The FAF AFAP Digest

Swim/SCY/Solo:

600 various
4 x 50 scull w/agility paddles @ 1:15
50 EZ
8 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :40
50 EZ
4 x 540 caterpillar fly drill @ 1:10
8 x 50
odds = DPS free
evens = kick
100 EZ

Total: 1800


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up after finally getting a good night's sleep ... and was exhausted. Dunno, I guess the combo of re-starting weights and long course simultaneously does not agree with my body. Or maybe I shouldn't have done 4 long course workouts in a row. So I just did an EZ swim today. I can't get to Mason tomorrow bc of an eye appt, so I guess it will be SCY again. I hope I wake up with more energy.

Swim/LCM/Solo:

Warm up:

500 various
100 scull w/agility paddles
6 x 50 DPS free w/agility paddles @ 1:00
6 x 50 kick w/board & fins @ 1:00
100 EZ
4 x 25 shooter + 25 EZ @ 1:15
4 x 50 single arm fly
50 EZ

Main Sets:

8 x 100 w/fins @ 2:00, held 1:14-1:17 -- look, aerobic set!
odds = smooth backstroke
evens = backstroke kick
100 EZ
50 evil kick on back (felt a twang in the groin area. this happened last time I kicked on my back, so the experiment to try to improve the evil kick is ended)
50 EZ

4 x (50 fly @ 100 pace + 50 EZ)
-- breathed every other stroke
-- 29-30s
-- I forgot to count my strokes, but it is way way way more than the 13 strokes I took in my 50 fly in Indy
100 WZ

Total: 2950


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up (way too early for a soccer game) yesterday and felt like I was hit by a mac truck. I may have jumped back in too quickly after nationals. But I really felt like it was the weights + long course. I was useless all day. Managed to go Star Trek in the evening.

Today, it was packed at Mason with age groupers and life guard classes. The cold water at Mason does not really agree with my lungs and I can't stay UW as long. I would prefer the temp around 81-82. I'm so used to 84 that it feels really cold when I sit on the walls as we sprinters must.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed looking at my schedule for the next couple months -- some travel, grad party, prom, track meets, soccer tournaments, Lil Fort going away/birthday big bash, summer league swim & meets, a mommy visit, my meet, Lil Fort's nationals (assuming she qualifies). Yikes. Plus, I think I will start getting sad about leaving my house. We finished a bit of negotiation about the home inspection. Thankfully, these buyers didn't expect a state of the art modern foundation. They still haven't gotten an appraiser in and, if they don't have a written appraisal in our hands in 7 days, they will have waived that contingency.

Swim/LCM/Solo:

Warm up:

400 various
100 scull w/agility paddles
6 x 50 DPS free w/agility paddles @ 1:10
50 EZ
4 x 50 w/fins, 30+ shooter + 20- EZ kick @ 1:15
50 EZ

Main Sets:

5 x 30 burst + cruise, dolphin kick @ 1:00
50 EZ
5 x 30 burst + cruise, fast hands drills @ 1:00
100 EZ

4 x 50 w/fins + 150 EZ
1 = fly, 90%, 28 mid
2 = fly, AFAP, 27 flat
3 = back, AFAP, 29 flat
4 = breast, AFAP, 31

2 x
4 x 50 kick @ 150ish pace @ 1:15
-- 4 w/board & fins, 4 backstroke kick w/fins
-- held mostly 32s, couple 33s
100 EZ

50 EZ

Total: 3000


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I could really feel the power wheel rollouts and twisting exercises from yesterday! The kick set was also very ouchy. The length felt endless. I discovered one good thing about long course today -- I don't mind long course breaststroke bc I can see where I'm going. I realize this means my head isn't down, but still. I detest long course backstroke. My only focus event for Zones will be 50 fly. My other events are just filler.

It was lovely. The pool was practically empty; what a great place to practice. The only negative is the drive.

Taking the day off tomorrow. After Lil Fort's soccer game, I'm heading to the the PV Masters spring picnic.

I signed up for LCM Zones, just entered my recent best times. Hoping for a big rest between 100 back and 50 free. At least women swim before men, so that will help. Speaking of best times, whoa!, there was a TON of sandbagging at nationals.

Event Number	Gender	Distance	Stroke	Time	Date
3	Female	100 LCM	Back	1:15.90	06/22/2013
7	Female	50 LCM	Free	0:29.29	06/22/2013
13	Female	50 LCM	Back	0:32.43	06/22/2013
41	Female	50 LCM	Breast	0:39.15	06/23/2013
47	Female	50 LCM	Fly	0:30.47	06/23/2013
49	Female	100 LCM	Breast	1:29.10	06/23/2013

Drylands:

RC/scap ex, 15 min
russian twist on incline w/25 lb plate, 2 x 25
leg abductors, 100 x 3 x 8
overhead squats, 45 x 2 x 8
good mornings, 55-65 x 3 x 8
alternating hammers w/15 lb DBs, 2 x 25
cable twist w/yoga ball, 40 x 2 x 12 each side
low row negatives, 70 x 2 x 8
power wheel roll outs, 2 x 15
knee tucks jumps, 10
med ball slams, 10
foam rolling, 5:00


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hit the gym today because I needed a break from the pool, as I'd been in 10 consecutive days. I kept it low volume and low weight since I haven't been to the gym in 4 1/2 weeks. Will go to Mason again tomorrow.

Other thoughts from Nats:

1. I hated the stair situation at Indy. Why did we have to walk a mile to sit in the grandstand? Should be a shortcut to get up and down.
2. Why were there no announcers until a little bit on day 3? I really enjoyed that in Greensboro and missed it in Indy.
3. My breakouts are a problem. I'm hoping I can go off the blocks at Mason without the lifeguards yelling.
4. My flutter kick looked better in the 50 free than other swims. Going to carry on with some slow arms/fast feet 25s and 50s.
5. Rich Abrahams examined my knees and pronounced them hyperextended. Apparently, this is good for kicking. A nice match for my double jointed elbows, loosey goosey shoulders and floppy ankles.
6. My open turns are kinda slow. I'm not spinning around very fast. I wonder if that's because I'm doing so many turns in practice with fins?
7. If I'm going to carry on with my chard habit and get that sponsorship, I need to stop my late night snacking. Shouldn't be doing both!
8. There is not a single long course meet in the PV MD area this summer. Hopefully, this means Zones will be well attended. I was just trying to find a meet to pop in for a 100 back. Oh well.

Swim/LCM/Solo @ Mason

Warm up:

500 various
100 scull w/agility paddles
4 x 50 w/fins @ 1:15
-- 30 shooter + 20 EZ back kick
4 x 50 breast drills
-- kick w/buoy, carla drill, kick on back, 1 pull + 2 kick
-- kicking w/a buoy is worthless -- my heels are constantly breaking the surface
5 attempted crossover turns
-- very awkward
-- i think i managed a couple correctly
-- but i worry that i won't get much distance off the walls unless i'm doing them super fast
50 EZ

Main Sets:

3 x (50 w/fins @ 100 pace + 100 EZ) @ 3-4:00
1 = breast, 33
2 = back, 31
3 = free, 29

4 x (50 w/fins @ 95% + 150 EZ) @ 5:00
-- wasn't sure I could blast away 100% in a LCM pool
1 = flutter kick w/board & fins, 27 (felt like a looong way)
2 = breast, 31
3 = fly, 27
4 = backstroke kick (UW 35m), 25

recovery/technique set:
12 x 50 @ 1:15 w/agility paddles & fins
odds = 25 front scull + 25 DPS free
evens = DPS backstroke
50 EZ DAB

Total: 3000 m


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whoa, I was really tired after yesterday's first LCM workout. I tried to get a super night's sleep, but was foiled first by Teen Fort waking me up, then Lil Fort waking me up, and then the phone continuously ringing. Hopefully, I can snooze well tonight. I'm still tired from Nats and making up for sleep deprivation there. Still, I feel like I got in a very solid workout today. I worked on a narrower breast pull and my turnover did feel faster.

I was looking at the LCM Zones lineup. I have no idea how big the meet will be; usually CZ isn't very long. The Saturday lineup begins with 100 back, 200 breast, 50 free ... If I swim 100 back, will I have time to recover for the 50s? Can't decide. I may sign up for 100 and see what the timeline is like.

Meet videos:
50 back: http://coverage.takeitlive.tv/Other/...2876&k=kGh6K5v
50 fly: http://coverage.takeitlive.tv/Other/...6764&k=6NgJ2Tq

Swim/LCM/Solo:

600 various
4 x 50 scull w/agility paddles @ 1:10
8 x 50 DPS free w/agility paddles @ 1:10
50 EZ
12 x 50 kick w/fins @ 200 pace @ 1:00
-- 6 free (35-36)
-- 6 back (36-37, cramping issues)
50 EZ
6 x 50 single arm fly @ 1:10
50 EZ
8 x 50 DPS back w/agility paddles & fins @ 1:10
50 EZ
2 x (25 scull + :30 RI + 25 smooth fly + 25 EZ flutter kick)
-- tried fly w/agility paddles, still very awkward (32)
-- fly w/o paddles, cruise (30)
100 EZ

Total: 3100 m


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since Coach Cheryl (who I shared a lane with) said the pool would be LCM right after nationals, I wasted no time in going! It felt long, but not horrifically long. Still did a mostly recovery workout with nothing fast. Hopefully, I will be ready tomorrow for at least some 100 pace work.

Tips for improving breast collected from nats thread. Maybe I can work on these on a recovery/technique day.

1. evil kick on back, knees not breaking surface
2. eggbeater kick
3. evil kick w/buoy right above knees
4. breast pull w/flutter kick for turnover
5. breast alternate fly pull and evil pull (sounds awkward)
6. hip thrust -- no idea what this is about
7. narrower pull

Way way more importantly, Patrick insists I need to learn the back to breast crossover turn. I look at videos of these and get dizzy and confused. Does someone have a 5 step to do list for this turn? This is definitely something I can see trying to learn.

Swim/SCY/Solo:

600 various
5 x 50 front scull w/agility paddles -- Wook, I like this for DPS too
50 EZ flutter kick
10 x 50 w/fins & agility paddles @ 1:00
odds = DPS free
evens = DPS back
50 EZ flutter kick
4 x 50 caterpillar fly drill @ 1:10
8 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :490
50 EZ flutter kick
100 smooth free

Total: 2000


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Made it to the rec center for a post nationals recovery swim. I don't feel quite as horrible as I usually do after a multi day meet, though I am certainly tired. I'm going to jump right back into training though, with LCM Zones so close. I am heading to Mason shortly because they have switched to LCM. I have 4 weeks to train before doing a 2 week taper. I can't decide if I should go back to the gym or not ... I may not. I'm going to be really really busy the next month with Teen Fort graduating, Lil Fort's going away party, spring racing season, soccer tournaments, etc. Last night was Lil Fort's last USAS practice. Kinda sad, but she can't keep doing 3 sports and swimming is the one to go with the move. She's a good little fly/free swimmer, but she is a vastly better runner and wants to focus more on that.

Yesterday was the third day of a great meet for me. Nationals have been somewhat difficult for me as of late (labral tear, elbow tear, insomnia, power outages, etc.) But this meet I was healthy, uninjured and got at least a semblance of shut eye. And it really paid off with 6 PRs, 3 NRs and near misses on 2 other NRs.

Day 3:

I felt pretty good during warm up, just some leg fatigue. By day three, when you're UW 15 meters for all your races, leg fatigue is inevitable.


100 back, 1:01.30, PR, Missed NR by .01:

I'm not gonna lie. I looked up at the time and was a little heartbroken. I would rather have swum a 1:01.5. My splits were good -- 29.3 & 31.9. But I didn't have the leg power on the second 50, especially the last 25, and that cost me. My turns were a little glidey (2 strokes before flipping) and my entry on my start could have been cleaner. I let myself be disappointed during my warm down and then shrugged it off. The time was still a PR and I have been the beneficiary of a .01 swing on other occasions. Plus, it will still be the AA time this year since Karlyn swam a 1:01.7 earlier this year. I knew swimming this on day 3 wouldn't be ideal, so I will have to figure out when and where to swim it rested. Certainly keeps me hungry! And I am encouraged since I still feel like my 100 training wasn't ideal this season.

Here's a vid that Stud took with a nice "dammit" at the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXsOI...ature=youtu.be



50 free, 24.67, PR/NR

I used to dislike the 50 free. But since it occurred to me that I could try SDK-ing on the start, I like it more and may start swimming it more often. I had a tad slow reaction time compared to my other swims. I took 11 kicks on the start and from the vid it looks like that took me to about 13 meters. Then, I took 9 rather than my usual 5-6 on the turn. My breakouts didn't look great (lack of access to blocks). My flutter kick/leg drive looked really solid until right at the end. I was thrilled with the time! I knew 1980 Olympian Sue Walsh had swum a 24.7 last month, so knew I had to improve on my Zones time of 24.86. Really happy with this for the final event of a 3 day meet. Ellen and Stud took vids. I think that is Teen Fort screaming at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiKcA...ature=youtu.be

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Best event: 50 fly
Most Frustrating event: 100 back

Here's a couple other vids from the meet:

50 back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW0X0F4sgMo

50 fly vid:
https://www.facebook.com/leslie.livi...40?ref=tn_tnmn
-- shows a total of 13 strokes and a glidey turn

100 IM vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7jNS...ature=youtu.be
-- no SDK on breast to free turn
-- did not need that breath inside the flags


Battle Plan:

I'm going to reboot for LCM Zones in late June. I'll be moving in late July, so July and August I will likely not be as laser focused on swimming. And I have to find a place to train in Pitt. As for next SCY season, I will not go to Santa Clara -- shallow outdoor pool. I may focus on the Harvard SCY meet and Colonies Zones SCY instead. Onward!

Teen Fort did not have a great meet. She didn't taper enough. But she ended with a great race in the 200 breast, taking the win in the final 5 yards. She hadn't swam that race since age 14. Funny, that her best race was the 200 breast and mine was the 50 fly! She did enjoy the experience and meeting lots of masters. I think she will talk up masters swimming in college next year and she may swim at LCM Nats at U of Md next summer.

Had a fantastic time at the form/stalker dinner last night, meeting lots of new folk. One of them (same age) actually has a son the same year same college as Fort Son. Small world. Had a semi decent nights sleep for a traveling insomniac. The only am emergency was that Teen Fort lost a contact in the am and hadn't brought any replacements. Ack. I've learned the hard way to pack extras after swimming a one eyed day at Zones one year. In any event, I had a great day two and am so excited I fear I wont fall asleep.

50 fly, 25.70, NR/PR

I really thought that I would not swim faster than Zones where I had perfect walls. In fact, I had a wager on it. But I decided to use my nose clip for the first time in fly and took an extra kick on the second length. That and a little more rest allowed me to shave off .2. I did have a slight glide at the turn. The ever witty Ellen took a vid (thx!) and I counted 13 strokes. I didn't quite take the whole 30 meters UW, but was fairly close. Comparing vids, I can see my DPS has improved in fly since Greensboro; it felt long and powerful. Very happy about that swim.


100 IM, 1:02.3, PR

I hadn't swum the 100 IM in SCY in 2 years and never at nationals, so was a tad nervous. But very caffeinated! I missed the NR by .2 and it was all in my breast to free turn. I glided in and then, brain fart, didn't SDK off the wall. Maybe my legs where telling my brain they were done. I wanted at least a body length lead at the 50, and went out n 27.7 (12 + 12 SDK). Fast, but it didn't feel excessive. Did not have a particularly speedy evil leg, and lost some ground there to a real evilstroker. But my free leg was fairly solid and I pulled away a bit at the end. So psyched about the time! A PR by 2 seconds.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Really hoping for some sleep tonight. Tomorrow 100 back and 50 free. It could be the first nationals ever where I don't scratch an event. . The speedy Water Rat beat me to it!

Yes it is! It is sprinters day 1!

50 back, 27.04, NR

Great first event for me. My first event at Nats isn't always my best, so I was glad to see this time. Execution was good except I was too close to the wall on my turn. It didn't effect me materially, but might have made the .05 difference in getting under 27. Still extremely pleased. This event is clearly my baby with a 4.5 winning margin. I felt like I had a fast reaction time. But that doesn't seem to be listed in the results. I did really jam my finger on the finish, which required ice and 4 ibuprofen.


50 evil, 32.80, PR, 2nd

Really pleased with the time, but my execution was iffy. I dove in and took my bloody time taking my dolphin kick. And I had to short stroke both walls. I pulled ahead on the UW off the wall, but Kim Crouch tracked me down, out touching me by .02. I've never beaten her in yards. My turnover looked slow on the vid too (in complete contrast to my other strokes). Breaststroke is the most aggravating, unsightly, frustrating, bizarre stroke. And hence I am completely happy with my fake evil time!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Day 1 is in the books and went very well. Teen Fort won her 50 evil so we are mommy daughter national champs. Now off to forum dinner!

800 EZ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our new Arena Mark 2 suits arrived today. Relief! And no acid green or white! Just a nice dark gray. Teen Fort and I went to get pedicures and are all set to go. Just hope the flight goes smoothly. I sort of feel like Water Rat -- ready or not here I come. I've definitely had much less rest than I did before NE Champs bc I've been so busy.

Good luck everyone!

Swim/SCY/Solo

600 various
50 scull
6 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :40
4 x 25 in & outs
50 EZ
3 x 50 burst + cruise
50 EZ
1 x 25 @ 100 pace + 75 EZ

Total: 1250


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am suffering from Arena Carbon Pro Stress Disorder. I feel somewhat better after I talked to Olympian Nelson Diebel in person just now to confirm that new suits for Teen Fort and me will arrive via Fed Ex by tomorrow am. So far, I am very impressed with Arena's response to the problem. If they continue to handle this gracefully without worrying overly much about their bottom line, they will have built a lot of customer goodwill. I can't wait to try out the Mark 2! Though the ACPSD will not abate until they are actually in my hands. I am taking Lil Fort to the gym to run, so I will do some RC/scap work there.

Got this very nice note from Tim McCool:

Leslie,

This is Tim McCool. I am the VP GM in charge of Arena North America. I want to personally wish you good luck. I also want to apologies for the stress you’ve endured as a result of our suit. We did not intend for this mishap, but we are doing everything possible to correct the problem and our utmost to try to make this as pain free as humanly possible on our valued athletes.

Again, best of luck, and thank you so much for your passion and support of Arena.



Oh no! I forgot to ask what colors the suits were. Now I have to stress about acid green or white.

Swim/SCY/Solo:

600 various
2 x 50 front scull
8 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :40
50 EZ
3 x 50 burst + cruise
50 EZ
1 x 25 @ 100 pace + 75 EZ
50 EZ

Total: 1300


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing like hearing your suit from Nationals has been banned to start the taper bitchies! Could the timing be any worse? At first, I thought my carbon pro (used one day at NE Champs) would be outside the ban since I purchased it last October. But no, it has the banned bar code. Oddly, a carbon pro suit I purchased in Feb 2012 (my very first one) also has the offending code, though it is outside the time frame Arena mentions. I've worn that suit a ton, so no worries there, though I would have continued to wear it at local meets. I can't really rely on my fairly new Speedo LZR with the hole (which I wore at Zones). I have other really old LZRs, but would only wear them at local meets. Teen Fort's brand new suit is also banned. I emailed Jamie at Arena USA with our sizes, colors, models. I'm hoping they will put some aside for us. It makes me nervous having to rely on people getting it right in Indy without a back up plan. I have a LZR on hold and may just go get it tomorrow, though I assume Speedo will be selling them in Indy.

Teen Fort already has the taper bitchies. She's nervous about swimming her first 200 breast since she was 14.

Happily, we did sign a full price contract on our house. I am just hoping the inspection/appraisal process goes more smoothly this time. No one could be as whacko crazy as our first prospective buyers though.

3 more days!

Swim/SCM/Solo:

500 various
4 x 50 scull
2 x 50 torque drill
50 EZ
6 x 50 burst + cruise
50 EZ
10 x 25
odds = up tempo free
evens = EZ
150 EZ

Total: 1550m


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Didn't swim yesterday. Been really busy with house things and frantic cleaning. Our house was the featured house in our local NoVa mag on Wed. and that generated some showings the last few days. We are apparently about to get a full price offer. And a couple from Chicago is flying in just to see the house and want to make a cash offer. The latter would be better for us since the appraisers don't know what to do with our house. There is nothing comparable. Fingers crossed that all goes well and one of these works out. The good thing about the house being on the market is I don't fret, our even think much, about taper!

My allergies have really been bothering me, but I am not descending into sinus infection territory.

Swim/SCY/Solo:

Warm up:

400 various
4 x 50 fly drills @ 1:10
4 x (25 scull + 25 free) w/agility paddles @ 1:10
8 x 25 back shooters w/fins @ :40
50 EZ
4 x (25 free w/slow arms & fast feet + 25 EZ DAB)
50 EZ

Main sets:

6 x 25 burst + cruise
75 EZ
2 x (25 back from the blocks @ 100 pace + 75 EZ)
-- 14 lows
75 EZ
10 x 25
odds = up tempo free w/fins
evens = EZ
50 EZ
100 scull

Total: 2200


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did a slightly modified version of taper workout #4 from the HIT forum: http://forums.usms.org/showthread.ph...Non-Taper-Sets

I've been tapering 5 days now and my legs are definitely still tired. But it's almost time to do virtually nothing. :-)

The depth on my backstroke starts is still sort of inconsistent. But I had a really deep one when I went 27.2 last weekend, so I won't fret over it. In fact, I think I will be pretty laid back about the 50 fly and 50 back at Nationals bc I posted such fast times (for me) at Zones. If I don't go any faster, no worries! The two events I'm most focused on are 100 back and 50 free. I wish they weren't the last day ... Ah well.

Who is up for a forum dinner on Friday night: Here is a possible restaurant: http://www.palomino.com/

Did "workout" #3 from the HIT forum:

600 various
4 x 50 scull @ 1:15
5 x 50 EZ backstroke @ 1:00
5 x (25 shooter + 25 EZ) @ 1:15
5 x EZ free @ 1:00

Total: 1550


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think I have only a couple days left of tapering in me before I start getting really antsy. I really hate the last week of taper. And it's already time to register for the next meet -- LCM Zones in Richmond Jun 22-23. http://www.usms.org/comp/event.php?M...0130622CZChmpL. I need to work on some arm endurance for that meet.

Swim/SCY/Solo:

Warm up:

500 choice
4 x 50 scull w/agility paddles @ 1:15
6 x 25 shooters @ :40
50 EZ

Speed Sets:

4 x (4 x 25) @ 1:00/1:10/1:20
1st 25 = burst + cruise
2nd 25 = burst + cruise
3rd 25 = EZ
4th 25 = @ 100 pace (2 back, 2 free)
50 EZ between each round

4 x 25 in & outs w/fast free flip
200 EZ

4 x (25 AFAP + 75 EZ) @ 4:00
-- 2 back from the blocks, 13s
--2 free w/fins from a push, 10 lows
200 EZ
100 scull

Total: 2500


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did a slightly modified version of taper workout #2 from the HIT forum:
http://forums.usms.org/showthread.ph...547#post286547

Here are official results from Colonies Zones:
http://www.patriotmasters.org/Colonies.2013.Results.htm

A couple pics of Teen Fort and me and one of our mixed 200 medley relay. A fellow swimmer commented of our relay pic, "why are there midgets in the middle of the swimmers?"

Attached Thumbnails

   

Swim/SCY/Solo:

Warm up:

550 various
4 x (25 scull + 25 torque drill) w/paddles @ 1:15
50 EZ
4 x 50 double shooters w/fins @ 1:30
100 EZ

Main Sets:

8 x 25 burst + cruise @ 1:00
100 EZ
4 x 25 in & outs, fast free flip
50 EZ
1 x 50 @ 100 pace
-- backstroke from the blocks, 30 mid, cramped
-- I can dolphin kick through cramps, but not flutter kick
200 EZ
4 x 25 in & outs, backstroke @ 100 pace with race finish
100 EZ
2 x (25 AFAP + 75 EZ) @ 4:00
-- free from a dive off the side on the top, 12 highs
-- could feel I was bouncing, need a bigger kick
50 EZ
2 x (50 AFAP w/fins + 200 EZ)
-- fly (23 mid), breast (27 mid)
100 scull

Total: 2850


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did a variation of workout #1 from the HIT forum: http://forums.usms.org/showthread.ph...Non-Taper-Sets. Couldn't remember it exactly; did some extra speed work inadvertently. 11 days to go!

Gym:

20 minutes of RC/scap ex
20 minutes of stretching/foam rolling

Swim/SCY/Solo

600 various
8 x 50 /agility paddles
Odds= front scull @ 1:10
evens = free
50 EZ
8 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :40
100 EZ

Total: 1350


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

Just loosened up today. Getting back on the HIT taper schedule tomorrow.

Swim/SCY/Solo:

Warm up:

600 various
6 x (25 front scull + 25 free) w/agility paddles @ 1:05
50 EZ
8 x 25 shooters w/fins @ :40
50 EZ

Main sets:

8 x 25 SDK burst + cruise w/fins @ 1:00
100 EZ
4 x 25 free burst + cruise @ 1:00
100 EZ

4 x 25 in & outs, fast free turn
50 EZ
4 x 25 in & outs back turn @ 100 pace
100 EZ

5 x (25 flutter kick w/board & fins @ 100 pace + 25 EZ) @ 1:15
-- 11 high-12 flat
100 EZ

5 x (25 AFAP w/fins + 75 EZ) @ 3:00
-- 3 free (10 lows), 2 breast (12-13)
100 EZ

2 x broken AFAP 100s w/fins + 200 EZ
-- 25s @ :30
-- backstroke kick, 43
-- IM, 44 (very fast for me)
100 scull

Total: 3700


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last hard workout before I start my nationals taper! I've swum 9 days in a row, so tomorrow will be an off day. I feel like I successfully bumped it up this week after resting hard last week. I've never tried this approach before Nationals before, but I'm confident I will be fine.

I liked what Kevin Doak had to say in Swimmer's Center Lane feature -- you'll get faster by doing lots of 12.5s @ 1:00 with "platinum speed." I've done a lot more of these since I started writing the HIT workouts and feel it's made a big difference for me.

My parachute is really shot. The cord ripped and I retied it, but now it's short and my feet hit it sometimes. So I decided to invest in the drag fly: http://www.dragandfly.net/. Here's a goswim vid on what you can do with it: http://www.goswim.tv/entries/6788/equipment---dragfly.html