Daily Practices

I was a bit sore today after my work on my house all weekend long. My father and I were busy in the basement fixing a previous owner's up...they cut the floor joists (9 of them!!) to put in a basement stairway access. They had put up a bunch of posts all over, randomly it seems, to keep the top 2 floors up on the house. The house still buckled in the middle though. We broke through the concrete floor, poured new 18" foundations for the posts, and will be continuing work on the beams and posts later next week or so. This old house will be getting another of its many fix-ups. Maybe one day it will be sellable (Fort )

Well, my back was a bit sore from all the digging out, and hauling sacks of concrete down the stairs, but it'll be worth it later. I just took it semi-easy today in the pool...

Warmup:

300 Free (25 EZ, 25 Build, 25 Sprint) ... (or 300 Free)
(300/300)

SDK w/ long fins
4 Rounds of:

• 200 @ 3:10
• 100 @ 1:30
• 50 @ :40

(1400/1700)

Main Set:
Workout lanes were super crowded, so John split us up into a 4 lane circuit set.
We started in the deep tank -
15 SDKs underwater cross pools @ 1:00
5 lengths cooldown
(250/1950)
Lane 6
8 x 100 Back @ 1:40 (made 'em, somewhere around 1:20s, minimal effort)
100 EZ
(900/2850)
Lane 5
8 x 100 IM @ 1:40 (held 1:10-1:13s)
100 EZ
(900/3750)
Lane 4
5 x 200 Free @ 3:00
went 2:10 / 2:12 / 2:12 / 2:10 / 2:06
Jared made me go first on these...I didn't want to, but I felt better doing all free rather than the strokework stuff earlier.
100 EZ
(1100/4850)

20 x 50 Free w/ long fins and paddles @ :45
This was just horrible after the 200s that I went all out in...plus flutter kick w/ long fins sucks too.
(1000/5850)

300 EZ

------------------------
6150 Yards

Another good workout tonight. I'm getting back into racing shape really quick after my vacation a few weeks ago. I have a USAS meet coming up a week from now, and then it'll be 2 1/2 weeks after that till USMS Nats. I can't wait.

Warmup:

400 (25 Free/25 V-sit scull)
(400/400)

12 x 100 SDK w/ long fins (4 @ 1:30, 4 @ 1:25, 4 @ 1:20) held them all around 1:10 or so
(1200/1600)

10 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:40 (went 1:02-1:04s)
(1000/2600)

16 x 25 SDK w/ long fins underwater @ 1:00
(400/3000)

Main Set:

4 x 200 Choice Stroke non-Free @ 5:30 (These are Fast)

• #1 Fly - 2:20 Felt strong
• #2 Back - 2:34
• #3 Breast - 2:50
• #4 Back - 2:35

4 x 200 Free @ 4:30 (again, these are FAST)

• a few folks got out at this time, so I moved over a lane so Jared and I could race each other.
• #1 - went 2:06 - thought this was a bit fast...
• #2 - again 2:06, right with Jared
• #3 - another 2:06, I tried to get out ahead of him, but he caught me on the final 50
• #4 - wasn't going to lose this one, or at least I was going to go down trying if so...went 2:03, got out after it, built the 3rd 50, and full sprint kick coming home the final 50. I caught a glimpse of John looking over at the pace clock as we were finishing, normally he doesn't do that, so he must've thought we were moving.
• My best time is a 1:55.8 in a meet, so to be 7 seconds off of that in a practice set it good news.

(1600/4600)

6 x 25 AFAP @ 1:00

• First 3 non Free - did Fly
• Second 3 Free

(150/4750)

300 Cooldown

----------------------------
5050 Yards

Had a substitute coach tonight. John actually is using Thursdays for the next few weeks to do a "coach swap" among the 4 practice groups, so everyone will get to work with a different coach for a bit. Tonight, we had Darcy, who is our coach for the younger age groupers (group #2 of the 4) on the team. She chose to focus on stroke drill/technique work with us tonight, with a bit of fun stuff in the drills as well.

Warmup:

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

2 Rounds of:

• 2 x 150 Kick (1st round no fins, 2nd round SDK w/ long fins) @ LIFO
• 4 x 75 Drill @ 1:10 (did odds Fly, evens Free)
• 8 x 25 Swim @ :30 Odds Fly, Evens Free

(1800/2800)

At this point she mixed us up among the 6 lanes so that we were all with different people than normal, and began doing various different drills and swims with the 3 strokes (besides freestyle).
All 25s...

Fly and Back was focused on SDKs,
Also on Fly was fast kicking with getting our butts up
Backstroke we did laneline pulling drills, holding objects on our head to prevent head movement, other kicking drills for body position. (Note: my backstroke hasn't been changed a bit)
Breaststroke did some opposite side isolation swimming (grab right hand to left foot behind back and swim). This really lets you know if you have a weak side to your stroke. My left leg does almost nothing this way. It also tells you if you're trying to overcompensate one way or the other.

All during these 25s, the lanes were getting green marks on the whiteboard next to our lanes. We weren't sure what these marks were for, but assumed they weren't good. At the end, she explained that the green marks were for breaking the "pet peeves" of her and the other coaches...like not leaving from the wall, not finishing your swim to the wall, first stroke breathing off wall (after streamline come up and breath before a stroke), etc.
Our lane had 4 marks...
Each mark was worth 5 pushups.
:steroids:
20 pushups! Had I known we were playing for pushups per lane, I would've tried to earn more of them.
(~1500 yards of drills & swims/4300)

200 cooldown

-----------------------------
4500 Yards

Warmup:

500 Free
(500/500)

20 x 50 @ :50
I did 10 of them SDK w/ long fins, and 10 of the flutter kick w/ board no fins. Pretty much turn and burn/straight 500 kick at the end.
(1000/1500)

8 x 200 Stroke - IM Order 2x thru @ 4:30/4:30/4:30/4:00 (for Free)

• build each one by 50s, (i.e. like a Corvette, start out 3rd gear, 4th, 5th, and 6th gear on the final 50)
• Fly - 2:30 / 2:25
• Back - 2:40 / 2:43
• Breast - 2:51 / 2:53
• Free - 2:16 / 2:14

(1600/3100)

4 x 300 Free Pull @ 5:00
Odds EZ (24 HR)/Evens Fast (29+ HR) per :10 count
Went 3:33 / 3:16 / 3:35 / 3:13

100 EZ
(1300/4400)

Set from a USC workout that John found online:
4 Rounds of:

• w/ fins and paddles:
• 75 Free at "relaxed" pace @ :50 / 25 Free (15 Yard burst, EZ to wall ) @ :30
• 75 Free at 200 or faster pace @ :50 / 25 Free (15 burst, EZ) @ :30
• w/ fins only:
• 75 Free at 200 or faster pace @ :50 / 25 Free FAST @ :30
• :30 bonus rest before next round

Wow...what a set. Very challenging, was coming in around :45/:46 seconds on the 75s, then getting through the 25s for a little rest before doing it again and again...
(1200/5600)

8 x 25 Free @ :30 holding your 200 Free pace (1:55/8 = ~:14.5 per 25)
Not too bad, but have to keep moving strong.
(200/5800)

400 EZ

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


Over 200 GTD Miles now for the year...still about 12 miles behind my goal pace though. Dang vacation set me back a bit, but I should be able to get back up there again soon.

More of something PWB would like, and less of a Fort workout tonight. At least my coach does switch it up day to day, short/middle/long/free/IM/stroke/short rest/long rest...a bit of everything.

Warmup:

400 Free
12 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:40 (1:05s)
(1600/1600)

Main Set:

straight thru, stay on intervals
1 x 500 Free cruise @ 8:00 (5:55)
2 x 250 Free Fast @ 3:30 (2:47s)

1 x 400 IM cruise @ 8:00 (5:30)
2 x 200 IM Fast @ 3:30 (2:29s)

1 x 300 Free cruise @ 6:00 (3:35)
2 x 150 Free Fast @ 2:10 (1:40s)

1 x 200 IM cruise @ 3:30 (2:40)
2 x 100 IM Fast @ 2:00 (1:10s)

1 x 100 Free cruise @ 2:00 (1:10)
2 x 50 Free Fast @ :45 (:30/:27)

200 EZ
(3200/4800)

12 x 100 SDK on back w/ long fins @ 1:30 (1:10-1:15s) just cruised them
I'd rather do these kick sets at the beginning of the swim. I was on the verge of cramping tonight.
(1200/6000)

400 EZ

--------------------------------
6400 Yards

============================================

Saw the National Psych Sheet info is online now, thanks to Fort's blog letting me know that...

In my 1650, I've got the 11th overall fastest time, so with 8 lanes, that puts me near the middle of the pool in the 2nd fastest heat. I'm 2nd place in my age group by 1.5 minutes. That's good news.

400 IM, I'm the #5 seed in my age group, should be able to move up a bit here...

200 Free - #13 seed, some tough competition in that one too! Rolling the dice...but should be able to nail it...

200 Fly - #6 seed, this can go either way...lots of things can happen to everyone in the 200 Fly...

500 Free - #8 seed. I hope they keep these seeded by age group, rather than by time. I'm seeded with such a slow time that I'd rather be chasing the leaders in my age group than being stuck with entries that are the same as my entry. Call me a sandbagger...I can take it!

100 Free - #25 seed out of 49 entered. RIght in the middle of the pack. This was my #6 event, so it looks like they're running all of them.

Back to the normal training routine again with the team, and it felt great. We were loaded with 7 per lane, so we didn't get to do exactly what was planned, but John still gave us some good work.

Warmup:

400 Free
300 Kick w/ board
200 V-Sit Scull
(900/900)

12 x 100 SDK w/ long fins @ 1:30 Max Rest (went 1:05-1:08s)
(1200/2100)

w/ long fins and paddles:
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
1 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
2 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
3 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
4 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
remove paddles, so long fins only:
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
3 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
2 x 25 Free FAST @ :45
1 x 100 Free Build @ 1:30
1 x 25 Free FAST @ :45

200 EZ
(1300/3400)

24 x 50 @ coaches sendoff (approx. 1:15-1:30 or more)

• 6 each stroke
• 4 drill/2 sprint

(1200/4600)

8 x 25 Sprint @ 1:00

• 4 non free (did Fly)
• 4 Free 1 breath or less

(200/4800)

300 EZ

--------------------------
5100 Yards

Saturday

I was feeling a bit sluggish prior to warm-ups, and even stretching out a bit in the pool didn’t seem to help. I guess 12 days out of the water, then getting sick (food poisoning) and trying to swim this week anyway wasn’t helping me out too much. Oh well, race time anyway…

200 Back
2:17.82 – season best time by 3 seconds
32.46 / 34.71 / 35.82 / 34.83
This actually felt pretty okay, I was trying to extend my wall underwater work a bit more than normal, even though after the 100 I reverted back to my streamline glides for distance off the walls. Managed to hold off a 40yr-something backstroker for the win.

100 Breast – complete blah!
1:10.72
33.00 / 37.72
I just couldn’t get into my stroke. I could feel that I wasn’t grabbing water, and my pushoffs and pulldowns just didn’t have the normal “umph” that I normally have. It didn’t help that 55 year old Mike did a 1:05 with minimal effort next to me. He can glide almost 8-10 yards off one stroke cycle!

200 IM
2:14.53 – 3 seconds slow
27.98 / 36.52 / 40.25 / 29.78
My fly felt right up until I started my first stroke. By the end of the backstroke it became a good 3 man race – myself, Wes (40-something backstroke guy), and Mike (55 yr, breaststoker) Mike caught up quickly, but I managed to stay with him on the breast, Wes was a bodylength behind, but within striking distance. I was beat to the wall by ½ bodylength, but made up my mind that I wasn’t going to lose the race. Powered home strong to have a good finish.

No relays today for me. We only have 7 people from my workout group here, and they were going after some 55+ relay records in the LMSC.

I got to see something in person for the first time today at the pool…we have a blind swimmer at the meet this weekend, and she has a person at end of the pool with poles to tap her on the back just prior to reaching the wall. She does all four of the strokes too, and swims straighter than any person with two working eyes. Pretty darn good.

--------------------------------------

Sunday

Started off with a good long warmup at the beginning, prior to the 1650s, even though I wasn’t doing the 1650 this time.

500 Free
10 x 50 @ ~:15 rest SDK on back/Str. Flutter Kick on back by 25s
4 x 50 Fly Drill 3/3/2/2/1/1/Full Stroke to end
200 Free EZ
(1400/1400)

Got in for another quick warmup prior to the “main part” of the meet. Did another 400 or so.

200 Fly
2:11.15
27.98 / 32.79 / 34.59 / 35.77
This felt rather good. I just didn’t have my get-out speed at the beginning, and just tried to maintain my 2-up/1-down breathing pattern. Out in about 1:00.8. Nothing hurt until length #7, and then it was just tough it out to the end. I was only 3.5 seconds off my time from 2 months ago in Kirkland, so this was pretty decent.

50 Back leadoff of the 200 Medley Relay
29.63 – pretty sure this is a best time for me.
I took 11 SDK’s off both the start and the turn. My coach told me I really nailed the competition on the 2^nd 25 with the underwater work.

200 Breast – 2:41.xx
35.65 / 41.72 / 42.59 / 41.31
I just completed this one. It was cool to see Mike go a 2:23 in front of me at age 55!

500 Free – 5:19.61
29.05 / 32.25 (1:01.30)
32.77 / 32.57 (1:05.34)
32.57 / 32.37 (1:04.94)
32.25 / 32.54 (1:04.79)
31.95 / 31.29 (1:03.24)
Good way to end the meet. Even split it and had fun.


Now it's time to get my butt back in shape. I've got about 5 weeks till Indy, but 2 weeks until I do one day of a Triple Pentathlon meet (USAS). Of course, the distance version I'm signed up for. Swimming these times at or close to my season best times with the 2 weeks off from training makes me feel good about what's to come at Indy.

Lap swim session again at the Y. It'll be nice next week when the swim practices get started again. I'm feeling good in the pool again now though. The first part of the week I was halfway sick and trying to do too much too fast after my vacation. I took yesterday off altogether and then went in for a little swim with some effort tonight.

Warmup:

200 Free
200 Back
200 Kick w/ board
200 Back
200 Free
(1000/1000)

Swedish 1:01 50s SDK w/ long fins
Started on the :01, with the goal to beat the upcoming :60/00 on the pace clock on each one. It's easy at first, but when you get closer to leaving on the :30, it's pretty tough.
Did 30 x 50 SDK w/ long fins. Made them all on the "goal" of beating the second hand on the pace clock to the :60
It did get a little tough near the end, but with the 1:01 interval, there was plenty of recovery time
(1500/2500)

100 EZ swim
(100/2600)

10 x 100 Free Pull
1 @ 1:30
2 @ 1:25
3 @ 1:20
2 @ 1:15
1 @ 1:10
1 @ 1:05
made them all, started @ 1:10, held 1:08s in the middle, then 1:07, and finally 1:04.
(1000/3600)

10 x 50 Kick w/ board
4 @ 1:00
3 @ :55
2 @ :50
1 @ :45 missed it
(500/4100)

100 EZ

----------------------
4200 Yards


Going to Idaho tomorrow for the meet. 2 day LMSC Champs. We'll see how I do. I'm feeling pretty good in the pool tonight, and after the gun goes off it'll be time to race no matter what. Here goes nothing...

Assistant coach today

Warmup:

800 Free
400 Rev. IM Drill
400 Rev. IM Kick w/ board
(1600/1600)

"Pre-set" (whatever...this sucked):

"no paddles" (this is all that was wrote)
200 Pull @ 1:00 rest between each
300 Swim
400 Pull
400 Swim
300 Pull
200 Swim
(1800/3400)

This was supposed to be all IM, but we did the first 200 Free. She didn't mention that till we had almost finished the first 200. We're not mind readers...c'mon!
Who does IM PULL?!??!? I said I've never done a fly/IM set pull in my lifetime, and she thought that was strange. "Really?" she asked.

My shoulder was a bit sore after this, and for good reason. I was already feeling ty prior to practice from basically 3-4 days of being sick after my vacation trip, and today's practice didn't help much.

Main Set: (at least what was wrote down)
3 ROunds of:

• 400 IM @ 7:30
• 2 x 200 Free @ 2:40
• 4 x 100 Stroke @ 1:40 (round 1 FLy, round 2 Back, round 3 Breast)

I did the 400 IM, subbing free for the fly, and the 2 x 200 Free, then got out. I had it with tonight's practice! BS! Had I been in good shape (not taking off 12 days), not sick, and didn't have "newbies" in the lane, it would've been a decent practice tonight, but under the circumstances...

-----------------------------------
4200 Yards

I seriously doubt if anyone finished the set completely...30 minutes more to complete 2800 Yards! I was the fastest one there tonight and I was struggling with it.

I'm going to take the next 2 days off from the pool and just relax before the meet. THis is a no pressure fun meet for me. Yeah, it's the LMSC Champs, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm basically doing all off events anyway, and our LMSC is all about fun at the meets anyway.

No team practice today, so I took a dip in the lap swim session. With spring break going on there are no lessons, so the first hour has all 6 lanes available for lap swim...how nice! I had a lane to myself for most of my swim, and my lanemate I did have wasn't too bad of a swimmer...he was a tad slower than the 1:20/100 base interval I was doing, so we basically swam the same...somewhat.

Warmup:

800 Free
6 x 100 SDK w/ long fins @ 1:30 (1:10-1:15 cruising)
400 Free Pull
200 Back EZ
(2000/2000)

Main Set:

All @ 1:20/100 Base
just swim EZ, still building my aerobic back up to where it was 2 weeks ago
3 x 200 Free Pull @ 2:40 (2:20s)
3 x 150 Free Pull @ 2:00 (1:48s)
3 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:20 (1:08s)
3 x 50 Free Pull @ :40 (:34s)
(1500/3500)

100 EZ Back

--------------------------
3600 in 55 min. and outta there. They were combining down to 3 lanes plus public swim during spring break time is crazy nutso on the other half of the pool. Good maintinence swim...I'll have normal team practice tomorrow night.

LMSC Champs meet this weekend in Idaho.
200 Back, 100 Breast, 200 IM on Saturday
200 Fly, 200 Breast, 500 Free on Sunday

Mostly just fun events. I'm sure I'll be in a few relays as well.

Wow...tonight was a killer. 12 days out of the water since my last official swim practice. I did swim once in El Salvador, but it was more of a relaxing back and forth in the pool than a workout. Hopefully I make it through this before falling asleep...


Warmup:

800 Free
400 Rev. IM Drill
400 Rev. IM Kick
(1600/1600)

Main Set:

*** 500s Desc. 1-3, 200s Neg. Split, 100s Sprint ***

1 x 500 Free @ 7:00 (6:11)
1 x 200 Free @ 3:40
1 x 100 Free @ 1:30 (1:04)
1 x 500 Free @ 7:00 (6:03)
1 x 200 Free @ 3:40
2 x 100 Free @ 1:30 (1:06s)
1 x 500 Free @ 7:00 (5:52)
1 x 200 Free @ 3:40
3 x 100 Free @ 1:30 (1:09/1:11/1:10)

Sat like a zombie for a while waiting for the other lanes to finish...then did a 100 EZ
(2800/4400)

4 Rounds of:

• 3 x 50 Drill/Swim by 25s @ 1:00
• 3 x 100 Swim @ 1:30**

Round 1 Fly** @ 2:00
Round 2 Back
Round 3 Breast** @ 2:00
Round 4 Free


I skipped the middle 100 of each of the rounds, and skipped out on the Round 4 Freestyle. I was just wiped out and suffering at this point, so I threw in the towel and left before they had to drag the waters
...

------------------------------
5500 Yards

February Fitness Challenge Results just came out as I was typing the blog, so here they are:
http://www.barracudas.org/pool/febfi...ultBooklet.pdf

292 total people participated in the FFC this year. I was 1st in my age group for the 35-39 Males, with 125,750 yards swum. That yardage ranked me 18th among all men, and 30th among all men/women combined. All of the men who swam more than me were older as well. Likely they are all retired from real work, and have the ability to swim day and night as they please. I only swim 25 of the 28 days, and I had to go out of my way to get some of those days in. I don't know how people can manage to swim day after day after day without a rest day. Your body needs some time to rebuild itself.

=============================================

I took yesterday off from the pool to work on my truck. It was a simple job of changing the starter, but the complicated part was doing it outside on the gravel driveway, in the evening with no light but worklights, in the rain, with a tarp hung over the front of the truck off the garage to shield water away. The whole job was quick...maybe 15-20 minutes total time of actual mechanical stuff...maybe. It was the setup and teardown that took the time.

----------------------------------

I was sluggish today in the pool:
John split the group into the super taper group for Sectionals, and the 5 of us (ME here) not going to Sectionals.

Warmup:

800 Free
800 SDK w/ long fins - cruised about 1:15-1:20 pace/100
I finally purchased my own long fins!! Yippiee, and they're comfy too!
800 Free Pull
(2400/2400)

Main Set:

4 x 200 IM Fast @ 5:00 went 2:31/2:32/2:34/2:34
1:00 extra rest
4 x 200 Stroke (did back) @ 5:00 - went 2:35-2:38s
1:00 extra rest
4 x 200 Free @ 5:00 - went 2:20-2:22, last one tried and did a measley 2:15

100 EZ swim
(2500/4900)

4 x 100 Free @ 1:15 went 1:06/1:07/1:07/1:04 - just plain tired
1:00 rest
4 x 50 Free @ 1:15 went :27/:28/:28/:27 - legs sore, but managed
1:00 rest
4 x 25 Free @ 1:15 went fast
(700/5600)

200 EZ and out

---------------------------
5800 Yards


===========================================

This is my final official swim practice until after Easter weekend folks. I'm taking tomorrow off from the pool to get last things packed up for our family trip to El Salvador. It's where my wife is from, and we're going to visit the place she grew up, live life like she did, and worship the U.S. soil when we return.

It's not going to be luxary by any means folks. We'll be at my mother in law's house for most of the time there. The house is a small (VERY SMALL) two room house of sorts. Bathroom is outside in what we'll call and outhouse. Bathing...I'll figure that out later. Water will be all bottled store bought. I may actually drink a few cervezas for the first time in over 11 years as well. At least it won't make me sick like the local water would. Oh, and kiss the English language goodbye for a week as well! I'll be without internet too, but I'll be fine. It's gonna be hot. Low 90s for the high, but the low at night is low 70s. Not a lot of break period from the heat. Sleeping conditions...we're gonna be a big happy family.

My MIL lives in my house with me year round, but takes a month or two each year to return to her home in El Salvador. My wife just hasn't been back there since she left the country in 1999, and is now making the trip again. Her first time on a plane...should be interesting. :littleJamesdevilsmile: The three little ones will be coming along too. It'll be fun.

We're also visiting her two brothers and their families as well. The ocean isn't too far away, and we're planning a couple of days hopefully there. There is a new aquatic center of some sort down the road from where we're staying...maybe I'll check it out, but I honestly had no real intentions of lap swimming on this vacation. I'll still have my suits and goggles with me though. Never leave home without them.

Most of all, we're going to try to be safe, and hopefully not run into "situations" down there. My other brother in law is also going down with us. He lives here in town, and knows the area well. I'm confident things will be fine, but you never know what to expect.

Nice knowing you all...pictures hopefully coming later...

Warmup:

400 Free
8 x 50 w/ long fins "core kick" @ 1:00
(800/800)

6 x 200 Free Pull @ 4:00 Desc. 1-3, 4-6

• went 2:15/2:10/2:03
• then 2:14/2:10/2:02

(1200/2000)

16 x 50 IM Order (4 Rounds of Fly/Back/Breast/Free) @ 1:15

• Round 1: 3 SDKs on Fly/Back/Free, 3 sec. hold on the streamline phase of the Breast
• Round 2: 5 SDKs " ", 4 sec. hold " "
• Round 3: 7 SDKs " ", 5 sec. hold " "
• Round 4: 9 SDKs " ", 6 sec. hold " " + did a bonus Backstroke on this one 'cause some people didn't do it right...majorly

(850/2850)
Not bad overall...brings back memories of the good ol' college IM days that I remember. I usetacould do a 200 Back w/ 15Meter SDKs, but that takes work that I'm not willing to do at this stage of my career.

3 x Broken 100s @ 3:00 w/ :10 rest between 25s Choice Stroke
Did Free - :53, :53, :52
400 EZ Cooldown
(700/3550)

John split off the Age Group Sectional kids to the deep tank for some EZer stuff, while he beat the hell out of the rest of us:
8 x 100 Free @ 1:30 Max Rest
(went 1:01/:02/:02/:02/:04/:03/:02/:00) I was hurting in the middle, but brought it back home strong
(800/4350)

Everyone together again:
16 x 50 SDK w/ long fins @ 1:00 Odds EZ/Evens Fast
Last one was a :29
(800/5150)
I had fun with the long fins...I finally got around to purchasing some of my very own too...tired of getting my @ss kicked while using my short fins all the time.

500 EZ and out

--------------------------
5650 Yards

That was just what I needed today. Back to the grindstone...somewhat. A little bit of speed, a little bit of endurance, but felt really good. I really like training with our team...doing the longer rest/higher quality repeats...rather than slugging away at rep after rep of low rest distance like the old days.


---------------------------------------

Only 4 more days till I get outta the U.S. as well, on our family trip to El Salvador to visit my wife's hometown, live the life for a week, and make it home...FAST.

Tonight was more of a splash around day. There were only 5 kids that came to the practice. Due to a calendar change mix up, 4 others showed up at the earlier time slot with the other group...so they swam then.

It was a really laid back practice...set up by John for the kids tapering for Sectionals next week...though the 5 of us there were not going to Sectionals. Oh well, it was nice to go easy, and fast too.


Warmup:

800 (25 Free/25 Back/25 V-sit Scull/25 Free)
(800/800)

16 x 25 SDK w/ short fins underwater @ 1:00
(400/1200)

3 x Broken 200s @ 6:00 w/ :15 rest between each 50 - Do Major Strokes

• 1st Fly - broken ~2:10
• 2nd Fly - broken ~2:07
• 3rd IM - broken ~2:13

(600/1800)

3 x 200 (50 EZ Drill/50 EZ Swim) @ 4:30
(600/2400)

16 x 25 @ 1:00 Choice/Major Strokes (1 EZ/1 Build/1 AFAP)
did all Free - had fun with these
200 EZ
(600/3000)

THere was another 30 minutes of stuff on the board, but I chose to get out and get some rest for my work in the morning. Overtime is good, and I'll get it when I can!

--------------------------
3000 Yards

GTD is catching up with me slowly with all these taper workouts lately. I need to get cranking back up again soon, even though I've only got 7 days left till my trip out of the country.

John is gone to Federal Way for Sr. Sectionals Championships, where I guess Missy Franklin is heating up the pool. My two teammates swam well today. Hannah went a 52.1 to place 38th in the women's 100 Free. Top 32 make finals. She was just 3 tenths off from her high school state time, so that was good. Jared swam a 200 Breast today and got a best time of 2:15. Not bad for a just turned 15 year old. Congrats to both of them. They'll be swimming an event each day all weekend.

So we had a substitute coach today. It was our Novice coach, who is also the masters coach, so it was nice to see her. As far as coaching the practice groups...it was kind of like I remember when we had a substitute teacher in school. Hectic as hell. We were divided into 3 groups: The sectional tapering kids from both groups (in 2 lanes), the leftover Black Group (in 1 lane), and the White Group (in 3 lanes).
I was in the Black Group lane. We had 6 people in there of varying ability levels, but mixed well enough, did a :02-:03 sendoff between people. I didn't push things as hard as I normally do, just to keep the chaos to a minimum.

Warmup:

500 Free
2 x 200 "IM" (25 Str./25 Free) @ 3:30
8 x 50 Choice @ 1:15 EZ/Fast by 25s
(1300/1300)

3 x 200 @ 1:00 rest - I started the 1:00 from the 2nd person in the lane, to be fair to the group.

• 1st 200 is EZ Free (2:25ish)
• 2nd 200 Free Pull (2:20ish)
• 3rd 200 Fast Free (2:15)

(600/1900)

10 x 100 SDK w/ short fins @ 1:30 (ranged 1:16-1:20)
(1000/2900)

2 x 300 @ 6:00

• 1st Free (3:30)
• 2nd IM (3:55)

200 EZ
200 Free Drill (did 3 stroke breathing) w/ Sun Yang 3 breaths on first 3 strokes off turns as well. Fun to "play"
(1000/3900)

6 x 100 Fast Free @ 2:00 (went 1:02s)
(600/4500)

200 EZ

-----------------------------
4700 Yards

Got out early for work in the morning again. I guess this is my last 4:00am morning, as they're going back to 8 hour days next week, so I'll get to sleep in and only have to start at 5:00am.

Warmup:

400 Free breathe every 5 (or 2 or 4, or 2/2/2/2/2/1)
400 Kick w/ long fins
400 Free Pull breathe every 5 (or whatever)
Masters just don't need to constrict their breathing IMO
(1200/1200)

16 x 75 SDK w/ long fins @ 1:30
4 Rounds of: EZ, Build by 25s, EZ, SPRINT
went :43s on the fast ones, :41 on the final one
(1200/2400)

4 x Broken 100s @ 3:30 w/ :10 between 25s
Did Free/Free/Free/Fly
Went :54/:53/:53/:57

200 EZ
(600/3000)

Sectional Kids went to the deep tank for some cross pool sprints or something, we did:
4 x 200 Fast, Max Rest, Choice of Stroke @ 4:00

• #1 - Free - went 2:06
• #2 - Fly - went 2:18 dying...this hurt at the end
• #3 - Free - went 2:12, still hurting from the fly
• #4 - Back - went 2:30

100 EZ
(900/3900)

1000 Free (50 EZ/50 Moderate) breathing every 3
I did a 500 and got out...gotta work at 4:00am again. I'm starting to get used to the minimal rest stuff now.

-----------------------------
4400 Yards

We started out with a small awards from the meet last weekend. It was a last chance qualifier meet for the Sectional Meet in 2 weeks. A few kids got some of their times for the meet.

Our group was split into 3 different workouts today. 2 kids super tapering for Sr. Sectionals this weekend, 9 semi-tapering for Sectionals in a week and a half, and 8 or so doing endurance based not-fun workout.
Luckily, I got put in with the kids tapering for Sectionals, even though I'd probably rather do the endurance workout, my body probably couldn't handle it right now anyway.
I don't mind taper time right now, especially with how tired I am. Let the kids taper, I'll join right in with them.


Warmup:

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

10 x 100 SDK w/ short fins @ 1:40 Odds EZ, Evens Fast
my fast ones I ranged from 1:10-1:14. I found if I came off the wall on my stomach or side vs. on my back, I could SDK further.
(1000/1600)

3 x Broken 200 Stroke @ 6:00 w/ :15 rest between 50s
I did Fly - 1st time in a long time that I've actually had the lane space to truly do fly in practice.
Went Broken ~2:07, ~2:05, ~2:06
I wasn't exactly all out, but it was a strong pace and felt good.

200 EZ
(800/2400)

10 x 50 Stroke Drill Choice @ 1:30
Did Fly, 3-3, 2-2, 1-1, then Full Stroke to end
(500/2900)

10 x 25 from the middle @ 1:00 working on fast good turns
(250/3150)

6 x 25 ALL OUT Choice @ 1:00 - did Free
(150/3300)

400 EZ

-----------------------
3700 Yards

I'm still doing these crazy hours at work this week, and probably again next week. I started this morning at 3:30am, which came early after daylight savings time too...then I worked a 12 hour day as well. I did finish off last week with 54.5 hours, which will be nice on Wednesday, and I can look forward to it again for a couple more weeks...then our trip to El Salvador for some much needed R&R.

I swam the first 35-40 minutes of practice tonight on my own. We had a guy from USA Swimming who came to visit our team, and give a talk to the kids and then to the parents. I asked John if I could just get in and swim on my own since I was leaving early. I've already done the USA stuff once, and don't need to learn any more on Round 2...at least not tonight.

SOLO
Warmup:

400 Free
300 Free Pull
200 Flutter Kick w/ board
100 Free w/ 2,3,4,5 SDKs off walls, increasing 1 each length
(1000/1000)

My Main Set: Not kicking!

100 Free Pull @ 1:30 (went 1:10)
200 Free Pull @ 2:30 (went 2:15)
300 Free Pull @ 3:30 (went 3:22)
200 Free Pull @ 2:30 (went 2:20)
100 Free Pull @ 1:30 (went 1:15)
I backed off a bit on the way down at the end...

1:00 rest

200 IM Strong Pace (about 85-90% effort) went 2:26

100 EZ
(1200/2200)

300 SDK w/ long fins
slight calf cramping
(300/2500)

Joined by the kids now for "regular" workout...

"Warmup"
600 (25 Free/25 V-sit scull)
(600/3100)

12 x 100 SDK w/ fins @ 1:40 (odds EZ, evens Fast)
I did 3 of them, EZ, Fast (1:05), EZ
(300/3400)

---------------------------
3400 Yards


That's all folks...I gotta work at 4:00am all week long, so these late nights just aren't going to fly this week. Hitting the hay

Got up this morning and left about 5:30am, which was a 2 hour sleep in for me, so I was happy. At least I wasn't going to work, but I do have to go in on Sunday morning instead since I missed today for the meet. Work still has to get done.

There were about 60 people in the meet today, but it was spread out nicely on the total timeline, going from ~10:15am till 4:30ish pm when the final 1500 heat finished. I didn't space out the events too well though, doing the first 2, last 2, and one in the first 1/3 of the meet as well, in addition to 3 relays with my workout group. It was a good day of swimming, having over 3000 meters of racing in 8 races, plus all the warmups/cooldowns, and the 205 miles of driving each way to and from the meet.

200 IM - 2:25.27
30.04 / 38.23 / 43.72 / 33.28
My legs were just dead after the backstroke...during the breaststroke leg, I thought to myself "boy the 400 IM is going to hurt later".

400 Free - 4:33.08
30.80 / 33.73 (1:04.53)
34.91 / 35.13 (1:10.04)
35.17 / 34.99 (1:10.16)
34.55 / 33.80 (1:08.35)
Not too shabby. A few seconds slower than last fall, but this was a few heats after the 200 IM as well. At least it was split decently.

50 Free leadoff in the 200 Free Relay - 26.76
Pretty sure this is a SCM best time in the 50 for me.

200 Free - 2:08.01
29.44 / 32.18 / 33.29 / 33.10
This was a better swim than this meet last year, at least in terms of time. I got "dusted" (to use That Guy's words) by Larry Krauser, a 60 year old who just set the World Record in the 200 Free right next to me. He dusted me by 0.05 seconds, but did admit that I gave him a hell of a draft for the first 150 of the race.

100 Fly split in the 400 Medley Relay - 1:05.40
This was just fun with the team. I caught us back up after the neighboring relay left us in the breaststroke leg. Good thing our Wenatchee team has a flyer

200 Free leadoff in the 800 Free Relay - 2:19.40
I originally was going to do the 200 like normal, but my earlier time was good enough, so thought I'd do a 100 Split Request. Went a 59.30 UGH!! super tired!!, and then had to finish my leg as quickly as I could manage. Our team was going for the LMSC record as well. We did get that by about 5 seconds.

400 IM - 5:19.11
32.07 / 37.55 (1:09.62) - serious...I tried to go easy
43.37 / 42.85 (1:26.22)
46.19 / 46.56 (1:32.75)
35.40 / 35.12 (1:10.52)
I was just DEAD prior to this race. I didn't want to swim it, but did it anyway on sheer principle. You sign up for it, you swim it.

1500 Free - 18:19.46 - New LMSC Record

I was semi-dead tired prior to this one as well, and almost just fell into the pool off the blocks. We had no counters either (our fault for not trying to find one), but magically around lap 17 or so some numbers starting appearing in my lane! Thank you mystery person!! I wouldn't have been able to count the whole thing myself.
I just cruised alongside That Guy for the first 3-400 of the race. My UGHness starting wearing off, so I decided to pick up the pace a bit to see what happened, and I felt okay. I kept looking over to T.G. to see if he was coming, but didn't seem to want to. Around the 800, I tried giving another speed increase, and was still feeling good...slowly increasing my lead. 300 to go, one last speed increase. WAIT A MINUTE!!...cancel that. I'm fine at my 800 cruising speed. Finished the race and just hung on to the wall, glad to be against dry land again.

They had to input all the 1500 times manually as they decided to do a little reconfiguring at the last moment with the heats to combine them from 3 heats into 2. It was a good idea to save another 30 minutes for all of us, but no computerized splits on Meet Manager. I'll have to check the computer tape backup...
About the backup...(I'm sorry T.G.) I left the meet getting the meet manager backup file on my flash drive, but left the hard copies sitting on the desk in the office of the pool. I called the meet director on the way home and let her know that so she can save them for me. SOOOOOOO, both our 800 free split request times are still unknown, but they are in Coeur d'Alene.

Warmup:

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

Kicking...UGH, my legs are so dead from work...
16 x 25 SDK w/ short fins underwaters @ 1:00
All w/ short fins:
3 x 50 SDK @ :45 made them
3 x 50 SDK @ :40 made them
3 x 50 SDK @ :35 missed them. First one about :38, after that I just kicked.
Short fins help you, but they're not like long fins. With long fins I can kick too easy, but I like the feel of the short ones.
(850/1450)

3 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:45 went 1:05/1:06
3 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:35 went 1:03s
3 x 100 Free Pull @ 1:25 went 1:02/1:03
(900/2350)

28 x 25 @ 1:00 - 7 of each stroke in IM Order
EZ / Fast / EZ / Fast / EZ / Fast / Fast
(700/3050)

200 EZ

------------------------------
3250 Yards

Workout got done early so they could do the awards presentations for the kids Champs meet last weekend. I stuck around to support them and listen to how they did. The team was 3rd place overall, the 10 & Unders won the "high point" for the meet (they made a special classification for a team high point for the 10 & unders since they were timed finals only). We had one 12 year old girl get a high point award as well. Lots of times drops, lots of sectional qualifying times.

---------------------------

For other masters news: This weekend I will be heading to another meet in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Short course meters in a fairly new facility. It's a wall-to-wall 25 meter pool, so if anyone can get Jim Thornton to get registered, he has a few hours left online.
I'm swimming the 1st 2 events - 200 IM, and 400 Free...then skipping literally a couple events till the 200 Free. After that I wait around for the last 2 events of the meet: 400 IM, then finish with the 1500 Free. Luckily there are 15 people so far entered in the 1500, so that means at least 3 heats. I'll have about an hour of rest after the 400 IM, so all good. My only concern will be my lack of rest this whole week with my work schedule. I'm sure when the horn goes off, I'll be ready.