Of Swimming Bondage

I've had a migrating groin pull recently that seems to get better in one leg, then jump to the other leg. It's fine if I do the 'Race Club / Rebecca Soni' drill where I kick breaststroke with a Finis band just above my knees (to promote a narrow whip kick), but a tad more twingy than I'd like when swimming/kicking breaststroke without the band. I've been intentionally doing very little breaststroke for now and today was no different:

Warmup sets (1,250 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25s
• 4 x 75: on 1:05, descend free w/snorkel, 0:55-0:51-0:48-0:45
• 6 x 50: on 0:55, dolphin-flutter by 25s on back, descend in 3s
• 4 x 50: on 0:50, free, aim for 0:30s and was 0:30, 0:29+, 0:30, 0:28+
• 1 x 50: easy breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band

Main set (1,850 set / 3,100 total)
Straight through on intervals

• 12 x 25: on 0:35, 4x through fly, back, free aiming to hold 0:14+, 0:15+, 0:14, which I largely did
• 1 x 50: on 2:00, easy breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band
• 6 x 50: on 1:00, 2 times through fly, back, free, was 0:31, 0:30+ on fly; 0:32, 0:31+ on back; 0:30, 0:29 on free
• 1 x 50: on 2:00, easy breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band
• 4 x 75: on 1:15, descend to fast, fly-back-free, from 0:55 to 0:46
• 1 x 50: on 2:00, easy breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band
• 2 x 150: on 2:30, cruise #1, fast #2, fly-back-free by 50s, was 1:38 on the fast one
• 1 x 50: on 2:00, easy breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band
• 3 rounds of 100-50 on 2:30 per combined 150
  
  • 100 is stroke fast, was 1:09 (ugh) on fly, 1:06 on back (decent) and 1:21 on breast (not horrible)
  • 50 was easy free

Cooled-down with another 150

TOTAL: 3,250 SCY

Comments:

• I was really able to push myself hard this morning; my strokes felt pretty good (long and strong) and I was gassed at the end of this.
• On Tuesday, my focus was on dryland - shoulder PT exercises and core work; I'll repeat that dryland focus on Thursday and try to get in a swim on Friday. I'm off for a short 3 night / 4-ish day camping trip with #3 daughter, but will be staying close enough to civilization that I should be able to swim on Friday.

I slept great last night - out like a light at 10pm and easily up at 5:30am - and was in the water at the JCC a little after 6am for my 3 x 300 Test Set:

Warmup sets (1,800 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel (1:15, 1:14, 1:11, 1:10)
  
  • really was feeling the 3,700 yard workout from last night
  
  
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, dolphin-flutter kick by 25s, descend; odds w/board, evens on back
• 12 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast fly-back-free
• 6 x 50: #1 and #6, cruise w/snorkel, #2 to #5 on 0:50, aiming to hold 0:30s

3 x 300 Test Set (900 set / 2,700 total)
3 x 300: on 4:00, aim to hold the fastest pace consistently both within 100s and across the 300s

• 12-13-13 - 3:25, 3:23, 3:20, 3:14 (went 4 for some reason)
• 02-27-14 - 3:16, 3:12, 3:10+
• 05-21-14 - 3:14+, 3:10, 3:06
• 01-04-16 - 3:16, 3:15, 3:14
• 01-20-16 - 3:11+, 3:09, 3:06
• 02-03-16 - 3:09, 3:09, 3:11
• 11-20-16 - 3:09, 3:10+, 3:09
• 12-03-16 - 3:08+, 3:09, 3:08++
• 11-05-17 - 3:31, 3:35, 3:44
• 12-01-17 - 3:24, 3;21+, 3:17
• 01-09-18 - 3:13+, 3:15, 3:12+
• 03-12-18 - 3:22, 3:18, 3:15

Cool-down (300 set / 3,000 total)

• 6 x 50: 2 each on 0:40, 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,000 SCY

Comments:

• All things considered with the last month of training, this was better than anticipated. It took me a LONG time to get warmed up and my stroke was a bit choppier than I'd like, but I pushed hard and it felt good to do that.

After some great progress building back into my training over December and January, I hit some snags over the month of February.

On January 28th, I went down to Tucson and competed in the annual Polar Bear meet. I was actually quite happy with most of my swims - 50 fly (26.43), 50 back (29.18), 400 IM (4:32.17) and 500 free (5:12.76). The only time that was a tad disappointing was the 500, but I took it out too slow and negative split it (2:38/2:34+).

As solid as I felt during the meet, I woke up on the Monday after and could barely move - my lower back was in major pain, wracked with spasms. I barely swam the week of January 29th, mustering only 5,000 yards, but then felt better and had two good weeks (Feb 5th and 12th weeks), culminating in the Matt & Annie Grevers Meet in Mesa where I swam, in about 3 hours total, all of the IMs (1:00.8, 2:12.3, 4:34.3) and the 50 breast (31.9).

As if on cue - do a good meet, have some pain - I then suffered through two plus weeks of my head full of gunk, with much of it concentrated in my sinuses to the point where going any amount under water was painful. I managed 7,500 yards during the week of Feb 19th (as the stuff was starting), 4K during the week of Feb 26th and really only started to feel like my old self again this weekend, notching up a little less than 10K for the week.

We are 9 weeks away from Indianapolis Nationals, which means I have to somehow put in 7 weeks of consistent training so that I can do some semblance of a taper. I am 100% committed to being in Indy and put my entries in this weekend:

• Friday
  
  • 400 IM
  • 100 fly
  
  
• Saturday
  
  • 100 free (6th event)
  • 200 fly
  
  
• Sunday
  
  • 50 fly
  • 200 IM

I figure with the above line-up, I can put some focus around my training, and swim many of my favorite events. I am really hoping that, by skipping the 500 on Sunday morning and keeping a lighter schedule, I can swim a decent 200 IM, something I haven't done at Nationals in a long time.

I'm ready to train and aiming to blog along with it. All roads lead to Indy!

I was not good (again) about trying to get back on the daily blog, but I had another great week of training, bumping up the run mileage about 5%, maintaining the overall swim volume right at 15K (15,150 to be exact), and, most importantly, finishing with a strong performance on Sunday vs. the fried performance I had done a week ago.

On Tuesday night, after resting my legs for 48 hours, I went over to MMR with my daughter (who had her workout there) and knocked out my 400 kick for time for the MEMO postal event (http://www.memoswimteam.com/400-kick-for-time.html). I was pleased with the 5:39.8 that I went, better than last year, but not as good as '15 when I was unofficially 5:30 low, and '14 when I was 5:38.25. After the swim, I jumped on the treadmill for an aerobic run/walk of 2.85 miles and then finished the night off with a mixture of stretch cord and weighted shoulder PT exercises.

For Wednesday morning's swim, I ripped the main set my daughter had done the night before and modified it, going 3500 yards in total with this gem accounting for most of it, done straight through on intervals:

• 6 x 150: on 2:00, free swim, descend #1-#3 with snorkel and then hold #4 to #6 swim
• 6 x 125: on 1:45, going 25 stroke - 100 free, rotating fly, back, breast twice through
• 6 x 100: on 1:45, IM kick, odds w/board, evens on back
• 6 x 75: on 1:15, going 25 stroke - 50 free, rotating fly, back, breast twice through
• 6 x 50: on 0:45, free aiming to hold 0:31 pace
• 6 x 25: on 0:30, 2 each stroke fly, back, breast fast

On Thursday, I had an evening school event with said daughter and so did a quick 1.66 miles on the treadmill and some more weighted shoulder PT exercises that morning.

Friday morning had me back in the pool for another 3,500 that featured 11 x 150 on 2:00 (a broken 1650) where I was pretty solid 1:38s on most, saw 3 1:39s, 2 1:37s and pushed the last one as hard as I could to a 1:36.

Yesterday afternoon, Saturday, I did a 1.31 treadmill run/walk before getting in a 3000 yard swim that, after the warmup, was sprint-centric. The main set was:

• 4 rounds of 8 x 25 - 1 x 50
  
  • 25s were stroke order by round, aiming for target 400 IM pace on 0:35 for all strokes except breast which was 0:40
  • I was solid 14s on the fly, 15s on the back, 17s on the breast and 13-14s on the free
  • The 50 was easy breast kick w/snorkel
  
  
• Immediately after that, I did 3 x 50 active recover on 0:45, 0:50, 1:30 and then went a fast 100 IM, where I was 1:04+ (which is almost my target 400 IM pace)

Which brings us to Sunday and a repeat of my 400 IM test set workout. I was not Mr. Bonk-Man and my strokes felt pretty good throughout:

Warmup sets (1,450 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel (1:11, 1:08, 1:06, 1:02)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, IM kick descend, odds w/board, evens on back
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,050 set / 3,500 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
• 
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 33, 31+, 38, 29
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 34, 34, 41, 31
  • 01/21/18 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 1:16, 1:14, 1:10, 1:06
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 1:15+, 1:12+, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 1:16, 1:13, 1:10, 1:07
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 1:17, 1:16, 1:14, 1:13
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:10, 1:04
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 2:36, 2:23
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 2:32, 2:20+
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 2:37, 2:23+
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 2:41, 2:28
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 2:35, 2:21
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 12/03/17 - SCY from push - 4:51
  • 12/24/17 - SCY from push - 4:46
  • 01/06/18 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 01/14/18 - SCY from push - 5:01+
  • 01/14/18 - SCY from push - 4:51
  
  
• 3 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,500 SCY​

I had a great week of training and hit all of my goals:

• 5 swimming workouts totaling 15k yards, up from 13K last week, and 12.5K the week before
• 2 running/walking workouts, up to 5.5 miles from last week's 5 miles
• 3 shoulder PT sessions

... but the intensity of Friday's Zipfizz and Saturday's Zekey-Twos left me bonked before I even began today's 400 IM test set. I was slow from the warmups and just couldn't muster any speed. As January and February are planned months to break myself down, this is all good ... it still hurt, though

Warmup sets (1,450 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel (1:12 all the way down to 1:11!)
• 1 x 400: on 6:30, dolphin-flutter kick w/board, was 6:01+ today (have been as fast as 5:50+ over the last few weeks)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,050 set / 3,500 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 33, 31+, 38, 29
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 34, 34, 41, 31
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 1:16, 1:14, 1:10, 1:06
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 1:15+, 1:12+, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 1:16, 1:13, 1:10, 1:07
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 1:17, 1:16, 1:14, 1:13
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 2:36, 2:23
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 2:32, 2:20+
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 2:37, 2:23+
  • 01/14/18 - SCY - 2:41, 2:28
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 12/03/17 - SCY from push - 4:51
  
  
  
  • 12/24/17 - SCY from push - 4:46
  • 01/06/18 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 01/14/18 - SCY from push - 5:01+
  
  
• 3 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,500 SCY

Comments:

• Really looking forward to my day of rest tomorrow

When I started this blog, almost a decade ago (I began in December 2008), my oldest daughter was about to turn 13 and I used to get some workout set ideas from her. She's still swimming at university and she still tells me her sets, but what she does is now is so far out of my capabilities that I have turned to my youngest daughter, now 14, for workout inspiration. This main set came from her. Thanks, Zara (aka Zekey-Bee):

Warmup sets (1,050 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25s
• 3 x 100: on 1:20, free swim w/snorkel
• 4 x 50: on 0:55, descend kick on back, dolphin-flutter by 25s
• 4 x 25: on 0:45, strong, reverse IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

Zekey-twos (2,000 set / 3,050 total)
4 rounds of:

• 6 x 50:
  
  • IM order by round
  • #1, #3 and #5 are stroke, descend to target 400 IM pace on 0:50, 0:50, 1:00 (plus +:05 to the intervals for breast). My goal was to start 4 seconds above pace and drop 2 seconds each
    
    • Fly was 0:33, 0:32, 0:29++
    • Back was 0:35, 0:34, 0:31
    • Breast was 0:40, 0:39, 0:38
    • Free was 0:32, 0:30+, 0:29+
    
    
  • #2 and #4 were stroke kick, strong, but not all out on 0:55 (1:00 for breast)
  • #6 was easy breast kick w/snorkel and band on 1:30'
  
  
• 1 x 200: IM on 3:00, descend over the rounds, was 2:33, 2:27, 2:24, 2:19+

Cool-down (200 set / 3,250 total)
4 x 50: active recovery free w/snorkel on 0:40, 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,250 SCY

Comments:

• This was a good main set. While making the intervals was not tough, it left me huffing and puffing throughout.
• It's also good to note that this took my almost spot on one hour from the time I jumped in, until the I got out.
• I am going to try my 400 IM test set again tomorrow, hopefully making that a Sunday tradition.

I had forgotten about one of my favorite, quick but hard workouts, something I christened my Zipfizz 200 workout back when I first powered through it thanks, in part, to that fizzy energy drink. I went with my traditional double espresso this morning and was quite happy with the result:

Warmup sets (1,050 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25s
• 3 x 100: on 1:20, free swim w/snorkel
• 4 x 50: on 0:55, descend kick on back, dolphin-flutter by 25s
• 4 x 25: on 0:45, strong, reverse IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

SCY ZipFizz 200s (2,450 set / 3,500 total)

• 5 x 200: on 2:20
  
  • 03-05-14 - 2:11, 2:11, 2:11+, 2:10, 2:10
  • 09-29-15 - 2:11, 2:12, 2:11+, 2:11, 2:09+
  • 10-13-15 - 2:12, 2:11+, 2:11, 2:11, 2:07
  • 11-24-15 - w/snorkel - 2:10, 2:10+, 2:11, 2:12, 2:12
  • 01-09-16 - 2:05+, 2:07, 2:07+, 2:08, 2:09
  • 02-10-16 - 2:07+, 2:08+, 2:09, 2:09+, 2:10+
  • 03-14-16 - 2:06+, 2:07, 2:07, 2:08++++, 2:09
  • 11-30-16 - 2:08+, 2:10, 2:09+, 2:09, 2:10
  • 01-12-18 - 2:10, 2:10, 2:11, 2:09, 2:08
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 3 x 200: on 2:35, descend
  
  • 03-05-14 - 2:14, 2:10, 2:06
  • 09-29-15 - 2:18, 2:11, 2:05
  • 10-13-15 - 2:14+, 2:09+, 2:04+
  • 11-25-15 - w/snorkel except last one - 2:14, 2:10, 2:06
  • 01-09-16 - 2:14, 2:09, 2:03
  • 02-10-16 - 2:18, 2:09, 2:04
  • 03-14-16 - 2:14, 2:11, 2:04+
  • 11-30-16 - 2:15, 2:11, 2:04
  • 01-12-18 - 2:15, 2:11, 2:06
  
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:55, 1:05, 1:30
• 1 x 200: on 2:30
  
  • 03-05-14 - 2:04
  • 09-29-15 - 2:03
  • 10-13-15 - 1:58
  • 11-25-15 - 2:01+
  • 01-09-16 - 2:02
  • 02-10-16 - 2:02+
  • 03-14-16 - skipped it
  • 11-30-16 - 2:01+
  • 01-12-18 - 2:04
  
  
• 5 x 50: active recovery on 0:40, 0:45, 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,500 SCY

Comments:

• I'd certainly performed better/faster on prior incarnations, but this was not too far off.
• Last night I had done a 2.75 mile treadmill run/walk plus my shoulder PT band and weights work.
• I'm feeling like I'm in a groove where I can really start to work hard consistently.

My new workout vision for each week is:

• Monday - OFF
• Tuesday - PT in the morning, run + easy swim in the evening (~1.5 to 2k)
• Wednesday - 3-3.5K aerobic free-centric workout in the morning
• Thursday - PT in the morning, run in the evening '
• Friday - 3-3.5K aerobic free-centric workout in the morning
• Saturday and Sunday - 3.5 to 4k IM-centric workout on each day

I totally nailed Monday and was on track for Tuesday until I opened my bag in the locker room after work and realized I had not packed any running gear. So, I switched up and did my "Wednesday" morning swim on Tuesday evening, a repeat of my 3 x 300 free test set:

Warmup sets (1,850 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel
• 1 x 400: on 6:30, dolphin-flutter kick w/board, 5:51
• 8 x 50:
  
  • #1 and #7 on 1:20, breast kick w/snorkel and strap
  • #2 to #4 on 0:50 and #5 to #7 on 0:45, free swim, aiming to hold 0:30s (was more like 0:30+ with a few low 0:31s)
  
  
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

3 x 300 Test Set (900 set / 2,750 total)
3 x 300: on 4:00, aim to hold the fastest pace consistently both within 100s and across the 300s

• 12-13-13 - 3:25, 3:23, 3:20, 3:14 (went 4 for some reason)
• 02-27-14 - 3:16, 3:12, 3:10+
• 05-21-14 - 3:14+, 3:10, 3:06
• 01-04-16 - 3:16, 3:15, 3:14
• 01-20-16 - 3:11+, 3:09, 3:06
• 02-03-16 - 3:09, 3:09, 3:11
• 11-20-16 - 3:09, 3:10+, 3:09
• 12-03-16 - 3:08+, 3:09, 3:08++
• 11-05-17 - 3:31, 3:35, 3:44
• 12-01-17 - 3:24, 3;21+, 3:17
• 01-09-18 - 3:13+, 3:15, 3:12+

• I kind of felt a bit sloppy, but very happy with the performance on that. While one workout / one set is not enough to state equivalency, that puts me back where I was at the start of 2016, the year in which I swam my fastest ever 1000 and 1650 times

Last Bit of Pace (250 set / 3,000 total)
5 x 50: on 0:45, aim to hold first 4 at 0:30 and then cool-down

TOTAL: 3,000 SCY

This morning, I then ran 2.75 miles on the treadmill and got in a 1,500 warmup "workout." I'll get back on plan tomorrow!

I dove in deeply into my new company and job this week. It was a whirlwind, but very fun and engaging. I've got to work on a new workout schedule now that I'm working from an office each day and not traveling as much - a very good 'problem' to have, but one that will take a few weeks to get into a routine. Here's how the week flowed, training-wise:

• Monday, Jan 1st - went indoor skydiving at iFly. A pricey blast.
• Tuesday, Jan 2nd - ran 2.5 miles and did my shoulder PT
• Wednesday, Jan 3rd - swam 3,250 SCY - warmup and then a broken mile set
• Thursday, Jan 3rd - repeat of Tuesday
• Friday, Jan 4th - swam 3,000 SCY - warmup followed by 4 x 400 on 5:00, descend within each 400 and across the set
• Saturday, Jan 5th - swam a 3,000 SCY, IM-centric workout

... which brings us to today and a repeat of my 400 IM test set:

Warmup sets (1,750 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel
• 1 x 400: on 6:30, dolphin-flutter kick w/board, 5:50+
• 6 x 50: on 0:55, #1 and #6 cruise/drill, #2 to #5 reverse IM order build
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,050 set / 3,800 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28
  
  
  
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 33, 31+, 38, 29
  
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 1:16, 1:14, 1:10, 1:06
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 1:15+, 1:12+, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 1:16, 1:13, 1:10, 1:07
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 2:36, 2:23
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 2:32, 2:20+
  • 01/06/18 - SCY - 2:37, 2:23+
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 12/03/17 - SCY from push - 4:51
  
  
  
  • 12/24/17 - SCY from push - 4:46
  • 01/07/18 - SCY from push - 4:53
  
  
  
• 3 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,800 SCY

Comments:

• I was feeling pretty tired in the workout, but happy that I pushed through this.
• Monday is going to be my new 'off-day' and I'm also going to try, try, try to get back into daily blogging (when I workout).

I've entered the MEMO 400 kick for time each of the last 4 years - https://www.clubassistant.com/club/c...1983&cid=75746 - and was excited to see an extension this year to January 22nd. That gives me time to practice and see if I can get my legs in better 'kick-racing' shape. I've decided to incorporate a 400 kick fast into my warmup routine, along with whatever other kicking I'll do in the workout.

As my parents were up early to catch a flight back east this morning, after seeing them off, I headed over to the JCC for an aerobic 2.5 mile run on the treadmill, my 'weight-bearing' shoulder PT exercises and then dove in for this:

Warmup sets (1,500)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill
• 3 x 100: on 1:20, free swim w/snorkel descend
• 4 x 50: on 0:55, dolphin-flutter kick streamlined on my back by 25s
• 4 x 25: on 0:35, reverse IM order swim, strong, but not all out
• 1 x 50: easy breast kick w/snorkel and band around my knees
• 1 x 400: dolphin/flutter w/board for time, was 5:51+ (which is better than the 5:52.76 I did last year, but way slower than the 5:30 I went in 2015)
• 1 x 50: easy breast kick w/snorkel and band around my knees

Broken Mile (1,750 set / 3,250 total)
3 rounds of:

• 3 x 50: on 0:45
• 2 x 100: on 1:25
• 1 x 150: on 2:05

Followed by one round of 3 x 50 on 0:45 and then 100 recovery

50s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 0:30s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - solid 0:29s, maybe one 0:28+ and one 0:30-
• 11-25-15 - SCY- 0:30+/0:31 on round 1, 0:30s on round 2 w/snorkel, 0:29s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 0:30s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 31+ to 31++++++++
• 01-16-15 - SCY - all 0:29s
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 0:30, 0:31, 0:30, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:31, 0:31+
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 0:28+, 0:29, 0:29, rest were 0:30 flats
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 0:30 flats on the first 4 then 0:31/2 on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - round 1 0:32s, round 2 0:31s, round 3 0:30+/0:31-, round 4 (0:29, 0:29, 0:28++)
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 31+, 31, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 33, 33
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 31+, 31, 30+, 31+, 31+, 31, 32, 32, 32
• 12-26-17 - SCY - 30+ to 31+ on all, with on errant 29+ in there; on the 'extra round,' I was 30+, 0:29+, 0:28+++

100s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:00/1:01s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 0:59s/1:00-s
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:02/1:00+ on round 1, 1:02s on round 2 w/snorkel, 1:01s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 1:00+/1:01s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:04 to 1:04+
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:00, 1:01, 1:02, 1:01+, 1:02, 1:02
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:01, 1:02, 1:02+, 1:02, went last round easy
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:00 flats all the way
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:02s on the first 4 then 1:03/3+ on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:04, 1:03+, 1:04, 1:02+, 1:02, 1:01+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:04, 1:04+, 1:04, 1:05, 1:06, 1:06
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 1:05, 1:04+, 1:04, 1:03+, 1:05, 1:05
• 12-26-17 - SCY - 1:03, 1:03, 1:03+, 1:02+, 1:03, 1:02

150s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:33, 1:32, 1:33
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 1:30, 1:29, 1:28+
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:32, 1:37 (w/snorkel), 1:33
• 12-01-15 - SCY - 1:32+, 1:32+, 1:30 (pushed the last one harder)
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:40, 1:37, 1:37
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:33, 1:33, 1:32
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:35+, 1:34, loafed last round
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:30-, 1:30+, 1:28-
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:35, 1:35, 1:37
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:36, 1:34+, 1:32+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:39, 1:37, 1:42
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 1:37+, 1:37, 1:36+

• 12-05-17 - SCY - 1:36, 1:36+, 1:35-

TOTAL: 3,250 SCY

Comments:

• I was quite pleased with the entire workout. Even though I don't run very far and my PT exercises are not too intense, they usually tire me out more and my swim workouts usually suffer.

Though my blogging has lagged, my December training has been going fairly well. I had originally envisioned an 'animal month' of higher volume as I resigned from my previous professional position in November and will start my new gig officially next week, while really getting going in the New Year. I am certainly enjoying this month-long R&R from work, but my training was more steady than increasing. I did do one fun swimming related day trip that I recounted here - https://www.1001pools.com/single-pos...leage-pool-run - but only started to increase the volume and intensity this past week. I bumped up from about 10-11K SCY per week to 13K SCY equivalents this week and finished off with an excellent effort on my 400 IM test set today:

Warmup sets (1,450 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim w/snorkel, (1:13 -> 1:04)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, dolphin-flutter kick descend on back (1:25+ -> 1:19)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order (0:14, 0:15+, 0:17, 0:13)
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,050 set / 3,500 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 1:16, 1:14, 1:10, 1:06
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 1:15+, 1:12+, 1:08, 1:05
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, easy breast kick w/snorkel & strap
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 2:36, 2:23
  • 12/24/17 - SCY - 2:32, 2:20+
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 12/03/17 - SCY from push - 4:51
  
  
  
  • 12/24/17 - SCY from push - 4:46
  
  
• 3 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,500 SCY

Comments:

• My plan is to ramp up to about 15K SCY equivalents next week and then I aim to stay at about that volume for January, mixing in about 6-8 miles of running and my shoulder PT exercises.
• Professionally, I am very much looking forward to my new role at a new organization, but the impact of my new job on my personal life should be even greater as my office is a 1.5 mile walk from my house and my business travel, while not going to zero, should reduce by at least 50% and potentially more.

On Monday, I had a good run, full shoulder PT routine, and then easy, drill-centric 1,000 yard swim. In closing the swim, I did two 25s fly where my fly finally felt like it should - smooth, powerful, as close to effortless as the stroke can be.

Today was a swim-centric day and I repeated by Broken Mile test set:

Warmup sets (1,450 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:30, free descend w/snorkel (1:12 -> 1:06)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, dolphin-flutter kick descend w/board (1:27 -> 1:23)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy free, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy w/snorkel

Broken Mile (1,650 set / 3,100 total)
3 rounds of:

• 3 x 50: on 0:45
• 2 x 100: on 1:25
• 1 x 150: on 2:05

50s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 0:30s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - solid 0:29s, maybe one 0:28+ and one 0:30-
• 11-25-15 - SCY- 0:30+/0:31 on round 1, 0:30s on round 2 w/snorkel, 0:29s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 0:30s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 31+ to 31++++++++
• 01-16-15 - SCY - all 0:29s
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 0:30, 0:31, 0:30, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:31, 0:31+
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 0:28+, 0:29, 0:29, rest were 0:30 flats
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 0:30 flats on the first 4 then 0:31/2 on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - round 1 0:32s, round 2 0:31s, round 3 0:30+/0:31-, round 4 (0:29, 0:29, 0:28++)
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 31+, 31, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 33, 33
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 31+, 31, 30+, 31+, 31+, 31, 32, 32, 32

100s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:00/1:01s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 0:59s/1:00-s
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:02/1:00+ on round 1, 1:02s on round 2 w/snorkel, 1:01s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 1:00+/1:01s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:04 to 1:04+
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:00, 1:01, 1:02, 1:01+, 1:02, 1:02
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:01, 1:02, 1:02+, 1:02, went last round easy
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:00 flats all the way
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:02s on the first 4 then 1:03/3+ on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:04, 1:03+, 1:04, 1:02+, 1:02, 1:01+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:04, 1:04+, 1:04, 1:05, 1:06, 1:06
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 1:05, 1:04+, 1:04, 1:03+, 1:05, 1:05

150s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:33, 1:32, 1:33
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 1:30, 1:29, 1:28+
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:32, 1:37 (w/snorkel), 1:33
• 12-01-15 - SCY - 1:32+, 1:32+, 1:30 (pushed the last one harder)
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:40, 1:37, 1:37
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:33, 1:33, 1:32
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:35+, 1:34, loafed last round
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:30-, 1:30+, 1:28-
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:35, 1:35, 1:37
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:36, 1:34+, 1:32+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:39, 1:37, 1:42
• 12-05-17 - SCY - 1:37+, 1:37, 1:36+

3 x 50: on 0:45, 0:50, active recovery

TOTAL: 3,100 SCY

Comments:

• My free didn't feel as connected as those two moments of brilliant fly the day before, but I felt steady throughout this. This test set has been a good barometer for what I could hold in an actual mile race (not that I'm racing that distance any time soon), so it will be good to repeat periodically as a test for my endurance.

After the Ron Johnson meet (http://forums.usms.org/entry.php?413...I-love-to-race!), I kind of went on an unintentional extended taper, getting in a couple of easy swims before Thanksgiving and then flying up to Toronto to visit my second daughter for the long weekend. I did nab two new pools for my www.1001pools.com effort, #322 (Miles Nadal JCC) and #323 (U of T Benson Pool), that were both 25 yards rather than metres long. I was in somewhat crowded open lap swimming times in each pool, but managed to get in a semblance of my Broken Mile set at the JCC and then a partial 'Hackett 200' effort at the U of T training pool. I was kind of slow getting back into swimming this week, but managed two good workouts this week.

Friday - 3 x 300 Test Set
As with the last effort about a month ago (http://forums.usms.org/entry.php?412...s-good-to-bonk), I did my typical 1,750 warmup and then got into it, with MUCH better results:

• 12-13-13 - 3:25, 3:23, 3:20, 3:14 (went 4 for some reason)
• 02-27-14 - 3:16, 3:12, 3:10+
• 05-21-14 - 3:14+, 3:10, 3:06
• 01-04-16 - 3:16, 3:15, 3:14
• 01-20-16 - 3:11+, 3:09, 3:06
• 02-03-16 - 3:09, 3:09, 3:11
• 11-20-16 - 3:09, 3:10+, 3:09
• 12-03-16 - 3:08+, 3:09, 3:08++

• 11-05-17 - 3:31, 3:35, 3:44
• 12-01-17 - 3:24, 3;21+, 3:17

If I could get back to the 3:10 average range by February, I'll be setting myself up for a great spring of racing.

Sunday - 400 IM Test set
I did a bit shorter warmup and cool-down, but made some marginal improvements on my 400 IM Test set today:

Warmup sets (1,450 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:30, free descend swim, (1:12, 1:08, 1:08, 1:07)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, dolphin-flutter kick descend odds w/board, evens on back (1:26 -> 1:21)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order (0:13+, 0:15, 0:17, 0:12+)
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,050 set / 3,500 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 32+, 33, 38, 29
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:00, easy
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 1:16, 1:14, 1:10, 1:06
  
  
• 1 x 50: easy on 1:00
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  • 12/03/17 - SCY - 2:36, 2:23
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  • 12/03/17 - SCY from push - 4:51
  
  
• 3 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 3,500 SCY

Comments:

• Have to start some core work in addition to my PT workouts. My abs were burning on the IM set today on both the 200 and 400.

Euphoric. Blissed out. High on life.

I couldn't sleep on Sunday night after two days and 8 events of racing at the Ron Johnson / Arizona State SCM Championships. I was absolutely wasted physically, my muscles sore, a physical sloth on the couch watching TV with my wife, but my interior world was ablaze with endorphins, just sheer joy at having been able to get up and race hard, over and over again throughout the weekend. No pain. All the gain to my soul.

Damn, I love to race.

Saturday

I started with the 50 breast, my warmup race for the meet. I went too deep on the start, took too long to get up and then spun like a whisk, all legs and arms akimbo and out of control. Though I was nowhere near my 33.39 best from 2013, I was very pleased with the 35.65 on the scoreboard, a marked improvement over the 38.02 from less than two months ago.

My freestyle has been feeling good in workouts lately and I was pretty sure I'd beat the 2:09.88 that I had entered in the 200 free. But, lined up in lane 2 of the second to last heat, what I wanted to do was beat Kurt Dickson's son in lane 1 and a 30-something woman in lane 3. We had a blast of a race, all three of us pretty much turning even throughout the race, with the lead changing here and there. I thought I had saved enough in my legs and my lungs to power through the last 25, but came up short to both of them, one of them at 2:08.10 and then other at 2:08.20. My 2:08.52 still made me smile.

At this point in the program, there was a long break for relays. The sun was going down (the session's warmups had started at noon) and I was feeling pretty tired, happy, but toasty in the arms. The event I was really excited about, the 200 IM, was going off about 6:30pm, but the 100 breast was before. Going into the meet, I was 95% convinced that I would only be able and want to race 2, maybe 3 events per session. I didn't think I had it in me to race both events and had pretty much made my mind up to skip the breaststroke, until Barry Roth, a great guy from Tucson, using an argument of - "It's better to be in the water racing than sitting on the deck" - convinced me to swim. I had plenty of time between the races and so off I went. I made sure not to spin like I did in the 50 and was quite happy with the 1:16.94 that I went, only a little more than 2 seconds slower than my Masters best (1:14.39).

Then, an amazing thing happened. Rather than tiring me out more, swimming the 100 breast acted like a jolt of energy, a second wind. When I got on the blocks for my 200 IM, I was feeling pumped, like it was the first race of the meet. I had been pretty ambitious in my entry time (2:20.89) considering that I had gone 2:30.61 about 7 weeks ago at the Jamina Winston meet in Mesa. The whole race felt pretty strong and I was elated with the 2:23.49 result.

Sunday

My appetizer event was the 100 IM. We have had a surge of 20- and 30-something guys start racing recently, so it's getting harder for us old guys to get into the fast heat in any of the 100s, but I was in a good heat with a few guys in my age group. Based upon my 200 IM being about 7 seconds off my Masters' best, I figured that I should / could be around 1:06.5 (best was 1:02.91). I was probably a bit too relaxed on the fly as I should've gotten further ahead of the guy next to me (who is a better sprint breaststroker) and I then didn't have enough juice on the freestyle leg to make up the lead he created on breast. I beat my expectation, though, at 1:06.30.

I had almost three hours before the 400 IM during which I called my brother and read just about every word (save the inane marriage announcements) in the Sunday New York Times. I probably should've done a little more warming up before the actual race, but I didn't want to tucker myself out. I had been 5:20.24 at the meet at the end of September and had this pipe dream that I could dip under the 5 minute mark. Oh was this one painful! In a John Cougar Hurts So Good kind of a way. I got to the 50 of the fly and thought I was done. I don't ever remember breathing so hard throughout any backstroke in my life. I couldn't do a breaststroke pullout off the first wall and the remaining pushoffs had me feeling like a drowning man coming up for air, for life. I managed to have some legs left on the last 50 and was pleased with the 5:02.05 result. This was the only race I ended up winning outright and I thank Darian Townsend for not swimming it (he lapped me last year!).

At this point, I could have gone home. I had raced enough, but I had also told a few guys who were in the 200 breast that I would 100 percent for sure be there for that, so I couldn't back out. I've only swum this event two other times in short course meters, having gone 2:44.62 back in 2012 and 2:43.35 in 2014. 2014 was the fall season when I was really working on my breaststroke and had been when I recorded my best 100 time. I really had no clue where I'd end up, but, much like on Saturday, I felt rejuvenated on this event. I swam very smooth through the 100 and then aimed to build the last 100. I was shocked to see a 2:43.70 on the scoreboard, damn near a best time!

The final individual event of the day was the 100 free. I don't know why I was entered in a 1:05.05, as my best time 55.92 and I'd even gone a 1:00.29 at altitude a few years back. I tried to imagine what I was thinking and the only thing I came up with was that I had planned to do a 100 fly ... but I didn't really feel like doing a 100 fly, and I definitely didn't feel like doing a 100 free. As I stood behind the blocks, with one heat to go, I was still debating between doing a 100 fly or going a 50 free to a touch and then relaxing. I turned to Lindsey Urbatchka, who was in the heat after me, and asked her to pick one. She was absolutely marvelous and said something to the effect of, "Do neither. Do a 50 fly. It's my favorite event!" And so I did. I LOVED it. It was the perfect way to end the meet. I blasted a 2 breath 28.69, respectably close enough to my 27.62 best from 7 years ago.

What an AWESOME WEEKEND. I cannot wait to race again.

Even though I don't really have real base of volume from which to taper from, I am acting like this is a taper week, so I got a massage yesterday and my workout was Finnish - 10 to 15 minutes in the steam round followed by a cold shower, then 10 to 15 minutes in the hot tub followed by a cold shoulder, with a final repeat of the steam -shower. It was pure bliss.

... and the results, while logical and entirely consistent with where I know I am in terms of fitness, were still a bit disappointing. There's nothing quite like the cold slap in the face of objective data. Below are the last three short course yards' efforts where, if the trendline moves up and to the left, that is an indication of less fitness:

• March 30th being about one month before 2016 Nationals (when I was in good shape)
• November 22nd, 2016 being a little more than 10 days after last year's Ron Johnson / SCM Champs meet (so I was kind of still riding the taper)

Again, these data completely make sense. I know they are reflective of reality. But I can still not be happy about reality, right?

Warmup Sets (1,750 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, k/d
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend w/snorkel (1:13, 1:12+, 1:10+, 1:10)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, IM kick, odds w/board, evens on back descend (1:31+, 1:29+, 1:7+, 1:26)
• 6 x 50: on 0:55, #1 & #6 easy free w/snorkel, #2 to #5 strong fly, back, free, free (0:34, 0:33, 0:38, 0:30)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order (13+, 15, 16+, 13)
• 1 x 50: easy w/snorkel

Salo Pulse Plot (900 set / 2,650 total)
8 x 100: on 3:00, pulse plot, going 70-80-90-100-100-90-80-70 percent effort and taking pulse at 0:10, 0:30 and 1:00 after each repeat

• 02/19/2014 - 1:08, 1:04, 1:02, 1:00+, 1:00+, 1:01+, 1:05, 1:06
• 03/20/2014 - 1:05, 1:00, 0:59, 0:57+, 0:56, 0:59, 1:01+, 1:04
• 12/02/2015 - 1:08, 1:05, 1:01, 0:57, 0:57, 1:00+, 1:05, 1:07.5
• 01/28/2016 - 1:10, 1:07, 1:02, 0:59, 0:59, 1:05+, 1:09, 1:12
• 02/12/2016 - 1:08, 1:04, 0:59, 0:57, 0:57+, 1:00, 1:05, 1:06
• 03/02/2016 - 1:11, 1:08, 1:03+, 0:59+, 0:57+, 1:01, 1:07+, 1:09+
• 03/30/2016 - 1:10, 1:05+, 1:02+, 0:59, 0:59, 1:02, 1:06, 1:08
• 11/22/2016 - 1:12, 1:07, 1:03, 1:00, 57+, 1:04+, 1:09+, 1:09
• 11/15/2017 - 1:13, 1:09, 1:03, 59+, 1:01, 1:05, 1:09, 1:13+

TOTAL: 2,650 SCY

Comments:

• While I would like my fitness to be better, I at least had some moments in the set where I felt 'at one' with my stroke and the water. My 3rd 100, where I really felt like I was easy cruising, was really surprising to see a 1:30.
• It looks like our final turnout for this weekend's meet is 225 swimmers, which is going to make for a great meet - https://www.clubassistant.com/club/c...1044&smid=9429. The weather forecast looks perfect for a weekend of racing.
• I am entered in the following ...

Event Number	Sex	Distance	Stroke	Time	Date
3	Men	50 SCM	Breast	0:35.77	11/18/2017
5	Men	200 SCM	Free	2:09.88	11/18/2017
9	Men	100 SCM	Breast	1:16.25	11/18/2017
12	Men	200 SCM	IM	2:20.89	11/18/2017
17	Men	100 SCM	IM	1:06.26	11/19/2017
24	Men	400 SCM	IM	5:04.00	11/19/2017
26	Men	200 SCM	Breast	2:44.62	11/19/2017
27	Men	100 SCM	Free	1:05.05	11/19/2017

• ... but will have to look at the timeline.
  
  • I will definitely NOT swim all 4 events on Saturday as, especially given my fitness, don't want to wipe myself out then given that the 400 IM is on Sunday. I will swim the 50 breast and then make a decision whether I do the 200 free OR the 100 breast.
  • On Sunday, I will swim both of the IMs, but then might call it a day. I can see a scenario where I try the 100 free, but also even, if there's enough rest after the 400 IM, where I just look at the remaining events as a quality workout. We'll see how I feel on the day.

Rather than splitting up my run and swim today, I just did them back-to-back. Though the run was only 2.25 miles, that and the hard IM set, had me struggling throughout the warmup (e.g., the 1,750 set that I'd done the last few workouts). My main set today was 7 x 200 on 2:40, aiming to hold 2:24, which is the threshold pace determined from my 3 x 300 test earlier this week (http://forums.usms.org/entry.php?412...s-good-to-bonk). I ended up going 2:21+, 2:21, 2:21, 2:20, 2:20, 2:20, 2:21+ and then wrapped up the workout with a recovery set of 5 x 50, giving me 3,400 yards for the workout and 15K yards over the course of the week.

I am taking a much deserved day of rest tomorrow and then will execute a bit of rest ahead of next week's Ron Johnson / State Short Course Meters Champs - https://www.clubassistant.com/club/m...1044&smid=9429. Turnout is looking GREAT - already up to 175 swimmers and the weather forecast looks perfect!

After watching daughter #3 race both Friday night and this morning, I got over to the JCC and repeated the exact same workout from last week, with some decent enough improvements

Warmup sets (1,750 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim, (1:11+, 1:10+, 1:08+, 1:07+)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, IM kick descend w/board (1:31, 1:29+, 1:28, 1:27+
• 6 x 50: on 1:00, #1 and #6 cruise free, #2 to #5 IM order build (0:33, 0:33, 0:39, 0:30)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order (0:13+, 0:15, 0:17, 0:12+)
• 1 x 50: easy

400 IM Test Set (2,250 set / 4,000 total)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace
  
  • My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 30, 31, 37, 28
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 31+, 30+, 36, 27+
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 32+, 33+, 39, 30 (my foot cramped on the last 5 yards on the backstroke and I had to stop for almost 5 minutes to stretch it out)
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 31+, 32+, 37, 29
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 31, 35, 39, 29
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 31, 33, 37+, 28
  
  
  
• 1 x 50: on 1:00, easy
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that
  
  • SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 1:08, 1:06, 1:07, 1:06+ (I forgot these were supposed to be descend and started hard)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 1:09+, 1:09, 1:05, 1:03++
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 1:10, 1:08+, 1:06+, 1:04
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 1:15, 1:12, 1:08, 1:05
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 1:13, 1:11, 1:08, 1:05+
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05
  • 11/04/17 - SCY - 1:18, 1:15, 1:12, 1:08+
  • 11/11/17 - SCY - 1:17, 1:15, 1:10, 1:07
  
  
  
• 1 x 50: easy on 1:00
• 2 x 200: on 3:00, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:05+ in SCY)
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
  • 10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
  • 03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
  • 03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
  • 12/30/14 - SCY - 2:30, 2:18
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 2:31, 2:17
  • 01/18/16 - SCY - 2:35, 2:17
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 2:36, 2:17
  • 11/04/17 - SCY -2:40, 2:26
  • 11/11/17 - SCY -2:33, 2:23+
  
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
• 1 x 400: IM on 5:20, hard
  
  • 10/10/13 - SCY from push - 4:36 (1:05, 1:09, 1:20, 1:02)
  • 10/17/13 - SCY from push - 4:38 (couldn't see splits in the sun)
  • 03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
  • 03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
  • 12/30/14 - SCY from push - 4:42+ (1:09, 1:11, 1:20, 1:02+)
  • 02/12/15 - SCY - 4:47
  • 02/08/16 - SCY - 4:46
  • 11/04/17 - SCY from push - 4:56
  • 11/11/17 - SCY from push - 4:53
  
  
  
• 7 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 1 on 0:40, 2 on 0:45, 3 on 0:50

TOTAL: 4,000 SCY

Comments:

• I didn't bonk, but tomorrow will be the test. I did have that pleasant, mellow exhaustion at the end of a hard workout. I am feeling so happy to be able to push myself again! Shoulder is holding up well.

On Wednesday, I was out of the pool as planned, but did my full shoulder PT routine and an aerobic 2.37 mile (every tenth counts!) run on the treadmill. I was back at the JCC today and did my Broken Mile test set, for the first time in yards in over a year (last one here http://forums.usms.org/entry.php?395...Pistol-Fartlek ). I started off feeling great and then bonked on the last round, but it was another beautiful bonk where I felt happy to run out of gas:

Warmup sets (1,750 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, back descend swim (1:17, 1:16, 1:15, 1:12+)
• 4 x 100: on 1:50, IM kick descend, odds w/board, evens on back (1:28, 1:27, 1:24, 1:24)
• 6 x 50: on 0:55, #1 and #6 cruise/drill w/snorkel, #2 to #5 strong IM order (0:32, 0:34, 0:38, 0:30+)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy free, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy w/snorkel

Broken Mile (1,650 set / 3,400 total)
3 rounds of:

• 3 x 50: on 0:45
• 2 x 100: on 1:25
• 1 x 150: on 2:05

Followed by one extra round of 3 x 50 on 0:45

50s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 0:30s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - solid 0:29s, maybe one 0:28+ and one 0:30-
• 11-25-15 - SCY- 0:30+/0:31 on round 1, 0:30s on round 2 w/snorkel, 0:29s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 0:30s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 31+ to 31++++++++
• 01-16-15 - SCY - all 0:29s
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 0:30, 0:31, 0:30, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:30+, 0:31, 0:31+
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 0:28+, 0:29, 0:29, rest were 0:30 flats
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 0:30 flats on the first 4 then 0:31/2 on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - round 1 0:32s, round 2 0:31s, round 3 0:30+/0:31-, round 4 (0:29, 0:29, 0:28++)
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 31+, 31, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 31+, 31, 32, 33, 33

100s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:00/1:01s
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 0:59s/1:00-s
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:02/1:00+ on round 1, 1:02s on round 2 w/snorkel, 1:01s on round 3
• 12-01-15 - SCY - all 1:00+/1:01s
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:04 to 1:04+
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:00, 1:01, 1:02, 1:01+, 1:02, 1:02
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:01, 1:02, 1:02+, 1:02, went last round easy
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:00 flats all the way
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:02s on the first 4 then 1:03/3+ on last 2
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:04, 1:03+, 1:04, 1:02+, 1:02, 1:01+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:04, 1:04+, 1:04, 1:05, 1:06, 1:06

150s

• 11-05-15 - SCY - 1:33, 1:32, 1:33
• 11-12-15 - SCY - 1:30, 1:29, 1:28+
• 11-25-15 - SCY - 1:32, 1:37 (w/snorkel), 1:33
• 12-01-15 - SCY - 1:32+, 1:32+, 1:30 (pushed the last one harder)
• 12-29-15 - SCY - 1:40, 1:37, 1:37
• 01-16-16 - SCY - 1:33, 1:33, 1:32
• 03-29-16 - SCY - 1:35+, 1:34, loafed last round
• 04-20-16 - SCY - 1:30-, 1:30+, 1:28-
• 06-22-16 - SCY - 1:35, 1:35, 1:37
• 09-01-16 - SCY - 1:36, 1:34+, 1:32+
• 11-09-17 - SCY - 1:39, 1:37, 1:42

Cool-down (200 set / 3,600 total)

• 4 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55
• 10:00 hot tub

TOTAL: 3,600 SCY

Comments:

• Particularly on the second 150, I felt moments where my stroke finally felt like it was clicking, totally in a flow moment. It was fleeting, but I felt it and I want it back. That feeling of being completely connected to the water and POWERFUL, but in synch is one of my greatest highs.

I've never been as happy to bonk in a workout as I was this Sunday. While I probably should be sad and realize this showed how out-of-shape I am, I took the positive view that it indicated I am finally able to work hard enough over the course of a week to be good and truly tired.

On Sunday morning, I had gone to the JCC and done an aerobic version of my 2 mile treadmill version, as well as the stretch cord portion of my shoulder PT routine. I went back in the afternoon, with the aim of attempting my 3 x 300 test set followed by a USRPT set of IM 25s. I swam well through the same 1,750 warmup as I had done on Saturday (http://forums.usms.org/entry.php?412...00-IM-test-set!) and then launched into 3 x 300 on 4:00, aiming to hold a consistent, 'best average' pace across the set. The data below shows prior SCY performances:

• 12-13-13 - 3:25, 3:23, 3:20, 3:14 (went 4 for some reason)
• 02-27-14 - 3:16, 3:12, 3:10+
• 05-21-14 - 3:14+, 3:10, 3:06
• 01-04-16 - 3:16, 3:15, 3:14
• 01-20-16 - 3:11+, 3:09, 3:06
• 02-03-16 - 3:09, 3:09, 3:11
• 11-20-16 - 3:09, 3:10+, 3:09
• 12-03-16 - 3:08+, 3:09, 3:08++

... but I knew I'd be nowhere near those times. I didn't feel too bad on the first one (even though it was slow compared to the above) and then just fell apart from there:

• 11-05-17 - 3:31, 3:35, 3:44

Needless to say, I was limping into the wall on that last one and traded my set of USRPT 25s for a long set of UHT - Ultra Hot Tub

Monday is now my ideal rest day and I really enjoyed doing nothing other than a dog walk and my ~30 minute gentle yoga + meditation routine. I was back at the pool this morning for a long workout, the main set being the 'Hackett 200' set done as IMs:

Warmup sets (1,650 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:40, back descend swim
• 4 x 100: on 1:50, IM kick descend on back
• 16 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy free, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy w/snorkel

Hackett 200 Test Set (2,000)

• 16 x 50: on 0:45, every 4th one at target 200 race pace IM order (remainder easy free w/snorkel)
• 1 x 50: on 1:30, 'Soni kick drill' (breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band around my knees to promote narrow kick)

• 12 x 50: on 0:50, every 3rd one at target 200 race pace IM order (remainder easy free w/snorkel)
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, 'Soni kick drill' (breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band around my knees to promote narrow kick)

• 8 x 50: on 0:55, every 2nd one at target 200 race pace IM order (remainder easy free w/snorkel)
• 1 x 50: on 1:20, 'Soni kick drill' (breast kick w/snorkel and Finis band around my knees to promote narrow kick)

• 4 x 50: on 1:00, at target 200 race pace IM order
• 4 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:40, 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 4,000 SCY



Comments:

• I didn't bring my dive slate and so didn't write down the times, but was roughly:
  
  • Fly - started at 0:34 and pretty much dropped a second each round, ending up at 0:31 on the last roung
  • Back - 0:34 -> 0:32+
  • Breast - 0:39 -> 0:37
  • Free - pretty solid 0:29/0:30
  
  
• This was a good start to the day and the week of training