Of Swimming Bondage

Exceeding low expectations

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pwb

, June 28th, 2014 at 05:21 PM (108 Views)

After feeling like a blob in the water last night, I wasn't expecting much from my attempt at my 400 IM test set this morning. Performance relative to expectations was off the chart; performance relative to past efforts was pretty darn good, as well.

Warmup sets (1,750 set)

1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
4 x 100: on 1:30, free descend swim w/snorkel (1:21, 1:19, 1:15, 1:11)
4 x 100: on 2:00, IM kick descend, odds w/board, evens on back (1:42, 1:39, 1:37, 1:36+)
6 x 50: on 1:00, #1 and #6 cruise free, #2 to #5 IM order build

0:34+, 0:37, 0:42, 0:32+ vs. June 1st effort of 0:39, 0:40, 0:44, 0:32+

Small break to make and shoot another shot of espresso
6 x 25: on 0:35, going 5-6-7-8-5 AFAP strokes off the wall then cruise for the first 5, then all fast on #6; wore Zoomers
1 x 100: easy

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

8 x 50: on 1:00, 2 each stroke, build the odds and make sure the evens are at your target 400 IM race pace

In SCM, my dream is to approach the 4:39.8 I did in 2008 in a tech suit. That race was split 1:03.8, 1:11.5, 1:21.1, 1:03.4 so target 50 times would be 33.5 (2nd 50 of fly), 35+ (back), 40+ (breast) and 31+ (free)
My SCY splits to dream of would be 29+ fly, 31+ back, 36+ breast, 29.0 free
09/17/13 - 35+, 35, 42, 33
09/23/13 - 33, 35, 40+, 31+ (much better!)
10/06/13 - 34, 35, 41, 32 (a little sluggish)
10/10/13 - SCY - 29, 30+, 36-, 28- (awesome)
10/17/13 - SCY - 31, 31+, 37, 28+ (sluggish start, OK finish)
10/27/13 - 33, 34+, 41, 31- (much better than expected)
10/30/13 - 33, 34, 40+++/41---, 31-
03/04/14 - SCY - 30, 32, 37, 30 (only fly feels good)
03/15/14 - SCY - 29+, 32, 36, 30 (felt pretty cruiseful)
04/01/14 - 0:33, 0:35, 0:40+, 0:32
04/14/14 - 0:33+, 0:35+, 0:41, 0:31+
06/01/14 - 0:33+, 0:35, 0:42, 0:31
06/27/14 - 0:34, 0:35, 0:42, 0:32

4 x 100: on 1:50, do as 100 IMs, descend to your target race pace divided by 4, ideally starting on #1 no slower than 12 seconds above that

SCM target would be to descend from 1:22 to 1:10
SCY target would be to descend from 1:14+ to 1:02+
09/17/13 - 1:23, 1:22, 1:19, 1:14
09/23/13 - 1:21, 1:19, 1:15, 1:12+
10/06/13 - 1:21, 1:17+, 1:14, 1:12-
10/10/13 - SCY - 1:11+, 1:10, 1:07, 1:03+
10/17/13 - SCY - 1:12, 1:09, 1:06, 1:04
10/27/13 - 1:21, 1:18, 1:15, 1:11+
10/30/13 - 1:21, 1:18, 1:14, 1:12
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++
04/01/14 - 1:21, 1:19, 1:14, 1:13
04/14/14 - 1:20, 1:18, 1:13+, 1:11
06/01/14 - 1:22, 1:20, 1:15+, 1:13
06/27/14 - 1:20, 1:18, 1:14, 1:11+

Masters Minute during which I did an easy 50 kick
2 x 200: on 3:20, build each stroke on #1, try to make #2 at your target 400 IM race pace divided by two (e.g., 2:20 in SCM, 2:05+ in SCY)

09/17/13 - 2:49, 2:38
09/23/13 - 2:49, 2:33
10/06/13 - 2:45, 2:33
10/10/13 - SCY - 2:28, 2:13+
10/17/13 - SCY - 2:26, 2:15
10/27/13 - 2:43, 2:32
10/30/13 - 2:41, 2:30+
03/04/14 - SCY - 2:24, 2:22
03/15/14 - SCY - 2:27, 2:15
04/01/14 - 2:47, 2:36
04/14/14 - 2:48, 2:30
06/01/14 - 2:43, 2:32
06/27/14 - 2:43+, 2:31

4 x 50: active recovery, on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55, 1:30
1 x 400: IM on 6:00, AFAP, from blocks

09/17/13 - 5:36 (ugh-o-rama)
09/23/13 - 5:15
10/06/13 - 5:10 (1:11, 1:19, 1:30, 1:10)
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)
10/27/13 - 5:20 (1:13, 1:21, 1:32, 1:14)
10/30/13 - 5:12 (1:14, 1:20, 1:28, 1:10)
03/04/14 - SCY from push - 5:02 (if only the pool was SCM)
03/15/14 - SCY from push - 4:40
04/01/14 - 5:21 (no splits)
04/14/14 - skipped it
06/01/14 - 5:13 (from dive)
06/27/14 - 5:08 (from dive) <= BEST EVER on this set

4 x 50: active recovery, on 0:45, 0:50, 0:55

TOTAL: 3,800 SCM

Commentary:

I guess all of the longer stuff and harder stuff I've been doing when I train with Peter is starting to pay off - my speed wasn't anything particularly great today, but the 400 straight at the end was really solid. I think the fastest I have ever gone on a 400 IM in workout is 5:04.
My summer work schedule has changed significantly and this will have benefits for my swimming:

My trip to India has been pushed off from early July to early September, due to a greater need for me to be at some key client meetings stateside in July.
What this means for my swimming is that I'll be able to train more consistently this summer and be able to race more.

Here's the revised racing plan:

July 5th & 6th - I've entered the 200 & 400 IM and the 1500 at the Arizona USAS Senior State Championship at ASU. I think I should be able to swim each of these events.
July 12th & 13th - I've entered a full boat of 8 events at the Swim Devil Masters Heat-stroker meet at Cactus (https://www.clubassistant.com/club/m...1044&smid=5801). We're already up to 31 entries, so this will be a huge meet compared to the recent one at Flagstaff. I might not get to swim everything as #3 daughter has her regional meet down at Kino/Mesa the same days. Fortunately, the Masters meet is an AM session and her meet is a mid-day session, so I'll get to race something.
July 26th & 27th - I've entered events on both days of our AZ State Meet in Tucson. If I can keep my training up, I'll go ahead and taper and shave for this. I'm still not sure if I can be there for both days, so have entered events on each day that will make me happy should I only get to one day of the meet.