DAC meet

1500 - 19:05.62
The timing system didn't end up getting the splits but I was (~4:50/400, ~9:50/800). I went out a bit too fast. The water was a lil warm, and I split it about 9 minutes/10 minutes by 750.

100 bk - 1:05.73 (31.73/34.0)
I went out harder than I normally would.

200 br - 2:57.04 (37.58, 44.36, 46.49, 48.61)
This swim was 5 minutes after the 100 back and I didn't have much left after 50m.

400 IM - 5:20.67 (33.86, 38.55, 41.88, 40.84, 44.54, 45.66, 38.38, 36.96)
(1:12.41 fly, 1:22.42 bk, 1:30.2 br, 1:15.34 fr)
(10.71 200 differential)

I was very happy with my 400 IM. This is the event that I've really been training for this year and my time was better than I expected. All of the breaststroke and free work has paid off. My split differential was much better than the 20.19 second difference from the state meet.

11/11/08

SCY.
100 ez
6 x 75 (odds - 25 br K/50 fr , evens - 25 br/50 fr) @3rd pers RI
4 x 100 fr @1:20
4 x 75 stroke @1:20 (went 2 bk, 2 br)
4 x 100 fr @1:15
4 x 75 stroke @1:20 (2 bk, 2 br)
4 x 100 fr @1:15
50 ez
Kept all the 100s @1:09 - 1:10 on first 4 100s, under 1:10 on last 8.
6 x 25 (odds - br, evens - fly) @30 sec
200 ez

lift.

11/10/08

SCY
100 wu
300, every 4th length K
4 x 75 br
6 x 50 fr swim
300 swim @30 sec rest (went 3:31)
3 x 100 IM @3rd pers RI
300 IM @30 sec rest (3:54)
4 x 75 br @ 3rd pers RI
300 fr @30 sec rest (3:32)
6 x 50 br @1:00 (went 41-42 working on form)
100 ez
9 x 50 @1:30 (50 K, 50 br, 50 fr) FAST - (went fly - 31, 2 x br - 37, 36, fr - 28, 27, 28)
200 ez

11/08/08

SCY
2 x 100 @1:20
1 x 500 @6:20
2 x 100 @1:15
2 x 500 @6:15 (went 5:58, 5:53)
4 x 100 IM @1:30
1 x 125 fr @1:45
3 x 100 IM @1:30
2 x 125 fr @1:45
2 x 100 IM @1:30
3 x 125 fr @1:40
1 x 100 IM @1:30
4 x 125 fr @1:40
(Held all IMs under 1:20)
200 ez
20 mins breast drills
3 x 50 br @2:00 (38, 37, 36)
100 ez

lift

Busy week last week. I swam M-W-F but didn't have time to post about them. Nothing really to report anyway. I was just swimming to stay sane during a week chock full of meetings and work.

Breast is decent lately. I've been working on transitioning from pullout to breakout a bit faster. I think I'm gliding too long and losing some of the power of my pullout.

Also, on the catch... It just works better for me to get my hands and forearms perpindicular to the bottom early rather than Quick's press out to the Y... I'm going to have to get some outside opinions on this but it's faster if I do the butterfly-ish catch.

11/01/08 KBN meet

200 br - 2:38.07
50 br - 33.5

Mixed feelings here. I thought my 200 time would be faster because I've been working on breaststroke so much. But I really didn't swim it with much fire, so I'm not totally surprised. I was pretty long the whole way...

My 50 time is an improvement of almost 4/10s of a second, pretty happy with that. I felt like I had a better feel on the water than the first time I swam it this year.

11/03/08

SCY. It's SCY season officially...
50 fr/25 nf/25 K
75 fr/25 nf/25 K
100 fr/25 nf/25 K
125 fr/25 nf/25 K
75 fr/25 nf/25 K
50 fr/25 nf/25 K
100 drill
100 fast fr - went 1:03
75 drill
75 fast fr
50 drill
50 fast fr - 30
25 drill
25 fast fr
300 IM - 3:53
250 fr, first/last 25 K
200 IM - ?
150 fr
100 IM
75 fr
50 stroke
25 fr
2 x 500 - (25/50/25, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25, 25/50/25 by 100) stroke @30 sec base for #1, free @20 sec base for #2

I sure was glad to swim this morning.

10/29/08

SCY.
200 wu
6 x 150 (50 K/50 dr/50 sw) - odds free, evens IM order
12 x 50 (1 @50, 1@45, 1 @40, then @50,@45, 2 @40, ... 3@40)
2 x (3 x 100 @1:20, 4 x 75 @1:00, 5 x 50 @45, 6 x 25 (fast,ez,choice) @25)
200 br K
100 drill

I didn't get to swim yesterday.

The focal point of the week is on pointed toes.

10/27/08

200 wu
1500 yards of some warmup stuff... can't recall what it was.
300 sw/paddles @4th pers
4 x 50 stroke @10 s RI
3 x 100 free @4th pers
200 IM @10s (went 2:29)
3 x 100 fr @4th per
2 x 100 stroke @10 s
300 swim w/paddles
200 IM (went 2:28)

10/25/08

SCY
100 ez
3 x 75 fr @1:15, 1 x 75 stroke @1:20
3 x 75 fr @1:10, 1 x 75 stroke @1:20
3 x 75 fr @1:05, 1 x 75 stroke @1:20
4 x (2 x 50 @40, 1 x 50 @45)
2 x 400 w/paddles - went 1:12 pace
2 x (150 @2:00, 100 @1:15)
2 x (125 @1:40, 100 @1:15)
2 x (100 @1:20, 100 @1:15)
2 x (75 @1:00, 100 @1:15)
2 x (50 @40, 100 @1:15)
200 wd

Woot. Good old freestyle crank-out day. Saturday...

10/24/08

SCY
300 wu
200 fr
100 bk
200 fr
100 br
200 fr
2 x 400, #1 w/paddles, #2 Fast - went 4:40
8 x 25 K @30
8 X 25 stroke @30
6 x 100, 2 @1:30, 2 @1:15, 2 @1:30
4 x 75 Fast @1:40 - went all breast (57,57,56,56)
100 ez

breaststroke drills - underwater K, 2 K/1 pull, butt-head drill, 3-2-1 stretch,

Breast felt good today. I've been getting better about shooting my hands forward instead of down.

10/23/08

SCY
500 swim/br drills
500 pull
5 x 100 K ALL OUT, 50 ez @4:00
I did 1.) no board, on back - 1:23; 2.)w/board - 1:20, 3.) same as 1 - 1:22, 4.) br w/board - 1:40, 5.)same as 1 - 1:23
Fast 100 - free - 1:01.
5 x 100 choice @2:00.
200 wd

My upper body was torched from doing clean and jerks yesterday.

10/22/08

SCY
150 wu
150 fr
6 x 25 bk
100 fr
4 x 25 br
50 f
2 x 25 fly
2 x (3 x 100 @1:30, 4 x 50 pace @45, 150 @2:00, 6 x 25 @35)
I did bk/IM for most of the set
2 x (100 ez K, 50 fast K, 100 ez fr, 50 fast fr, 100 ez IM, 50 fast br)
I went 38, 37 on the br swims, 28 on the fr
4 x (25 fast/50 ez) I did br, went 18,17,17,17 on the br
15 minutes br drills
1 fast 50 br - 36 (with a cheatin' 1 hand turn :/)
5 min br drills

Breast felt good today. I really worked on shooting my hands forward on the recovery. I kept trying to reach them out to the wall AFAP. They felt much straighter than usual... I had good continuity today, too.

10/21/08

SCM.
100 wu, sculling
225 fr/50 br
175 fr/50 br
125 fr/50 br
75 fr/50 br
9 x 100 w/paddles - odds fast @1:20, evens mod @1:30, #9 is on 1:40, right into:
600 fast - went 8:02
6 x 50 br @1:00, held 45/46, worked on good form
100 wd

My focus in breaststroke right now is on trying to move forward with my stroke. I did pretty well today as far as reducing the downward vector in my pull and the upward vector on my kick :).

I keep thinking in terms of basic physics: vectors that represent my motion.

10/19/08

SCM
200 wu
3 x (175 alt breathe @3rd pers, 75 breathe to off side @3rd pers)
2 x 75 fast @1:05, 75 ez @1:20 w/paddles
2 x 75 fast @1:05, 75 ez 1:20 w/fins
2 x 75 fast @1:05, 75 ez no equip.
16 x 25 backstroke. Evens swim, odds K
4 x 50 bk fast @1:30 (held 35)
4 x 50 fr fast @1:30 (33/34)
4 x 125 fr @2:00
4 x 50 br @1:00
15 minutes of breast drills -- underwater K, K on back, butt-head, 2 K/1 pull
50 breast fast - 44
50 ez

10/20/08

SCY
700 - every 3rd length stroke, every 4th length K
2 x (3 x (75 fr, 50 drill) ea swim @1:10, 1:05, 1:00)
Next set, anything ending in 5 is fast free, 0 is ez choice, 100s have to be IM. Intervals are always on the next 30 or 60:
25, 50, 75, 50,
50, 75, 100, 75
75, 100, 125, 100
100, 125, 150, 125

Then I did 200 worth of breast drills, worked on pull w/paddles + pull buoy

10/17/08

SCY
3 x (3 x 100, 3 x 50 @50,45,40) Fr
4 x 25 @30 - br K
4 x 25 @25 - br drill
4 x 25 @20 - br dr/swim
4 x 200 @4:30 FAST
Did 1.) IM - 2:27, 2.)Br - 2:46, 3.)100 bk/100 br - 2:37, 4.) 200 br - 2:47
200 ez
7 x 50 @1:00 choice
15 minutes of breast drills - mostly head down breast.

I'm still working on the breaststroke... surprise, surprise. Certain movements propel me forward better. Other movements have more of an upward vector... Trying to figure out how to achieve the former...

dryland

I'm only going to post my dryland workouts sporadically... I usually do at least 20 minutes of some dryland every day, but probably will only post the days on which I do a lot of lifting. Other than that, it's gravitron, pushups, situps, medicine ball, etc.

10/16/08

SCY
400 swim
300 drill - mostly w/snorkel
400 K - did 50 br underwater K drill/50 br K on back
8 x 50 @1:00 perfect stroke, odds - streamline as far as possible, evens - work SDK
2 x (200 all out, 150 recovery) @ 8:00
I did breast, went 2:45, 2:44
3 x (30 sec vert K (VK), 30 sec VK with elbows above water)
200 wd

I tried to focus on keeping my head down until my breast pull started moving me forward. It made me think that maybe I do lift my head too much too early.

Best 200 breast practice swims I've ever done... I was pretty happy with them

10/15/08

SCY
150 wu, sculling, etc
5 x 100 - bk/fr/bk/br @4th pers RI
4 x (3 x 50 rotating IM @55, 1x100 @1:30 - descend 5 sec/set to 1:15)
4 x 75 @1:05
150 @2:00
3 x 75 @1:05
150 @2:00
2 x 75 @1:05
150 @2:00
1 x 75 @1:05
150 @2:00
3 x (50 fast K, 50 ez, 50 fast, 50 ez - all @1:00). Went 37 on last br swim
50 ez

The 37 swim was a bit of a surprise because I was just trying to focus on executing a good pull -- not usually a recipe for me to go sub-40 in a 50 br. I've been playing around with it a lot lately, really trying to feel what is moving me forward vs. what is not. ON this particular swim, I was working on the model from Quick's Championship Breaststroke DVD. That is, press out to a wide Y (slow, 25 mph) then accelerate in (fast, 60 mph) and strike the line forward (autobahn, as fast as possible).

I've had some issues executing Quick's stroke model in the past but it clicked on that last swim somehow. I added to it the idea I got from goswim's "Fast Scull" drill of turning my hands out toward the walls.

Another thing... I've been focusing more on keeping my core tight, back flat, etc on all swims. In the breaststroke I've been slowing down a bit to focus on establishing a better rhythm from my midsection.

10/14/08

SCM
50 wu
4 x 200 - 175 fr/25 stroke
2 x 75 @1:15
2 x 75 @1:00
2 x 75 @1:10
2 x 75 @1:00
2 x 75 @1:05
2 x 75 @1:00
All W/paddles
300 breast
2 x (4 x 50 K/swim @1:15, 100 IM @1:30, 50 ez @1:15). Did br on the 50s
12 x 25 w/fins. I did breast w/fly K, worked on my hands
150 br drills - underwater K, mostly

3000m

10/13/08

SCY
150 wu
200 sw, 100 K, 200 swim, 100 drill, 200 swim 100 K @3d pers RI.
3 x (150 - 25 fl/50 bk/75 br @3d pers RI, 6 x 25 fr @25)
275 Fr @3:45
200 K @3:45
2 x 50 breast @55
250 Fr @3:45
200 K @3:45
4 x 50 breast @55
225 fr @3:45
200 K @3:45
6 x 50 breast @55
I held 40/41 on the breaststroke swims. Tried to focus on being more quick and compact, and balancing more on my lungs.

Then I did 45 minutes of breaststroke drills, from goswim.tv:
Streamlined Push
3-2-1 Stretch
Head-Lead Kick Underwater
Head Down Pull
Fast Scull
Butt-Head Drill

At the end of practice, I did 2 50s pretty fast. The first 50 I tried to be compact and quick, incorporating a lot of ideas from the drills. The second 50, I tried my older stroke... as a comparison:
1. 37-hi
2. 38-mid

So the compact stroke is a little bit faster right now... even though it's new. I'm going to continue to pursue it, doing extra drills as often as I can. It doesn't feel like it's as fast though because I'm not getting as much on each stroke as my bigger, wider breaststroke. The key is that I'm able to get a better rhythm going with the quick stroke.

I tested my old, bigger kick vs the much smaller, much quicker one on a couple of 25s K with a board. I went 26 with the old kick and 24 with the new. It's just going to take some getting used to.

10/12/08 - drills 'n things

I got in today and just did a bunch of breaststroke drills. I worked mainly on a kick progression:
Push off drill
Underwater Kicks - working on keeping motion more continuous, small compact kicks instead of wide ones.
3-2-1 Drill - 3 Under, full stroke, 2 Under, full stroke, 1 under, full

My focus for now is going to be on making my whole stroke more compact. I'm going to work a lot on getting a much smaller, more hidden kick. Then I'm going to work on the stroke rhythm. I'll keep everything compact for a while and see how that goes before widening my pull, kick, etc, again.

10/11/08 - Sprint meet

50 fly - 27.02
50 bk - 28.42
50 br - 33.88
50 fr - 25.6
200 IM - 2:15.84 (28.36, 33.81, 40.75, 32.92)

My plan was to go out faster in the 200 IM. I sure did and I sure paid for it. The second 100 was a lot slower than last month. I learned something -- I can't go out that hard on the 200 IM :).

Well, now I know.

10/10/08 - dryland

Gravitron - 10 (92#)
Incline situps w/35 # - 20, 20, 20
Back extension - 20 x 200, 12 x 220, 10 x 230
Wood chopper - 3 x 14 x 20
Incline press - 10 x 100, 8 x 110, 6 x 120
Standing lat press - 10 x 70, 8 x 80, 7 x 80
Pushups 23 (ex ball), 14 (handles), 20 (ex ball)
Situps, exercise ball - 30 x 20#, 2 x 20 x 25#

10/10/08

SCY
200 wu - lots of sculling + breast drills again
200 fr
100 bk
200 fr
100 br
200 fr
100 IM
2 x (100 - 25 fr, 1 arm/25 bk, 1 arm; 100 - 25 scull down/25 swim alt breathe)
6 x 100 w/paddles on 1:25
2 x (2 x (50 fly/br by 25 @1:00), 150 fr/bk by 25 @2:20)
4 x (100 @1:10, 50 @1:10) - went fr (1:04,1:03,1:03), bk(1:06)
300 pull w/paddles
200 wd

I worked on my body position in all strokes. Tried to get better about using my arms to balance myself. On the backstroke, I've really been working on getting my hips up more and trying to keep my back flat. Sometimes I'll sit in the water and that slows me down. Freestyle, too, I'm trying to keep my balance forward more.

10/09/08

SCY
300-400 breaststroke drills
400 br K
100 br, working on timing
8 x (100 Sprint, 100 ez @6:00)
I did:
1. Fly - 1:05
2. Bk - 1:04
3. Br - 1:20
4. Fr - 1:01
5. Br - 1:18
6. Br - 1:18
7. Br - 1:20
8. Br - 1:16

100 ez

When I tried to focus on the best technique on my breaststroke swims, I went ~1:20. On #7, I actually thought I was going faster because I was getting a good chest press then pop out, scull in, shoot hands forward and kick. My turnover was slower though and my kick was not snapping because I was focused on the top part of the stroke. On #8, I worked more on turnover and trying to really finish my kick hard. That made a big difference.

I'm getting better at accelerating my hands in and forward. I used to also rush the outsweep a lot more, and I think that made me more tired. I still have to focus on keeping my head down more--I still look forward a lot, especially when tired.

10/08/08 - dryland

Gravitron - @level 10 right now -- workout weight 92#.
So I'm doing 10 dips, 10 military pullups, 10 dips, 10 wide grip pullups, 10 dips, 10 narrow grip pullups at 92 pounds. It's a hell of a workout.

leg press - 12 x 310, 10 x 380, 10 x 400
back extension - 10 x 200, 14 x 210, 10 x 220
toe raises - 12 x 90, 2 x 10 x 140
bench - 6 x 135, 4 x 150, 6 x 140
clean and jerk - 10 x 45, 7 x 65, 4 x 75
pec deck - 10 x 70, 10 x 80, 6 x 90
woodcutter low-to-hi - 2 x 14 x 17.5, 10 x 20
woodcutter hi-to-low - 14 x 17.5, 12 x 20
incline sit-ups (w/35#) - 20, 15, 15


I didn't really do a true clean and jerk because I didn't bring the weight up fully from the ground. I brought it up instead from knee-level where it was resting on the rack to my chest and then pressed it over my head. I called it clean and jerk b/c I don't know what else to describe it as.

10/08/08

100 wu - sculling/breast drills
2 x (
100 w/5 SDK @ each wall
100 fr/bk/fr/bk overkick
100 IM
100 breathe 2,3,4,5
100 build 1-4
)
3 x (75 build @1:05, 50 FAST @45, 25 sprint @25, 50 ez @1:05)
5 x (50 @45, 75 @1:00, 125 @1:45)
2 x (50 fly/25 bk, 50 bk/25 br, 50 br/25 fr, 50 fr/25 fly @1:15). 25s were fast
Then I did breaststroke drills for a while
1 x 50 Good Form - went 40
More drills - sculling, 'cobra', etc
1 x 50 Fast - went 37/38
More Drills

I'm trying to get my hips up more and swim my breast more forward. I'm reworking some things... again... it'll all pay off :).

10/07/08

SCM
150 warmup - mostly sculling and breaststroke drills
200 swim, 200 pull, 100 K Fr
200 br, 200 br drill, 100 K Br
5 x 50 @1:00 br
5 x 50 @50 - did breast, worked on pull
4 x (150 @2:00, 50 @1:00) - held 1:54-1:55 on 150s
4 x 125 w/paddles @1:45
150 wd/breast drills

I recently watched Quick's breaststroke video and got a lot of ideas. One thing I really picked up on was that I'm rushing the first part of my pull. The initial outsweep should be pretty SLOW, then the insweep should be 2.5 times as fast and the recovery should be as fast as you can get your arms back out in a straight line in front. I did some of the body balance, sculling, and cobra drills from his video.

I've also started using paddles more. I'm going to use them a few times a week to build swim-specific strength.

10/06/08 - dryland

30 minutes on stepper
Incline (Smith) 11 x 135, 8 x 145, 5 x 155, 6 x 135
Db curls - 15 x 25, 10 x 30, 6 x 35
leg extension - 2 x 8 x 115, 8 x 125
tricep pulldown - 12 x 45, 11 x 55, 8 x 65
Abs

Triceps have gotten quite a bit stronger since I started doing the gravitron workouts.

10/05/08

SCM
800 of some warmup... :0
8 x 50 swim w/fins @45
4 x 25 bk odds K, evens swim
125 bk
75 bk
4 x 25 bk
2 x (25 fr/25 bk/25 fr @1:40, 25 bk/25 fr/25 bk @1:40 FAST)
6 x 25 fly odds K, evens swim @35
6 x 25 fly " @40
2 x (25 fr K w/br pull, 25 br w/fl K, 50 breast) @4th pers RI
4 x 125 free @1:55
50 wd

10/04/08

SCM.
400 wu
1000 yards of something... I forget what
2 x (4 x 50 @45, 4 x 100 @1:30, 150 @2:30, 150 @2:15, 4 x 100 @1:25, 4 x 50 @45)
2nd half w/paddles
4 x 125 @1:50

Good old base workout. I felt pretty beat up.

10/03/08 - dryland

Gravitron!!!

leg sled - 15 x 310, 2 x 10 x 360 I'm sold on leg work
leg raises (ab exercise) - 10,10,10
toe raise - 15 x 90, 2 x 10 x 140
curls (crooked bar) - 11 x 65, 7 x 75, 5 x 80

10/03/08

SCY
350 wu
6 x 125 - odds alt breathe, evens kick hard on even lengths @3rd pers RI
4 x 125 - odds 25 fr/75 bk/25 br, evens 25 fly/50 bk/25 br/25 fr @2:00
10 x 25 - odds double arm backstroke, evens FAST backstroke - went 14s.
3 x (50 fly FAST @50, 100 mod @2:00)
3 x (50 fly FAST @40, 100 mod @2:10)
I held 31 on most of the fly. I tried a longer stroke on the last one and went 32.
400 build by 100.
50 ez

3200 yards

Some good fast swimming today. I felt pretty good on the backstroke. I really tried to keep my legs high to the point where my toes where flipping out of the water slightly. I'll have to play with this because typically my kick is a little more under. But maybe that's causing some blocking to occur... hmmmmmmm...

ALSO, since I started adding some leg exercises to my lifting routine, I've noticed a marked difference in the distance I get off of my turns.

10/02/08 - dryland

3 sets Side twists w/15 lb med ball
A variety of crunches with my legs elevated
3 sets Woodcutter w/15 lb ball
Standing Lat press on Sybex - 11 x #5, 6 x #6, 17 x #4
Chest press machine - 11 x 105, 7 x 115, 4 x 125
Seated Row - 11 x 105, 8 x 115, 6 x 125

10/02/08

SCY
400 pull
400 K
5 x 100 choice @1:30 mod
3 x (broken 200, 100 EZ, rest ~1:30)
I went 1.)IM - 32, 33, 40, 32 (2:17), 2.)Breast - 39,39,38,41 (2:37), 3.)IM - 31,33,40,31 (2:15)
5 x 100 @2:00, work the turns. I did all br.
200 wd

2900 yards.

Quality set day. After feeling pretty sluggish the last few days, I felt my energy coming back on the broken 200s. My breaststroke one was a surprise. Yesterday, I was struggling to go a 39 on 1 fast 50. Today I managed to hold just above a 39 pace and even split a 38. On that 3rd 50, I felt my breaststroke clicking, as it does from time to time. The main thing was that I was waiting a split second longer to kick--really focusing on shooting those arms out before starting the kick. My form started to deteriorate on the 4th 50, but it's early in SCY season so I'm not too worried about it.

On the freestyle, I'm working on trying to avoid sliding my arm back up after my body roll. Jane pointed that out to me on Tuesday. It's something that came up in my video session at Swim Labs, also. So it's back and it hampers my turnover. So today I worked on forcing the arm to go right down into the catch instead of letting my arm slide back up pre-catch. It feels weird to me but I can get a much better turnover and work with my momentum a little more. I just have to watch out for my form now. It feels as though I'm thrashing more. My 50 split on the last 200 was faster than I went last week (31 vs 32), though, and I was really working on the arm going down instead of up.

10/01/08

SCY.
300 wu
300 - every 3rd length bk
300 - 50 fr/50 bk
300 - every 3rd length fast
300 - 50 fr/50 fast
3 x (5 x 50 fast @45, 150 pace @1:45 (went ~1:41s), 50@2:30 recover)
2 x (100 K w/o board, 4 x 25 K, 50 ez, 4 x 25 @30 fast, 1 x 50 @1:00 fast, 100 ez)

3850 yards

Still feeling sluggish. Breathing was ok today, but I think I'm feeling the fallout of going so hard last week.

09/30/08

SCM
100 wu
200 fr
200 bk/fr alt breathe
200 br/fr alt breathe
4 x 100 non free on 1:50. I did rotating IM, no free
2 x 300 IM @4:50
2 x 200 IM + 50 free @4:30. Good effort.
2 x 300 IM @4:50
50 ez
8 x 25 fast @40
100 wd

3250 m

I've been a little congested lately. I was feeling it in the pool. Breathing was harder.

09/28/09

SCM
300 wu
2 x 200 fr
2 x 150 bk/fr by 25
2 x 100 br
8 x 25 IM order @30
8 x 25 IM @35
6 x 50 - 12.5 K/12.5 fast @1:10
6 x 50 fast @1:15 - did a lot of breast...
5 x 125 fr @2:00
8 x 25 fly @45 fast
3 x 100 fr/bk by 25 FAST @1 min rest. Went 1:13-1:15
5 x 75 @1:15
200 wd

4500m

09/27/08

SCM
400 wu
4 x 75 @1:10
4 x 75 @1:05
4 x 400 @6:00,5:50,5:40,5:30 (I did #1 IM - 5:50, #2 ez, #3 fr 5:15, #4 fr 5:20)
5 x (200 @2:30, 100 @1:45) I was going ~2:32 on the 200s
4 x 150 @2:10
6 x 50 stroke @1:00

5000m
A butt-kicker. The 2:30 200s were based on people wearing paddles, but I didn't wear them. I couldn't quite push under but I felt pretty strong throughout the set.

09/26/08 - dryland

Gravitron!!!
Toe raises on sled - 2 x 15 x 90, 12 x 90
Back Extension - 15 x 200, 15 x 210, 10 x 220
Incline situps w/35# - 50
Pec Deck - 12 x 60, 10 x 70, 7 x 80
Twists - 2 x 15 x 10, 15 x 12.5
25 pushups on pushup handles
40 minute run

09/26/08

SCY
350 wu
150 fr/100 bk/150 fr/75 bk/150 fr/50 bk/150 fr/25 bk
3 x (4 x 25 @35 odds br/evens fly, 100 bk alt mod/fast by 25 @1:50)
50 ez
6 x 50 K @1:10 - odds fast fr, evens choice
6 x 75 FAST @1:50 - I did breast, held 56-57s
200 @3:00 recovery
3 x 200 @2:40
100 bk recovery
100 ez
50 br fast - 36
50 ez

3600 yards

breaststroke felt pretty good today. My body position was better - I kept my hips up more.

09/25/08 - dryland

Curls - straight bar - 15 x 43, 11 x 48, 10 x 53
Standing lat press - 11 x #5 on Sybex, 8 x #6, 7 x #6
Leg curl - 15 x #6, 10 x #8
Box jumps, alternating leg - 30, 40
Woodcutter w/15 lb med ball - 15, 12
Incline bench - 12 x 135, 10 x 145, 3 x 165, 4 x 155, 8 x 135
Leg Extension - 15 x 105, 2 x 8 x 125
Abs - Changed it up today and did a lot of slow ab stuff + lie on back w/legs ~6" off ground and alt. leg lifts

09/25/08

SCY
1000 swim - did a bunch of snorkel swimming
500 pull - did 200 of it breast
500 kick
2 x (broken 200 IM, 10 secs @each 50, 100 ez recovery)
I went #1 - 30, 32, 41, 32 - 2:15
#2 - 31, 34, 40, 32 - 2:17
5 x 100 @2:00 work the turns - I did 1 free, 2-5 breast and worked on form
150 wd

3250 yards

I was pleasantly surprised that my broken 200 times were sort of close to my 200 IM from last Saturday. Last year, I was usually about 10+ seconds off of my 200 times in the broken 200s. Hopefully, this means good things for taper :).

I'm still fighting to keep good body position in breaststroke. On the first 200, I was dropping my hips quite a bit. On the second one I felt like I was getting them up more. It'd be nice to drop those breast splits on the broken 200 under 40.

09/24/08

SCY
100 wu
6 x 75 odds bk K/Dr/Swim, evens free build @3rd person
5 x 150 pull @2:10
300 swim @4:00 (went 3:30)
2 x 150 @2:00 (went 1:42, 1:44)
3 x 100 @1:20 (did bk, went 1:13, 1:14, 1:15)
4 x 75 @1:00 (did evens free, odds fly/bk/br)
6 x 50 @40 (did fr, fr, fl/bk, fr 2 x bk/br)
12 x 25 @30 (did all breast drill)
3 x (4 x 25 @25, 1 x 50 @1:20) did odds fly, evens breast on 25s
200 IM K ez
50 breast drill, worked breakouts
50 breast fast, went 36
50 ez
worked on turns/breakouts for 5 minutes.

3900 yards

I was happy with my breaststroke 50 at the end. I felt like my breakouts on that swim were better than they've been. It really helps if I can pop them with some speed, and I think I might have been waiting too long on them before. There is definitely a sweet spot to hit.

Also, I managed to keep my hips up and move my torso + head as 1 (instead of lifting my head up).

09/22/08

SCY
250 wu
350 swim alt free, stroke - did breast
250 K alt flutter, stroke
150 drill
2 x (50 fl/bk, 50 bk/br, 50 br/fr, 2 x 50 fr) Set 1 @50, Set 2 @45
2 x (
225 free
200 IM (went 2:34, 2:38)
125 K
250 free (2:51, 2:50)
125 bk/br
) All on 2:50.
200 ez
150 faster - breast, went 2:07
100 ez
50 fast - breast, 37
50 ez

3900 yards

The main set was pretty tough.

On my breaststroke, I feel a lot smoother if I try to keep my legs and hips high so I feel like I'm positioned "downhill". I'm still slipping in and out of my old habits, and it will take a while before I adapt to the newer downhill, fly-like breast that feels better.

Also, my breaststroke turns blow. I grab the top of the wall, pull up slightly, then turn. I'm going to have to work on that. My breakouts are still weak. Some of them felt good today, but on a lot of them I was just rushing to pop my head up for a breath.

09/21/08 dryland

Exercise ball set
Standard Abs

~1 hr hike/jog with Roscoe and Erin

09/21/08

SCM
250 wu
4 x 125 (75 fr, 25 bk, 25 br) @3rd pers.
4 x 250 @4:00, descend 1-4. I went 3:10 on #4
14 x 25 butterfly, 5 @35, 7@40
3 x (50 fr, 50 fr/bk, 50 bk) Fast, set 1 @1:00, 2 @1:05, 3 @1:10
2 x (6 x 25 - odds fast, evens ez @40) set 1 odds bk @25, set 2 odds free @20
300 ez
50 ez

3100m

*I think I forgot a set in there, so the actual distance was more. Oh well.

09/20/08 - Meet

SCY Meet
~1000 wu
50 breast (relay split): 32.20
200 IM - 30.18 34.16(1:04.34) 38.90(1:43.24) 30.84 (2:14.08)
50 free (relay): 25.56
100 breast - 34.52 37.94(1:12.46)
100 free (relay): 26.67 29.90 (56.57)

I was happy with my IM swim and my relay breast. I was really hoping to go a little faster on the 100 breast. I blew my turn at the 50, and that cost me some time... not sure how much, though. I likely would've been around my state time (1:12.08) with a good turn. I still split it a little better than states, though. Heck, it was a good swim for the start of the season. I think I was expecting too much on it after my 50 breast and then the decent split in the 200 IM :). I found myself slipping back into my old breaststroke, though, and not getting a good smooth rhythm like I do with the fly-like stroke.

I also need to work on my breakouts. My breakouts were simply horrendous. Each turn felt like I was coming up pushing a ton of water and not settling into my stroke until 1-2 strokes after my breakout.

I thought my 200 IM time was 2:14.5ish... the splits I copied down from the result sheet add up to 2:14.08, though. I might have copied the back split wrong... I'm not sure. Not a big deal there, though, as I accomplished what I wanted in that race: I took it out relaxed and worked the second 100.

09/19/08

SCY.
450 - (50 fr/25 stroke)
4 x (25 SDK, 25 bk, 75 build free)
2 x (200 mod @2:45, 4 x 50 @45, 4 x 75 rotating IM @1:15)
100 ez
50 breast fast w/1 drag suit, from a push: 36.

100 wd

2500 yards

The fly-like breaststroking continues. I feel good about it. I know that once I get it down, I'll have a lot more tuning to do, but I feel like this stroke is a better base to improve my speed on. I can go faster with less effort, and the 36 at the end of practice was a solid 36. As in, I saw the clock flip from 35 to 36 when I was finishing. It might have been a 35 high, but I'm calling it a 36.

Whoop whoop! This is an exciting breakthrough. Hopefully, it's not an anomaly.

09/18/08

SCY
400 free
500 pull
500 swim
3 x 100 @1:30 fr, bk, fr
2 x 100 br @ 3:00 - 1:24, 1:21
50 br drill. I did a few strokes of fly then a few strokes of breast
100 breast FAST - 1:17!!!
150 wd

2300 yards

I had a breaststroke breakthrough today. I was mulling over the myriad tips Marc gave me as I was trying to figure out how to make my breaststroke more efficient. ON the 50 drill, I started out trying to keep my hands near the surface, tried to compact my lower back, etc. Then I recalled that Marc mentioned the catch and stroke is a lot like the beginning of the fly. I did a couple strokes of fly to get the catch in my head, then a couple strokes of breast while working on keeping the catch similar to that of the fly. It felt faster. I did another 100 for time and had that breakthrough! That's the first sub 1:20 I've ever done in practice. For reference, I went 1:16.73 last February in the 100 breast at a pentathlon meet. What a feeling.

Woo hoo! I still have a long way to go, but I felt like the fly catch made a big difference. I'll have to keep working that.

I really need to work on my turns and breakouts, also. I think I'm still losing a lot of momentum on my breakout.

09/17/08

SCY
200 wu
200 - 4 SDK off each wall
8 x 50 - odds fr/bk overkick, evens bk drill/swim
4 x 150 @2:15 desc
3 x (250 free @3:15, 150 bk/fr @2:15, 6 x 25 br @25, 50 ez)
2 x (4 x 25 K @35, 2 x 50 drill @1:00, 50 fast @1:00, 50 ez @1:00). I did br on the fast 50s, went 37, 38, 38
100 ez
50 br strong - went 38
150 ez

4000 y

I tried to work on keeping my breaststroke shallower today. I'm really trying to get the "compacting the back" thing down. It feels faster. I didn't really work the front part of my stroke at all today, just focused on the midsection/back/kick. I might have to get slower and re-work that before I get faster.

09/16/08 - dryland

bench (Smith) - 11 x 165, 6 x 175, 4 x 185
standing lat press - 15 x 45, 7 x 55, 5 x 75
overhead db tri - 9 x 50, 8 x 50, 9 x 50
lateral db raise - 11 x 10, 7 x 15, 7 x 15
pull-ups - 6, 5, 5

standard abs

09/16/08

SCM
200 wu
150 fr/25 bk
125 fr/25 bk
100 fr/25 bk
75 fr/25 br
50 fr/25 br
25 fr/25 br
25 ez
2 x (50 br @1:05, 50 fr @55)
3 x (4 x 150 desc interval by 5 secs per rep -- 2:25, 2:20, 2:15, 2:10; 3 x 50 K/drill @ 3rd pers. RI). I did set #3 IM. Did reverse IM on 4th rep -- fr/bk/fly
100 ez
50 breast fast - 41
50 wd

3100m

I tried to work the shallow breaststroke. The idea of trying to compress my lower back to start the kick seems to help with this. It keeps the hips higher.

09/15/08

SCY.
6 x (50 drill, 25 K, 50 swim) @3rd pers RI
2 x (4 x 50 drill @1:00, 2 x 75 fast @1:05, 1:10). Set 1 - free, 2 - non-free

For all of following, anything ending in 5 is moderate non-free @2nd pers RI, anything ending in 0 is fast free @4th person RI.

25, 50, 75 (e.g. 25 and 75 are mod non-free @2nd person, 50 is fast @4th person RI)
6 x 25 K
50, 75, 100 (went 1:03 on the 100)
6 x 25 K
75, 100, 125 (went 1:03 on the 100)
6 x 25 K
100, 125, 150 (went 1:03 on the 100, 1:37 on the 150)
6 x 25 K
125, 150, 175 (went 1:36 on the 150)
6 x 25 K
50 ez

3750 yards.

I did breaststroke for all stroke sets today.

My freestyle felt good. I kept my entry long and way out front of me on the 1:36 150. I was pleased.

09/14/08

SCY

Did about 1000 yards of warmup + various drills
50 breast fast from a push, no drag suit - went 37.

Today I got a lot of feedback from my buddy Marc on my breaststroke. I'm still going pretty deep and going up and down more instead of forward. A couple of tips he gave me:
--don't breathe right after the pull starts.
--let the natural tendency of the body to float lead into the breath.
--contract the lower back before the start of the pull so that the hips stay higher and the kick is more linear
--I can probably pull back more on my pull. He observed that I'm still "tomahawking" my arms through the pull and throwing them downward instead of shooting them forward.
--try to swim it as close to the surface of the water as possible.
--keep my back flatter instead of hunching everything in on the pull.
--2 kicks + 1 pull is an excellent drill because it causes you to think about how the pull is set up.
--also, I should try to use the dolphin kick at the beginning of the pullout, right after my hands separate -- basically giving 2 propulsive phases. I'll have to work with this to make sure I'm not doing 2 dolphin kicks.
--I need to keep my head down on the breakout. I pop it up and it kills my momentum.

Some drills:
2 kicks, 1 pull
breast pull w/free kick
breast pull w/buoy

Weekly Total:
11800 m
9200 y
------------
20213 m
22105 y

09/13/08

SCM
300 wu
15 x 100 @ (1:40, 1:35, 1:30, 1:35, 1:30, 1:25, 1:30, 1:25, 1:20, 6 x 1:25)
8 x 50 non-free @1:00
3 x 300 @4:20
3 x 300 @4:30
100 ez
2 x (2 x 50 br/25 fr @1:15, 3 x 75 @1:05)
100 wd

4950m

Jason Lezak Swimming Lifting Article

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jasonlezak1.htm

I may take 1 training cycle to try this. For now, it's just a source of ideas for different weights to add to my routine. I especially like the standing lat press and will be adding that one to my routine.

I'm also going to start doing the Gravitron workout once or twice a week. It seems like 3-5 minutes well spent.

09/12/08 - dryland

I did dryland at the East Boulder Rec Center today. They have some nice machines there.

Lat pull: 12 x 80, 10 x 100, 7 x 120
Twists: 15 x 12.5, 4 x 20, 6 x 15, 15 x 15
Pec Deck: 10 x 70, 7 x 80, 7 x 80
Pull-ups: 4, 4, 4
3 minutes on the Gravitron -- a hell of an upper body workout.
Crooked Bar Curls: 10 x 55, 7 x 65, 7 x 65
Incline Situps w/wt: 15 x 25, 15 x 35

09/12/08

SCY
50 ez
4 x 200 alt bk/free by 25. 3rd pers RI
12 x 50, odds breast, evens free @50. I went 42, 40, 40, 40, 39, 39 on the breast.
10 x 25, odds breast, evens fly @30
6 x 250 fr @3:15. I was under 3:00 until the last one, where I went 3:01
200 ez
200 IM K
2 x 50 br @2:00 all out. I took off my drag suit, went 37, 36
100 ez

3800 yards

09/11/08

SCM
200 wu
4 x 75 fr @1:10
4 x 75 br/fr/br @1:20
4 x 75 fl/bk/br @1:20
4 x 75 fr @1:20
8 x 125 @1:45 (I did 4 free, 4 alt 25 bk/25 fr)
6 x (100 @1:25, 50 @55). I did the 100s fl/bk, bk/br, br/fr x3, just made the br/fr and bk/br.
200 ez
25 br AFAP - 20s
25 ez

3550m

I swam pretty fast again today. This has been a week with more up-tempo swimming. I'm feeling pretty good about my free most of the time. I'll probably need to tone it down next week a bit and recover some. We'll see...

09/10/08

SCY
100 wu
4 x (25 K @3rd pers RI, 50 drill @3rd pers, 75 swim @3rd pers)
--some set of 550 yards-- can't remember what...
2 x (3 x 100, 4 x 75, 5 x 50, 6 x 25, 50 EZ) On 1:20/100 base.
3 x (50 K @1:10, 50 fr Overkick @1:00, 25 sprint @20, 75 ez @1:20)
250 ez
2 x 50 breast fast @2:00 (went 38, 38)
100 wd

4400 yards

I worked the 100s in the main set and went (1:11, 1:09, 1:08; 1:07, 1:08, 1:08). On the other swims in the set, I switched between back and free. I went 30 and 29 on the overkick 50s and 15s doing backstroke on the sprint 25s.

On the whole, I'm working in some more fast swimming. The breast swims at the end of practice were kind of sluggish, but my lats were pretty tired from yesterday's practice and today's main set.

On the second overkick 50, I really tried to stay long and get good extension, instead of just turning over my stroke AFAP. It seemed to work pretty well. I felt strong.

09/09/08

SCM
250 wu
4 x 150 alt 25 bk/25 fr @12 sec rest
50 ez
6 x 100 bk (25 K/25 swim/25 6 K switch drill/25 swim) @1:45
5 x 50 (25 fl/25 br) @1:10, descend (went 38 on #5)
2 x 225 mod @3:30
4 x 225 fast @3:40 (I went 2:55, 2:54, took off my drag suit, 2:50, 2:51)
200 wd

3300m

I found out today that my drag suit adds around 4 seconds to a 200. I swam the last 2 225s in my briefs and was quite a bit faster. I don't know why I didn't take it off for some fast swims before... it's important to swim fast sometimes :) and the drag suit does make a difference.

09/08/08

I slept through my alarm this morning, so I didn't swim.

I think, though, that my body needs a recovery day. I haven't taken a rest day for quite some time. Maybe my body just revolted and refused to rise when the alarm went off at 4:45 this AM.

That just means I get to swim fast tomorrow! :)

09/07/08

SCM
300 wu
125 fr/25 nf
100 fr/50 nf
75 fr/75 nf
50 fr/100 nf
2 x 250 mod @4:10
2 x 250 faster @4:00. I did 200 IM + 50 Fr @3:30, 200 free fast (2:30)/50 ez
6 x 50 K/free by 25 @1:10
3 x 100 IM @1:50 desc. (1:25, 1:22, 1:19)
4 x 75 @1:30 Fly/Bk/Br(held 1:04-1:05)
1 x 75 @1:10 Fly/Bk/Br(1:00)
1 x 75 @1:30 Fr ez
4 x 50 Br @1:10 (went 50, 45, 44 ,44)
1 x 50 Br @50 (went 42)
1 x 50 ez fr @1:10
4 x 25 Br @40
1 x 25 Br @20 (made it)
1 x 25 ez fr @40
6 x 125 @1:55. Went 1:35-1:37s. 1:34 on #6.

4150m

My freestyle felt great today. Breast was a little slowish to start, then I got it going a bit.

Weekly Total:
10700m
10500y
---------
22202 yards
20302 m

09/06/08 - dryland

Forgot my suit this morning, so I didn't get to swim :(.

Run 4 miles w/Roscoe :).
Incline(machine) - 10 x 95, 8 x 105, 5 x 115
Seated Row - 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 5 x 125
Leg extension
Shrugs, straight bar - 8 x 75, 10 x 75, 8 x 95
tri pull-down - 10 x 45, 5 x 55, 9 x 45

standard abs

09/05/08

SCY.
150 wu
400 swim - (50 fr/50 alt br/50 fr/50 w/faster K) x 2
8 x 75 @1:05 - 4 x (1 x alt breathe, 1 x off breathe, 2 fast)
12 x 50 @45, peppy - held 33 for the first 4, 32 for the last 8
2 x 50 fly @1:00 (25 K/25 swim)
3 x 50 fly @1:00 (went 35s)
1 x 100 bk @2:00
2 x 50 bk @1:00 (25 K/25 swim)
3 x 50 bk @1:00 (went 34-35)
1 x 100 br @2:00 (went 1:23)
50 wd

2500 yards

It's my wife's birthday today. I left early to go home and make her some birthday breakfast.

I was surprised by the 33/32 on those 50s. I was really working on getting my head back to center quickly after breathing. It really helps me to get a good strong forward drive after a breath. It doesn't take a lot of effort to do, either. It takes focus to make myself do it, but it's not fatiguing. It'll be interesting to see how it affects longer swims. It sure has helped 50s these last two days.

09/04/08 - dryland

Bench(Smith) - 13 x 155, 9 x 165, 5 x 185, 8 x 145
Lat pull-down - 10 x 115, 7 x 125, 4 x 140, 6 x 105
Db Bicep Curl, standing: 9 x 30, 8 x 30, 5 x 35, 5 x 25
Db Row - 9 x 40, 10 x 40, 8 x 45
Db overhead tri - 10 x 45, 10 x 45, 10 x 45
Pull-ups - 4, 4, 4

standard abs

09/04/08

SCM
200 wu
200 free/50 stroke/150 fr/50 stroke/100 fr/50 stroke
4 x 75 kick/stroke/fr by 25
3 x (
125 fr @1:50 (went 1:34-1:35)
25 fr @40
100 fr @1:30 (went 1:15, 1:14, 1:13)
50 fr @1:00
75 fr @1:00 (went 55, 54, 1:01 (50 fly/25 bk))
75 fr @1:20
)
2 x 50 stroke kick/swim by 25 @1:10
2 x 50 stroke @1:10. did breast, went 45,45
2 x 50 fr kick/swim by 25 @1:00
2 x 50 fr @1:00. Went 35, 33
300 wd

3150m

I got the extension going ok today. I noticed a couple of things when trying to swim fast, though. First, I try to pull with too much power from my tricep instead of using my side muscles better. Second, I'm slow at turning my head back into the water after a breath: I let my head follow my recovering arm. This is wrong. If I turn my head back to center faster and force my recovering arm to follow it, I can turn over faster. When I'm really snapping my head back to center, too, I feel like I'm driving forward more. Hey-Yoh!

09/03/08

SCY
350 wu
6 x 125 (75 free/50 non-free) @3rd person RI
4 x (3 x 50 @40, 1 x 100 @1:15)
50 ez
6 x 125 IM (rotate 50 stroke, no 50 fr) @2:00
10 x 50 K @55 odds fast, evens ez
6 x 75 free mod @1:05
150 wd
200 work on EXTENSION!

4200 yards

Yes, I realized at the end of practice that I haven't been working on my extension lately. I've been trying to center my head quicker on breathing, get a high elbow, keep my hips high, and all of that. But, I've been forgetting about EXTENSION! When I did the last 200 yards working on my extension and really feeling the stretch in my lats, I cut 1-2 strokes per length off (13-14 -> 11-12 strokes/25).

Again, I must repeat my mantra: Everything else follows from EXTENSION. Gotta get back to that.

09/02/08 - dryland

Decline(Smith) - 12 x 165, 8 x 185, 5 x 195, 8 x 145
Seated Row - 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 5 x 125
Military(Smith) - 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 4 x 125, 5 x 95
Db Overhead Tri - 8 x 40, 8 x 40, 10 x 40
Db Curl - 10 x 25, 8 x 30, 5 x 35, 5 x 25
Front Db Raise - 3 x 10 x 10

Standard Abs

09/02/08

SCM
50 ez
4 x 125 - odd free, even stroke @2:10
4 x 125 - " @1:55
4 x 250 @4:00. I did 1 & 2.) IM (~3:40-), 3.) Bk (3:35), 4.) free(3:20)
50 ez
4 x (125 @2:30, 25 @45) I did 1.)Fly (2:20), 2.)Bk(2:15), 3.)Br(2:25), 4.)IM(2:13)
3 x 50 K @1:10
3 x 50 K @1:00
3 x 50 K @50
150 wd

3400 m.

09/01/08

SCY
1000 SKIPS
1000 Pull
5 x 100 K 3@1:55, 2@1:45
3 x (
200 swim, good effort @3:00 (I did IM 2:38, br 2:52 and br/free (1:25)2:34)
4 x 25 descend @30
100 ez
)
100 wd

3800 yards.

I think I broke my toe yesterday. It's purple and it hurts, so my kick and walls were not as strong today. I was happy about going 1:09 on the free portion of the 200 br/free swim. I have to bring that down more for the 400 IM, but it's not bad for now.

08/31/08 dryland

Bench (Smith) - 12 x 155, 9 x 165, 4 x 185, 10 x 145
Lat pulldown - alt back/chest - 12 x 105, 10 x 105, 10 x 105
Db Rows - 12 x 35, 10 x 40, 10 x 45
Straight bar trap raise - 10 x 75, 10 x 75, 7 x 95
pull-ups - 4, 4, 3, 3

standard abs

08/31/08

SCY
100 wu
2 x (150 alt breathe, 150 - 25 fr/25 bk, 150 - 25 br/25 fr, 150 IM no free) @15 sec rest per 150
2 x (
4 x 25 fly K, work SDK @35
4 x 25 bk K @35
4 x 25 br K @35
10 x 25 alt @20, @30 - I went hard on the @20s ~13s on fly/back, ~18 on br
)
3 x 40 sec vertical K w/elbows out of water/40 sec rest
5 x 75 descend @1:50 (I did br - 1:05, 1:04, 1:00, 57, 57)
25 ez
8 x 125 @1:45. I did 200 br w/br fins then 2 x 125 (50 bk/75 fr), 4 x 125 fr
250 wd

4000 yds

I felt like my breaststroke was flowing pretty well today. I was really shooting the hands forward and felt like I was getting pretty good turnover without spinning. I might have been 56 on the last fast 75, but it was too hard to tell b/c the clock was on the other side of the pool.

Weekly Total:
24232 m
26500 y

Monthly Total:
109382m
119622y

08/30/08 - dryland

Hiked Mt. Bierstadt with Erin, Roscoe and some friends.

~ 7 miles
2390 ft. elevation gain

08/29/08 - dryland

40 minute run
Decline(Smith) - 12 x 155, 12 x 165, 7 x 185
Seated Row - 10 x 95, 10 x 105, 8 x 115
Front Db Raise - 8 x 10, 9 x 10, 10 x 10
Overhead Db Tri - 12 x 40, 10 x 45, 10 x 45
Db Curl - 11 x 25, 6 x 30, 7 x 30
Pull ups - 5, 4.5, 4, 2.5
Standard Ab Set

08/29/08

SCY
250 wu
4 x 250 (1. 50 alt breathe/50 swim, 2. 50 bk/50 free, 3. 50 br/50 free, 4. fast free)
2 x (
100 bk/50 fr
100 br/50 fr
100 fly/50 fr
) @2:20 per 150
6 x 150 fr @2:00, 1-3 desc (1:50, 1:50, 1:48, 1:54, 1:51, 1:45)
4 x (75 K @1:30, 75 choice @1:15) I did a lil of everything
8 x (25 @30, 25 @20) I did 4 fly and 4 bk on the 20 sec ones
250
200 slow drill swim.

4500 yards

My kick is getting back in order and it makes a big difference. It sets up my body position, something that's hard to do without my kick. It also makes my easy speed rhythm a lot smoother.

I backed off on the breaststroke today after working it for the last few days. My shoulder was complaining a bit on some of my breaststroke swims, so I thought I'd take it easy on breaststroke today. Still managed to do some "butt-head" drills on the first 250s, but that was about it.

08/28/08 dryland

45 minute run

08/28/08

SCY w/Jeff
400 swim
400 pull
500 K IM order
16 x 25 @40 odds drill, evens swim
4 x 400 negative split each 400 and descend. I did odds IM, evens free and descended within each. I worked the IMs. 400 IM, went (2:45)5:25, (2:35)5:14; 400 Free went (2:32)4:58, (2:30)4:54.
8 x 50 @1:00 mod/fast by 25
100 wd

3800 yards.

I felt pretty good about the IM swims. I can tell that my base has been improved greatly over the summer. My breaststroke split on the second was ~1:29. Still needs to get faster, but it was a pretty good practice swim considering my 100 breast times in practice are ~1:25 avg.

My freestyle pull has gotten better also. I was counting strokes early and was about 12 strokes/25 average. Sometimes my right arm doesn't seem to be getting as much water as my left, but it has improved. When I breathe, I'm keeping my elbow up better now instead of sweeping my arm out to counterbalance my head.

08/27/08 #2

500 wu
2 x 250 IM (50 fly/75 bk/75 br/50 fr) @30 sec rest
4 x 100 @1:30 I did #1 & 2 breast on 1:21, 1:25, #3 ez free/bk, #4 breast on 1:25
8 x 75 K/Drill/Swim by 25 I did all breast, alternating butt-head drill, br pull w/free K, fast hands drill.
2 x 50 breast fast descend @1:00 - went 39, 38
100 wd

2200 yards

"Breaststroke hands are a fast scull." I don't know where I heard that, but keeping it in mind helps me visualize how the pull should be.

08/27/08

SCY
300 wu
6 x (50 choice @3rd person, 25 K @3rd person)
75 IM (fly/bk/br)
225 free
75 IM
175 free
75 IM
125 free
75 IM
75 free
75 IM
25 free
3 x (125 free @1:40, 3 x 75 choice (6 SDK/turn) @1:10)
4 x (25 underwater @30, 25 fast @30, 25 ez @30)
6 x 150 pull @2:10

200 ez
400 IM K
100 br K w/pull buoy
100 ez

4800 yards

Not sure about my shoulder.

08/26/08 - dryland

20 minutes on stepper, 10 minutes HR 140+ (last few minutes HR 160)
Bench(Smith): 14 x 145, 8 x 165, 5 x 175
Lat pulldown: 11 x 105, 8 x 115, 6 x 125
inverted row: 10, 7, 10
front db raise: 10 x 10, 6 x 15, 4 x 10, 15 x 5
pull ups: 5, 4, 4

standard abs

plank: 1:15
dips: 15

08/26/08

SCY
300 wu
16 x 50 @1:00 (4 free, 4 stroke, 4 K, 4 choice)
500 Pull
400 Reverse IM
300 Pull
200 Reverse IM (went 2:35)
8 x 25 (odds titanic drill, evens backstroke "slap" drill)
12 x 25 (odds fast/ez by 12.5, evens ez/fast)
200 wd

3200 yards

My breaststroke 50s were all around 40. My breaststroke has improved over the summer. Freestyle still needs work.

08/25/08

SCY. LCM season is done :(
250 ez
700 - every 3rd length K, every 4th stroke
4 x (75 - L/R/Both Free by 25; 75 - ez/fast/ez by 25) @4th person RI
100 IM @1:40
2 x 125 @1:40
6 x 50 choice @55
100 IM @1:40
3 x 125 @1:40
4 x 50 choice @55
100 IM @1:40
4 x 125 @1:45 (I did 1. 75 fly/25 fr/25 fly, 2. free, 3. breast, 4. 50 fly/50bk/25 br)
2 x 50 choice @55
4 x (25 fast K @30, 25 ez) I worked my SDK, tried to get close to the flags on each
200 wd

4000 yards

I felt fast on the IM stuff today. I started working on turning my hands out toward the walls on my breaststroke (as per the "early catch hands drill" on goswim). It seems to be helping my stroke quite a bit and gives me better control over my turnover.

I've also started working on sneaking my breaststroke breath in after I start my pull.

08/24/08 - SCM Meet

SCM
200 swim
200 snorkel
400 IM K
200 swim
2 x 25 w/start 25 ez
100 ez
4 x 50 IM order @1:15 fast (38, 39, 41, 35)
200 swim

200 breast - 2:56.10 (no splits)
100 ez
50 breast - 37.9
100 ez
400 free - 5:02 (1:13, 1:16, 1:16, 1:16)
100 ez
100 breast - 1:22.85 (39, 43)
100 ez
200 IM - ?? (34.7, 35.5, ?, ?)
250 ez

3200m

My breaststroke felt pretty good today. My 200 IM felt good. Hopefully they'll post the final time, b/c I only got the first 100 (1:10).

Weekly Total:
19300m
6000y
---------
24786m
27106y

08/23/08

SCY
200 EZ
400 IM K
2 x 25 breast fast
150 ez

800 yards

08/22/08 - dryland

3.75 mi run w/Roscoe :)

Bench(Smith): 11 x 155, 7 x 165, 3 x 185, 9 x 145
Seated Row: 12 x 95, 10 x 105, 7 x 115
front db raise: 3 x 6 x 15
overhead db tricep: 12 x 40, 10 x 45, 9 x 45
straight bar trap(smith): 12 x 75, 7 x 95, 12 x 75
pull-ups: 4, 3, 3

standard ab set

08/22/08

LCM
600 wu
2 x 200 @3:00 (went 2:50s)
4 x 50 @1:00 IM order
2 x 200 @2:55 (went 2:45,2:46)
4 x 50 @1:00 IM
2 x 200 @2:50 (went 2:44, 2:43)
4 x 50 @1:00 IM
6 x 100 @1:40 (I did 2 sets of 1.) IM, 2.) back, 3.)free)
400 IM K
100 br K w/buoy
2 x 50 br drills (25 free K w/breast pull, 25 br K)
200 br w/snorkel, worked on breathing timing
50 breast for time - went 48
50 ez swim back
50 breast for time - went 46
50 ez swim back
100 wd

4100m

I still think my breaststroke timing may be off. I did the 200 snorkel swim to try to figure out where my breaths should be taken and felt like I didn't really find "the spot". Lots of work to do yet on breaststroke. Yarrrgh! My nemesis, breaststroke. It seems to help a bit if I start exhaling right as my head goes down, but still doesn't feel really smooth.

I did feel like I was starting to get a smoother rhythm in my 200 free swims. I think the kicking I've done lately and focus on re-integrating my kick helps.

08/21/08 - dryland

Did weights today with Jeff and Steve at Northglenn Rec Center.

woodcutter (medicine ball): 20 x 15#, 10 x 15#, 10 x 15#
twists (medicine ball): 3 x 20 x 15#
pull-ups: 4, 3, 3, 2.5
curls (straight bar): 15 x 43, 10 x 48, 10 x 48
dips: 8, 7, 7
lat pull-down: 7 x 10, 10 x 9, 8 x 10
back extension: 10, 10, 10 (last one w/8# medicine ball)
Shoulder Db raise: 10 x 30 (only did one set b/c elbow was not feeling good)

3.75 mile run w/Roscoe

08/21/08

SCY
500 swim w/snorkel
500 pull
500 K
7 x 100 IM @1:30 (held 1:19-1:20)
3 x 400 desc @6:00 (went 5:15, 5:00, 4:44)
300 wd

3700 yards

Getting back to some fast swimming. I'm trying to decide on the LCM workout at 11 today...

08/20/08

LCM.
The LCM days are winding down :(.
200 wu
400 free
100 stroke
300 free
100 stroke
200 free
100 stroke
100 free
100 stroke
350 ez free
300 fast free (went 200 free @2:40, 100 bk @1:28)
250 ez free
200 IM (2:57)
150 ez
100 breast (1:40)
50 ez
12 x (50 K, 50 overkick free, 50 stroke) all 50s at 3rd pers RI
400 ez
400 IM
100 ez
300 K - (fly, breast w/buoy, flutter)
200 wd

5000m

I originally thought about busting out the second set (350, 300, etc) again with the second practice group, but my elbow was feeling funky so I warmed down and left. I've been doing some more fast swims the last few practices now. That's good, since I'm starting to transition to SCY season. My kick is getting better again. That helps, especially since my arms were pretty tired from lifting yesterday.

On the 50s overkick, I started to notice that I felt a lot smoother and faster when I'd make sure that my entry was farther out.

Trying to keep the hips up and get a good extension.

08/19/08 dryland

1/2 hour bike ride

bench(Smith): 11 x 155, 8 x 165, 3 x 185, 7 x 145
lat pull-down: 11 x 105, 9 x 115, 8 x 125
military(Smith): 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 5 x 125, 5 x 95
seated rows: 12 x 95, 10 x 105, 8 x 115

standard abs

08/19/08

LCM
10 x 50 @?
2 x 150 @2:15
6 x 150 @2:10 (held under 2:05s)
12 x 50 (25 K/25 Sw) @55
18 x 50 IM order @50
200 wd

3400m

My free was fast today. I'm getting better at keeping a more forward balanced position and it helps, I think.

08/18/08 - #2

SCY
1100 drills/kick
2 x 50 breast - went 40,41
200 drills
2 x 50 breast - went 38,39
100 wd

1500 y

Erin went swimming tonight with the Broomfield Masters team. That's cool.

I put in a session working mostly on breaststroke technique. On the first 50, I tried to turn over my stroke as fast as I could. On the second, I took more of a 200 stroke w/long glide. On the 3rd and 4th ones, I tried to get my elbows high.

08/18/08

LCM
300 wu
200 pull
200 K
300 alt free/stroke by 50
4 x (25 fast/75 mod free, 50 stroke, IM order) @4th pers RI
3 x 150 fast/ez/fast by 50
4 x 50 drill (fly K, double K br, bk catch-up)
2 x 150 fast/ez/fast by 50
6 x 50 drill
1 x 150 fast/ez/fast by 50
8 x 50 drill
200 wd

3600m

Tried to keep my body forward on the free again. Legs were tired today, though, so it was a little harder. I worked the fast swims today and went pretty ez on everything else.

08/17/08 - dryland

Forgot, I did dryland yesterday:
Run ~3.75 mi
Exercise Ball Workout
Standard Abs

08/17/08

LCM
3 x (200 @3:20, 100 @1:40 2x50 @45)
4 x 150 @2:40 stroke. I did odds breast(2:30), evens back(?)
2 x 150 did free(2:00), back(2:09)
4 x 50 K @1:20
4 x 50 non-free @1:20, did fly, bk ,br, br
4 x 50 K @1:20
8 x 50 @1:10 - did (fly, back, br, br) x2
200 wd

3700m

weekly total:
23800m
3600y
--------
27092m
29628y

08/16/08

LCM.
400 wu
100 stroke @1:50
2 x 50 @45
100 stroke @1:50
4 x 50 @45
100 stroke @1:50
10 x 50 @45
200 @ 2:50
2 x 400 @ 5:50
100 @ 1:20
100 @ 1:50
200 @3:00
2 x 300 @4:30
100 @ 1:20
100 @ 1:50
200 @2:40 (went 2:43)
2 x 200 @3:00
100 @ 1:15 (went 1:19)
100 ez
12 x 50 choice @1 min
200 ez

5300m

Balance. The main 3K set started out rough. Then I remembered *extension*. That, and I adjusted my balance forward a bit. I was sitting way back toward my hips instead of forward on my chest.

08/15/08

LCM
400 wu
7 x 200 - @15 sec rest
1. all free
2. 100 fr/50 br/50 fr
3. 50 fr/50bk/50br/50 fr
4. 200 IM (I was a shade under 3:10 on 4 & 5)
5. 200 IM
6. 200 pull
7. 200 pull
6 x 100 @1:50 odds IM, evens free
3 x (2 x 50 @45, 2 x 50 @1:00). I did bk & br on the 1:00 50s
---
400 swim w/snorkel
400 IM kick
1200 m drills, snorkel, etc.

5000m

It was more like 3000m of workout, then 2000m of kicking and drills. I worked a lot on my catch. I kinda forgot about my extension for a while, I have to get back to that. Also, I tried to keep track of my stroke count as much as possible. I was going between 34-38, depending on how tired I was getting. Pretty whipped today from a big day yesterday.

08/14/08 dryland

Decline (Smith) - 12 x 155, 10 x 165, 5 x 185, 10 x 135
Lat Pull down - 12 x 105, 10 x 115, 8 x 115
Db Row - 10 x 35, 10 x 40, 10 x 45
Front db raise - 3 x (10 x 10)
Db Curl Standing - 7 x 30, 9 x 25, 8 x 25
Db Overhead Tri - 12 x 40, 8 x 45, 12 x 40
Standard Ab Set

08/14/08 - #2

LCM
4 x 200 (1. Free, 2.Free/Bk by 50, 3. Free/Fly by 50, 4. Free)
9 x 50 @45 Free
150 @ 2:20 (went 2:10)
9 x 50 @40 Free. I made the first 3, then missed one, made one, missed 2, made the last one.
150 @2:20
7 x 50 K @1:10
150 @2:20
7 x 50 Choice fast @1:10. I did 2 fly, 2 back, 2 breast, 1 free
150 @2:20
300 wd

3300m

My free felt pretty good. I tried to count my strokes on the 200s and 150s. I was around 34-35 per 50. Not too bad. I should've tried to keep track on the fast 50s.

08/14/08

SCY.
150 ez/drill
1000 swim. Focused on DPS. Was ~12-13 strokes per length.
6 x 100 K @ 1:45
50 ez DPS
6 x 200 - odds choice fast, evens free ez. I did breast on odds, went 2:55, 2:54, 2:54
200 wd

3200 yards.

I really have to focus a lot on trying to point my right elbow to the side of the pool. I haven't exactly found the best position for it yet, but my DPS was better at about 90 degree elbow bend. On the 1000, my elbow bend was ~60 degrees. I think closer to 90 is better. It feels like it is, anyway. I'll keep working on it.

I was pretty happy with my breaststroke 200s. They're about as fast as I was swimming all out 200 breast in practice last April/May, and I did 3 of them in the 200 set on 3:15. Still a lot of work to be done here.

Today I realized that it will take a long time for me to really realize improvements in breast and free. I keep expecting that one day I'll go to practice and the stroke work I've been doing will just magically cause me to drop 2-3 seconds per hundred. As if something will just click in and I'll just get faster instantly. But I don't think it really works like that. It will take many focused swims in practice and in meets and will happen in small, nearly imperceptible, increments.

And I'll need to keep working, year in and year out. Life will throw things at me that cause me to take breaks, but I have a goal to try to get back in the pool on a consistent basis from now on. No more 8 year rest periods.

08/13/08

LCM
300 wu
4 x 100 IM (fly K, bk, br, overkick free)
4 x 150 @ 2:20
2 x 50 @ 1:00
3 x 150 @ 2:15
2 x 50 @ 1:00
2 x 150 @ 2:10 (went ~2:05)
2 x 50 @ 1:00
1 x 150 @ 2:05 (went 2:03)
2 x 50 @ 1:00
3 x (50 fly @55, 100 bk/br @1:55, 50 fr @50)
100 wd

3700m

I felt ok. My elbow has been hurting since the 10K, so I couldn't work my catch like I have been trying to do

08/12/08 - dryland

bench(Smith): 12 x 145, 8 x 165, 5 x 175, 10 x 135
lat pulldown: 12 x 95, 10 x 105
db curls: 11 x 30, 8 x 35, 8 x 35
overhead tri: 10 x 40, 8 x 45, 10 x 40
9 pull-ups

standard ab set

08/12/08

LCM
6 x 50 (odd - breast, even free) @ 1:00
2 x 150 mod - did backstroke
1 x 100 ez @ 2:00
4 x 200 FAST @ 3:40 I did 1.)IM - 2:59, 2.)Back - 2:50, 3.)IM - 2:57, 4.)Free (w/25m breast) - 2:45
3 x 100 @ 1:40 mod
3 x 100 fast @ 2:00 I did breast, went under 1:40 (hard to tell, couldn't finish to wall).
3 x 100 @ 1:35.
4 x 50 K @ 1 min
200 wd

2800m

I was fast on those 200s. Probably b/c I took an ez day yesterday. And my free is better. In fact, my change in free has affected other strokes, I think, because I'm starting to get a better feel about how to use my forearm better.

08/11/08

SCY

400 yards really really ez.

I just got in to stretch out my burnt muscles today. Then took a good steam and went to work.

08/10/08 - Horsetooth 10K

10K - 2 hrs, 31 minutes, 9 seconds.

1:30.69 per 100 meter pace.

I don't think I could have swum it much better on this day. Buuttt, rehashing the swim today makes me realize that I still have work to do on my stroke.

With 1.5 miles left, I think I really found my stroke. At that point, my upper body was just burning and all I could think of was holding form. Good extension, streamline, elbows out, pull through. I let my right elbow drop for a while when I'd get tired for the first few miles. I kept it high for that last mile and a half, though, and really started to feel my right arm getting good water.

My legs were not tired at all when I was done. I need to start doing more kicking during workouts and try to re-integrate my kick back into my full stroke.

Weekly Total:
18500m
5000y
----------
23072m
25232y

08/09/08

SCY

300 swim ez DPS, perfect stroke
100 K
300 swim ez DPS, perfect stroke

I was getting 10 strokes per length on some 25s. That was with a very long glide though. Averaged 12 strokes per length when I'd swim at a regular training pace.

I messed around with head position some today. My natural position seems to be with my eyes looking diagonally, slightly forward. For longer swims, though, it seems more comfortable to look straight down. I found no difference in DPS between the two.

08/08/08

LCM.
1000 drills, some w/forearm fulcrum, snorkel
2 x 100 Golf (add strokes + time) \
1. 1:20 (65 strokes) - 145
2: 1:24 (68 strokes) - 152
500 drill/snorkel - 32 strokes on last 50 (w/liberal coast at the end)

1700m

All pretty long and easy. Worked DPS all day. My stroke count goes down by 2-3 strokes/50m when I kick. I've neglected my kick for most of the summer, it's showing. In the fall, I plan on doing more kicking and adding it to my (hopefully) improved pull.

Swimming Energy Zones

Per USS

I like the tables for constructing sets targeted to certain zones.

08/07/08

SCY
300 swim ez
100 kick
300 swim w/forearm fulcrum
200 swim
100 K
~1000 swim. Did about 600 pace then dropped off and worked stroke drills, DPS.
200 ez

2200 y

I might have done too much w/the 600 pace. Oh well. I'm going ez tomorrow and easier than ez on Saturday. I took it out in 1:11 and cut back a little bit. My right lat started feeling it at 600 so I went really ez/drill from that point on. I took it as a good sign that I was getting tight in my right lat and would've worked the swim more if not for the 10k coming up.

I was rolling too much at times today. Need to stay flat and keep that extension. The right motion reminds me of cross country skiing, as if I'm sliding my extension forward while my other arm is going back.

08/06/08

LCM
200 wu
4 x 150 (25 K, 50 drill, 75 build) @ 3rd pers.
3 x
{
50 stroke @ 55
100 IM @ 1:45
150 build (went 2:10, 2:05, 2:10)
200 strong. (I went 2:44,2:44,2:45)
}
3 x (100 K, 50 slow/fast, 50 fast/slow) I did breaststroke on the 50s
200 wd

3100m

Extension man. It's making a huge difference in my stroke.

My plan for the next few days:
tomorrow: ~2000y, 4-5 pace 100s, rest ez/drill
Friday: ~1500m, 2-3 pace 100s, rest ez/drill
Saturday: ~500m all ez/drill swimming
Sunday: 10K race.

08/05/08

I ended up biking quite a bit more than I'd planned on today, about 12-15 miles. I was hoping to have to do 3, but the auto shop that was holding my car was less than swift.

SCY
900 ez + drills, worked DPS
400 IM K
4 x 100 pace @1:30, work DPS. I went 1:10, 1:09, 1:10, 1:05 (~11-12 strokes/length)
400 drills, work DPS

2100 y

Took it easier and did 1 set of pace 100s as prep for the 10K. I worked on DPS for the entire workout and just focused on getting good extension. I was getting 10-12 strokes per length, and averaged about 12 on the pace 100s (a few lengths were 11 strokes on that set, but most were 12).

Everything follows from the extension, I've found. It sets up my catch, makes my kick more effective, and decreases my DPS. When I wear the forearm fulcrum now, it stays on like it should. Extension, extension, extension! I'm focusing on that until it's firmly ingrained in my stroke.

08/04/08

LCM
300 ez wu
400 alt free/stroke by 50
400 IM kick
2 x 75 free drill
2 x 75 stroke drill
4 x 75 free descend
all @ 3rd pers RI
200 mod non-free
5 x 50 @ 1:05, dropping 5 seconds per 50 (so, 1:05, 1:00, 55, etc)
150 mod non-free
6 x 50 @ 1:05, drop 5 secs per 50
100 mod non-free
7 x 50
50 non-free
8 x 50
200 ez wd

3700m

The clocks were out of sync by 3-4 seconds, so I don't know what times I was doing on the 50s. That's just as well because my whole goal today was to focus on getting a good extension and getting nice and long on my strokes. I did that, and I noticed that I swim more straight when I work the extension.

thought for this week

I need to only focus on one thing in my stroke at a time. For a while it's going to be: EXTENSION.

08/02/08

LCM
2 x (250 free @ 3rd pers, 150 Fly/Bk/Br)
2 x (200 free @ 3rd per, 100 Stroke). I went 2:47, 2:49 on the 200s
8 x 100 @ 1:30
3 x
{ 100 K fast, 100 free @ 30 sec rest
3 x 50 @ 30 sec rest fast stroke. I did IM order, went 45s on breast!
1 x 50 recovery
30 sec rest
}
12 x 50 (1 @ 45 sec, 3 @ 50 sec)
200 ez

200 snorkel
500 stroke work
200 DPS, work long extension. (by 50: 33 strokes, 33 strokes, 34 strokes, 32 strokes)

5100m

Best swims for this practice were the 50's breast that I did on 45 and the last 200 DPS. On the breaststroke swims, I felt like I was getting a good quick backward pull and quick turnover.

ON the DPS swim, I really tried to just get a good extension and nothing else. Considering that I was at 35+ strokes/50 a month ago, I was pretty happy with this last 200. I think I need to just work the extension for now and not worry about anything else but getting nice and long and pressing my chest down a bit more. When I get that down, I'll worry about the other phases.

After I went to SwimLabs, I started out just focusing on that extension, really feeling my lats and side stretch out. I had some initial success with it and then started focusing too much on my catch position after less than a week. I think that screwed me up again. I need to return focus on getting that good long extension for a while--more than 5 days, to be sure :).

Weekly Total:
24800 m
4700 y
-------------
29098m
31822 yards

08/01/08

LCM.
600 ez/mod
2 x 200 (150 free/50 stroke) @ 3:20
2 x 200 (150 free/50 stroke) @ 3:10
2 x 200 free @ 3:00
2 x 200 free @ 2:50 (actually went on 2:55)
3 x 50 @ 1 min
1 x 50 @ 45
150 @ 2:25
3 x 50 @ 55
1 x 50 @ 45
150 @ 2:25
3 x 50 @ 50
1 x 50 @ 45
150 @ 2:25
4 x 50 @ 45
150 @ 2:25
500 pull mod

200 ez
100 @ 3:10 (went 1:25)
2 x 200 (150 stroke/50 back) @ 3:00. I went 2:55
1 x 100 @ 3:00, went 1:20
1 x 200 @ 3:00, didn't go too hard, went 2:55

5100m

So now. For most of practice my freestyle was crap. I felt tired and was not getting a pull. Partway through the 500 pull, though, I made my pull deeper and felt like I was getting a lot better DPS. In fact, the last 2 swims with the longer pull were the best swims I had all practice. I went as fast on the last 200 (2:55) as on the first set where I was using the much shallower pull. So, for next week, it's going to be deeper pull. No more screwing around.

Tomorrow, no swimming. I need a break.

07/31/08 Stroke and Stride

1500 swim - 11:23, 23:41(12:19)
5k run - 22:56 (7:24 pace)

Not too shabby. I got a great butt, hamstring, and back massage after the race. My legs feel good today.

07/31/08

SCY
1000 swim
3 x 100 breast kick on my back w/pull buoy,
1 x 100 fly no board
1 x 100 free no board
all on 1:55
5 x 600 descend @ 9:00
I went 7:51, 7:37, 7:33, 7:31, 7:28
200 wd

4700 yds

I think I've reached a point of distance stress. I was pleasantly surprised last Friday and Monday with the time drops I'd had in my LCM swims, but then after Tuesday's 4000m open water swim, Wednesday was back to my normal times. Today also did not show those nice time drops.

My stroke felt pretty good for the most part. There are a few factors that may go into the slow down:
1.) I've been out of coffee since Monday, so no morning coffee
2.) I started running again; my kicking has probably fallen off
3.) My distance went up quite a bit these last two weeks.
4.) I haven't really taken a recovery day

I picked up some coffee again, so by tomorrow we'll see if 1 is a factor. I'm doing the stroke and stride tonight, though, so 2, 3, and 4 definitely won't be mitigated.

07/30/08 dryland

bench(machine) - 12 x 95, 9 x 105, 5 x 115
lat pulldown - 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 5 x 125
tricep pulldown - 12 x 45, 10 x 55
shoulder press(machine) 10 x 75, 9 x 85, 5 x 95
seated rows - 10 x 95, 10 x 105, 6 x 115

10 min on Elliptical, HR 140-150 range

thought about my stroke today

Today I think I was "closing" my entry too much. If there is a line going straight down the middle of my body, it means my entry is going too far in to the center. I need to enter my hands out wider from that imaginary center line.

07/30/08

LCM.
200 w/u
150 free/50 stroke
100 free/50 stroke
50 free/50 stroke
3 x (50 build @ 1 min, 50 fast @ 50 sec, 50 ez @ 1:10) I did breaststroke, went 45s on the fast ones
2 x
{
300 mod @ 4:30, I went 4:20/4:15
150 (50 ez/50 mod/50 fast) @ 2:30, I went 2:10
3 x 50 fast @ 50
}
2 x
{
200 (75 mod/50 fast/50 mod/25 fast) I went ~2:50s
200 broken 100/50/50 w/10 secs rest. I was going 2:39s (2:59 total)
100 ez
}
300 wd

3400m

I was a bit slower today than I've been the last few practices, so I didn't bother going for extra sets after practice. I figured I needed to just get out and take some recovery.

The jets in the pool were really bad today, though, so that may have been a factor. I wasn't having any issues keeping up with the faster people in our lane -- they were just as far in front of me as usual so I had to wonder if there was a uniform factor.

Still, I needed to rest.

07/29/08 dryland

run 35 min
standard abs

07/29/08

Swimmin' in the Res today
4 loops, ~1000m each

~4000m

Prob'ly a little more than that. I'm getting somewhat better at sighting.

07/28/08

LCM
300 ez w/u
5 x 150 (50 drill, 50 swim, 50 stroke) @ 3rd person RI
3 x 75 (K/Swim/K)
3 x 75 build
2 x 75 FAST
1 x 50 FAST
All @ 4th person.
200 swim (went 2:40)
100 IM
50 ez
300 swim (went 4:00)
100 IM
50 ez
400 swim (went 5:30)
100 IM
50 ez
500 swim (went 6:55)
100 IM
50 ez

200 kick
100 swim ez
200 fist swim
200 breaststroke
4 x 125 (100 swim/25 stroke) @ 4th person RI
4 x (100 IM, 50 fast) @ 4th person RI
200 ez

5700m

Freestyle's gotten faster since I changed my stroke. My right shoulder feels funky, though. I'm not sure yet if it's just because I'm getting used to a different stroke or if it's injured.

I played around with my new breaststroke pull. When I get the timing right, it flows really nice and feels fast. Sometimes I pull back too far and swamp myself, though. I just have to keep working with it.

07/21/08 - 07/25/08 Weekly Total

21530m
23545y

Taking tomorrow and probably Sunday off to go camping. I had a hell of a good week in the water.

07/25/08

LCM
500 swim
4 x 50 K
4 x 50 drill
4 x 50 swim
All @ 3rd person RI
5 x 100 descend. I went 1:16 on the last one!
4 x 200 (25 stroke/150 swim/25 stroke) @ 3:10. I did breast, went about 3 min on all
3 x 300 @ 4:40 descend. I went 4:20, 4:12, 4:05.
200 ez
200 breaststroke
400 kick
300 breaststroke
200 kick
100 breast
150 free
150 free
50 stroke
100 IM
150 free
4 x 200 backstroke @ 3:15. I went 2:55 on #3, 3:00 on #4. Didn't see the times for the first 2, but they were faster.
300 ez

6400m

I did the first workout, did a bunch of kicking and breaststroke, and then jumped in for the last 20 minutes of the second workout.

My new front crawl stroke is awesome. I love it. The whole time that I was doing it, I just thought about poking my extension out in front of me instead of rolling to it. I also really worked on keeping my right arm close in when I breathed to the left. The best part was that when I wanted to go fast, my turnover was much better and I could feel that I was moving in a more linear fashion. I knew it was going well when I went a 1:16 on that last 100 descend. Then, my times on the set of 300s were by far the best free swims I've done all summer in practice. This after being pretty beat up from all of yesterday's open water shenanigans.

The video analysis session was the best thing I've done for my swimming in a long time.

07/24/08 Stroke and Stride

I did the stroke and stride tonight 1500m swim + 5K run. The swim loop ended up being long, 815m, so I ended up swimming 1630m

Swim(1630): 11:20 23:22(12:03)
Transition: 2:14
Run (5k): 23:16
Total: 48:52

I know the splits don't quite add up on the swim, but that's what the results say. No warm up. I could've gone faster with the warm up.

My transition time was near the bottom :). I took my time getting my shoes on. That was sweet.

07/24/08 Dryland

Bench(Smith): 12 x 145, 10 x 155, 7 (+2) x 165, 2 x 185
Lat pull-down: 10 x 105, 7 x 115, 3 x 125, 10 x 85
Seated Row: 10 x 95, 9 x 105, 5 x 115
Front Db Raise: 3 x 10 x 10

Standard Ab Set

I felt strong on the bench today.

7/24/08

Open Water swim this morning @ Boulder Res.
3 x around course
The course was a bit over 1000m. I'll round to 1K per loop

3000m

I worked on my new technique today. I'm glad I went to SwimLabs last night and got some video analysis done, because I think it will help shore up some things in my stroke. I felt as though I could get a lot quicker turnover in my stroke when I wasn't rolling so far to get to my catch. I started out on the first lap really focusing on the technique: getting that entry out there, poking my extension forward, and then getting a good EVF out on top of my head.

On the second lap, I played around with the tempo some. I felt like I could get a better tempo with my improved stroke without getting so tired. My right arm still wanted to drift from time to time, but I really worked on trying to keep it in line.

My lats were sore at the end. I took that as a sign that I was doing my new stroke at least somewhat correctly because the new stroke is supposed to utilize the lats a lot more.

07/23/08 SwimLabs analysis discussion

I finally went to SwimLabs and got videotaped last night and I'm sure glad I did. I now have refined my stroke models for breaststroke and freestyle and I have some concrete things to work on to make them better. No more random tinkering.

Freestyle:

One thing I picked up was that I need to enter my hand farther out in front of me, then extend with a shrug motion. I was entering my hand closer to my head and then extending through the water using a side roll. That caused me to take a lot longer to get to my catch. Mike Mann, the analyst, told me that I had a good catch, but the way in which I got to it was not so efficient.

My model of arm extension, then, was off. Instead of rolling to extend my lead arm, I needed to stay flatter and just shrug it forward. The roll comes in at the end of the stroke, where I should be using my hips to accelerate the finish. I don't roll to the catch so much as I just shrug to it. It feels more like I'm just trying to reach out to poke something in the water in front of me.

I also learned that I want to have my upper arm almost parallel to my head and then drop my forearm down as though there was something holding my elbow up. After the forearm goes vertical, then I can get a pretty long pull using my side muscles. My left arm was pretty good on this account, especially after I adjusted my mental model of arm extension. My right arm needs work, especially on a breath.

In my old way of swimming, my right arm would sweep way out when I'd breathe to my left. Apparently, this is not uncommon. It causes me to then need to use the next part of my pull to sweep back in and stabilize my body in the water. So, I'm expending my energy sideways rather than straight back. I need to focus a lot on that right arm :).

For the longest time, I had thought that my left arm was weaker because I'm generally pretty right-dominant. These last few weeks, I've suspected that my left arm is actually more efficient and stronger than my right due to how my motion in the water has felt. The video session and analysis confirmed that, so now I don't have to wonder and try to randomly adjust things.

So, to rehash freestyle, I need to get my hand entry out farther, shrug to the catch, and then drop my forearm vertically as though something were holding my elbow. Then get a nice long pull using that push-down motion.

Breaststroke:
There are two things I really need to work on in my breaststroke. The first of them is that my pull is too wide and I end up pushing down toward the bottom of the pool rather than straight back. We adjusted my pull so that it's a lot narrower. The model we used for this is to think about pulling myself forward over the lane line, so I've got my hands and forearms in a lot more and I'm just pulling straight back. Not only did it feel like I had a pull, it was a lot more comfortable and I felt like I was expending less energy.

The second thing I need to work on is really shooting my hands forward on the recovery as fast as I can. No matter what. If I'm doing easy breaststroke, the rest can come in the length of my glide. It's important to shoot those hands forward as fast as possible and get into the glide position.

07/23/2008

LCM
300 ez
3 x 50 free @ 55
2 x 50 back @ 1:05
3 x 50 free @ 50
2 x 50 breast @ 1:05
3 x 50 free @ 45
2 x 50 fly @ 1:05
50 ez
4 x 100 alt breathe on 1:40
3 x 300 w/ paddles @ 4:25
2 x 300 @ 4:40. I went a shade under 4:20s
4 x 200 @ 3:00. I did 2 x 200 back on 3:20, 2 x 200 free on 3:00
1500 swim
200 ez wd

5500 m

I tacked the 1500 swim on the end, and did some lengths of it fist swim. I stopped a few times to check my pulse. It was 130-140, which was around where I should be on a moderate 1500 at the end of practice.

I felt like I had a eureka today on my pull. If I try to get water on my forearm and use my hand-forearm unit more like an oar, I feel like I'm getting a better pull. My left arm, again is pretty good with it. My right arm is not finding that water as easily.

07/22/08 dryland

5 AM
Stepper for 22 minutes. 2 min warmup, 18 min mod->hard, 2 min wd.
Avg pulse 136, Avg Watts: 141.
I don't know if the pulse that the machine takes is accurate.

9 PM
Stepper for 15 more minutes. 2 min warmup/warmdown. 13 min mod->hard.
On the very steep parts of the program, I was around 270 watts and 145 hr.
Bench (Smith): 11 x 145, 8 x 155, 6(+2) x 165, 6 x 135
Lat pull-down: 7 x 115, 12 x 95, 10 x 105
Military (Smith): 10 x 105, 6 x 115, 4 x 105, 6 x 95
Db lateral raise: 3 x 10 x 10
Db rows: 10 x 30, 10 x 35, 10 x 40

07/21/08

LCM
6 x 100 (50 free/50 non-free)
10 x 50 - odds free drill @ 1:05, evens stroke @ 55. I did breaststroke from 4 on and went some of them of 45.
250 free @3:30 (just made it)
200 IM @ 3:30 (I went 3:05)
150 K @ 3:30
150 K @ 3:30
200 IM @ 3:30 (I went 3:00)
250 free @ 3:30 (just missed it)
250 free @ 3:30 (went 3:34)
200 IM @ 3:30 (went 3:09)
150 K @ 3:30
1500 Swim mod pace
100 fist swim
3 x 100 (50 fist swim/50 K)
200 fist swim/swim

5000m

My breaststroke feels very good. I was making 50s on 45-47 today. I missed on some of the free swims. I'm not going to think too much about it until I get that video work done.

My second 200 IM swim was 3:00. I was pleasantly surprised there. Fastest 200m IM practice swim I've done, and I wasn't even going all out.

Weekly Total, 07/14 - 07/20 2008

20200 meters
4200 yards
------------

24040 meters
26290 yards

Runner's World Exercise Ball Routine

I got this exercise ball routine from the July 2008 issue of Runner's World:
1. Wall-ball squats: back against the ball
2. Pushups w/feet on ball
3. Lunges, 1 foot on ball
4. Plank -- face down, straight as possible, engage abs for x amount of time
5. Dips
6. Situps on ball
7. Back extension, torso on ball
8. Oblique Twists on ball

07/20/08 dryland

standard ab set
2 x Exercise ball routine
20 reps of everything.
1:20, 1:10 for Plank exercise (see 07/20/08 post about Exercise Ball workout)

Weights:
Bench(Smith): 12 x 135, 8 x 155, 5 x 165, 7 x 135
Lat pulldown: 8 x 115, 5 x 125, 4 x 125, 2 x 95
Military(Smith): 10 x 105, 6 x 115, 4 x 125, 6 x 95
Seated Row: 12 x 95, 10 x 105, 7 x 115
12 minutes on stair stepper, got heart rate up to 130+ after 3 minutes, 140+ after 7

07/20/08

LCM
3 x (100 @ 2:00, 4x50 @ 1:00) set 1 - mixed bk/free, set 2 - breast, set 3 - bk/free
5 x 200 "creeper" (200 free, 50 stroke/150 free, 100 stroke/100 free, 150 stroke/50 free, 200 stroke) @ 3rd person rest. I did breaststroke for all of the stroke.
6 x 100 kick/swim @ 15 sec rest
200 ez wd

2700m

Pretty easy day today. I swam mostly easy free to just wash out yesterday's swims and worked on breaststroke some.

07/19/08

LCM meet at Lowry. I'm really starting to enjoy LCM. It's too bad we don't do more meets. Ah well.

Warm Up:
400 swim
200 IM
100 Kick
4 x 50 IM order moderate pace
100 ez
2 x (25 fast w/start, 25 ez)

400 IM: 5:42.55, only split, fly: 1:13.18
So I was out fast in the fly, and it cost me a little, but not much. That was ok, though. I'd like to start getting more aggressive on the fly. Now I need to work on being more aggressive in the other strokes, too.

200 ez warm down

200 Breast: 1:28.27 3:04.66(1:36.39)
This was my best swim of the day. I was pretty happy with it and felt like I was executing on a lot of things I'd been working on. I dropped 3 seconds off of my last swim in this event.

100 ez warm down

200 Fly: 1:17.45 2:49.37(1:31.92)
I was a little disappointed here. I was the only person in it, though, so that made it a bit tougher. My first 100 was not bad, but I kind of sacked it up after that. I should have swum harder on that 3rd 50, but I was afraid of the piano so I held back.

200 ez

200 Free: 2:29.66
Meh. Knew I'd be swimming the 1500 after this one, so I didn't go too hard.

200 ez

1500 Free: 20:55.61.
1:19.03 2:42.05(1:23.02) 4:06.21(1:24.16) 5:29.86(1:23.65) 6:53.40(1:23.54)
8:17.48(1:24.08) 9:41.67(1:24.19) 11:05.39(1:23.72) 12:29.67(1:24.28) 13:54.05(1:24.38) 15:18.48(1:24.43) 16:43.04(1:24.56) 18:07.73(1:24.69) 19:32.58(1:24.85) 20:55.61(1:23.03)

8 seconds slower than the first time I swam it in this pool, but I also swam a lot more beforehand. None of my 100 splits went over 1:25 this time, either. So I split it better. All in all, I was pretty happy about this one.

500 ez wd

4800m today.

A lot of fast swimming today. I felt good about it and was pretty happy, given the load. My breaststroke is really feeling good. My turnover is improving and I feel like the timing is starting to click for me. I wish they had gotten 400 IM splits, because my breaststroke felt pretty good there, too.

I need that freestyle to start coming around a bit more and then I might be able to throw down a fast 400 IM at States next Spring. It felt pretty clunky at the end of the 400 IM today. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 2-3 sec slower than the last time.

I could probably have swum faster times if I only did a few events, but I haven't been doing enough speed work to make that worthwhile. Plus, the Horsetooth 10K is coming up in 3 weeks, so I wanted to load myself, especially for that last mile.

07/18/08

LCM
400 ez
3 x 50 free
3 x 50 back
3 x 50 free
3 x 50 breast, all on 3rd person RI
600 build
rest 30 sec
400 IM fast. I went 6:15
rest 30 sec
200 peppy. I went 2:48
7 x 100 @ 1:40. I did back, held 1:25s
2 x (50 fly, 50 back)
2 x (50 breast, 50 free)
2 x (50 free, 50 fly), all 50's on 1:05
I held 50 on breast, 39-40 on free, 45 on back, 40-45 on fly.
200 ez wd

3700m

My backstroke is my best long course stroke. It's almost as fast as my free. I do yank on the lane line once in a while, probably as often as I run into the lane line.

I messed around with breathing every stroke on some of my free swims. It feels pretty good when I do it to my right side, pretty sloppy when I do it to the left side. Still not sure about stroke depth. I swam a lot of my free swims with a pretty deep stroke today, trying to get down further and grab some water. It moves me farther, that's for certain. It's harder to turn over, though.

I guess it's just 400 IM week this week. I wasn't planning on doing much fly/IM work today, but that's just how the cards were dealt. I just took 'em and played with 'em.

standard ab set

When I say "abs", this is what I usually do:
sit-ups
raised-leg sit-ups
double leg lift, arms flat on floor
right side crunches (lay on left side, crunch to ceiling)
right side curl-ups (", to right leg)
left side triangle raises (legs straight, left elbow on floor, relax+contract left side)
bicycles
push-ups
left side crunches
left side curl-ups
right triangle raise
ankle touches
twists
dips

As of right now, I do 20 of each

07/17/08 dryland

I've been taking a break from weights until next week, but I did an exercise ball workout from Runner's World. It's a good, quick set I can do when I can't get out to the weight room.

20 wall squats
20 ball pushups
20 ball situps
20 ball lunges on each leg
15 dips
20 back extensions
20 oblique twists to each side
"plank" pose for 1:10

Then I did the standard ab set

07/17/08

SCY today.
600 swim
600 pull
600 kick
4 x 450 @ 7:30, descend. I did odds free, even IM + extra 50.
I went (400 IM time in parens):
1.) 6:00, 2.) (5:22) 6:00, 3.) 5:32, 4.) (5:16) 5:59
50 ez
7 x 50 stroke @ 50. I went IM order (no free), back, breast, breast. My breast times were 42, 41, 40.
200 ez wd

4200 yards

I was pretty happy with my 400 IM swims. My butterfly felt good today, nice and long. The extra fly swims that I've done in the last few weeks are really starting to pay off. I think it really helps the 400 IM because that first 100 fly doesn't beat me up for the rest of the 400.

Still playing around with my freestyle; can't wait to get some video and really start to get a handle on it.

I realized that in order to swim some fast breaststroke this year, I have to put good effort into it. I tend to try to take this long power stroke. In order to get some speed with it, though, I've got to start working the turnover.

IN fact, turnover is an overarching theme in a lot of my strokes. My perception of fast turnover when I'm in the water seems off. And I think that's because I'm applying more energy in trying to really power through each stroke. I need to apply that energy to quicker turnover during a race.

Swim Times History

Mike Swim Times History

Below is how I pieced much of this together.

My parents managed to save a pretty large cache of my high school and college swimming documents. Our high school team managers usually compiled a booklet of yearly meet results. Our YMCA coaches were pretty good about providing us similar result documentation. As a result, my high school career is pretty well documented, time-wise.

My college times were not so well documented. We had a booklet at our year-end awards banquet listing, some years listing the best times for each swimmer and which meet those times occurred at, and some meet only listing that swimmer's main events. So, I have a smattering of times for each year, mostly representing the best times for that year. And the DePauw invitational results from each year in which I was able to participate in that meet.

I really wanted to get more of my splits, especially for the 400 IM during my senior year at Alma. But alas, most of those were not tracked in the results. I also don't have my best off-event swims from my senior year at Alma... I remember going ~1:54 in the 200 free and ~5:19 in the 500 at the Olivet Meet in 2000. But alas.

The upshot of going over my results is this: it often took me quite a few swims to realize time drops. My times would drop some, fluctuate up and down in the same general region for a while, then drop some more. The summer training I did after my freshman year really showed in my results from the beginning of the following year. I reached the conclusion that I am going to have to race breaststroke in many meets over the next year to get faster.

07/16/08

LCM
300 ez
2 x (4 x 50, 25 drill/25 swim IM order; 4 x 50 free descend 1-4) @ 4th pers reset (set 1), 3rd pers. rest (set 2)
6 x 100 @ 1:30. I held 1:21-1:23's
400 swim strong. I went 5:35
6 x 50 @ 50 (fly,back,fly,back,fly,free)
200 IM strong. I went 3:05
100 swim ez
2 x (3 x 50 IM order @ 1:00, 100 @ 1:30)
200 ez wd

3500m

I don't really know what to do with my freestyle. I am not sure now what kind of depth I should go to. ON the one hand, I get faster turnover when I don't reach as deep. On the other hand, I get a longer stroke. Either way that I do it results in about the same time. I'm looking forward to getting my free filmed and critiqued next Wednesday. I think it will help me a lot.

One thing I can say for sure. No matter what I do, I'm better off in trying to get a continuous motion going on my pull. It's the main thing I can think to work on for the next week.

My strokes felt good. Leading with my head and looking down when I breathe helps my fly and breast a lot. I feel like it keeps me going forward more.

07/15/08

LCM
100m ez
8 x 50 @ :50, (odd - free, even - back)
3 x (3 x 100 (50 free/50 stroke)) @ 1:40/1:35/1:30 by sets of 3. I did set 1 fly, set 2 back, set 3 1/2 back, 1/2 fly
300 swim
3 x 100 @ 1:25
200 swim
4 x 50 @ :45 (I did fly, free, free, free)
100 swim
4 x 25 @ :30 (I did fly, free, fly, free)
10 x 50 (25 stroke/25 free) @ 1:00. I did breaststroke for the stroke
200 ez w/d

3300m

Ok. I learned something, I think, about my free. I need to reach deeper. My idea on high elbows may have been off. For quite some time, I've been trying to keep my elbows nearer to the surface of the water and just leverage myself past my elbow. I think, though, that I can keep my elbows high and reach deeper. I noticed a marked difference today in my DPS when I would try to reach deeper. At least, I felt like I noticed a marked difference -- it FELT like I was moving farther. I forgot to actually get some counts to see if that indeed was the case.

I made an appointment to get my stroke videotaped next Wednesday evening at SwimLabs here in Denver. I'm going to give it a shot because I don't think I've had my strokes videotaped since swim camp. It's time to do it to get an idea of what I really need to do because I've spent a lot of time playing around with my stroke without actually seeing what it looks like.

I learned something about breast and fly, too. Lead with your head. It really helps to guide the undulation portion of the stroke and keep it smoother. Especially on my breaststroke. Gotta keep working on it.

07/14/08

Home again, home again.

LCM @ Scott Carpenter

300 swim ez
200 K IM order
300 pull
4 x 50 ez/mod/fast/ez
4 x (50 fly 200 pace, 50 ez free)
200 K IM order
200 ez swim
200 IM mod/fast, went 3:02
200 ez

2200m

I felt pretty slow after being on the road in the car for 21 hours. I was just trying to get back into the water a little bit to get the long course feel back. The 200 IM felt good at the end, shaking out the cobwebs. I tried to stay strong without going too hard.

07/12/08

2 x 1/2 mi swim
2 x 50 m fast fly
some ez swimming

~1700 m

Weekly totals:
6200 m
2800 yards
----------
8760 m
9580 yards

07/11/08

1/2 mi swim
50 m fast fly

7/10/08

Abs, core work
30 min run (~3.5 mi)
20 min kayak
Casey Lake:
300 m free
200 m free build
100 m fly fast
100m free mod
200 IM mod
100 m free mod
50 m breast/50 m free

~1100 m

I didn't bother writing down the stroke counts here. I just did a few strokes over my 50m count and called it even.

07/09/08

SCY @ PEIF pool

200 swim ez
300 w/snorkel
2 x 100 @ 1:15
300 K
250 fly broken 100/50/50/50 FAST, 10 secs between
went 2:25 @ 200, 3:00 @ 250
150 ez recovery
400 IM broken by 100s, 10 secs between
went 1:10 (fly), 1:15 (bk), 1:25 (br), 1:08 free - 4:58 total
200 ez
500 pull
4 x 25 IM order FAST
200 ez

2800 yards

My breaststroke felt pretty good, but the split was slow, I felt. I was happy that I was able to bring the free home faster than the fly leg on the 400 IM. That's something I don't usually do.

07/08/08

Casey Lake :)
Free:
75 strokes out
83 back in
80 out
92 in
105 out
107 in
(~700 m)

Fly:
25 out
25 in
105 strokes fly
(~350 m)

Free:
75 strokes out
75 back in
(~200 m)

Fly:
136 strokes (30 out/30 in, 12/12, 15/15, 11/11)
(~300 m)

Free:
160 strokes (80 out/80 in)
(~200 m)

25 strokes fly FAST
swim back ez free

15 strokes fly FAST
swim back ez free

sauna/rest 5 min

15 strokes fly FAST from running dive
swim back ez free

21 strokes fly FAST from running dive
swim back ez free

rest/sauna 5 min

30 strokes fly FAST from running dive
swim back ez free

rest/sauna 5 min

31 strokes fly FAST from running dive
swim back ez free

(~600 m sprint set)

~2350m