Of Swimming Bondage

I watched more of yesterday's Super Bowl then I think I have of a Super Bowl for the last twenty years (e.g., I cannot remember a time when I watched a Super Bowl since moving to Arizona), as some friends of ours had a combo kid birthday + Mardi Gras (they're from New Orleans) + Super Bowl party. It was a lot of fun and they had awesome fried oysters, gumbo and beignets. My JCC yoga flow yesterday morning was more stretchy than intense and so I didn't earn the volume of food I consumed; I was pretty sure my belly was going to scrape the bottom of Cactus today. I guess the only saving grace was that I stuck with my new personal alcohol policy and consumed tonic water instead of hurricanes, so I wasn't also dealing with a hurting head

Warmup sets (1,750 set)

• 1 x 400: IM, kick-drill by 25
• 4 x 100: on 1:20, free descend swim, w/snorkel (1:12, 1:10, 1:06, 1:03)
• 4 x 100: on 1:45, IM kick descend, odds w/board, evens on back (1:33, 1:28, 1:29, 1:25)
• 6 x 50: on 0:55, #1 and #6 cruise free, #2 to #5 IM order build (31+, 33, 38, 29)
• 8 x 25: on 0:30, odds easy, evens fast IM order
• 1 x 50: easy w/snorkel

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
  
  
• 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
  
  
• 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
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel 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
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:40, 0:50, 1:10, 1:30

1000 Pace 50s (700 set / 4,500 total)

• 10 x 50: on 0:50, aim for flipped finish to 0:30
  
  • was hitting very solid 0:30s and then pushed the last two extra hard and was 0:29 solid and, I swear, I saw the slightest glimpse 0:28 exceedingly high on the last one
  
  
• 4 x 50: active recovery w/snorkel on 0:40, 0:45, 0:50

TOTAL: 4,500 SCY

Comments:

• While the times were OK, I was happy with this performance, particularly for the straight IM as I felt like I worked it the entire way. With the more consistent training I've been doing since the start of 2016, even though I am taking a rest day once a week, I almost always start each workout still feeling the prior day's / week's efforts. It feels like I operating right on the edge - training hard enough, but not so hard that I get too broken down.
• I'm also trying very hard to 'periodize' my training where I follow a training approach over each 4 to 5 week cycle and use the last week of each cycle as a bit of a rest period. Today starts my second week of this cycle where I'm primarily doing sets that are focused around the 'cool kid' events - 1000/1650, 200 fly and 400 IM.
  
  • I'll run this cycle through early March (my rest week will be the week starting Feb 29th)
  • I'll then do a shorter 4 week, 3rd cycle with the same focus (maybe with a bit more speed work) so that I have a rest week leading up to our State Meet on April 2nd/3rd.
  • That will then leave with with a 4th cycle, also of 4 weeks, leading into Nationals.