 - 2:04.81 / 2:06.38 (1.57)
300 - 3:10.39 / 3:11.39 (1.00)
400 - 4:16.48 / 4:16.58 (0.10)
500 - 5:22.92 / 5:22.29 (-0.63) <== "changing of the guard" here
600 - 6:29.24 / 6:28.12 (-1.12)
700 - 7:36.08 / 7:34.58 (-1.50)
800 - 8:43.78 / 8:41.12 (-2.66)
900 - 9:51.54 / 9:47.61 (-3.93)
1000 - 10:58.89 / 10:54.89 (-4.00)
1100 - 12:05.74 / 12:01.86 (-3.88)
1200 - 13:11.78 / 13:08.91 (-2.87)
1300 - 14:18.67 / 14:16.19 (-2.48)
1400 - 15:24.32 / 15:22.89 (-1.43)
1500 - 16:29.59 / 16:28.57 (-1.02)
1600 - 17:33.97 / 17:33.97 (0.00) <== Exactly tied here with a 50 to go!
1650 - 18:03.13 / 18:04.53 (1.40)

Masters best times for both of us as well! My age group coach John was there taking splits for me, and encouraging me onward through the race. Around the 7/8/900 point of the race, I was hurting bad, and wanting to back off, but knew John would've needed a real good excuse if I did.
It was good that I had kept relatively close to T.G., because having the rabbit out front can be encouraging when you want it to be. I was very happy with this swim, and I'm sure T.G. was as well, though he went to the gutter after the race for "just in case" reasons. I was very glad to have someone to swim this race with me today, and we pushed each other to just about the max. The rest of my day took a hit on performances, but it's all good.

100 Free - 54.42
Pretty much blah, but what do you expect after a killer mile?
Note: I should probably retire from this event altogether.

200 Back - 2:20.45
Ditto

Sprint Fun - Unsanctioned 25s:

25 Fly - 11.83 - did it without a breath. (1st overall)
25 Back - 14.02 - SDKing was good, then was almost to the end (2nd overall)
25 Breast - 14.40 - I like this one. I had a completely different type of breaststroke on this one (1st overall)
25 Free - 11.33 - OK I guess (2nd overall)

These races basically consisted of the fast 25, hit the cooldown lane for a 25 back to the start end (wait for the reseeded chaos) and sprint another 25. Kind of a mini-workout in the middle of the meet.

Had a final leg on a 400 Free Relay at this point - didn't give much effort and cruised a 1:01

200 Free - 1:59.17
This was just hard. Still feeling the effects of the 1650. T.G. was right with me on this one...kicking my butt (meaning that he's tougher than me)

Swam the final leg on a 200 Free Relay, pretty much a cooldown swim

500 Free (swam as Fly) - 6:08.08
T.G. and myself both decided we would be worthless as far as putting together a "good" 500 Free race, so what the heck??

Well, so much for taking it easy before the meet on Sunday. At least we don't have practice tomorrow, so I can get a chance to rest a little bit.


Warmup:

600 (25 Free, 25 V-Sit Scull, 25 Back, 25 V-Sit Scull)

6 x 200 SDK on back w/ fins @ 3:00
held 2:40ish on the first 5, then burned a 2:20 on the final one to race a 12 year old girl...she beat me by handlength or so.

3 x 200 Free Pull @ 3:20 Desc. 1-3 (went 2:25, 2:15, 2:05)
(2400/2400)

Main Set:

3 Rounds of 4 x 200 Max Rest

• Round 1 - Choice Stroke - did Back (went 2:40, 2:35, 2:33, 2:31)
• Round 2 - IM - Fly felt horrible, just cruised these 2:35 up to 2:38s
• Round 3 - Free - definite cruise. 2:20s all the way through, just stretching out

200 EZ
(2600/5000)

3 x 100 Free @ 1:20 (1:10s)
3 x 100 Free @ 1:15 (1:10s)
3 x 100 Free @ 1:10 (1:08s)
(900/5900)

Bucket Pulling relays
Ended up going twice on each relay since we were one person short of having equal numbers for 3 relays.
50 Yards of Fly w/ bucket, and 50 Yards of Free w/ bucket

200 EZ

-------------------------------
6200 Yards


Masters Meet at home this weekend. Can't get much better than that with all the traveling I usually do.

For any forumite folks from the PNA who may be traveling over here for the meet on Sunday...we're averaging the low-mid 20s for high temps over here right now...it's a bit cold outside, but there isn't any local snow in the forecast.

1650 Free
100 Free
200 Back
25 Fly
25 Back
25 Breast
25 Free
200 Free
500 Free
plus I'm sure I'll be on a few of the relays as well...200 Free , 200 Medley, and 400 Free

Should be a boatload of fun. It's gonna be a smallish meet too this year...about 45 folks. Usually our LMSC meets are closer to 60ish, but we still know how to drag the meet out for a little more rest.

Warmup:

800 Free
400 Kick w/ board (25 EZ/25 Fast)
8 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:40 (1:12s)
(2000/2000)

10 x 100 SDK w/ short fins @ 1:30
I just cruised these with about 5 seconds rest
(1000/3000)


Main Set: 31+ HR/10 sec. EN3 type work

3 Rounds of 5 x 100 @ 2:30

• Round 1: Stroke (did Fly, which alternated with Free every other) - could barely go 1:07s...very wavy
• Round 2: Another Stroke (did Back) 1:12/:13s
• Round 3: Free (held 1:01/1:02s)

200 EZ
(1700/4700)

16 x 25 Sprint w/ fins @ 1:00 (I did w/out fins and all Free)
(400/5100)

500 EZ swim

--------------------------------
5600 Yards

Warmup:

1000 Free
I did a 500, then stopped to stretch my arms out a bit, then every 100 or so later a little more stretching. At this point, I knew this was going to be a "great" day.
(1000/1000)

Kick Set:
(no fins)
4 x 50 Kick w/ board @ 1:10
4 x 50 Kick w/ board @ 1:00
4 x 50 Kick w/ board @ :50
no problems making these ones
(with fins)
4 x 50 SDK on back @ :55
4 x 50 SDK on back @ :45
4 x 50 SDK on back @ :37.5 (I made them all, touch, turn to see the clock, maybe 1 second and go again.)
(1200/2200)

4 x 300 Free Pull @ 5:00 "just stretch out - keep 25HR/10 sec."
was holding 3:30-3:33s on these with a 24 HR
(1200/3400)

10 x 100 Free @ 2:00 (50 Fist Drill/50 Stretch out Free)
I hate fist drill
(1000/4400)

10 Rounds of:

• 50 SDK on back w/ fins @ :45
• 2 x 25 SDK underwater @ 1:00
• I really "shut it down" on this set, and just trailed at the back of the lane

(800/5400)

Finish it up Fast:
4 x 100 Free @ 1:10
I didn't put out a ton of effort, but cruised some 1:05s. Felt nice to make these on minimal effort.
(400/5800)

400 EZ cooldown

----------------------------------
6200 Yards


Well, tonight ended up being a recovery workout, or some sort. It was still high on yardage, but the intensity was toned down a couple notches.

We started off the day with a team recap and awards from the meet down in Walla Walla. The team placed 3rd overall, and lots of best times for the kids, which is great!


Warmup:

600 (25 Free, 25 V-Sit Scull, 25 Breast (pull-kick-kick), 25 Free)
(600/600)

Kick Set: (something that Chris Stevenson could probably handle w/out fins)

4 x 100 SDK on back w/ short fins @ 1:35 - made these no problem
4 x 100 SDK on back w/ short fins @ 1:25 - no problem here either, was under 1:15s
4 x 100 SDK on back w/ short fins @ 1:15!!! - made the first one by 2 seconds, then it was all over...ended up going on the 1:20 interval though

100 EZ
(1300/1900)

Main Set: High Quality EN3 work (30-31 HR/10 sec.)

3 x 200 IM @ 5:30 (went 2:26, 2:23, 2:22)

3 x 200 Major Stroke (Fly) @ 5:30 (went 2:26, 2:12*, 2:22) *middle 200 is Free - when stroke is Fly, John's policy is to alternate every other one with Free - nice coach.

3 x 200 Free @ 5:00 (went 2:11, 2:07, 2:05)
These were good, considering the fastest 200 Free I've done over the past couple years in a meet is only a 1:56something

200 EZ
(2000/3900)

300 social kick - the guys hate this, we just kick a 300 and get it done. The girls...hmmmm
(300/4200)

4 x 25 Sprint @ 1:00 - did all Free

300 EZ and out

-------------------------------
4600 Yards - not a lot of yards, but the quality was definitely there tonight. I left one tired old man

It was really nice having 2 days off from swimming over the weekend, but I did get in 7 hours of paid work Saturday, so that's nice. We celebrated my older daughter's birthday yesterday, and just basically relaxed around the house. Then back to the grindstone again on Monday...

I signed up for the Lake Washington Masters Meet (Feb. 17th), in Kirkland, WA today. I'll be swimming the 200 Fly, 200 IM, 50 Fly, 100 Fly, and 200 Free. I've got a little duel/potential double dual in the 200 Fly with Chris Chapman from the Lake Washington Masters team. He's an excellent sprinter, probably THE BEST in the area...but he's scared of the 200 Fly. It happens to be basically the first event of the meet, so I threw out the challenge, and he accepted. Anyone else want in? Or to just place your bets?


Warmup:

800 Free (w/ every 8th length V-Sit Scull)
(800/800)

6 x 200 SDK w/ short fins @ 3:15 Desc. 1-3 (went from 2:35s down to under 2:20s)
(1200/2000)

10 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:40 (cruised 1:04/1:05s)
(1000/3000)

Main Set:

12 x 100 IM @ 1:50 Desc. 1-3 (went 1:17s/1:15s/1:11s) very last one was 1:07

2:00 rest

12 x 100 Free @ 1:30 Desc. 1-3
started with a 1:05, then dropped to 1:03s, had a few 1:02s also...final one was :59+/1:00-
I was originally shooting for my mile pace, but I think I dropped a bit below that...or maybe not. We'll just have to see later in the year!

100 EZ Kick/float on back
(2500/5500)


8 x 50 Choice Sprint @ 1:00 - did all Free, but couldn't really go too fast after those earlier 100s
(400/5900)

4 x 25 SDK underwater (no fins) @ 1:00
with my short fins I take about 17 kicks for these...today w/out fins I was taking 20 kicks to cover the same distance. Not bad I guess?

200 EZ

-----------------------------
6200 Yards

The team was no practicing tonight, or tomorrow since they are at a 3 day meet this weekend, so I decided to go stretch out a bit at the Y during lap swim time. There ended up being two 12 year old girls from my group there as well doing a workout the coach had given to them since they weren't going to the meet. I ended up swimming a little bit with them after the lanes got condensed down, but first beat myself up slightly on my own.


Warmup:

200 Free
100 Kick w/ board
200 Free Pull
(500/500)

Kick Set (all flutter w/ board):

4 x 50 @ 1:00 (went :48s)
3 x 50 @ :55 (went :48s)
2 x 50 @ :50 (went :47s)
1 x 50 @ :45 (went :43)
(500/1000)

Main Set:

1 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:30
2 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:25
3 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:20
4 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:15 (1:06s)
(1000/2000)

I was going to do 5 @ 1:10, but it was time to condense down from 6 lap lanes to 3 lap lanes, so had to cut it short. And yes QBrain, I would've made the 1:10s.
I ended up sharing with the two 12 year olds from the swim team, and we did the remainder of their workout together:

1 x 400 Free Pull Build (went 4:45)
(400/2400)

16 x 50 IM Order (4 of each stroke) Alt. 1 EZ/1 Fast

• 4 Fly @ 1:30
• 4 Back @ 1:15
• 4 Breast @ 1:10
• 4 Free @ :45

I changed these intervals to make it more interesting. They had it wrote down as 1:30s all the way through. Blah. Made it feel a little more 400 IMy

Zero cooldown

--------------------------------
3200 Yards

It was kind of nice to have a mildly easy swim tonight. I left the pool still energized and not run down like usual.

I had to give up the TV tonight to head to practice. I didn't really want to go, with the Oregon/"other team" going on tonight. The opening kickoff return was great, and the rest of the first quarter was pretty good as well. It was 15-7 with K-State banging on the door when I finally had to go for practice. After I got home, I was happy that ESPN had some good news for me.


Warmup:

300 Free
300 Kick w/ board
300 Free Pull
(900/900)

Kick Set:

4 Rounds of:

• 200 SDK @ 3:00 Build (2:40s)
• 100 SDK @ 1:25 Sprint (was 1:13-15s)
• 50 SDK @ :40 Sprint (was :35s)

(1400/2300)

Main Set:

4 x 300 @ 4:00 (held 3:25-3:30s)
2 min. rest
4 x 325 @ 4:00 (held 3:45-48s, 3:39 on last one)

200 EZ swim

(2700/5000)

16 x 50 @ 1:20 (4 of each stroke)

• Drill
• EZ
• Build
• Sprint

(800/5800)

8 x 25 AFAP (did all Free) @ 1:00
(200/6000)

200 EZ

-----------------------------
6200 Yards

That main set was a good one, and unlike any that we've really done before (with the club team) that I can remember. It's just 100% middle D/dist. short rest hard core kind of stuff--exactly what I like. The way John designed the set was each lane had the same intervals, but the other 2 lanes did 275/300 and 250/275 while my lane did the 300/325 distances. All 3 lanes were basically finishing their distances at the same time, so it worked out good.
I was pushing pretty hard, and not really sure if I could've possibly made it with a 325/350 distance on the 4:00 interval...but I bet KNelson's workout lane would've ate that up no problem!

The team is off to a 3 day meet this weekend down in Walla Walla, WA, so no team practices till Monday. I'll probably hit the YMCA on Saturday at lunchtime for a few miles.

Nothing special for New Years, asleep by 11pm, awake at midnight as my wife's cell phone started making text message noises from all her friends...then back to bed. I'm really fun.
The next morning, we hauled the treadmill out of my dad's house...from the basement of all places...and brought it to our house. That is one heavy S.O.B. of a machine. My wife and I will put it to good use though. She'll do running, I'll just do walking intervals program on it while watching TV (my knee isn't made for running punishment). Better than being a couch potato, right?

I did 1.5 miles (30 min.) on Tuesday, and another 1.38 miles (25 min.) tonight before swim practice. I figure it'll help something, so I'll do it 3-4 days a week.


Warmup:
1000 DPS Free (finally!! a regular warmup!)
(1000/1000)

16 x 50 Kick w/ short fins on back @ :45 Odds Dolphin, Evens Flutter (I like dolphin better w/ fins)
(800/1800)

400 Free Pull breathe every 5
(400/2200)

We were really crowded tonight...7-8 per lane across the 3 lanes. Luckily we had the attached deep tank available, so tonight was circuit night, utilizing the deep tank widths for quick sprints.

Main Set: (20 min. on/1 min. to rotate)

10 x 100 Free @ 2:00 Max Rest
avg'd 1:01/1:02s

10 x 100 Worst Stroke (did Back) @ 2:00 Max Rest (whatever!)
avg'd 1:19s??

10 x 100 Best Stroke (did Breast) @ 2:00 Max Rest
avg'd 1:25/:26

20 x cross pool sprints in deep tank @ 1:00 (pretty much a waste of time)
enough space to streamline a little, breakout, 4 strokes and look up for the wall

(~3300 Yards/5500 Yards)

----------------------------
5500 Yards and behind on GTD already! (didn't swim on Jan. 1st, and apparently at 9:00pm PST the GTD program already tacks on the next day's "goal yardage" as well, so I'm even more behind!


I set my goal for 1,000,000 meters this year, and if I swim enough over the summer with the club team I should be able to make this.

I was able to drop in with the Oregon Reign Masters group out at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, OR on my way out of town from the Portland area this morning. Workout was coached by Dennis Baker. He was happy to see me there, and I was "happy" to see the outdoor pool was set up Long Course METERS!! They have a new bubble top over the pool which now makes it possible to swim outside at this time of year. Otherwise the pool would be unusable.

LCM
Warmup:

400 Free
200 Kick w/ board
400 Free Pull
200 more of Free waiting for the group
(1200/1200)

6 x 50 Free Desc. 1-3, 4-6 @ :10 rest
(300/1500)

Main Set: Idea is to get faster on each set of two 100s, even with less rest

2 x 100 Free @ :20 rest (went 1:23s)
2 x 100 Free @ :15 rest (went 1:19s)
2 x 100 Free @ :10 rest (went 1:15s)
200 Free Pull
1:00 rest
2 x 100 Free @ :20 rest (went 1:20s)
2 x 100 Free @ :15 rest (went 1:17s)
2 x 100 Free @ :10 rest (went 1:13s)
200 Free Pull
(1600/3100)

400 Kick w/ board, but must be fast in & out of the flags
(400/3500)

12 x 50 Free Pull @ :55
every 3rd one breath the least amount possible - basically I did a 6 stroke breathing pattern on these.
last one I did a :33
(600/4100)

6 x 50 IM (yes 12.5 of each str.) @ 1:10
I did 3 x 50 Fly, and 3 x 50 Back
(300/4400)

100 EZ and out

------------------------------
4500 LCM in under 90 minutes, then hit to road back to home for 5 hours of fun. At least the roads were clear and no snow problems to deal with.

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Finished up the year with:
My Go The Distance 2012 Progress
581.31 miles swum (=1,023,114 yards, =935,535 meters).


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Oh, and here is a picture of my Animal Meet trophy award from the meet on Sunday.

This weekend was the annual Animal Meet weekend in Canby, Oregon. It started off as a USAS meet, and they have now piggybacked a masters version on at the end of the weekend for us to have some fun.
Masters have the option of doing the:

• Sprint - 100 IM, 50 Fly, and 200 Free
• Middle - 200 IM, 100 Fly, and 500 Free (also what the 12 & under USAS kids do)
• Distance - 400 IM, 200 Fly, and 1000 Free (also what the 13 & over USAS kids do)
• Or Masters can pick and choose between all the events (e.g. 200, 500, 1000 Free)
• An "Animal" award trophy is given to the fastest male and female in each of the categories, Sprint, Middle, and Distance (I went Trophy Hoing today)

The meet doesn't get very populated, partly due to the event selection, and partly from the time of year as well I suppose. I only travel down for this meet because I visit my grandparents for a few days as well on the same trip. I don't think I'd travel this far normally for just 3 events either.

Warmed up about 800 yards or so - I had to get into the "masters mood" rather than the age grouper I've been lately. Lots of 50s and 100s of mostly free and a few lengths of backstroke, with lots of talking in between. I wasn't worried about my swims, knowing my conditioning would carry me through no problem. I really only wanted to do well in my final race of the day, the 1000.
Did this meet on heavy Christmas training, with no additional rest aside from no swimming on Saturday (yesterday).


400 IM - 4:40.60 - not bad for a "cruise".
1:00.57 / 1:15.05 / 1:22.19 / 1:01.79
Got the splits from my old head coach that I used to work with here in Canby. He was there with his high school boys/girls swimmers who were our timers for the day.

200 Fly - 2:14.07 - whatever...not bad for how I swam it
I told myself that I wasn't going to push it, and that my final 50 was going to be the fastest split of the 4. Who does this???
Well, my final 50 was a 31.5ish, but not quite the fastest - my initial 50 was a 31.0. I did even split the 200 Fly, which is tough to do in itself

1000 Free - 10:47.92 - very happy with this
I was only 3 seconds off from my best time in the 1000, so considering the training I'm doing, this is good. I'm sporting a full beard right now, didn't wear anything remotely close to a "fast" suit either, just some plain ol' brief. I just got in a zone and went for it. The guy next to me said his goal was for me not to lap him 3 times. Knowing that, I tried to do just that, and got him 3 times on my final 50.
Eric told me my splits were (roughly):
1:00/1:05/1:06/1:05/1:05
1:05/1:05/1:04/1:04/1:02

Warmup:

300 Free, 300 Kick w/ board, 300 Free Pull - a traditional warmup for a change!
(900/900)

Kick your brains out: All SDK w/ short fins
2 x 150 @ 2:30 cruised 2:05ish
2 x 150 @ 2:10 semi-cruised 2:00ish
2 x 150 @ 2:00 worked a little more for 1:55ish
2 x 150 @ 1:50!! missed the first one (went 1:52), then turn and burned as coach was right on us to keep going. As I started out I told myself I was going to make the next interval. I came in right on the 1:50, but considering I left about 3-4 seconds late for the sendoff, I actually went about a 1:46-:47. Nice!
(1200/2100)

(from this point on, I turned it down a notch or two on intensity, since I have the meet coming up on Sunday)

Lucky 7s:
I went 2nd
7 x 200 Free Max Rest @ 3:30 (went 2:13-2:15s on these, mainly 2:14s)
2:00 rest
7 x 100 Free Max Rest @ 1:30 (went 1:04s/1:05s, last one 1:02) I passed the other kid during these, so took over the lead.
2:00 rest
7 x 50 Free Max Rest @ :40 (went :31-:32s)
2:00 rest
7 x 25 Free Max Rest @ :20 (went :14-:15s)
175 EZ Swim
(2800/4900)

6 x 50 Sprint Kick w/ board @ 1:30
(300/5200)

Bucket Pulling continuous relay. I ended up going 8 times, 2 time Fly, 6 times Free.

200 EZ

----------------------------
5600 Yards


I have the Animal Masters Meet (400 IM, 200 Fly, 1000 Free) coming up on Sunday down in Canby, Oregon. I'm going to head down and visit my grandparents as well over the weekend in the Portland area, and hit up the Oregon Reign Masters for a New Years Eve morning workout out at Mt. Hood Comm. College, coached by the amazing Dennis Baker. I'm gonna make him kick my butt (in the pool).

Warmup:

300 Swim

• 50 Free, 25 Fly Sprint
• 50 Free, 25 Back Sprint
• 50 Free, 25 Breast Sprint
• 75 Free Desc to Sprint

6 x 50 SDK on Back @ 1:15
300 Scull

• (50 V-Sit, 50 Front, 50 V-Sit) x 2

100 Free
(1000/1000)

16 x 75 SDK w/ fins @ 1:15 FAST/EZ/FAST by 25s
(1200/2200)

Main Set:

200 Fly @ 3:30
2 x 25 Back Sprint @ :45
200 Back @ 3:15
2 x 25 Breast Sprint @ :45
200 Breast @ 3:30
2 x 25 Free Sprint @ :45
200 Free @ 3:00
2 x 25 Fly Sprint @ :45
then...
Go back to the top and do it all again...no bonus rest!

• All 200s are "MAX Rest" - meaning go fast and get the most rest possible. Basically the whole set was fast...or at least an attempt at it.
• 200s Fly were 2:25/2:30 by rounds (very wavy out there)
• 200s Back were 2:32/2:40ish?
• 200s Breast were completed (actually was pretty close to Jared, but I didn't check my times)
• 200s Free were 2:10/2:15
• We got lucky and didn't have to repeat the opening 200 Fly, but the other 2 lanes got a little extra fly training, because 4 people were doing a bit of 1-arm Fly during the 200. That is unexcusable (by Coach John's standards) in our group, and we know better. If we're going to crash, we're supposed to hold our stroke out front and "kick-thru" until clear to stroke again.

(2000/4200)

500 Free EZ
(500/4700)

5 Rounds of:

• 100 Free MAX REST @ 1:15 (held 1:05s, w/ a 1:03 on the final round)
• 50 Free EZ @ 1:00
• 25 Free Sprint @ :45
• 25 Free Sprint @ :45

(1000/5700)

600 Free EZ and out

----------------------------
6300 Yards and barely able to walk myself from the lockerroom to my car. I did thank John for kicking my butt tonight. IM workouts are harder than freestyle ones IMO.
Taco Bell drive thru for dinner tonight...I wasn't going to be able to make anything myself for dinner tonight anyway (like I ever do, right?)

The club team finally got back in the water again since their last scheduled practice last Friday. It was a nice 4 days away from the intense stuff, even though I did swim a couple solo swims at the Y.

Warmup:

400 Free
300 Drill
200 Kick w/ board
100 Free
(1000/1000)

10 x 50 Kick w/ board @ 1:00 (alt. 25 EZ/25 Fast w/ 25 Fast/25 EZ)
(500/1500)

Main Set:

8 x 300 Free @ 4:00, Desc. 1-4 & 5-8
Desc. from 3:30 to 3:15, and 3:35 to 3:13, went second in the lane following a 15 year old...kinda nice to have a draft at times.
(2400/3900)


6 x 75 Free (50 Swim/25 Kick) @ 1:10
these were harder than I thought after the 300s

8 x 50 from a Dive

• Sprint a 25, wait for the lane to finish, then swim back to the start end
• Tough on this old man...I couldn't explode off the blocks for fear of cramping my calves

(850/4750)

8 x 25 Sprint Kick w/ board @ :30

500 Free Pull - went 5:30
(700/5450)

8 x 25 Sprint Kick w/ board @ :30

500 Free Swim "stretch out" - went 5:40ish...not exactly cruise, but I was feeling good and aggressive**
(700/6250)

**Another older kid (19 and legal) was ticking me off, so I got out here after letting him know it. (practice was over anyway...prettymuch) Don't worry, I'm not in any trouble...he was just goofing off wayyyy more than a swimmer who wants to swim should be, and the head coach told me to "keep him in line" when he started playing too much. I guess he's had a big history of it. Head coach wasn't there today, so it was even better.

Work had me up early this morning...got in a few hours, and fixed a trouble spot on the line that I'd been fighting for a while, so that is good. I got done in time to get over to the Y for the final swim available before closure for the Christmas holiday.

I'm only swimming to keep my body "swimming" since I have a meet coming up in 5 more days from now down in Oregon. Otherwise I'd just take off the vacation time like the rest of the club team. But then I'd be bored at home as well...


Warmup:
400 Free
300 Kick w/ board
200 Free Pull
100 Free
(1000/1000)

18 x 50 Flutter Kick w/ board

• 8 @ 1:00
• 6 @ :55
• 4 @ :50
• 0 @ :45 (was supposed to be 2, but I wasn't going to make them)

100 EZ Free
(1000/2000)

Main Set: Idea from KNelson's workout a few days back:

400 Free Pull @ 4:50 (went 4:35)
300 Free Pull @ 3:40 (went 3:28)
300 Free Pull @ 3:30 (went 3:30)
I bagged it here, (3 x 200, and 4 x 100 left) since my muscles were hurting. I don't think I would've made the remaining tough intervals, and that's what I was going for.
(1000/3000)

10 x 25 Swim w/ fins @ :35

• Odds Free/Evens Fly
• 8 SDKs on each, which passed the midpoint line in the pool

(250/3250)

250 EZ

---------------------------
3500 Yards

Main Set for today was taken from the insane workouts for the animal lane written by PWB. I took one of the "easy ones", though it wasn't truly that easy. I would've gone for more, but it was insane avoiding non-swimmers and noodlers in the lanes today.
I just got my side of the lane and tried to ignore the rotation of people trying to get in and out of lanes (including mine). No one tried to stop me luckily during my longer swims, but I would do a type of OW sighting to look to see who was coming into my lane, and what plans they had. For the most part, people avoided my half of the lane, though at one time there were two people sharing the other half of my lane. I would've gladly circle swam, but they wouldn't have enjoyed it much...even my kicking with a board was faster than whatever they were calling swimming.


Warmup:

200 Free
100 Kick w/ board
400 Free Pull
100 Kick w/ board
200 Free
(1000/1000)

Main Set: (Kicks @ 2:00/100, Pulls @ 1:15/100)
All Rounds straight through with no extra rest between

Round 1:
100 Kick (did SDK w/ short fins) @ 1:45
200 Free Pull @ 2:30 (was 2:15)
100 Free Fast @ 2:30 Goal is Best Avg. (went 1:00)
Round 2:
200 Kick (did SDK w/ short fins) @ 3:30
400 Free Pull @ 5:00 (was 4:45ish)
100 Free Fast @ 2:30 (went 1:02)
Round 3:
300 Kick w/ board @ 6:00 (was 5:35)
600 Free Pull @ 7:30 (did 7:00)
100 Free Fast @ 2:30 (went 1:04) I was hurting here
Round 4:
400 Kick w/ board @ 8:00 (did 7:30)
800 Free Pull @ 10:00 (did 9:35) fell off my prior pace, but still made it
100 Free Fast @ 2:30 (went 1:04) HURTING
(3400/4400)

100 EZ and out

------------------------
4500 Yards in a short amount of time

I got to the pool today and it was pretty vacant. The head coach apparently had taken off the night for an early escape for the Christmas holidays, but left his assistant Anne in charge, who normally coaches the next level group below us. After a little while, we had a pretty good amount of people, probably 10 in my Black Group, and another 10-12 or so in the White Group.

I had talked to Anne a bit about possibly being able to do a set my masters amigo had dreamed up that seems to be "all the rage" lately. She said, "well, let's hear it." I knew we were supposed to be doing in IM aerobic night anyway, so I drew up the "Chasm" workout on the board. She liked it, said it would work fine for the whole group, and that became our main set for the day.


Warmup:

400 Free
400 Kick (200 w/ board, 200 Streamline)
400 Pull (200 Free/200 Stroke)
+ an extra 200 Free Pull I did waiting for others to finish
(1400/1400)

5 x 100 SDK w/ fins @ 1:45 (we picked the less strenuous intervals since Coach John was gone)

5 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:40 (Desc. 1-5)
(1000/2400)

Main Set:
IM CHASM OF DOOM**



**Age group rules: If you miss the interval, put on fins, and continue the set

• None of the older faster boys were there tonight (or the older girls), so they missed out on the fun
• Only one person (other than me) made all the intervals without fins - a 12 year old girl
• A second girl (who turned 12 today) almost made all the intervals
• The others all missed from the beginning, and went to fins where they were able to keep up for the remainder.

200 IM @ 3:00 (started out at 2:40)
175 @ 2:40 (50 Fly/Back/Breast/25 Free)
150 @ 2:20 (50 Fly/Back/Breast)
125 @ 2:00 (50 Fly/Back/25 Breast)
100 @ 1:40 (50 Fly/Back)
75 @ 1:20 (50 Fly/25 Back)
50 @ 1:00 (50 Fly)
25 @ :40 (25 Fly) coach wanted these sprints
25 @ :40 (25 Fly) sprint here too Fun racing kids who had fins on!
50 @ 1:00 (50 Fly)
75 @ 1:20 (50 Fly/25 Back)
100 @ 1:40 (50 Fly/Back)
125 @ 2:00 (50 Fly/Back/25 Breast)
150 @ 2:20 (50 Fly/Back/Breast)
175 @ 2:40 (50 Fly/Back/Breast/25 Free)
200 IM @ 3:00 AFAP - I did a 2:25

200 EZ swim
(2000/4400)

Good overall set! This set truly wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, or maybe my conditioning is just top notch right now. I'm sure being a natural flyer helps in this heavy loaded fly set (750 of the 1800 is fly). Only 150 yards of Free in the whole thing too =
I averaged about :20 of rest for a majority of the intervals. The shortest rest I had was on the 150 on the way back up, at about :10 rest or so.
Coach Anne liked the set and wrote it down for future use at some later date.

That's not all folks!! Next set:

8 x 100 Free @ 1:30 - My interval (other two lanes were @ 1:40 & 1:45)
Beat the "goal time" (kinda tough after conquering the "Chasm")


First 5 weren't a problem for me, but then...

• #1 - beat 1:23
• #2 - beat 1:20
• #3 - beat 1:17
• #4 - beat 1:13
• #5 - beat 1:11
• #6 - beat 1:07 (was 1:06)
• #7 - beat 1:05 (was 1:05 and it hurt)
• #8 - beat 1:03 (was 1:02 and it really hurt)

(800/5200)


We finished off the practice with about 20 minutes of a game of "Capture the Flag". It was more fun this time now that I understood the rules. We won twice, and lost twice.
No team practice until next Wednesday, and I don't mind a bit!

Somewhat of a lightly attended practice tonight. Either people were already leaving early for family Christmas traveling, or they were up skiing at Mission Ridge, which is only 15-20 minutes or so out of town. Only 11.5 miles from my house, and a gain of 3500 feet of elevation (1000ft. to 4500 ft.) over that distance!!
Hell of a hill climb on a bike, it's an average of 300+ feet every mile traveled, though most of the elevation gain is in the final 4-5 miles. I love the downhill coming home though! Wheeeeeeee!!!! Back in the summers during my college years I used to ride it a few times.


Warmup:
8 x 50 IM Order by 50s @ 1:10
8 x 25 V-Sit Scull @ 1:10
8 x 50 SDK w/ fins @ 1:00 Odds EZ/Evens Fast (or EZ for me)
8 x 50 Free Pull @ 1:00 breathe 3,5,7 by 50s
(1400/1400)

Test Set #1
10 x 100 Flutter Kick w/ board @ 2:00
went 1:37 avg, w/ 21 HR/10 sec.
kinda slow, but I was still nursing my calf muscle from the cramp it gave me last night. Sometimes those can hurt for a while.

200 EZ
(1200/2600)

Test Set #2
10 x 100 Free @ 1:30 Best Avg.
went 1:01 avg, w/ 28 HR/10 sec.
I believe this was my best avg. time in this. I was going 3rd in the lane following Jared, our 15 year old "boy wonder", who avg'd :58/:59, and the college boy Connor, who claimed to have averaged 1:02s. Problem with that is that he was leaving 1-2 seconds early on the interval, and I was on his feet by the end of the 100.

200 EZ
(1200/3800)

Evened out the lanes for a little "Relay Fun". We had enough for 3 relays of 4 people.

We did a V-Sit Scull relay by 25s, each person goes twice. At the midpoint of the pool, you must also do 2 1/2 rotations (spins) in v-sit, and continue onward down the pool. When you leave from the deep end, you must start backward on the blocks and attempt the best backward butt-dive possible. When done correctly, it's a pleasant experience.
We won this relay!

Bucket Pull relay by 25s, each person goes twice.
Hardest part of this is the transition of the belt from one person to another...especially in the deep water end.
My relay again won this one. Then coach John switched one of our swimmers for one from the "slower" relay.

Bucket Pull Relay again...same thing.
We ended up getting behind by almost a 25, partially my fault, as I couldn't get the belt through the buckle part on the first transition. I did swim Butterfly with the bucket though on both times in this relay. It's actually easier (I thought) than freestyle. I'm sure my upper body strength helped a little on this.

Finished off with a 200 EZ and home. Only 1 more practice tomorrow evening before the holiday break, when we return on Wednesday.

-------------------------------
~4200 Yards

I figured after last night's semi-EZ practice, that John was gearing us up for a good one tonight.
We had a swimmer back from college join us tonight. He's a freshman at PLU (Pacific Lutheran) in Tacoma, WA. Said he was a distance swimmer, so I was kind of excited to have a training buddy for the day.

Warmup:
600 (25 Free/25 Breast/25 V-Sit Scull/25 Back)
(600/600)

16 x 50 SDK w/ fins @ :50 (odds EZ, evens Sprint) for me they were both about the same
(800/1400)

5 x 200 Free Pull @ 3:00 (held 2:07-2:10s)
The college kid was going to lead the lane, until I told him I was going to be holding 2:10-2:15ish, he gladly let me go. I was just testing him to see what kind of swimmer he really was
About 3 of the 200s into the set, Coach John had the quote of the night: "This is just the calm before the storm..." I just thought, "Oh boy, this is gonna be, uh, good".
(1000/2400)


Main Set ROUND 1: College kid said he wanted to lead, I didn't argue.


6 Rounds All Free of 1 x 200, 1 x 100, 1 x 50 on varying intervals:

• Round 1: 3:00 / 1:30 / :45
• Round 2: 2:40 / 1:20 / :45
• Round 3: 2:30** / 1:30 / :40
• Round 4: 2:20 / 1:20 / :40
• Round 5: 3:00 / 1:15 / :40
• Round 6: 2:20 / 1:10 / :35

**I was beginning to catch the feet, and probably could've passed the other guy in this set. I could tell he was hurting a bit.

200 EZ
As we were doing the 200 EZ, John erased the board and began re-writing the set again.

Main Set ROUND 2: The college kid was going to go, but I told him I'd take the lead on this round.


6 Rounds All Free of 1 x 200, 1 x 100, 1 x 50 on varying intervals:

• Round 1: 2:50 / 1:30 / :60
• Round 2: 2:40 / 1:30 / :55
• Round 3: 2:30 / 1:30 / :50
• Round 4: 2:20** / 1:30 / :45
• Round 5: 2:15 / 1:30 / :40
• Round 6: 2:10 / 1:30 / :35

(4400/6800)
I cramped on the 200 w/ 2:10 interval pushing off for the final 50, though I was probably on track to make the interval before that happened. I ended up missing it badly, but swam out the rest of the set EZ.
**College boy got tired or something here and got out. I think he was getting worked by a 35 year old...

200 EZ

---------------------------
7000 Yards

A great set, and something I've really been wanting to do for a while, a pure distance oriented all free set. Also, the largest yardage practice I believe I've done to date.

Late start today after having a team meeting (coach talk ) & small awards ceremony for the kids who went to the Wash. Sr. State meet last weekend.


Warmup:
600 (25 Free/25 V-Sit Scull)

16 x 25 SDK underwater @ 1:00
(1000/1000)

Main Set:

100 IM @ 1:40 (Moderate)
100 Back @ 1:40 (Fast) ~1:14
100 Breast @ 1:50 (EZ)
100 Fly @ 2:20 (Moderate)
200 IM @ 3:30 (Fast) 2:25
200 Back @ 3:30 (Moderate) 2:35
200 Breast** @ 4:00 (Fast)
200 Fly Drill/Swim by 50s @ 5:00 (Moderate)
300 IM** @ 5:30 (Moderate) 3:55
300 Back @ 5:30 (Fast) 3:43
300 Breast** @ 6:00 (Moderate)
300 Fly Drill/Drill/FAST by 50s @ 6:00
(2400/3400)

**All these swims w/ breast were done with dolphin kick legs. My groin injury was nagging me a little after the fast 200 IM. I guess I need to wait a bit more before pushing it too much.

4 x 25 Sprint Free @ 1:00

300 EZ swim

------------------------
3800 Yards


It was a good little workout. Not as bad as it looked when John was first writing it up on the board. Wonder what's coming for tomorrow though? He is having the H.S. boys take tomorrow night off though, since their H.S. coach has been killing them pretty good in the mornings. They're pretty wiped out already.
The last two days main sets for them were 12x500s, and today's Build a 400 IM set...always a classic. 25 Fly/375 Free, 50 Fly/350 Free...
I'm glad I only get to hear about the sets.