Short Run: No time for a swim this am. I had the 4:30 am driving shift for Mini Fort's swim practice. Couldn't really fall back asleep until after I got Lil Fort to school. So only had time for a quicky 3.5 mile loop on the trail. Then I went to get a deep tissue massage. Lordy, I was sore! My massage therapist said I have "swimmer's toe" because, when lying down, my toes are still in a natural "point" position. LC Meet: Sent in my entries for the Terrapin Cup LC meet on June 21 today. I entered: 50 back, 33.50 100 back, 1:14.50 50 fly, 31.75 These are very fast untapered times for me. In fact, I've never swum them untapered. Wolf Girl would be so proud. I just hope I don't end up in a wall lane, as I seem prone to do at mixed male-female meets. Nutrition: I am contemplating working on this area. I've always exercised, in part, so I can eat and drink whatever I want. I've never dieted, just eaten in a healthy fashion. So, I'm contemplating giving up chips (lol, my favorite evil addiction and not mine alone. ), bread, desserts, and late night snacks until Nats. Not going so far as to give up Pinot/Chard, , though I did read Susan Dawson Cook's excellent article in USMS Swimmer with interest. And the Cross Fit website proclaims that super healthy eating WILL enhance performance. In this regard, I have a friend who's been on a somewhat strict diet along the lines indicated above, who says he/she is slimmer and swimming faster than ever in practice. Most people I know embarking on this endeavor keep a food log. Ugh, not really a fan of doing this. As I say, I'm just mulling it over. The hardest thing for me would be giving up late night snacks, as I'm always hungry late in the evening. And I don't like carrots much!!
Updated May 27th, 2009 at 03:05 PM by The Fortress
I am feeling frustrated as I am coming up on my six months review (end of June) and I am not any faster. I have joined a Masters swim group, I lift legs weights, I swim a least three times a week and always swim over 2500 yds at a clip, I have gone to a swim clinic, I blog, I read blogs, and still I feel confused about my stroke and can't seem to make any headway timewise. I see other newbies with leaps and bounds. I remain stagnet and now I am sad. Today's workout On my own after being away on vacation for 7 days I was glad to be back in the pool, but still the same ole turtle...no hare here. 100 IM warm up 500 free warm up 250 kick wiht fins 250 kick 10 x 50's on 45sec 10 x 25's on 25secs (felt out of shape on these) Past month or so my lungs hurt when I take a deep breath. 2 400 IMs 450 swim 3100 yds. First OW swim 3k in Pinhearst this week-end. I will do what I can...I guess.
Wed May 27th, 2009 weighed 218 after practice, hope to be 210 - 212 when Sen Cir 3 arrives. noticed the: FINA WORLD MASTERS RECORDS - SHORT COURSE METERS MAY 2009 NEXT MEETS Thu June 11 - 14, 2009 Austin, TX Senior Circuit #3 Austin, TX Events Entered: 04 400 Freestyle 10 050 Freestyle 14 200 Freestyle 18 200 Backstroke 20 100 Butterfly 28 200 Individual Medley 38 050 Butterfly Fri July 18 - 19 2009 Woodlands, TX USMS South Central Zone Long Course Championship Meet Meet Entry Form Found out Aerosmith is playing with ZZ Top on Friday July 17th at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion in the Woodlands Tickets TODAYS SWIM PRACTICE LCM & SCY 6:30 - 8:00 whitney Coached TSC main pool & diving well swam with mike & nate beside larry, russell, brad, & jon warm up LCM 100 fr 100 fl drill 100 fr 100 bk 100 fr 100 br 100 fr 100 fr 4 x 50 moved to diving well SCY main set 8 x 250 IM on 3:45 done 25 fl, 50 bk 75 br, 100 fr desc 1 - 4, hold 5 - 8 4 - 7 were around 2:54 went 2:48 on #8 10 x 100 k on 1:30 all were under 1:20 under 1:15 on #10 100 easy & got out early to make a meeting
SCM, Solo 300 swim free 400 reverse IM alt. kick/swim by 25 200 pull free w/p&b swim 3x around (all free) { 3 x 50 on :55, smooth (went :42-43) 2 x 75 on 1:25, make the interval, (went 1:07 -1:10) 150 FAST on 3:10 (went 2:10, 2:10, 2:05) } The 3rd 150 should be all out; pace the other repeats, keeping the walls long with tight streamlines 50 easy swim 8 x 25 on 40: build 1-3; #5 and 8 fast(went :19± on the builds, :16± on fast ones, :22± on the rest) swim down 200 alternating back/free by 50 Total: 2700 meters Weight training tonight
Today was my 100's day with a few 50's mixed in here and there. I did the fly to ward off another flailer from joining me. I actually felt fairly good on the fly. I will try to do some every day until mid next week. Have a 200 fly at a meet on the 6th of June. 10x100 @ 1:50 Free held about 1:45's 5x100 @ 1:50 Free kick w/fins 10x50 @ 1:10 Free w/fins & snorkle alt 50 kick/50 swim this was my snorkle work I am trying to do more of it paying attention to head position on free 10x50 @ 1:00 Fly w/fins held :51's 10x100 @ 1:40 Free w/paddles & bouy was all over the place went 1:35, 1:35, 1:38, 1:36, 1:35, 1:38, 1:39, 1:37, 1:35, 1:39 500 alt by 100 free/back/free/back/free EZ Total 4000 meters
We all know them. In fact, many of us are them. The "more is more" philosophers of swimming known as either yards whores or, in polite company, triathletes. The very wise Britisher, Mr. Richard Skerrett, a swimmer from Wales whose USMS discussion forum name I should know but don't, who is nevertheless as capital a chap as can be found in the blessed realm, sent me a fascinating link this morning that I strongly urge you to read. Look at Mr. Skerrett and ask yourself this: Can you imagine any Dylan Thomas/Richard Burton-esque Welschman with so handsome a weathered face ever steering you wrong? My god, man! He appears to have learned about the sea and the ways of water from Admiral Nelson himself! Take to heart the wisdom in his link, which I shall reproduce here: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/swimming/swimspeed.htm. Alas, we live in hurried times, rushed times, times when there is very little time whatsover to stop and smell the pixilated roses depicted on your computer screen. Smell this, you Type A bastards, you! For those of you too busy to read the link, let me excerpt a key passage: Research into the effects of high-volume swim training on performance suggests there is no advantage to piling on the kilometres. The legendary US physiologist Dave Costill has undertaken a great deal of research on swim training over the last three decades. In one study, his team of scientists followed two groups of swimmers over a 25 week training period. Both groups began with once daily training, but one group moved to twice daily training in weeks 10 to 15, reverting to once daily for the rest of the study period. At no stage of the 25 week training period did this group show enhanced performance or increased aerobic capacity as a result of their extra training. It was a waste of time. In another study, Costill tracked the performance of competitive swimmers over a four-year period, comparing a group averaging 10 kilometre per day with a group averaging 5 kilometre per day in relation to changes in competitive performance time over 100, 200, 500 and 1600 yards. Improvements in swim times were identical for both groups at around 0.8% per year for all events. Again, even though one group did twice as much training, both groups benefited to the same extent in the long term. To quote Costill directly: 'Most competitive swimming events last less than two minutes. How can training for 3 to 4 hours per day at speeds that are markedly slower than competitive pace prepare the swimmer for the maximal efforts of competition?' Research from France supports Costill's conclusions. A team of scientists analysed the training and performance of competitive 100 metres and 200 metre swimmers over a 44 week period. Their findings were as follows: Most swimmers completed two training sessions per daySwimmers trained at five specific intensities. These were swim speeds equivalent to 2, 4, 6 and a high 10 mmol/L blood lactate concentration pace and, finally, maximal sprint swimmingOver the whole season, the swimmers who made the biggest improvements were those who performed more of their training at higher paces. The volume of training had no influence on swim performance. --with thanks to Rapheal Brandon So, the next time you are tempted to swim nonstop at a plodding pace in the hopes of doing your competitive swimming some benefit, think twice. Even if you kick it into somewhat elevated gear, but don't give yourself too much rest, chances are that once you've trained your aerobic fibers to the max, you're not adding much. Dare to make yourself uncomfortable, in fact, very uncomfortable with more race pace practice than you want to do, even if this drastically reduces your overall yardage. I am not sure exactly what i think of the famous feminist work, A Vindication of the Rights of Whores [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Vindication_of_The_Rights_of_Whores[/ame] However, I am increasingly critical of all who would vindicate the rights of yardage whores, particularly our plodding freestyle lane hogging brethren who only swim in order to be able to finish the first leg of triathlons. On this note, let me segue to my growing acceptance that weight lifting, if not necessarily the source of swimming speed, may be--in my case, at least--a possible mild protector against swimming injuries, which in turn is allowing me to do more race pace sets in practice without long bivouacs on the couch under bags of ice. Today, my 21st day of consecutive exercise, I managed 66,000 lb. of Nautilus weight--a meaninglesss amount, I know, given that it depends on the number of sets, etc. However, it does show that I am improving quickly from my first session three weeks ago, when my total weight lifted was 18,000. Today's film, which boasts perhaps the poorest quality of anything yet posted to YouTube, shows a weekend day in the life of exercising Jim. It took place on Saturday, when I lifted 53,000 lb. in preparation for Sunday's tennis match (alas, not shown), which lasted for 3 hours and 15 minutes and was the first time this season that Bill and I actually won not just the Women's Championship (2 sets Bill/Jim to 1 set John/Rick) but went onto claim the Men's Championship, as well (Us 3 sets; them 1 set.) I looked into my Nike shorts after successfully driving the final shot of the match down the unprotected alley, noted what now so handsomely resided there inside my underwear after weeks of punishing losses, and proclaimed, oh so happily, "It's a boy!" Or maybe it was a geoduck. Either way, it was cause for celebration. Herewith today's vlog: 53,000 Pounds. (In case you can't figure out the initial action, I am riding a Honda Metropolitan Scooter down a closed road while simultaneously trying to film.) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5hS-MGlMzY"]YouTube - 53,000 Pounds[/ame]
Updated May 27th, 2009 at 08:56 AM by jim thornton
Okay, I know this is a swim workout blog but I'm not swimming tonight and I still want to blog so if you were interested in hearing about one of my stellar and creative techy swim workouts (yes I'm joking) you can stop reading right................now! Today was "Field Day" for my 780 students at TM. Putting this thing together is a huge job. I've organized some big things in my days, but field day is still a killer. My goal is for everyone to be engaged in mvpa at least 85% of the entire day. I have made-up lots of creative and "earth friendly" based cooperative and competitive physical games and challenges. Anyway the weather channel was predicting storms all day today and worse yet tomorrow. I worked way too hard yesterday for nothing. The luck of the German came true for me today and we got a sunny, tropically warm, inviting Indiana day! I was running the "water challenge" area. There's nothing that makes me feel much better than sweeping the entire fields and dales of TM and seeing all the kids Kdg-5th grade (parent volunteers too) rocking and rolling outside and having a blast! That makes it all worth it for me! Tonight it's a long shower and a glass of wine. ( I was running around the fields and setting all the equipment out from 5 am till the event ended at 3pm). Tomorrow I will fall back into my swimming fix and maybe post a respectable swim blog.
Missed a rare opportunity to join with the Seniors yesterday, coached by our local HS / USS Coach Steve. I was late for LCM practice with the Sierra Marlins at Folsom earlier this morning, so I bailed (I'm too new to show up late) Ended up solo at the home pool. Did a modified & chopped Mark/Chris S. Workout Solo 6:10-7:15 am Warm 650 Stroke/Drill/Kick (I like the FR Gallop drill because I have to finish a 25 in 12 stroke's, 3RT, 3Full, 3Lt, 3Full...today it was more like 14 strokes) Ive adopted the side kick one arm on a pull buoy, rotation and stretching out. Noticed I really need that on my FR catch. 4x50 FR Build Pace on 2:00 1-3 Des. 4 EZ 4x100 FR (1:15, 1:13, 1:10, 1:25) 4x100 BK (1:49, 1:35, 1:26, 1:50) 2x100 FR (1:10, 1:12) 1x100 Kick (BF/FR) 100 w/d My backstroke is where my freestyle was last fall. It is improving, my pull is weak, (the ongoing weight training should convalesce that) My "kick pattern" on 100 BK SCY is 8/3/2/2. I come out of the breakouts with lots of speed then I can't maintain it with my stroke. I have the same problem with FR, breakouts are fast then its like my stroke applies the brakes. (No significant power) Left shoulder and elbow were in pain, so I cut the workout short, otherwise I would have done 6 more 100's, more kicks and some sprint work. Didn't do weights today to "make up" for yesterday. Found that when I do that it throws me off in the pool. I'm doing endurance training first with weights; more reps less weight. Then in about 2-3 weeks, I will start the strength training; less reps more weight.
I turned 43 today and feel great. Decided to possibly try a test run. Not a good choice on a day like today. Earliest I could do it was at 11:30. By then, the temp was 80 degrees and humidity was 94%. My cardiologist has advised me to avoid exercising in hot, humid conditions. Since I have done some running this season in the humidity though, I thought I would be o.k. Cardiologist also has mentioned that I should only use Advair if absolutely necessary because the ingredients in it aggravate the condition I have that affects my heart. With all the rain, things have gotten moldy and I felt my allergies kicking up last night. So, I did my advair inhaler last night and this morning. Since I was going to be doing a hard run, I also did my proventil inhaler. Started out with a pretty good mile - 7:05, but felt light-headed and not breathing well. I stopped for a second and took my HR (my monitor has not been working lately). My HR was at 210 after I did this mile. Not a good sign. I realized the asthma meds had tripped off the POTS, so enjoyed a nice scenic walk for the rest of the way (2 miles). After hearing what happened to Steve Larsen last week, didn't feel like pushing my luck. Even as I write this entry, several hours later, my HR when I stand is 120. After talking with pulmonologist, based on my last visit, he thinks I don't need to take the advair on a regular basis. Lungs are actually in really good condition, even with asthma. Based on what the cardiologist has said, I'm punting advair altogether. I have not been using it regularly until last night nor have I been using the proventil at all when I have been exercising, including the times I have been out at the track. Only times I've used proventil is when I'm getting ready to race. I've come to the conclusion that this is yet another an example of where the side effects of the medication outweigh the benefits, at least for me. Both today and at Auburn, with the inhaler use, any kind of exercise sends my HR into orbit for hours. Even resting HR is 90 when I take that stuff. Not good when ordinarily my resting HR is 50. Anyway, by the middle to end of the meet, I feel like I've run a marathon. I'm simply going to try racing now without them. Will keep the albuterol with me at all times in the event I have an attack. Even when I did not use an inhaler, I only remember a problem coming up once in a race as a teenager when I had a bad case of bronchitis. Frustrating! You'd think that beta blockers medication would make things better. These only serve to worsen the orthostatic intolerance I have. Plus, as my cardiologist said, and he is a triathlete, they change your V02 max. Interesting to think one may be better off without medications, but I think I will be. And besides, I'm doing mainly 50s at Nationals. As Dara showed this past weekend, breathing is not necessary on a 50. Well, tomorrow will be a brand new day. I'll try a swim workout then. Haven't given up on a test run yet. Will wait for another day when the humidity is lower, I can start earlier, and haven't used any Advair. I'm glad to have made it through 43 years of life and am grateful for what I have in life. Even though I have a cardiologist and a pulmonologist already, I actually still feel pretty young.
Updated May 27th, 2009 at 01:31 AM by elise526
Weights/Core: standing lat pulldown, 150 x 2 x 10 recline hip abductor, 110 x 3 x 15 goblet squats, 40 x 2 x 15 alternating hammers, 25 x 2 x 20 external rotators, 10 x 3 x 15, each side seated straight arm dips for RC, 60 x 2 x 25 hip hinges w/12.5 DBs, left leg, 2 x 15 hanging reverse crunch, no slings, 2 x 15 elevated crunches, 2 x 25 incline crunches w/10 lb weight above head, 2 x 25 V Ups w/med ball, 4 x 15 dead bug on bosu, 2 x 25 push ups, 2 x 25 5 minutes stretching 15 minute drive to pool Swim/SCY/ Solo: Warm up: 700 variety swim, kick, drill Kick Mountain: dolphin kick w/MF, 150s & 200s w/board 1 x 50 @ :45 1 x 100 @ 1:30 1 X 150 @ 2:15 1 X 200 @ 3:00 1 X 300 @ 4:30 1 X 200 @ 3:00 1 X 150 @ 2:15 1 X 100 @ 1:30 1 X 50 @ :45 50 EZ Speed/Aerobic Work: 20 x 25 easy speed fly w/fins @ 40 (9 SDKs + 4 strokes per 25) 10 x 50 breast @ 1:00 (my cap broke on # 7; didn't have an extra cap in my bag) 50 EZ 8 x 50 @ 1:15 done as 25 AFAP free + 25 easy (was going to do 10, but my pony tail holder washed away and it's just too annoying to swim with hair everywhere) 100 EZ Total: 3600 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A bit tired from the lack of sleep over the weekend. Felt like I may be getting a head cold. But felt much better after swimming. Got a confirmation email that I'm entered in the 200 back at the USS meet on June 15. Have a massage scheduled for tomorrow. Definitely need it! I've been told that a massage can really bring on an illness if you feel one coming though ... I'm hoping my congestion is just allergies and not a cold bug. I need a hand massage -- my hands/knuckles are still sore from weights. Yeesh!
Didn't do anything for 2 days. The pool was closed and I wasn't motivated enough to do anything else. SCM with Carrie 300 swim free 200 kick choice (went rev IMO) 300 pull free: no paddles; work on keeping the elbow higher than the hand, especially at the catch swim 6 x 150 on 3:00, as 50 free, 50 breast, 50 free; work on the breaststroke kick 100 easy swim 8 x 75 on 1:30: as 25 free, 25 fly, 25 free; work on keeping the fly stroke together in the middle of the repeat (ie when you're tired) 50 easy swim 8 x 25 on 30: odds free, evens fly; swim down 100 choice Total: 2750 meters
Tue May 26th, 2009 weighed 217 after practice, hope to be 210 - 212 when Sen Cir 3 arrives. just noticed the: FINA WORLD MASTERS RECORDS - SHORT COURSE METERS MAY 2009 Congrats to those who did the Cap Tex Tri Looks like swimmers could wear wet suits Amy Marsh & Brandon Marsh are the Amy & brandon who train with me several times a week at Longhorn Masters. Hayley Peirsol, Aaron's sister got 2nd Andrew McCartney & Tenille Hoogland were guests and trained with Longhorn Masters last week. Tenille over heated and had difficulty with the run. One person said, her body temp went to 105 degrees. Tyler "the Miler" blogged about the triathlon. Also congrats to Lynn Smith she swam on a relay that did 54 of Lake Travis' 63 miles, the goal was to go dam to dam, but the water was too low for their 52 foot escort boat to follow NEXT MEETS Thu June 11 - 14, 2009 Austin, TX Senior Circuit #3 Austin, TX Events Entered: 04 400 Freestyle (2) 5:07.03 scy 500 fr 10 050 Freestyle 24.50 LCM 14 200 Freestyle 1:50.70 scy 18 200 Backstroke 2:21.04 LCM 20 100 Butterfly 51.80 scy 28 200 Individual Medley 2:24.08 LCM 38 050 Butterfly (3) 51.80 scy Fri July 18 - 19 2009 Woodlands, TX USMS South Central Zone Long Course Championship Meet Meet Entry Form Found out Aerosmith is playing with ZZ Top on Friday July 17th at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion in the Woodlands Tickets weights at world gym lat press 8 x 40 8 x 45 8 x 50 6 x 55 lat pull 8 x 165 6 x 205 4 x 215 bench 8 x 135 6 x 185 3 x 195 leg press 8 x 180 8 x 270 6 x 320 bands TODAYS SWIM PRACTICE LCM & SCY 6:30 - 8:00 whitney Coached TSC main pool swam with tyler, todd, doug, marcio, nate, & mike warm up LCM 300 fr 100 300 fr 100 100 FR FAST from a dive LCM went :59 moved to diving well SCY diving well is a little warmer than the main pool main set 20 x 100 fr strong on 1:30 instruction was to hold same time you went on your hard 100, rest 20 - 30 sec led the lane went 59, a few 1:00's some 1:01's, 1:02's then 59 on last 100 20 x 25 on :30 4 rounds of 1) under water 2) fl 4 strokes fast 3) 1 breath 4) fr 4 strokes fast 5) k on back 10 x 100 fast on 1:40 instruction was to: a. rest 10 seconds more 1:40 and b. swim 5 seconds faster :54 I couldn't do it odds fr fast went 1:01's & 2's evens k went under 1:15 skipped #6 100 easy
Updated May 26th, 2009 at 05:08 PM by ande
11:00 AM to Noon at the Jamerson YMCA (SCY) coached by Jann. Warmup: 400 free 200 alternate one arm free (breathe to non-stroking side)/free swim Main Set: 6x75 on 1:15 - I went 1:07s 12x25 fast on :45 - I went mostly :17s and :18s 8x25 fast flutter kick on :45 - I actually made all of these and held right around :35 for them. I was excited to make an entire kick set even though it was an easy one. 300 recovery kick - mix of flutter, breast, and dolphin 12x37.5 free - work turns with no bad habits, i.e., breathing on the last stroke in and/or the first stroke out! Warmdown: 100 easy free 2350 yards Notes: I had nothing in the tank today. Most likely because I got little sleep over the weekend with two dogs in a hotel for the first time and trying to finish up with preparations for our move to Germany! No excuses though! I hope that nothing comes up and I get to my last practice here in the States on Wednesday. I found an indoor LCM pool with a Masters team in Erlangen (Germany), but arganized practices are only twice per week. Oh well, hopefully I can get in a routine quickly and figure out a way to get to the pool on my own to get some quality work in.
Still feeling some twinges in the back muscles from the meet this weekend but swam great today! 500 Free EZ 500 Free kick w/fins & board 400 @ 9:00 IM w/paddles 2x200 @ 4:30 IM went 3:58, 3:55 4x100 @ 2:15 IM went 1:58, 1:55, 1:55, 1:53 6x100 kick w/fins #1&4 Free on side #2 Back with rotation #3&6 Fly on back #4 Back with partial recovery 5x100 @ 1:40 Free w/paddles & bouy went 1:34, 1:31, 1:29, 1:28, 1:31 200 IM Drill 500 Free EZ Total 4000 meters
Since semi-recovering from Swine Flu Lite on May 5th, I have launched on what has arguably been my longest unbroken streak of exercising in my life. This has consisted of: swimming (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) 39,450 yardsNautilus weight lifting (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with occasional exceptions for tennis)Tennis (some Tuesdays, one Thursday, and every Sunday)Stretch cord rotator cuff exercises (most nights) How have these past 3 weeks of unbroken daily exercise affected me? Physically speaking, I feel that I am slowly getting into better swimming shape, not good enough, mind you, to compensate for the recent loss of the B70 body boat, AKA, the HMS Good Times, may she rest in peace! But perhaps enough to slightly undercut the accelerating rate of decrepitude that might otherwise be greeting me with each passing week. I have found that the weight lifting and stretch cords have seemed to reduce shoulder pain, which was pretty uncomfortable upon first returning to the pool after my 8-10 day sickness layoff. Possibly, the weights and stretch cords are also offering some inoculation against shoulder and elbow pain from tennis (and water volley ball, which I played for the first time today after our noon-time Memorial Day Swim Practice that only Bill and I actually showed up for.) Other impacts, which may or may not be imaginary: I definitely feel the need for more sleep, and if this keeps up, may have to double my use of amphetamine like drugs in order to coax any hours of non-exercise consciousness out of my typical dayThere's a sense that my immune system is getting a little cranky without regular breaks in the daily exercise schedule. I have begun coughing lately, and feel the first faint pricklings of neuralgia here and there where neuralgia has long been in abeyanceMy mood is perked up by the exercise, only to settle back into its ruts a couple hours later. Which brings me to the following questions, which I will throw out in the hopes that one or more of my fellow travelers might provide answers or at least a sense that I do, indeed, have fellow travelers on this road upon which I tread: Am I the only person out here who thinks that the natural human lifespan is overly generous?How many summer openings of the summer swim club pool, how many Christmas carols, how many fireworks displays, how many gourmet engorgements, how many libidinous blowouts, how many professions of religious rapture, how many celebrations of vicarious or personal sporting victories, how many bonus checks, and the like are necessary to live through before life begins to seem, even in its alleged high points, a grindingly monotonous proposition?With what insult begins a lifeview riddled with mistrust of ones fellow apes and their schemings and larceny and generally lousy ways? At what point do dreams of glory transmogrify into lust for revenge, and at what point does even this turn to powder in a dry and bitter mouth like sugarless gum masticated for days on end?I suspect our neuroscientists' current best understanding of the mind is as primitive in its way as Edward Jenner's observations about milkmaids and cowpox and the nature of immunology were in 1796 -- on the right track, perhaps, but not terribly far along. This said, and with pre-acknowledgment that the dopaminergic reward system is most likely not much more than a metaphor at this point, the question is this: can we become exhausted to the effects of the chemical broth that goads us onwards and pats us on the head when we succeed? Is this something that must, by its very nature, lose its hold upon us with enough repetition, just as the once delicious candy corn of youth becomes an emetic in old age? Or is the brain constructed is such a way that it is never immune to joy juice, if such can be naturally coaxed into lubricating our synapses in the right regions? So that the problem is not so much that nothing, after a time, can bring verve back into life--but that we have given up the search for what it is that can naturally generate this verve? And are there just too many moral impediments and causes for exhaustion blocking our way? I throw these questions out to my fellow swimmers and exercise nuts so that when your own doleful topics of rumination run out during your next bout with gravity and friction, you might have something fresh to consider. But even as I say this I know I am deluding myself! There is nothing new under the sun! Nothing! And these are the questions that we all ask ourselves, in perhaps slightly different ways, in words that begin in wails and end in demented grunts, all our days upon God's green earth! Tomorrow, if it rains, I will do Nautilus and play tennis on Thursday, unless it rains then, too. Students of Abraham Maslow: Is the pain of descent along his hierarchy of needs uniform? Or does it hurt more, for example, to fall from the next-to-bottom rung to the lowest one? Or perhaps the other way around--might falling from the top to the next-to-top rung be the most painful? Or is the most painful rung to fall from just the one you are, right now, losing your grip upon?
I woke up and went to swim practice at Forest Park. It was cold and rainy outside but the water felt great. I love swimming outdoors when it's raining! Here's the workout: ------Warm-up Set------------- 500 Freestyle 200 Kick (I did dolphin w/fins) 100 Butterfly (smooth/easy) 100 Backstroke (concentrate on kick) 100 Breast stroke (just swim) ----------Main set-------------------- This was sort of like a "super 500" in sc but alot longer. Each 50 meters was given 1 minute on the interval. I did all freestyle. 50 Freestyle---100 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---150 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---200 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---250 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---300 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---350 Freestyle---50 Freestyle---400 Freestyle -------------Bonus set------------------------ 4 X 50 Hard (1 each stroke w/lots of rest 45 sec) -----------cooldown----------------------------- Easy 200 Backstroke (unscrew the shoulders 3,500 LCM I spent the rest of the day at my school getting the grounds ready for "Field Day" tomorrow! I had various family members out there helping me It's supposed to rain tomorrow ;( I hope we get it in! We have an Indianapolis Colt coming to school at the end of the day to top it off!!!
Mon May 25th, 2009 weighed 220 after practice, hope to be 210 - 212 when the meet arrives. NEXT MEETS Thu June 11 - 14, 2009 Senior Circuit #3 Austin, TX Events Entered: 04 400 Freestyle (2) 5:07.03 scy 500 fr 10 050 Freestyle 24.50 LCM 14 200 Freestyle 1:50.70 scy 18 200 Backstroke 2:21.04 LCM 20 100 Butterfly 51.80 scy 28 200 Individual Medley 2:24.08 LCM 38 050 Butterfly (3) 51.80 scy Fri July 18 - 19 2009 USMS South Central Zone Long Course Championship Meet Meet Entry Form Woodlands, TX TODAYS SWIM PRACTICE LCM 9:00 - 1`0:30 whitney Coached TSC main pool swam with tyler, todd, doug, chris, marcio, & paul, beside jon, larry warm up LCM 200 fr 100 k 200 fr main set 5 x 100 fr on 1:20 rest 30 5 x 100 on 1:20 done 75 fr 25 bk rest 30 5 x 100 fr on 1:20 done 50 fr 50 bk 5 x 100 fr on 1:20 rest 30 5 x 100 on 1:20 done 75 fr 25 bk rest 30 5 x 100 fr on 1:20 done 50 fr 50 bk 6 rounds of: ( 50 k fast on :50, 100 fr fast on 1:15, 50 k fast on :50, 100 easy on 3:05) made the kicks, all were under 45, on the 100 fr's went 1:09 on the first 5, & 1:07 on last one
Updated May 25th, 2009 at 01:24 PM by ande
http://site.greattravistrek.com/ yesterday, we set out at 12:00 noon to begin this relay event. (check the link for a description, swimmer bios, fund raising, etc) the lake level is very low, and it was decided that we would begin at mile 54 due to exposed rocks and trees further up stream. dr. keith bell took a jet ski ride to the start, and was accompanied by mel, one of our amazing kayakers, as he swam to us. once the connection was made with the pilot boat, we would all remain together for the rest of the trip. following keith was chris derks. he completed 53 minutes of his hour when it was decided to interrupt the swim to let a thunder storm pass. we were just past mile 48 and we contacted chris and meredith (pilots of the next boat.. an enclosed cabin cruiser) to meet up with us and transfer all the gear and persons. three hours passed before lynne smith could get in for her first round. lynne was followed by chuck wiley, and i had the honor of swimming the dusk hour. it was totally dark when robert alford tapped me on the shoulder to relieve me. there is something surreal about swimming in the dark. i often challenge myself to "feel" a straight line by swimming with my eyes closed for long distances or at least keep my head down and intentionally resist the urge to sight off of anything external, but last night, i found myself hyper-focused on the tiny beacon rising about 18 inches from the rear deck of the kayak (gary paddled for my first round).
The final time on the 800 Free was 11:57.86 from Friday. I got a in a 1000 warm up this morning and started with the 200 Free in 2:46.19 and finished with a 50 Free of 33.56 that was not too bad for me. Then a nice 250 warm down to make an even 2000 meters today. Tomorrow will be a day off since the pool is closed.
The rain is putting a serious damper on my plans to get outside this weekend. Run for tomorrow looks pretty much out. Don't want to drive 1.5 hours to run in a thunderstorm. I'm opting instead to sleep in tomorrow. Got a workout in the weight room this afternoon: Lat pulldowns - 110 x 10, 130 x 8, 150 x 6 Military press - 2 sets of 40 x 12 Tricep pulldown - 2 sets of 40 x 12 Alternating Hammer curls - 2 sets of 15 x 10 Hip adduction - 2 sets of 130 x 12 Hip abduction- 2 sets of 110 x 12 (I was a little sore from doing these the other day, so I had to go down 10 lbs.) The below set was harder than I thought it would be. I didn't rest between the push-ups and crunches, so that could be the reason. 5 push-ups with bosu ball 50 bicycle crunches 10 push-ups with bosu ball 50 good morning darlings 15 push-ups with bosu ball 50 crunches with Swiss ball 10 push-ups bosu ball 50 good morning darlings 5 push-ups with bosu ball 50 bicycle crunches
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