Monday 12/24 AM only Crossfit "The Nightmare before Christmas" The following is done just like the "12 Days of Christmas" song, start at 1, then do 1 and 2, then 1 and 2 and 3, etc. For time: 1 knees to bar 2 tire jumps 3 clean + squat (75 lbs) 4 clean + press (75 lbs) 5 dips 6 goblet squats (45 lb kettle bell) 7 flutter kicks (on each leg) 8 kettle bell swings (45 lb bell) 9 hand stand push-ups 10 heel clicks (think Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz) 11 pull-ups 12 dumbbell clean + press (25 lb dumbbell 1 arm at a time) Results: 39:59
Can't decide if I'm grumpier because I have to work today (why can't medical people take off ever?!) or if it's because the pool didn't even open until 7:30, which meant I had to get out at 8:30, and so got in a rather short distance. In other words, I was just starting to get warmed up when I had to get out!! Here's what he had us do: 600 back/free 600 P 600 reverse IM 6 x 100 K on 2:00 (w/zoomers) 100 easy 600 steady state w/fins and paddles (had to rest for 15sec after 300) 100 easy Total: 3200 LCM **Totally hate steady state w/fins & paddles - it is so bloomin' exhausting!! Merry Christmas Everyone!!
SCY@Catalina Isle Community HOA Pool (1 Length/12.5 yards) Air temp of 60, pool at 77, 100% water clarity. Cloudy skies with humidity at 65% Warm Up 200 yds FR *Set 1* 1x1000 FR, each 4th 25 Strong *Set 2* 4(125 Kick RI 125 Swim, desc by 25 each 125) FR 100 EZ 4(125 Kick RI 125 Swim, desc by 25 each 125) BR 100 EZ 4(125 Kick RI 125 Swim, desc by 25 each 125) FLY 100 EZ *Set 3* 4(125 Scull RI 125 FR Swim, desc by 25 each 125) w/Snorkel 100 EZ *Set 4* 3(4x25 Sprint on :40 sec rest) 1:00 rest at 4, 8 1 round each, Fly, BR, FR 200 FR warm down Comments The Fort Myers Aquatic Center (SCY) will be open 12/26-27, and on 12/28 to 1/4/13 FGCU is open at various hours for LCM. Seasons Greetings to all!
At the beginning of October I set myself a weight loss goal of 33 lbs which equated to a drop from 223lbs to 190lbs by Christmas. I have been using myfitnesspal app on my iPad and have been working out 3-5 times a week. I have dropped consistently and at the big weigh in today after practice weighed in at 189lbs. Onto the next phase of my journey which is weight maintenance and being competitive swimming again.
So today was a fun day. We did a derivative of the 12 days of christmas(no not the 9100 yd set from yester year but a shorter more fun set). 1 x 50 free 2 x 25 back 3 x 25 no breathers 4 x squats 5 x starts 6 x 12.5 all out 7 x 2 handed breast turns 8 x 25 breast 9 x flip turns 10 x 25 kick free 11 x sdk off the bottom of the pool 12 x 25 fly This was done like the song, 1, 1 2, 1 2 3, ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Everyone else stopped after an hour and 1.15 but I kept going and finished in about 1 1/2 hrs. Not a long yardage set but a lot of in and out of the pool and wasted time heading back to the center of the pool for the breast turns. Despite all this I really enjoyed the set. We swam length wise between the blocks and bulkhead today which meant getting in and out was a big effort. It's always fun to see the younger guys struggling.
Swam w/ Dave, Dave, Dave, Ray and Aundrey. Hurting bad today. Fly was completely unappealing. I tried some IM but mostly stuck w/ free. SCY 300 Warm up 4 x 125 - 1:45 (did 1:25-1:30) 50 Easy 4 x 125 - 2:00 (did 1:24-1:28) 50 Easy 5 x 100 IM - 1:30 (did 1:20-1:25) 50 Easy 5 x 100 Free - 1:45 (1:08s, 1:04 on last one) 50 Easy 6 x 75 Pull - 1:00 (:47-:48) 50 Easy 6 x 75 Free - 1:30 (??) 50 Easy 7 x 50 - :45 (:35s) 50 Easy 7 x 50 - 1:00 (underwater sdk down, easy back) 50 Easy 4 x 25 Free - :20 (1st 25 no breath) 4 x 25 Fly - :30 (1st 25 no breath <- ouch!) 4 x 25 Bk - :40 (1st 25 no breath <- couldn't do this but I made the 3rd one on breath) 4 x 25 Br - :50 (1st 25 no breath) 300 Backstroke pull 200 Cool down (5200 total)
Today I enjoyed a very fun swim in the gulf. It was an overcast day, with a brisk wind out of the southeast, and air temps in the mid-50s. The gulf had been calm in the morning, but was developing some rolling wind-induced waves as I was getting prepared to swim in the early afternoon. I got ready up at the condo, then wore just my suit and parka down to the sand. Once there, I quickly put on my cap and goggles and headed into the surf. One of the difficult things about swimming here on cold days is that you have to go past the first sandbar to swim at all. So you head into the cold water, brave it up to your thighs to chest, depending on where the tide is, then reemerge into the cold blustery air as you walk over the sandbar (usually less than knee deep) before getting to water that is reliably deep enough to swim in. To top it off, that first water you hit is usually quite cold—I’d estimate mid-50s or so today. Once past the sandbar, though, the water gets deep enough to plunge into and swim, and is also warmer as well (the shallower water is more affected by air temps). So the getting-in portion of my swims, which is drawn-out and tortured enough at Brighton, is probably even worse down here. But once I was out past the sandbar and stroking along, the water was fairly comfortable—probably low- to mid-60s. I swam east towards the nearest beach flag, a little over a half-mile away. At first, swimming into the wind, I felt like I was being battered by chop, and resigned myself to a difficult trip out. But after about 100 yards I relaxed and began to enjoy the ocean tossing me around, and eventually felt like I was playing with the water rather than swimming against it. Often I get skittish down here swimming by myself. Today I sometimes felt uneasy, but I did a good job of telling myself to just put my head down and swim, and of minding those instructions. The water was very clear, and I could see the white sandy bottom the whole way. It sloped off to the right, and I alternated between wanting to swim further out to see what was there (nothing but more furrowed sandy bottom, as it turned out), and longing to head closer to shore where I felt more secure. (Further out also meant warmer and less bumpy water, so there were multiple incentives to conquer my skittishness.) I think I zigzagged more than usual out to my turnaround point. The way back was easy, with waves pushing me from behind, although I had to be careful they didn’t push me too far in. I could see people walking along the beach, and watched the familiar buildings pass by as I headed back to my starting place. I saw no signs of wildlife other than the funnel-shaped outcroppings that mark the entrances to tunnel shrimp burrows. At one point when I had gotten a little close to shore I spotted something odd ahead, and stopped and walked carefully around it. It was a stray buoy, about 20 yards from shore, anchored by something buried underneath the sand—I didn’t dig down to see what. The buoy was bearded with algae, and at first glance I was worried that it was a dead bird floating in the waves. I’m glad it wasn’t. Soon I was back at my starting point. I floated a bit, and looked around, happy to be surrounded by the green-blue water that was reflecting the grayness of today’s sky. Then, feeling a bit chilled, I headed back up to the condo, where a pot of hot tea and a warm shower awaited. A couple of hours after my swim I walked the same stretch of beach, and found a single man-of-war washed ashore. I hope he’s not the advance scout for an invasion! I only see them when there’s sustained wind from the south, which there was today. Other wildlife sightings today included a great blue heron that flew in and perched on the beach right in front of the condo this morning. I love watching those ungainly creatures take off and land, and then delicately work their way along the strand.. Tomorrow is supposed to be very windy and stormy—I’m not sure if I’ll get to swim at all. That’s probably just as well, as I have a lot of cooking and prep to do for Christmas dinner. My relatives’ increasing age and frailty means that we’re no longer able to celebrate the holiday at the beach, but I’m proud that they still let me cook for them, even though that means hauling a dinner’s worth of food up to Alabama Tuesday morning. Today I cooked the eggbread for the dressing, and tomorrow’s weather looks perfect for finishing up the rest of Christmas dinner prep. Cue the carols!
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
Took my daughter to the pool today. She was going to help video some of my dives but her underwater camera and the stand wasn't cooperating. I'll have to try again later. SCY 200 Warm up 2 x 25 underwater SDK w/o fins. Never been able to do this before but I can make it fairly easily now. My underwaters aren't great but they are improving a lot. 100 yds of various stuff. Mostly splashing around w/ my daughter, blowing bubble rings and diving in the deep end w/ her. 1000 Fly (15:23) Couldn't resist the challenge floating around on the forums. 12 x 50 - 1:15 2 easy/2 hard sdk w/ fins down, easy back 100 yds various stuff 200 cool down (2250 Total)
Swim/SCY @ Mason: Had my own lane today and was able to modify quite a bit. Warm up: 1000, every 4th 50 kick 200 IM done 25 drill + 25 swim -- I did 900 with 12 shooters Main sets: 2 x (4 x 75 kick, no fins) @ 1:40 -- did all backstroke kick 1 = first 25 fast 2 = second 25 fast 3 = 3rd 25 fast (I did it all EZ) 4 = entire 75 fast extra rest after round 1 100 EZ 4 x 200 free or back w/paddles and fins @ 2:30 -- I did odds strong 200 free and evens EZ 100 flutter kick w/board to recover -- Teen Fort called me a slacker. She has yet to learn that so called "slacking" can make you faster. 100 EZ 4 x 150 IM, drop a stroke @ 3:00 -- No!!! I did 1 x 50 fly w/fins @ 100 pace + 1 x 50 EZ -- went 25s 100 EZ 8 x 25 odds = AFAP off block evens = EZ -- I did free. Cheryl got me at 11.6 each time. I skipped the 3rd one. 200 EZ Total: 3100 (with skipping a few things) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I really liked that practice. I got in some good speed work and was able to modify to my heart's content without disrupting a lanemate. I was particularly pleased with the 25 frees at the end. Even with the benefit of manual timing, those are fast 25s at the end of practice for me. My free feels very good lately, like I'm getting a good grip on the water. Had a deep tissue massage after and I am now mush. Going to have a lazy afternoon and then out to dinner with friends.
SCY@Catalina Isle Community HOA Pool (1 Length/12.5 yards) Air temp of 54, pool at 77, 100% water clarity. Partly cloudy skies with humidity at 56% Warm Up 200 yds FR *Set 1* 1x1000 FR desc to 80% by 250 1-4 *Set 2* 4(1x500 FR, 1x100 BR Kick) on :30 rest negative swim second 250 each 500 *Set 3* 4(1x250 FR, 1x100 BR Kick) on :30 rest each 250 as: 100 smooth, 100 strong, 50 fast *Set 4* 8x100 on :15 rest 1-3-5-7 dolphin kick w/board 2-4-6-8 sculling, 1 breath per length 10x25 FLY Sprint on :40 sec rest 200 FR warm down
Saturday 12/22 AM Crossfit and AM SCY Crossfit: ladder set (start w/ 5 reps of each exercise, then 4, then 3, all the way to 1) Double unders Turkish get-ups (w/ 30 lb sandbag) Dips Pull-ups Battle rope ( :30) Tire jumps AM swim: 600 swim 6x200 pull w/ buoy + paddles 1 @ 2:45 50 FR/50 BK 1 @ 2:30 FR D1-3 2x 4x50 @ :50 V.S. kick FR w/ board 4x100 @ 1:30 50 BK/50 FR 4x50 @ 1:00 AE kick (sidekick) 4x100 @ 1:20 V.S. swim 4x 4x25 @ :25 FAST FR kick w/ board 100 @ 2:00 FAST FR swim 200 EZ Total: 5200
I awoke with a marvelous idea for today’s solo workout--inspired by Ellen and James, I would try out That Guy’s IM Chasm of Doom. But after reviewing the set, and thinking that it really seemed like an awful lot of fly (duh!), I decided that I would tweak it to make it more Janet-suitable. The Total IM Eclipse was the result. The first half follows the Chasm, except for the friendlier intervals, but on the way back up the first obscured is the first to reappear, just like a lunar or solar eclipse. Air temps were in the low-40s when I arrived at the pool midmorning, and the wind was blowing strong, which made judging backstroke turns interesting—I had to subtract 1 stroke from my usual count on one end, and add one on the other. But the sun was brilliant, and I gloried in getting to swim outdoors, with a cloudless blue sky as my roof. Here’s how my workout went: 1000 scy warmup (400s, 200k, 200p, 200 IM d/s) Total Eclipse of the IM 200 IM 50 FL / 50 BK / 50 BR / 25 FR 50 FL / 50 BK / 50 BR 50 FL / 50 BK / 25 BR 50 FL / 50 BK 50 FL / 25 BK 50 FL 25 FL Masters minute (“the essence of the eclipse which was its perfect darkness”) 25 FR 50 FR 25 BR / 50 FR 50 BR / 50 FR 25 BK / 50 BR / 50 FR 50 BK / 50 BR / 50 FR 25 FL / 50 BK / 50 BK / 50 FR 200 IM for time [2:47] Intervals: I went on 1 second /yard + :10 on the way down, and on 1 second/yard on the way back up. 100 easy Kick set 50 FL kick 100 BK (50 K / 50 S) 150 BR (50 K / 50 S / 50 K) 200 FR (50 K / 50 S / 50 K / 50 S) Kicks were moderate fast, swims easy 8 x 200: Odds = FR pull with paddles Evens = FR/BK halfsies [Goal of this set was to work on breathing timing and earlier rotation, backstroke was easy reward for 300y of focusing.] 200 warmdown + play That was it! By the time I got out around noon the morning’s strong winds had died down, but it was still in the 40s. I ended up staying in longer than I had planned because the pool was so pleasant, and everyone who got out earlier seemed so cold. In the afternoon I played in the gulf. The water near shore was in the high-50s, but out just 50-75 yards or so it seemed a comfortable mid-60s. Since what wind there was was out of the north, the waves were tamped down, and the surface was almost glassy. I hope to swim in the gulf more over the next few days, since the pool will be closed until after Christmas.
A quick trip to the Y. 500 free 500 kick w/zoomers every 3rd lap fast 200 dolphin kick on back w/zoomers 6x100@1:30 free w/paddles & bout held 1:21 200 ez Total 2000 yards
Saturday: Recovery Swim 600 various 8 x 25 back shooters w/fins @ :40 50 EZ 8 x 25 belly shooters w/fins @ :40 50 EZ 8 x 25 right side shooters w/fins @ :40 50 EZ 5 x 50 caterpillar fly drill @ 1:10 50 EZ 5 x 100 DPS free w/agility paddles @ 1:45 50 EZ 5 x 100 DPS free w/agility paddles @ 1:45 100 EZ Total: 2800 Saturday: Drylands RC exercises, 15 min rear delt fly, 70 x 3 x 12 wrist curls, 45 x 2 x 12, 50 x 1 x 12 leg abductor, 110 x 4 x 8 good mornings, 80 x 3 x 8 cable twist w/yoga ball, 45 x 1 x 15 each side, 50 x 1 x 15 each side explosive leg press, 190 x 3 x 20 standing broad jumps, 10 knee tuck jumps, 10 altitude drops, 10 captains chair leg raises, 3 x 20 stretching/foam roller, 20 min +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Was too bushed after the Thursday night practice at Mason to do much on Friday. But got in a nice recovery swim. And I am going to attend yet another one tomorrow! Then I won't be able to make another one until the New Years practice. Not sure if I should go to that one or not. When I went a couple years ago, my shoulder was sore for 6 weeks. But it would be festive, and I could modify to add more kicking. Or skip bits. Meanwhile, while everyone is doing 100 x 100 or 50 x 100 or some such similar short rest calorie burning sets, I plan on assigning lots of 25s to my HIT folk. I am so ready for xmas. Gifts all purchased and wrapped, special xmas dinner food purchased and lots of goodies made.
Today was a distance day and I wanted to get in about 6000 at a low aerobic pace, so I thought why not go with another numerologically significant workout for 12/22/2012. I decided on 1200s. This was the plan: 5 x 1200 (1000 fr + 200 br) on 22:00. As it turns out, I came in on my first three 1200s around 20:30 or 20:40 and felt good, so I went on 21:00 instead of 22. After the fourth "rep," which came in at 20:47, I decided to start the last 1200 on 21:20 and finished it in about 21:10. My total time for the whole 6000 was 1:45:30. Considering the fact that 1000 of it was breaststroke, I'm pretty excited about this workout. I'm way ahead of where I was last spring when I was doing my build up to 10K and could only manage to hold a 20:00/1K (1100 SCY) pace for 5-6K... w/ my freestyle pace at 1:45-1:55 per 100; now that freestyle pace is at 1:40 falling off to 1:45 per 100 toward the end! I'm definitely ready for a nap
I felt really tired last night and ended up going to bed at around 8pm which was before my wife and kids. I woke this morning at 5.45 feeling somewhat better but still felt lethargic and tired as the day has gone on. Either a long week is catching up with me or I am fighting some sort of illness. Either way I will keep going. My parents came in this week from England for Christmas. The kids are already enjoying time with Granny and Grandad. We all ended up going to the pool this afternoon. The kids and my dad played around on the boards, the kiddy pool and the hot tub, while I did a short stretch workout. It was great fun. Warm up 400 free 6x50 free drill, alternating finger drag and catchup 5x100 kick on 1.50 Main set 6x200 on 2.40, holding 2.10(I actually felt pretty good through number 4 then I felt my stroke shortening, so had to concentrate on keeping long and strong. No I'll effect on my time) Warm down 400 IM drill 200 by 50 25 under water, 25 easy Total 3000 Apparently on Monday we have the 12 days of Christmas set. I am guessing it's not the 9100yd version, but I suspect it will be just as fun!!! I am still very motivated with my swimming and the trip to Austin this week and swimming with Longhorn Aquatics was a great boost both in confidence and gave me a glimpse of where I can get to if I am able to continue working hard. My weight loss continues. I am about .5 lb short of my 190lbs goal, so hopefully I will meet my target weight next week. I suspect part of my fatigue is related to my weight loss, so hopefully as I start to transition to weight maintenance I will feel more energetic.
Pool set up Long Course yesterday, to my surprise - I the thought it was SCY until after NY's. Not too shabby a workout the first day, and today; fortunately I forgot workout was at 6am - cuz it's usually at 7:30 on Saturday mornings, and so I got there at 6:20 or so. Good thing too, cuz my arms were about to fall off at the end there. Here's Friday's workout (I had to do the first 1500 solo, because the kids started at 6am - and I had an 8am meeting, and needed to get out at the usual 7:15am or so): 800 back/free breast/free 600P w/snorkel 500 back/free 500P 500 K 100 easy 5 x 100 stroke/free on 1:50 5 x 200 on 3:15 10 x 50 K on 1:15 100 easy Total 5100 LCM And here's todays: 6 x 100 stroke/free on 1:40 5 x 100 K on 2:15 100 easy 400 P on 6:00 100 quality sprint kick on 2:15 3 x 100 stroke/free on 1:50 100 quality sprint kick on 2:15 2 x 50 fly on 1:05 400 P on 6:00 100 quality sprint kick on 2:15 3 x 100 stroke/free on 1:50 100 quality sprint kick on 2:15 2 x 50 fly on 1:05 200 easy 12 x 100 on 1:40 200 easy 8 x 50 - 25 drill/25 sprint on 1:00 200 easy Total: 5200 LCM
Swam w/ Dave, Dave, Dave, Bob, Bob, Mary and a few others. SCY 600 Warm up 4 x 100 (50 bk/50 fr) - 1:45 Descend 4 x 25 Fast - :30 2 x 200 Back w/ paddles - 3:15 (2:40s) 4 x 150 Kick w/ fins (50 hard, 50 easy, 50 hard) 5 x 400 - 6:00 Best avg Made 4:55, 4:55, 5:00, 4:55, 4:50. I could probably hold a better pace but this was hurting especially at the end. 12 x 50: * Odds 6 x 50 IM Order - :55 (fly/back/br only x 2) * Evens 6 x 50 Free - :50 10 x 50 Kick w/ fins - 1:00 Alternated underwater SDK on front/back down, easy back. Cramped horribly on the first one, skipped the second and finished the set. 2 x 50 Sprint from dive. Both were bad dives and my goggles popped off. (5350 Total)
Swam at the Nat today and Bob C. and I went through this workout together. Dave, Dave, Peter, and some of the Hsv group were in the other lanes. I happened to get in a lane that had a water jet shooting straight into it. You could see the water flow almost half way down the lane and, when coming back, you could really feel it. As I got close to the wall, it was almost like what I imagine an endless pool to be like! Did a mix of things today - some fast, some paddles, some distance, some IM, etc. 400 Free 4x100 alt Back/Free on 1:40 4x25 Free Sprint on :30 2 times through 1x200 Back w/ Paddles Hard 2x150 Kick (did the backs in 2:37 and 2:35 - really good for me) 5x400 Free IM by 25's - 6:40 (that's close to a real 400IM, but I still haven't swam more than a 50 fly at one time) Free w/paddles - 5:30 Back w/paddles - 5:52 Free - 5:50 5x100 Back w/paddles on 1:45 100 Kick 10x50 Free on :50 2x50 Back 2x50 Breast 4x25 Fly 100 Free 5400 yards 110 minutes
Updated December 22nd, 2012 at 08:58 PM by David W Cochran
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