06/30/08

LCM.
200 ez
4 x 200 (200 free, 200 50 stroke/50 free) @ 4th person rest)
5 x 50 (25 Kick/25 swim) @ 1:00 I did backstroke
5 x 50 (25 drill/25 swim) @ :55
6 x 50 @ :45
2 x (200 IM, 150 bk/br/fr, 100 br/fr, 50 fr) @ 4th pers. rest
1 x (200, 150, 100, 50 choice) did 200 IM, then 150 fly/bk/fly, 100 fly/bk, 50 fly, working the fly swims and going REALLY easy recovery on the back.
200 ez wd

3500m

My shoulders/arms were fatigued today. The 6K didn't feel like it took that much out of me at the time, but I think that I was feeling the effects today. Still, I swam a pretty fast workout. I'm trying to work better turnover on my freestyle swims because I feel like I can swim with higher turnover rates without getting too tired. It's when I try to apply a lot of power also that I start wearing down quickly.

My first 200 IM was 3:05, maybe a shade under. It felt pretty good, but I stopped trying to get my times after that.

JUNE MONTHLY TOTAL:
76490 m
(83650 y)

06/29/08 dryland

11 minutes on the stepper - got heart rate up to 120 after 5 mins.
Decline(Smith) - 12 x 155, 4 x 185, 2 x 195, 7 x 155
Overhead row - 12 x 85, 10 x 105, 7 x 125
Military (Smith) - 5 x 125, 7 x 115, 4 x 125, 7 x 95
Tricep pulldown - 5 x 55, 10 x 45, 10 x 45
DB Curl - 8 x 30, 8 x 30, 5 x 30, 5 x 25
Front Db raise - 8 x 12
Wide Pullup - 4, 3, 2.5, 1

I felt my right side twinge on the front db raise, so I didn't do more than 1 set.

WEEKLY TOTAL:
20700 m
22638 y

Prospect Lake 6K

I did my first Open water race today, the 4 loops 4 fun Prospect Lake 6K. My time was 1:21.48. I felt good and drank a lot of lake water.

My main problem was trying to swim straight. I zigzagged a lot and would occasionally do or 2 strokes breaststroke when I really got disoriented. The fellow who was swimming by me for most of the race told me I must have swum an extra quarter mile.

Karen Reeder, who was the registrar for the race, gave me some advice to help with straightening out. She told me to find the next buoy after going around a turn, and try to find something tall along the same line. She also told me that it helps to keep a bearing on where the sun is in relation to the buoy.

I felt pretty good about my elbows, and kept them nice and high for the most part. I'll just have to work on swimming straight.

06/27/08 USS meet

400 LCM IM: 5:41.86
Fly: 35.18, 39.84 (1:15.02)
Back: 44.60, 43.28 (1:27.88)
Breast: 48.55, 49.20 (1:37.75)
Free: 40.90, 40.31 (1:21.21)

Ahhh, the 400 IM. It's really my favorite event. I love it and hate it. It is the gauge of what kind of swimming shape I'm in, for me the swimming crucible. 100 of each stroke, and at a pretty good clip. The last time I swam the 400 IM was at our USMS state meet, and that was short course. This was the first 400 IM I've ever swum long course.

My goal on this swim was to try to stay long and work the 2nd 200m. I did that. That first 100 felt pretty good and I was happy with that fly split. My fly has changed recently to where I'm not trying to muscle my arms through the water, but am using my arms more like paddles and pulling through with my shoulders. It feels good, like it uses much less energy.

My backstroke was very reserved, because I wanted to work that 2nd 200. If I get another chance to swim the 4 IM, I'll probably speed up the backstroke more. 1:27.75 is pretty slow, even in LCM. I was 1:22.11 in the 2nd 100 of my 200 back in the USMS meet earlier in the month, and should be closer to that in the 400 IM.

Breast felt ok, I kept pretty linear, I thought. I'd like to get in the lower 1:30s for a good LCM breaststroke split, but I think 1:37.75 shows that my breaststroke work is helping. I was 1:37.25 in the 2nd 100 of my 200 breast earlier in the month, so to get close to that in the 3rd 100 of the 4 IM is pretty decent. Still, it can be faster!

Free was just ok. My turnover was slow. I felt like I didn't really get a good rhythm at the end there. Everyone who finished before me or with approximately the same time had a free split under 1:20. Ideally, I should be closer to 1:15, my fly split. I have to continue to work on swimming fast freestyle in practices. It's coming along, though.

I wasn't too tired at the end, and I would have been able to go under 5:40 with a peppier backstroke and higher turnover through the last 300 meters. I haven't been doing much speed work lately, though, and I'm sure that had something to do with it. My main event for the summer is the Horsetooth 10K, so aerobic work is much more important at this point.

All in all, a pretty decent for this point. It sure felt a lot better than the 400 SCY IM I swam at the state meet. My last 200 was certainly much better. Of course, I'm in much better swimming shape now.

06/26/2008

LCM.
4 x 150 descend ints by 10s per 150, 2:30 - 2:00
5 x 100 @ 1:25. I held 1:20 or better
1 x 100 fast kick
12 x 50 @ 1:10 FAST.
3 x 100 @ 1:30
400 alt stroke/bilat breathe free by 100
6 x 50 @ :45. I held 40 or better.
200 ez

3000m

I worked with the information from the FQS articles referenced in my last post. I really focused on keeping long and keeping my arm pass out in front of my body. It seemed to make a big difference today. OF course, it could be that broken jet at the end of the lane :).

Emmett Hines on Front Quadrant Swimming

Swimming in Circles
Of Gravity and Air

Here's what I'm aiming at. I can feel a definite difference in my speed if I try to stay as long as possible. Catch-up drill swimming should be an excellent way to work on hitting the "passing zone" that Mr. Hines discusses. Today, I'm going to try to spend some time observing where my hands pass.

06/25/08

LCM. I was 15 minutes late today.
400 Ez/Mod
300 Swim Mod/Faster
3 x 200 descend 3:10, 3:00, 2:50. I held sub - 2:50 on all.
4 x 100 @ 1:35, 1 - Bk, 2 - Bk, 3 - 50 Bk/50 Br, 4 - 50 Bk/50 Br
300 Pull
8 x 50 - 25 Stroke/25 kick, IM order
8 x 50 - 50 ez @ 1 min, 50 fast @ :40
50 ez
200 Kick
450 ez warmdown.

3500m

One of the pool jets on the far end was broken and was blowing out a massive amount of water. It provided resistance on the way down, and assistance on the way back. I swam the fast 50's Fly, Back, Free, Back, and they were fast -- sub :35, faster than I'd swum 50's at Scott Carpenter to date. I felt good, and I'm sure that I could have swum them faster than I had all summer. I also think that the jet had something to do with the speed :).

06/24/08 dryland

Bench(Smith) - 12 x 145, 9 x 155, 3 x 185 (took a break btw 2 & 3), 7 x 145, 7 x 135
Lat Pulldown - 10 x 115, 7 x 125, 3 x 140, 7 x 105
Military(Smith) - 10 x 105, 7.5 x 115, 4 x 125, 7 x 95
Seated Row - 8 x 105, 6 x 115, 4 x 125, 7 x 95
Overhead Db Tri - 10 x 45
Curls - 7 x 30

Had to cut it short to get to my bass lesson.

06/24/2008

LCM
8 x 50 mod @ 5 sec rest
6 x 100 @ 1:35
5 x 100 @ 1:30
4 x 100 @ 1:25
I kept these all at 1:20 +/- 2 sec.
12 x 50 - 2 fast @ :45, 1 ez @ 1 min.
400 pull
400 IM
200 EZ

3500m.

My IM is starting to feel good again. Free also felt as good today as it has since I started back in the water.

06/23/08

LCM. All intervals were 3rd person today.
200 ez
400 (free, drill, head up by 50
400 IM kick/swim by 50
4 x 125 75 free / 50 stroke
600 (100 fast, 400 mod, 100 fast)
6 x 25 recovery
400 (100 fast, 200 mod, 100 fast)
4 x 25 recovery
200 fast
2 x 25 recovery
6 x 75 - 50 fast choice, 25 ez
250 ez

3700m

Free's feeling really good. I'm still getting a good high elbow on the left. My 200 fast freestyle felt strong and controlled. I worked on getting my head down into streamline on my breaststroke. I also really tried to focus on fast hands with the quick swims. My turnover definitely needs to improve on breaststroke if I want to get faster. I also really have to focus on getting a good breathing rhythm down. If I'm breathing out as soon as my head goes down, I can turn the stroke over much faster.

06/22/08 dryland

Decline (Smith) - 10 x 155, 6 x 165, 5 x 185 (took a break after 3 and 4 :)
Lat Pulldown - 10 x 115, 7 x 125, 3 x 140, 7 x 105
Military (Smith) - 10 x 105, 9 x 115, 5 x 125, 7 x 95
Rows (Seated) - 9 x 105, 7 x 115, 4 x 125, 7 x 95
Overhead Db Tri - 10 x 40, 8 x 45, 8 x 45
Lateral Db raise - 10 x 12, 4 x 15, 5 x 10, 10 x 12
Wide pull up - 3.5, 3, 3.5, 2
Abs

I mark 1/2 a pull up if I can bring myself up to 90 degree or less bicep-forearm angle but don't make it all the way.

06/22/08

LCM.
100 ez
4 x 200 (alt 50 alt breathe free/50 stroke)
12 x 50 pull @ alt 40/1:10
2 x
(
200 IM peppy @ 50 sec rest,
150 (50 k/100 swim) @ 50 sec rest,
3 x 50 choice @ 50 sec rest
)
6 x 100 choice fast @ 1:45 (did odds IM, evens - back,back,breast)
2x (2 x50 kick, 2 x 50 choice)
200 ez
400 work on breaststroke, swim ez free.

4100m

My front crawl felt good today. I was doing well with getting a good anchor on the left arm and keeping that elbow high. That keeps my stroke more balanced, and it feels like I keep better momentum.

My breaststroke was on and off. When I'm trying to go hard sometimes, it feels really clunky. One thing that I noticed was that I need to start thinking about my head position again -- not lifting my head to breathe. Rather, I need to keep my head in line with my spine and try to get it down into a streamline position on the glide. Lately, I think that I've been lifting my head to breathe and looking forward too much on the glide.

WEEKLY TOTAL:
13600 m
3500 y
-------
16800 m
18373 y

06/19/08 dryland

Bench (Smith) - 10x145, 8x155, 5x165
Lat Pulldown - 12x105, 9x115, 5x125
Military (Smith) - 10x105, 7x115, 5x125
Rows - 10x95, 9x105, 6x115
Bench Tri - 20 x 75, 10 x 95, 6 x 105
Front Db Raise - 8 x 12, 5 x 15 (+5 x 10), 7 x 12

Heading to the mountains for a few days...

06/19/08

SCY.
500 swim w/snorkel
500 swim
500 pull w/forearm fulcrum
500 kick
5 x 50 @ 1:00 Ez/Mod/Fast/Mod/Ez
500 IM broken 50/50/25 by stroke - Fly (32,35,?);Back(35,36,?);Breast(39,41,?);Free(32,35,?)
500 IM continuous - went 6:40
250 EZ

3500 Yards

Some good fast IM swims. I really tried to work the breast/free portions. At our state meet in April, I came home in 1:26/1:13 on the breast/free, so this seems to be an improvement. I wasn't taking a lot of rest on the broken IM, just enough to stop and look at the clock and then take off again on the next multiple of 5. On the 500 continuous IM, I brought the free home in about 1:10 on the last 100.

06/18/08

LCM
300 EZ
2 x (50 fly @ 1 min, 100 [50 back/50 breast] @ 2:00, 150 free @ 2:20, 200 IM @ 4 min)
300 free @ 4:30
200 free @ 3:00
100 free @ 1:30
4 x 50 fast @ :50
300 Kick/Swim by 25
6 x 50 (alt 25 ez/25 fast, 25 fast/25 ez)
400 IM
100 EZ

3200m.

I was going to do more, but I decided not to :).

06/17/08 Dryland

25 min warmup on exercise bike
Decline Bench (Smith) - 12 x 145, 10 x 155, 4 x 185, 6 x 135
Lateral DB Raise - 10 x 10, 10 x 12, 6 x 15
Military Press (Smith) - 10 x 95, 8 x 105, 7 x 105
DB Curl - 7 x 30, 8 x 30, 8 x 30
DB Row - 10 x 40, 9 x 45, 10 x 45
DB Overhead Tri - 6 x 45, 8 x 40, 8 x 40
Wide grip pullup - 3, 3, 2
Abs - followed core strength routine

06/17/08

LCM.
3 x (50 free @ 5 secs rest, 50 stroke @ 10 s rest)
8 x 100, 75 fast, 25 easy, rotate which 25m are ez @ 1:35
2 x 100 fast @ 1:35
4 x (50 fast @ :40, 50 mod @ :50, 50 ez @ :55)
6 x 100 25 stroke, 50 free, 25 stroke @ 1:40. I did breaststroke, some of them on 1:35.
200m ez

3000m

I felt pretty fast today. Tuesday afternoons are usually good, fast practices for me for some reason. I really tried to keep my kick going pretty consistently, and I think that helped.

06/16/08

LCM @ Scott Carp.
200 Pull, 100 Kick
100 Drill, 100 Kick
200 Pull, 100 Kick
12 x 50, alt. 50 double kick breaststroke, 50 fly kick.
3 x 100 (1 - 50 back/50 free, 2 - 50 breast/50 free, 3 - 100 IM) @ 1:50
6 x 75 FAST @ 2nd person rest
3 x 100 (same as above) @ 1:50
6 x 50 FAST @ 2nd person rest
3 x 100 (same as above) @ 1:50
6 x 25 FAST @ 2nd person
100 ez

3300m

Breaststroke felt smooth, freestyle felt slower. I felt like I was fighting to keep my hips from dragging. My drag suit was pretty loose today, too... felt like a parachute at times.

06/14/08

LCM today. A killer.
250 ez
2 x 150 free @ 2:15, 1 x 100 stroke @ 2:00
2 x 100 free @ 1:25, 1 x 100 stroke @ 2:00
6 x 50 free @ 40, 1 x 100 stroke @ 2:00
2 x 400 @ 5:40
1 x 400 @ 5:45
1 x 400 @ 6:00
1 x 400 @ 5:40
100 @ 2:00
3 x (2 x 100 @ 1:20, 2 x 100 @ 1:30)
300 warmdown

4950m

I was in the fast lane with fast people, jockeying around with the end spot. I was making the intervals until that last set of 100s. Then I got confused and thought the faster ones were on the 1:25. I felt slow because the fastest guy in our lane caught me about halfway through that last set. But that's not the reality (Slow), because I'm swimming faster long course than ever. A couple of weeks ago, I got passed after about 1300 meters. This time, it took 2500, so that's improvement I suppose.

I could move over to the next lane but I can make the intervals there without much pain, so I figure I'll keep sticking out the challenge and humility of being in the fast lane. Even if it means I have to stop to let people pass. It will make me a better swimmer.

I also figured something else out while taking a beating on that last set. If I engage my abs, I'm much more streamlined. I don't think I do that much, but from now on I'm tightening my tummy as much as possible. I'm sure it reduces form drag, as well as keeping me straighter.

WEEKLY TOTAL:
16250 m
4200 y
--------
20090 m
21971 y

06/13/08 dryland

I did dryland during breaktime.

20 minutes on the recumbent exercise bike. It's easier on my back, and I had some work-related reading to do ("Building a Web 2.0 Application").

Bench (Smith) - 12 x 135, 7 x 155, 5 x 165.
DB Curls - 7 x 30, 2 x (8 x 30)
Squats - 12 x 185, 12 x 205, 10 x 225
Lat pull down - 10 x 105, 9 x 115, 5 x 125
Seated Rows - 10 x 95, 7 x 105, 5 x 115
DB Overhead Tri - 12 x 40, 2 x (11 x 40)

Woo hah!

06/13/08

LCM
300 ez
2 x 100 free @1:35, 1 x 100 stroke @2:00
2 x 100 free @1:30, 1 x 100 stroke @2:00
2 x 100 free @1:25, 1 x 100 stroke @2:00
500 swim w/snorkel
4 x (50 stroke IM order by set @ 25 sec rest, 100 IM @ 25 sec rest)
4 x (150 pull @ 2:10, 50 pull @ 1:00)
200 ez
2 x 100 broken 200 IM @ 1:45, 1 x 100 breast @2:00
2 x 100 broken 200 IM @ 1:40, 1 x 100 breast @2:00
2 x 100 broken 200 IM @ 1:35, 1 x 100 breast @2:00
300 ez

4500m today.

I did the first practice and then stayed for the first set of the second so that I could do the set of 100s IM -- 100 fly/back, 100 breast/free. I had some extra time and decided I wanted to get some more IM training back in the workout after doing tons of aerobic freestyle over the last month. I made all of the 100s from that set on the 1:30 or better, so I felt pretty good about that. My IM is starting to feel strong again.

I put the Hydrohips around my chest at the end of the practice to check at how far back I go on my breaststroke pull. I'm nowhere near where I thought I was -- my pull is actually out in front of me by quite a bit. I also worked on establishing a better rhythm to my breaststroke, and I think a key is in how I breathe. I typically will just hold my breath until I'm just ready to pop my head up, exhaling at the last second. I think that I want to start my exhalation as soon as my head goes under. This should help me to establish a better rhythm and hopefully faster turnover.

06/12/08

SCY today:
200 swim snorkel + hydrohips
200 swim snorkel
400 swim
4 x 550 @ 7:10 -- I went 6:53, 6:47, 6:44, 6:50
100 ez recovery
500 kick (breastsroke for me)
4 x 100 IM @ 1:30. Held 1:20s
200 wd

4200 yards

I did a set of 3 x 550 2 weeks ago where I went 7:03, 6:57, 6:53, so to add a 4th and go quite a bit faster was promising. I really worked the front quadrant, tempo-style swimming and noticed a marked difference in my fatigue level during the set. During warmup, I also noticed that my DPS is not much less -- 15 strokes per 25y instead of 13-14.

I got back to more breaststroke technique work today, also. I did 350 yards of that kick on my back with a pull buoy. I tend to drop my knees and open my upper legs too much in breaststroke instead of just getting a good whip from the knee down. The pull buoy kicking helps me focus on the whip. I've been drifting back towards my huge kick, which might be more powerful for now but it also presents a lot of form drag and slows my turnover down quite a bit. I need to step up the turnover in my breaststroke and get a more continuous, linear motion going.

Linear and small. That's how I need to swim.

Weights

I forgot to mention that I'm also doing weights. I was doing about 3 reps of 10-12 different exercises for an hour 3x a week for the last month, but I've decided to cut back. The decision was made in the interest of keeping my lifting program sustainable :). Of course, some days I'll still go in and blow out an hour of lifting, but only when I'm really motivated to do so.

Anyhoo. Yesterday:
Stair Stepper: 10 min. warmup, "random hills" routine.

Lat pulldown: 10 x 105, 8 x 115, 6 x 125
Dumbell shoulder raise: 3 x (8 x 35#)

Rows: 10 x 95, 8 x 105, 5 x 115
Tri pulldown: 10 x 55, 8 x 55, 8 x 55

Bench (machine): 6 x 105, 3 x 115, (7 x 85), 3 x 115 (7 x 85)
Curls (machine): 10 x 35, 5 x 45, 4 x 45 (5 x 35)

I prefer to use the Smith Machine for bench/military presses, but ours was occupied yesterday so I used the cable machine. The cable machine has some extra, non-intentional, resistance built in. The cable does not move through the pulley smoothly, and so there's an extra frictional force added. How much, I cannot say.

Long Course

The pool is getting shorter for me. When I started working long course this summer, I was dying. Wait, that should have a capital D: Dying. Everything hurt, and 100 meters took forever; Forever.

I don't know if it's because I shortened my stroke and increased the tempo, trying to be more of a front quadrant swimmer on the distances. I don't know if it's because I swam my first long course meet last weekend. I don't know if it's because I shifted my focus away from heavy technique work to just swimming. The reason is likely a combination of all factors. The higher tempo stroke keeps me moving along easier, and meets almost always help me to step up my practicing.

06/11/08

LCM baby.
300 Ez
300 Drill/Swim by 50. I did Free/Breast/Back
300 Free/Stroke by 50. I did Breast on the stroke.
300 Fast/EZ Free by 50.
300 EZ/Fast by 50. I did 200 back, 100 free
5 x (50 free @ :40, 50 Ez on 1:10). I held :35 on the fast
7 x 150 (25 head up, 75 swim, 50 overkick) @ 2:15
50 (25 head up, 25 swim)
5 x 100 IM @ 1:50. I held 1:35 or better pretty easily.
200 Cool Down

3800m

Pretty good workout for a Wednesday morning. I'm keeping with the tempo work, and it seems to be working pretty well. My back is still not 100%, and flip turns still hurt a bit, but it's getting better.

I've been working the thumb-first exit on my backstroke recovery. It gets my hand out of the water a lot faster, and causes my recovery to be fast. I'm still working on getting it flipped around so that it enters the water above my head on the pinkie side.

Breaststroke is still day-to-day. I'm working with my scull/catch quite a bit and trying to figure out where to flip my hands around. I think that I typically pull back too far into my chest before recovering the hands. It's an ongoing challenge, this breaststroke.

06/10/08

LCM today.

100m Ez
8 x 50m @ :50
6 x 150m @ 2:10
12 x 50m @ :50 Ez/Mod/Fast by 50
100 mod @ 1:35
200 mod/fast @ 3:00 (I went ~2:40-45)
400 fast (I went 5:30)
6 x 50 kick @ 10 sec rest

3000m

I shortened up my stroke and shifted my focus to keeping a good tempo today. It felt good, and I was going faster with less effort, I felt. I'm exiting my hand sooner, and trying to think of "front quadrant" swimming the whole time. Taking my hand out sooner makes me a lot less tired because I think that I was extending too much and getting my stroke too long. The earlier exit is less powerful overall, to be sure, but I get less tired and it seems faster.

I think that part of the reason it seems faster is that I'm maintaining better forward momentum. With my longer stroke, I'm getting more power + distance per stroke, but I'm losing momentum. Every stroke, then, needs to overcome the momentum lost to get back up to momentum. The analogy I've come up with is biking uphill: I can put the bike in a higher gear and power my way up the hill with a lot fewer cycles, but with more power applied and much more fatigue. Or, I can put the bike in a lower gear and spin a lot more cycles to get up the hill with less fatigue.

Anyway, I was pretty happy with my performance today. My back still hurts, and doing flip turns made me grunt in the water because they're painful, but I was pumped that this higher tempo idea bore fruit so quickly. I'm going to have to wait a while to see if the faster swimming was a result of the 2 days I took off or because of the switch to tempo training.

resting

I got up at 4:45 am with the intention of swimming this morning, but my back is still hurting some. I'm going to rest another day.

As hard as it is to take the day off, I feel like it's best to rest. I should get whole (or close to it) before I add speed work to the workout.

Tempo

I watched this video today: Jim Richardson Swim Clinic.

It made me realize that I really need to work on my tempo. I've spent a lot of the last month+ focusing on swimming with good form. Now, I think I need to work some more on swimming with a good tempo, also.

I'll keep working the "anchor" technique, as I have lately, but I'm going to try to work more on getting my tempo up.

Not today, though. Today I need a day off to rest my back and recover.

WEEKLY TOTALS:
15400 m
3300 y
-------
18418 m
20142 y

Meet Yesterday (06/07/08)

I swam in my first ever LCM meet yesterday. It was... interesting. My lower back was in pain, which really sucked, especially breathing to my right side on freestyle, but I swam through it.

Times:
3:07 in the 200m breast
2:39 in the 200m back
20:47 in the 1500m free

I was the only one in the 200m breast, and I just kept it long because I had to swim the 200 back about 15 minutes later. It felt ok. I wasn't feeling as good a rhythm as I've been able to establish in practice.

The 200m back hit my seed time. I felt the best about this race, and I think that my backstroke is my best LCM stroke. That's probably because it's my most polished stroke, since I'd spent so much of my late teens and early twenties working on it. Still, I was all over the lane while swimming outside. I think the key is to try to site the lane line from the corner of my eye, at least for now.

I tried working the thumb-first recovery. Traditionally, I've brought the back of the hand out of the water first. The thumb-first method slices through the water on my recovery and feels a lot faster. It felt awkward to be rotating my hand more through the recovery to turn it toward the pinky for entry, but I think it will help my turnover improve.

The 1500m was a learning experience. 20:47 converts to my best in-season time yet (20:03 1650), so I can't complain. A quick note here about conversions, though: they are at best rough estimates. I have strong walls and my stroke is weaker, so a 1650 would likely have been under 20. I had been out in the sun for too long, and every time I turned to the sun side to breathe, I felt like my face was frying. That, coupled with my back pain, meant my head wasn't at all in the race. I conceded the race before 200m was up.

Still, I'm glad I swam the 1500. As crappy as I was feeling, I kept going, and I didn't just want to puke or get out of the pool, like I did during the 1650 at states. So I think that my base is improving, that's a bonus. Plus, I wanted a benchmark to work with because I've been doing almost all aerobic swimming. Those timed 50s on Thursday were the first fast swimming I'd done since Nationals in early May. All, in all, this was an ok swim.

I'll have to decide on some goals for the summer long course. Do I want to just fatten my aerobic base and not worry about fast swimming? Do I want to pick a meet or event and work towards that? I think the latter, and I'm going to have to work some faster swimming in soon. If nothing else, I'm going to have to start picking sets to just blast on.

06/06/08

LCM today. Meet tomorrow, so I went easy.

3 x (200 free @ 3 min, 5 x 50 stroke @ 1 min, 50 free @ 1 min)
I did the first 2 sets, doing backstroke for set 1, breast for set 2, then I did the first 200 of the 3rd set and moved over a lane to do some technique
300 w/snorkel/forearm fulcrum
100 w/just snorkel
200 w/just fulcrum
200 swim easy
starts from blocks to try my goggles.

2100 m.

Tomorrow's my first long course meet ever. It should be fun. My free felt pretty good, still taking about 34 strokes per 50m and starting to get better about keeping my left elbow high. My breast felt really good today, going about 14 strokes for 50m. I'll probably have to step up the turnover some and will add some strokes per 50, but that's ok. I have to remember to keep it long and try to really stretch out on the recovery, engaging my abs and flattening my stomach.

Also, I started engaging my abs more when swimming freestyle, trying to keep my stomach more streamlined. It feels faster. I'll have to experiment with it more this summer.

06/05/2008

SCY today.

500 wu -- used snorkel, focused on good balance
1000 pull -- w/forearm fulcrum, worked on good EVF, especially on left arm
6 x 100 IM @ 1:35. kept these long, tried to work good stroke technique
6 x 50 fast @ 2:00 from blocks
I went free -??, breast - 35, free - 26.8, back - 30.2, fly - 29.8, back - 31.
700 train swim -- back person moves to front every 50
200 wd

3300 yds.

My shoulder felt better today. I gave up on sliding my arm by my cheek. I think that's too narrow for me, and maybe I was over-exaggerating the movement. I find that if I try to do my regular entry and concentrate on getting proper body roll that my shoulder gets pushed close to my cheek anyhow. Mainly, as far as narrow shoulders goes, I think that I just need to keep my left side from opening too much. Also worked on keeping pressure on my palms -- again, especially on the left. My left side still has a lot of catching up to do :) -- it was neglected for most of the years I've been a swimmer.

I've been trying to keep good forward motion when I breathe. I tend to let elbows drop and/or end up applying more downward than backward force when I breathe.

The sprints from the blocks were a nice change of pace. I haven't done any sprint work since nats. I tried to focus on easy speed with these -- especially on my freestyle. I think that all of the freestyle drills have been paying off because I went 26.8 on the free and felt very smooth, especially into the wall. My other sprints were ok, especially seeing as I'm wearing a size 36 drag suit right now.

06/04/08

LCM
400 WU
4 x (50 overkicking, 100 choice) @ 4th person rest
3 x (50 stroke (fly,bk,br by set), 100 IM, 150 Free - ez/mod/fast by 50)
4 x (3 x 50 fast @50 sec, 100 ez)
for me - set 1: free, 2: back, 3: IM order, 4: bk,bk,br
600 - ez/mod/fast by 50
300 WD

3800m

I started feeling a twinge in my right shoulder. I think it's because I'm trying to do the narrow shoulders entry from yesterday but hyperextending and then trying to start my pull from the hyperextension. Not sure yet, but I'm going to go back to my normal entry for the most part -- a bit wider -- and trying to continue to drive my body roll from the hips. I'll try to work again on the narrow shoulders thing when my shoulder feels back to normal.

I'm also having some issues with my head lolling about when I'm swimming faster. I think it's because I'm trying to roll more and then forgetting about keeping my head straight in the process. Need to work more on keeping the head stable.

My backstroke felt great, really strong. It was almost as fast as my free today.

I had another moment of understanding in my breaststroke. I realized that I need to extend all the way through on my recovery and really reach my hands out and forward. That keeps me longer, more streamlined, and causes my kick to finish stronger. I still need to work on keeping my head down until my hands come together on the pull. When I get tired, I like to breath as soon as possible, which really kills my pull.

Tues, 06/03/08

Long Course.
100 m ez
8 x 50m @ 10 sec rest
8 x 100m - 25 fly/75 free @1:30.
8 x 150m - 50 fr/50 choice/50 fr @ 2:20. I did kick/breast on the choice.
10 x 50m - odd 25 fast/25 ez, even 25 underwater/25 ez @1:00

I stayed after practice and did 700m of drills, most w/snorkel.
300 m - snorkel + forearm fulcrum
100 m - stun gun drill
100 m - 5 seconds drill
100 m - 5 seconds drill w/snorkel
100 m - ez swim down, focus on feeling pressure on my palms

total: 3700m

I really focused on working to keep my shoulders narrow today. Keeping my shoulder next to my cheek really helped when breathing, as I tend to lose a lot of my forward energy by opening up my pull too much when breathing. I also worked on keeping a better stroke tempo. I tend to try to take big power strokes instead of maintaining a smooth flow.

Monday, 06/02/08

Long course. Another thing I had never done much of up to this year was participate in summer long course workouts. Bummer for me, because I'm finding them to be refreshing and challenging. There's a lot more swimming involved without all of those nice walls.

Sooo, LCM today:

200 m EZ
1 x 200m free swim
1 x 100m 50 k/50 drill
1 x 150m free swim
1 x 100m 50 k/50 drill
1 x 100m free swim
1 x 100m 50k/50 drill
(all preceding on 4 person rest int.)

11 x 50m free drill (4th pers rest)

Main set:
4 x 150m free, going 50m ez-mod/50m fast/50m ez-mod (4th person rest)
2 x 50m ez kick recovery (last person rest)
3 x 150m free, going 50m fast/50m ez-mod/50m fast
2 x 50m ez kick
2 x 150m - 50m ez/50m fast stroke/50m ez
2 x 50m ez kick
1 x 150m fast

Cool down (100m for me)

Total: 3400m

this blog...

Is going to start as a log of my swimming-related thoughts and workouts. We'll see where it goes from there.

I began swimming competitively in high school, in 1992, for a couple of reasons. First, I sucked at basketball. Second, I had grown up swimming in Michigan's many inland lakes, so I had some ability. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I had made in my adolescence. I swam throughout high school and then at a division 3 college, becoming an ok but by no means elite swimmer.

Just this past year, I started swimming again as a 30 year old after an 8 year layoff from the sport. I started in earnest by attending 1 - 2 practices a week with the local USMS team. This level of involvement seemed pretty sustainable. Then, in January, I swam my first meet in 8 years and was re-hooked on the sport. From there, my practicing increased to 3 days. A few more meets, months, and USMS nationals down, I find myself getting in the water at least 5 days a week, sometimes as many as 7.

The point of this blog is to track my workouts, technique thoughts and changes, and meet results. So far, I have a couple of general goals: 1.) to become a better freestyler and 2.) to become a better breaststroker. I was mainly a backstroker/butterflyer as a high school and college swimmer. I swam a lot of IM also, but was always lacking on the back half -- the breast and free. So now that I'm a Masters swimmer, I'm going to work on those back half events to see where they lead.

As to the summer of 2008, I'm trying to build up a good aerobic base from which to proceed.