Chowmi's Blog

Here I am again!

It's hard to get used to the new layout on this website!

My new goal is doing 2 x fast 50 frees a week. The hard part is that I don't have anyone to race or start me, but if you are at least consistent with how you start yourself, then it's comparable. And who's to say what's the translation between a workout time and a true meet time anyway? Is it one second difference? Two? Half?

So, basically I get up and do a 50 free from the block. I am quite pleased with the exponential improvement in some things - mainly in the discipline to always go 1 breath down/2 back. I have done this without fail for at least 5 50s. Yesterday was the first day I thought, I can hold it coming back, and did 1/1 instead. yippee! The way I figure, just "training out the breath" is like dropping 1-2 tenths at least!

So I have done at least 4 at 29, 1 at 28 and yeterday i was quite pooped but tried one anyone and did a 30 flat. What a major disappointment but nice that a 30 is realtively sucky compared to the sub 30 swims. I think my goal is to get in the 27 high/28 solidly-all-the-time range. That would be really good!

How do I do it? Well, I basically watch the clock and when it hits the 6, I stop looking and count 7-8-9-AND-Go! I want to actually leave the block after the 00, to simulate that you'd have a reaction time where you are truly leaving between the 0 and 1, and not leaving on the 00 exactly. That is why I add the AND count. It's not a full second, since you get revved up to go so you are counting faster than every second, but not a full second ahead, so it's like leaving on the .5ish. And I finish first, then look. None of this raise my head 2 feet from the wall stuff. If I do this every time, it's not the time itself, but the improvement from 29 flats to whatever I can do. I must admit, the 28 swim was with the coach watching, whereas all the other swims I did on my own either after workout or completely by myself.

I think my 30 was bad for 2 main reasons - mental lapse at the turn - I was short and literally did a slow raise the head and bob the body around - very uncharateristic of me, and then salvaged to even a 30 by bearing down on the 2nd lap and only taking 1 breath. My turns are not my relative strength. But, the good news is I had to confidence to say, oh crap this could be really bad and I cannot afford that 2nd breath, but I know I can steambarrel it in on one breath if I have to! The other reason it was bad was I was mentally done before I started. I had to switch lanes and find one no one was warming down in. Then I was already worried about taking extra time because I wanted to see my husband before he left town at 3PM, so I was already thinking of my superman style quick change in the locker room as I was using precious time to get ready for the 50.

Well, I am finally excited about a goal, and so now is my new quest for 27/28 50 free blasts in practice! I'm still not excited at all about going to meets right now. My DVR is constantly full of good stuff to watch and going to a swim meet cuts into my TV and Doin' Nuthin' time.