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.