I notice that when I do a drill first it helps me to focus on one part of my stroke. I feel calm and centered by this and maybe it is more beneficial for muscle memory before doing intervals. Spoke to someone after the workout today about pacing. This is the story he relayed to me. His big goal was to do the 100 Free under a 1:00. So when he was standing on the blocks at a race he mentioned this to the swimmer next to him. The stranger said, “Follow me…”. My friend started out holding his form well and giving it all he had until his body felt totally depleted. With the dark shadow at his side and only 40 yards left to go there was nothing else to do but finish strong. This carried him home. He did it in 59.99. 800 Warm up 4 time 5 100’s First 400 100’s on 1:30 odds pull, even stroke Last 100 kick with fins. Wow 2800 just like that. Cooldown with wallside story.
This is the workout I wanted to do yesterday but couldn't due to time constraints. My shoulders were sore from yesterday but to my surprise free was the only stroke that they hurt on. My fly felt nice and loose. 10x100 @ 2:00 Free 1/2 pull 1/2 kick 400, 300, 200, 100 @ :30 Rest IM 800 IM Kick with fins broken at the 200 with :30 Rest 200 Free kick w/fins EZ 800 IM swim with fins broken at the 200 with :30 Rest 200 Free EZ Total 4000 yards
Monday, Patriots Day and Boston Marathon Monday. I had the live video feed of the marathon plus tracking 3 friends of mine whom were running the marathon this year on my computer in my office. I did desk work most of the day (my student teacher took my classes over) so it was fun watching the race! This little side track down memory lane took me out of the swimmin' mood so I took a 45:00 minute run down River Road Trail and through the adjacent golf course. It felt good. Could the vitamin D be helping the osteo-arthritis? (no way) way I wish! Tuesday! Back in the swimming mood! Team NASTI is still on the organized paper workouts. Here's what my lane did tonight: 1) 500 free Swim Warm-up 2) 4 X 75 Free on 1:30 (1st 25 stroke, 50 free) 3) 2 X 150 Free on 3:00 4) 1 X 250 free on 4:00 5) 2 X (1 X 50 on 1:00/ 1 X 100 on 2:00/ 1 X 200 on 4:00) First time through IM, second time Freestyle. 6) 8 X 50 Freestyle on 1:00 (1st 25 hard, 2nd easy) 7) 8 X 25 Sprint on :40 (I did fly) 8) EASY 250 cool-down 2,900 Yards I know this is probably the placebo effect but the mega vitamin D I'm taking seems like it's really improving my mood, knee, workout endurance, and quality of sleep at night. I told a friend of mine about the vitamin D thing (he's a PA) and he sort of laughed and made fun of me. A couple days later at the Boston marathon AMJA meetings he happened to sit in on a presentation concerning Vitamin D deficiency in America. He sort of did a double take and told me this might not be as silly as I thought it might be. He had a great run at Boston (much faster than his fitness level should have allowed) and he's been doing the same vitamin D routine as me. BACKSTROKE: I am on a mission to improve my backstroke. I know my kick is lousy. If you were working on developing a good backstroke where is the best place to start? (pull, kick, body position, head position). I like to focus on one thing at a time and move on as I improve so please give me your opinion on where to start!
About an hour at the gym doing all of the Physical Therapy (PT) exercises I've been doing every T-Th. Last PT appointment was last Th. So from now on I will try to do M-W-F swims and T-TH weights at the gym. Still feeling a bit off if I don't stay hydrated. The Sjogren's Syndrome symptoms kick in if I overdo any exercise without drinking lots of fluids. Mainly...water!!!
Ran an easy 4.2 miles at lunch. Hit the pool later this afternoon and did the following: 200 easy free 200 easy kick with fins 3 x 500 free on 7:00 #s 1, 3 with paddles #2 regular free 100 easy 4 x 50 AFAP free with fins on 1:30 Held 25 100 easy The 500s surprisingly felt good. If you look at my yardage for the past month, this should not be the case. I believe the weights, the running, and the biking have played a part in making the 500s much more enjoyable. I now find 500s on this interval to be much easier (at least mentally) than doing a set of 100s on 1:25. The missing element from my training is stretching. Saw the yoga teacher the other night and I have pledged that I will show up for her 6 PM class on Thursday. I could really benefit from this as my flexibility in my lower back and my legs just stinks!
Tuesday 4/21/09 SCY, Solo My "all out" sprint is pretty sloppy. And I don't feel like I'm going all out on breakout, it takes a few strokes to get that feeling, especially on backstroke. And on fly it's taking a few strokes to get the kick integrated with the stroke. Basically, my sprint is a mess in all the strokes. Other than that, this workout went well. lol 300 swim free 100 IM kick (on back for all no board) 300 swim alt. 75 free/75 back 100 IM drill 300 pull (no paddles) alt. 50 free/50 back 8 x 25 on :45, do 2 free, 2 fly, 2 back, & 2 choice. odds off the blocks, with a fast breakout, 3 stroke cycles all out, then swim easy to the wall. evens, start off easy, and be at full speed when you get to the far flags... perfect finishes (I did fly for the choice. Didn't get any times on these. My fly finish was horrible both times. I hit the wall in the middle of the stroke) 100 easy 4 x 25 all out off the blocks, one of each stroke, walk back (I did fly-back-fly-free, didn't get times on these) Repeat 3x{ kick 2 x 50, no board w/10 sec. rest (did flutter on my back for all around 55-1:00) swim 100 IM at about 70% (did these around 1:30) 100 easy } 200 easy swim down choice (did back/free by 50's) Total: 2600 yards Will do 1 hour yoga class tonight.
Standard resting workout: Warm up: 700 variety warm up 8 x 50 back @ 1:00 Was trying for easy speed. Had none, these are the slowest 50s backs I've done in recent memory. 50 EZ Speed Work: 3 x (25 build free + 25 easy) 50 EZ 3 x (25 AFAP kick w/fins + 25 easy) 3 x (25 AFAP free w/fins + 25 easy) 50 EZ 1 x 50 back AFAP w/fins (25ish) 200 C/D Total: 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The evil is in me, and I'm not talking about evilstroke. Seems like full on taper bitchies (confirmed by Mini-Fort), compounded by headache and totally wrenched neck/left trap. Going to chiro tomorrow. Felt dreadful in the water, the worst I've felt in ages. Hope that goes away; trying to ignore it. I'm not going to the SCM meet in NY. I called the meet director today just to get a sense of the timeline and confirm receipt of my entry before I booked a flight. My entry was apparently mysteriously lost in the mail. (I didn't make a copy of it.) I don't have a fax machine and couldn't get to one today, as I'm too busy. Entry deadline has passed. So I'm crossing this meet off my list. Hopefully, I can find another one to go to later in the year. Bad luck + taper/sick bitchies is a bad combo. Perhaps it's just better to get back to training anyway! Hope I get my mojo back soon. I think a run is needed. Trying to resist the urge to walk right out the door this very minute ... Promise to be less whiney in future posts!
Updated April 21st, 2009 at 09:13 PM by The Fortress
5 x 100 FR 1:55 held 1:25's 100 EZ 4 x "phosphate walls" with EZ to 100 after. FL, FR, BR, FR 4 x 100 EZ Out. Got some coach input on fly said it looked good; way better than before.
Monday-April 20 Lord's Gym-Placerville-0930am After a cardio warm-up... Assisted Pull-ups 2x6 Assisted Dips 1x6 Incline chest press 3x12 20 Seated one-arm curls 3x8 20 Step-ups (DBs) 3x8 25 Wide grip Lat pull-downs 3x8 2/80 1/90 Narrow grip seated row 3x12 60 On the Cable-Cross; Standing pull down 3x12 10 12.5 Tri-press (one-arm) 3x12 12.5 15 Seated (ball) shoulder raise 3x12 5 10 Ball Crunches 3x10 Back extensions 3x6 Med Ball throw down 2x8 10 Foam roller Aquasol Masters 1800-1915 Warm 400 10 x 50 K on 1:00 3x100 BF (K,Drill,Swim,K) 3k drill 3x100 BK (K,Drill,Swim,k) Streamline 3 count drill 3x100 BR (K,Drill,Swim,K) 2 K drill 3x100 FR (K,Drill, Swim,K) one-arm drill cool 200. Tuesday April 21 - HS/Y' Solo 0540am Warm 400 5 x 100 FR 1:30 5x100 BK 2:00 4x50 FR Pull :50 Cool 200 1:30pm Road Bike About 30 minutes, still locked in the stationary position, I will get back on my hilly (and a little dangerous) 16 mile course in about 2 weeks after I built up some endurance. I got the idea for part of my dryland workout from Jason Lezak's page @ Bodybuilding.com for the weight routine. I tried to copy ande's and a couple of others in the past, however I like this routine. My new schedule has me doing weights MWF, with aerobic, cycling or something else on TTh, in addition to swimming 4-5x a week. 2 things I know I need to get faster, 1. Brute strength and 2. Lactate tolerance! I finally found a place to do a once a week LCM workout, however its about a 40 minute drive one way...
Updated April 21st, 2009 at 06:37 PM by EricOrca (additions)
Tue Apr 21st, 2009 Left lower back feeling better Chest a bit sore from Sunday weights NEXT MEET USMS MASTERS SCY NATIONALS May 8 - 10 2 weeks 3 days / 17 days Lifted at world gym before swimming Lat Pull WU 6 x 167, 6 x 175 6 x 187 Bench press 6 x 135 6 x 155 5 x 175 Leg press 6 x 180 6 x 270 6 x 360 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=133732"]LAT PRESS[/ame] 6 x 40 6 x 45 6 x 50 5 x 55 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=171194&postcount=1084"]Bands[/ame] 12 reps 1 blue 8 reps 2 blue 8 reps 3 blue 8 reps 3 blue TODAYS SWIM PRACTICE Swam 6:30 - 7:30 whitney Coached TSC SCY main pool swam with Mike, Max, & Brad beside tyler, todd, larry mary ed, & nate warm up 300 main Set 2 x 400 fr rest 1:00 between each 1 65% 2 75% went 4:25 50 EASY 2 x 300 fr rest 1:00 between each 1 65% 2 80% went 3:12 2 x 200 k rest 1:00 between each 1 65% 2 80% went 2:28 2 x 100 fr 1 70% 2 95% dove, whitney timed, FAS PRO Jammer went 51.4 150 easy My lifting plan going into Nats: Thu 04/23 wu, 2 sets reg Sun 04/26 wu, 3 sets reg (last day of leg weights) Tue 04/28 wu, 2 sets reg Thu 04/30 wu, 2 sets reg Sun 05/03 wu, 2 sets med Tue 04/05 wu, 1 set light - med
Updated April 21st, 2009 at 11:06 AM by ande
Today I thought I was going to be late but the guard was even later missed the first 15 minutes of my swim time because he over slept. Had planned a different workout for today but wanted to get 4000 in so had to change it up. 10x50 @ :50 Free 4x500 @ 8:00 Free w/paddles and bouy descend went 7:05, 6:55, 6:44, 6:36 a little shoulder issue on #2 but just widened my stroke a little on the left arm and that seemed to correct the problem 250 Free kick w/fins 250 Back kick w/fins focus on rotation 10x50 @ :50 Free with a good kick 500 Free every 3rd lap back Total 4000 yards
Tonight's practice, the last quasi-lengthy one as I slouch into full taper mode, consisted of: 1 x 400 warm up 8 x 100 easy on 1:25 5 x 100 on 1:25 -- keep them at under 1:15s 1 x 500 on 8:00 -- keep at a sub 1:20 pace 5 x 100 on 1:25 -- keep at under 1:15s 3 x 200 on 3:30 --keep under 2:30s 8 x 50 on :45 total 3700 I did get tired, but not super tired, partly because I went last and drafted. I will take it really easy on Wednesday, then drive to CZ on Friday and try out the B70 during warm up for the 1000/1650. I scratched the 1000 and switched it to the 50 fly. My "main" events are the 100 and 500 on Saturday; and the 200 on Sunday. After these are done, I just have the 50 fly, 400 im, and 50 free as fun events. I hope that the B70 magic works, and doesn't inexplicably leave me heartbroken... which is the less than perfect segue into today's real vlog topic. Today, I got an email from a reader of a recent article of mine. The magazine's editorial office forwarded it to me. Actually, it was the second personal email this article generated. Let me just say that actually hearing from readers, in my experience at least, happens so rarely that I would be hard pressed to tell you the last time it happened. Wait. There was an elderly woman who read an article of mine in Modern Maturity a few years back. The magazine included a picture of me in a body suit on the contributor's page. The lady said I looked like her deceased husband. She mailed it in a perfumed envelope. Fearing an erotomaniac, I burned the thing and never looked back. These more recent messages, however, were much nicer and less threatening. Both wrote to thank me for my story on the Science of (Romantic) Heartbreak. One was from a guy, and one was from a woman, both of them independently suffering the horrors of heartbreak themselves, and both of them expressing relief to find that their experiences were not isolated examples of nutcase pathology but rather a nearly (if not entirely) universal human form of suffering. Anyhow, the woman happened to mention that she heard about my story on MSNBC television today. I googled MSNBC and Heartbreak and was surprised to find that my story has been reprinted on the MSNBC website, alone with a smorgasbord of comments--some nice, some obviously angry. In any event, I realize that I very easily could have mentioned ever hearing that something I wrote might have made it onto cable televsion, albeit as filler for a weird daytime news time slot. I am moved to pose the following question: if a minute or two of a person's Warholian 15 minutes of fame occurs, and the person fails to find out about it, was he or she actually famous for a minute or two? For what it's worth, and at the risk of sounding corny, I do hope that my writing can occasionally offer succour, hope, consolation, and inspiration to the occasional reader suffering some species of self-doubt. When this happens, and it doesn't happen very often, it does make me feel what I do has worth. If you or anyone you know are curently heartbroken, you might find some of this info useful. There is, of course, no easy fix for this most painful of human conditions. But perhaps getting a glimpse into how common and arguably useful such suffering is to being human, well, these might provide a smidgen of relief. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29777932/
Took the road bike out in the early afternoon and rode for about 1 hour and 20 minutes on a pretty hilly course. The ride included a 1 mile climb with parts at a 12 percent grade. Was dead for my swim early this evening but got it done. SCY Group swim 100 warm-up (missed most of warm-up) 4 x 250 I.M. add a 50 to each stroke I.M. order - 45 seconds rest between each 250 4 x 250: #s 1, 2 - alt. 50 free/50 back #s 3, 4 - dolphin kick no fins 30 sec. rest btwn each 250 5 x 50 Free on 1:00 150 easy 2500 yards I had thought about doing a run with friends tomorrow at 5:45 AM. After the workouts today, I think I'll wait until later in the day. I'm dead now and I know I won't be worth much at 5:45 tomorrow morning.
Updated April 20th, 2009 at 10:07 PM by elise526
3 x 100 FR 3:00 long and strong 1:25-1:30's 4 x 50 Paddles 1:30 2 x 50 BR Drill 1:30 4 x phosphate 15's with EZ to 100 and long RI FR, FL, BR,FR 3 x 100 Snorkel 2 x 50 Paddle 2 x 50 EZ
I swam the 100 IM in the Raleigh meet yesterday. I feel elated and overwhelmed! To me the meets are such a gift. A chance to test myself and uncover the vast amounts of challenges that await not only my body but my brain. While my body is the race car, my mind is the guys behind the scenes making the motor run and the chasy streamlined as possible on the aqua track. So today I went to the pool and swam by myself instead of with the team. I need to allow my body to tell the guys upstairs where the problems lie. The good new is there are alot of issue that need to be tweaked. At least the engineers see the problems now. Some can be fixed by them, but the rest of the job needs to be out sourced to coaches, reading material and this forum. Oh and lots of time in the pool. Turns, strokes, starts you name it. This to me means I can only get faster with time and effort. Alot of details have come to the surface for me to work on. I did well yesterday, but in the 50 free and 50 back I seem to have plateaued. Well, if two races can be called that. I have to find a way to slice away some seconds! Here is a question...I was told I was "hanging on the walls in my turns" on the IM. What do you do to prevent this elapsed time?
Updated April 20th, 2009 at 07:33 PM by flippergirl
Swim/SCY/Solo: Warm up: 750 variety swim, kick, drill Main sets: 8 x 25 back shooters, no fins 50 EZ 3 x (25 build + 25 EZ) 50 EZ 2 x (50 AFAP back w/fins + 100 EZ) (went 26 & 25ish) 2 x (25 AFAP free w/fins + 50 EZ) 2 x (25 AFAP kick w/fins + 50 EZ) 150 C/D Total: 2000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Felt like crap when I tried to sprint. Maybe I've cut back enough since the crazy training that I'm supposed to feel crappy now? Don't know ... Still feeling fatigued and headachey though. Not my usual self yet. It just doesn't feel like resting or tapering when it's not intentional. Glad the meet's not until the weekend!
Updated April 20th, 2009 at 08:21 PM by The Fortress
I have been trying to fight off a cold but it hit me full force yesterday afternoon. This morning I started out just going through the motions but as the workout progressed I felt better. SCY with Carrie 200 swim free 200 IM drill 200 kick w/board choice 200 pull back (no paddles) 200 free swim swim 6 x 100 free on 1:50: swim the first 50 easy, then build the 2nd 50. Work on a decent 3rd turn and an excellent finish. (kept these around 1:20-21) 200 easy choice swim 3 sets of 4 x 50 back: set 1 on :50 - make 'em and hold a decent average (44±) 1 min. rest set 2 on 1:00: hold a better average than set 1 (40±) 2 min. rest set 3 on 1:10: best possible average (39±) 300 swim down Total: 2700 yards 30 minute spinning class at noon today
Updated April 20th, 2009 at 05:03 PM by poolraat
Mon Apr 20th, 2009 Left lower back hurt a little today Chest's a bit sore from Sunday weights 2009 Nats Psych Sheet NEXT MEET USMS MASTERS SCY NATIONALS May 8 - 10 2 weeks 4 days / 18 days Saturday: Did NOT swim or lift Sunday Lifted at world gym Lat Pull WU 6 x 167, 3 x 207 (right lat hurt so I stopped) Bench press 8 x 135 5 x 185 4 x 190 3 x 195 2 x 200 Leg press 6 x 240 6 x 320 5 x 380 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=133732"]LAT PRESS[/ame] 6 x 40 6 x 45 6 x 50 5 x 55 [ame="http://www.usms.org/forums/showpost.php?p=171194&postcount=1084"]Bands[/ame] 20 reps 1 blue 8 reps 2 blue 8 reps 2 blue 1 red 8 reps 2 blue 1 red Swam 2:30 - 3:30 Bridgette coached swam with Larry & Mark went around 2,000 TODAYS SWIM PRACTICE 5:30 - 7:00 Whitney Coached TSC LCM main pool swam with nate & mike beside Tyler & Todd dove in on time warm up 200 200 200 200 main Set 8 x 50 on 1:00 25 fl 25 bk first 4 strokes fast assigned 400 did 4 x 50 8 x 50 on 1:00 25 bk 25 br first 4 strokes fast assigned 400 did 4 x 50 8 x 50 on 1:00 done 25 br 25 fr first 4 strokes fast assigned 400 did 4 x 50 8 x 50 on 1:00 25 fr first 4 strokes fast 25 one breath under water assigned 400 did 4 x 50 assigned 4 x 150 did skipped it
Back to work today, yuck. I hope my allergies don't come back but I feel like they are starting to rear their ugly head. 10x100 @ 1:45 Free every 3rd IM 20x25 @ :30 Free kick drills 30x50 @ 1:00 1-10 Fly w/fins 11-20 Back w/paddles 21-30 breast w/fins 5x100 @ 1:30 Free kick w/fins held 1:21's last in 1:18 500 Free every 3rd lap back Total 4000 yards
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