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NE Champs, Day 2, Dec. 11

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by
USMS MemberThe Fortress
, December 12th, 2011 at 11:12 AM (1382 Views)
I had decided to scratch the 200 IM, so was able to grab a bit more sleep and take my time getting to the pool. Good thing because the Starbucks across from my hotel was closed -- what?!?! Got in a decent warm up in the diving well and was ready to go. Tired, but ready to go. (BTW, I have no idea how mid-D or D types do any pace work in the crowded warm up pools at big meets.)

50 fly, 30.35

This time was under my WR from last March of 30.5. So I was thrilled! Fly felt good until the last few strokes where my arms really felt the meet fatigue. And it was technically fairly solid. I got off the blocks FAST. I didn't get max distance, but I could tell my reaction time was great and I had a clean entry. Only flaw was not pushing off deep enough on the turn. I had one dolphin kick on the surface as a result. Took one more breath than usual on the last length, but it helped me spot the wall and finish well. I guess all those fast 50 flys for time I've been doing in practice paid off.

But there was no time to celebrate! I had 20 minutes until my next race. I swam down around 250 and when I emerged, they were already on heat 2 of the women's 100 free ...

50 free, 28.53 (split in 100 free):

My body was screaming with lactic acid build up behind the blocks. I really would have liked an hour off to rest and get in the correct mental state of mind for this race. Instead, all I was thinking was "I can't wait until this race is over." I had a decent start, not as fast as in fly. Again, the race was technically pretty solid with the exception that my right arm was caught underwater sightly on the breakout after the turn. I may have taken an extra breath on the second length too; I can't really remember. It also felt like I was dragging my legs. Stud video'd the race for me though, and it didn't look nearly as bad as it felt. Maybe the legs were on autopilot. I was very surprised and happy to see that time on the wall. I was fearful it would be a second slower. And this time is only .3 off my B70 PR. I then caused a minor delay of meet as I took 1:00+ to swim my second 50 of the 100.

I was beyond happy that I had already logged a 100 back time this year as that was the last event of the meet. And I had no more 100s in me.

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

Overall, this was a great meet for me even with a slightly shorter taper. Much better than Auburn, I think. But of course SCM is more my natural milieu and my favorite course. As the event rankings stand now, I have the fastest time in all 4 50s (and 2 100s) -- something I never expected!!!


My elbows don't really feel any worse for wear after a long weekend of sprinting. But they still hurt when I try to lift things, so I will continue to avoid upper body weights for awhile. Probably won't get to the pool today. I have stuff to do with Lil Fort. I'm so proud of her -- she ran her first 8K this weekend and sent me a text saying it was "very fun."

Results:
http://www.swimphone.com/mobile/meet....cfm?smid=3514
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com...-World-Records

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Updated December 12th, 2011 at 03:29 PM by The Fortress

Categories
Masters Swim Meets / Events

Comments

  1. ande's Avatar
    way to go, it's cool when you break your own record
    you're not getting older, you're getting faster
  2. qbrain's Avatar
    Holy That was a awesome day for you. Do you want to gridge the 50 free at Nationals?
  3. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by ande
    way to go, it's cool when you break your own record
    you're not getting older, you're getting faster
    Thanks Ande. It was cool.

    That's still off my fastest masters time, but I've mentally let my B70/Jaked times go. This is my best textile suit time (I think), and I was stoked!
  4. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qbrain
    Holy That was a awesome day for you. Do you want to gridge the 50 free at Nationals?
    No! I'm not sure where that 50 free came from, but it felt lucky. And I'm not sure it's on my Greensboro agenda. Have to consult the order of events.
  5. pwb's Avatar
    Quick -- you gotta find a meet next weekend to round out your AA status even more by racing and owning the 100 and 200 IM. 6 #1 times. Holy cow! Simply awe-inspiring.
  6. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by pwb
    Quick -- you gotta find a meet next weekend to round out your AA status even more by racing and owning the 100 and 200 IM. 6 #1 times. Holy cow! Simply awe-inspiring.
    Thanks Patrick! But one of those events was the 100 IM! (Looks like a #2 in the 100 fly behind the fast new NR holder Andrea Block.) The 200 IM is beyond me with my complete lack of aerobic training. What I'm most psyched about are the 50s in all 4 strokes.
  7. chowmi's Avatar
    Excellent swims! The 4 x 50 is a very nice theme. You get variety, but you don't spread yourself too thin. And much funner than say, the 50-100-200 theme. Yuck!
  8. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by chowmi
    Excellent swims! The 4 x 50 is a very nice theme. You get variety, but you don't spread yourself too thin. And much funner than say, the 50-100-200 theme. Yuck!
    Thanks! 4 x 50 you can train for the same way -- speed work! 50-100-200 are way too different for me. And I don't have the aerobic base from many years of masters swimming to draw on.

    I thought of you right before my 50 free, and was scolding myself for not having the proper chowmi 50 free mindset!
    Updated December 12th, 2011 at 03:41 PM by The Fortress
  9. Speedo's Avatar
    Freakin awesome weekend of swimming! Nice 50 free for never swimming it- how many kicks off of the start and turn, or did you get up right away? Nice meet, speedy!
  10. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedo
    Freakin awesome weekend of swimming! Nice 50 free for never swimming it- how many kicks off of the start and turn, or did you get up right away? Nice meet, speedy!
    Watching the vid on my computer where I could see better showed some other issues .... It looks like I took 5-6 SDKs on the start and 4-5 off the turn. But I started flutter kicking before I reached the surface off the turn. Big no no and may be why my arm was stuck under water. Honestly, I had nothing planned before starting the race; I wasn't focused.
  11. Speedo's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Watching the vid on my computer where I could see better showed some other issues .... It looks like I took 5-6 SDKs on the start and 4-5 off the turn. But I started flutter kicking before I reached the surface off the turn. Big no no and may be why my arm was stuck under water. Honestly, I had nothing planned before starting the race; I wasn't focused.
    Maybe taking full advantage of the 15m on the start may be something to consider. Take a look at Travis Lauri's 50 free in last year's Dolan meet- he's fast on the surface (trust me on that) but he's under to the 15. It doesnt make sense for most, but you excel underwater and it may make sense to do some timed comparisons in practice.
  12. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedo
    Maybe taking full advantage of the 15m on the start may be something to consider. Take a look at Travis Lauri's 50 free in last year's Dolan meet- he's fast on the surface (trust me on that) but he's under to the 15. It doesnt make sense for most, but you excel underwater and it may make sense to do some timed comparisons in practice.
    Agree. But the confounding factor is my dives. They are horribly inconsistent and I always end up at different depths. You can't have a shallow dive with your legs splashing the water if you want to stay under and SDK. That's what I appeared to do for that race.

    I've seen Travis swim the 50 at HS meets. He's fast on top, but maybe not as fast as some of the other guys. He beats them underwater.
  13. Speedo's Avatar
    http://tv.swimmingworldmagazine.com/...nal/races/8006

    Lane 1 at the top.

    Yes, sounds like you need start practice like I need bulkhead practice.
  14. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedo
    http://tv.swimmingworldmagazine.com/...nal/races/8006

    Lane 1 at the top.

    Yes, sounds like you need start practice like I need bulkhead practice.
    Unfortunately, as you know, its not something I can practice and correct.

    I did the same thing you did at Dolan as well -- pausing slightly before flipping. Though I really can't expect any better with the nonexistent amount that I practice race pace free flip turns.
  15. qbrain's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Unfortunately, as you know, its not something I can practice and correct.
    Have you thought about private lessons with a USAS coach specifically to work starts? They can arrange block access, run the camera, give immediate feed back and you can plan it for late March early April when you can still hammer your legs but it is as close as possible to Greensboro. They will be post HS season (if your season is like ours) and early LCM season so less busy than other times of the year.
  16. The Fortress's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by qbrain
    Have you thought about private lessons with a USAS coach specifically to work starts? They can arrange block access, run the camera, give immediate feed back and you can plan it for late March early April when you can still hammer your legs but it is as close as possible to Greensboro. They will be post HS season (if your season is like ours) and early LCM season so less busy than other times of the year.
    Hadn't considered that! Not a bad idea. None of the USAS coaches coach high school around here though. (HS practiced times conflict with USAS afternoon practice times.) They could be sleeping when I'm free ...
  17. qbrain's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by The Fortress
    Hadn't considered that! Not a bad idea. None of the USAS coaches coach high school around here though. (HS practiced times conflict with USAS afternoon practice times.) They could be sleeping when I'm free ...
    You won't know until you ask.