Sunday 1/21/08 - The Seed Has Been Planted

First off, all I did was swim today. Drew and I were supposed to go on a bike ride, but he was feeling tired and so we decided to not do it. I guess I could have done it on my own, but I didn't. My workout was brief, as I only had time for about an hour, since I was hosting a coaches meeting and wanted to get breakfast going.

I went about 2700 yards. I think it was:
500 w/u
8 X 50s drill down/swim back - 400 yards

Main Set:
3 X 3 X 100s descend on 1:40.

8 X 75s kick
6 X 50s Under/Over

Total 2700 yards

The main set was good, but a tad frustrating. I was sharing the lane but he was only going 5 seconds behind me. The problem with that is, if he goes out slighty faster than me on the first 50, he's caught enough drag to to just use my wake to come back without trying as hard, and thus finish only 2 seconds behind me, instead of 5. I think from now on, unless we have a ton of swimmers in the lane, no matter what, I want my lane going 10 seconds behind each other. Bixler and I did that yesterday, and I think it worked great. Plus its mentally tough if one goes only 5 behind and then is right on your ass. Its like go ahead or BACK OFF!! But anyway, that was my venting.

After workout, the coaches got together to discuss a few things, one of which is a new IGLA training program. There are about 20 of us who have committed to this. Dr. Tom has volunteered to write up a program and coach us 3 nights a week (Mon, Tues and Thurs). We also have to commit to going at least once on the weekend. I'm excited for this, because its going to get a lot of pain laners back to swimming together again. We have all been sporatic and swimming on separate days lately. Sometimes there is only one of us or two, and the workouts just aren't as fun. So look for myself, Drew, Kurt, Ken, Peder, Chris Z, BGS, Jeff Liu and some others all swimming together again. It will be a lot of fun to have all of us in the pool and help each other out. It will be good for me, because there will always be someone there to push you when you think you can back off. And no one wants to be the wimp. It will be like the Univ of Michigan where all the big name swimmers train together (but of course on a much lower level!). I'm excited for this to begin and really hope that not only myself, but all my teammates can really benefit with this program. Wish us luck!!

Saturday 1/19/08 - I Wanted To Throw Up

Sometimes Enrique (our current Saturday coach), can come up with some great workouts. This morning was one of them. Myself, Ken, Dr. Tom and Peder were representing the Pain Lain and it was fun to have 4 of us there. Here was the workout:

SCY -
500 w/u
6 X 75s build
3 X 200s pull on 2:30

Main Set:
5 X 250s as followed:
Swim this as you would a 200. Do your first 100, rest 10 seconds, then do your second 100 like you would a 200. Then go into a 50 easy/recovery. Do this set 5 times through.

10 X 50s kick
6 X 50s descend breathing
Total - 3600+ yards

So the main set was a beast. I literally wanted to throw up. The focus was to really do the 200s the way I am training to do them in a meet, which is 50 easy speed, 50 where I increase my tempo, 50 where I add my legs, and then a 50 everything leftover. The first one was easy (as it should be) and I came in around 2:09. After that, I realized that this set was going to hurt. R2, R3 and R4 were either 2:08 or 2:09 as well, and I finished the set with a 2:07. My times were decent, but I think with a few more weeks of consistent training, I would be more like 2:05 or better. The goal in a few months will be do to this, but instead be more like 2:02 or better on them, which is doable. By the time I was finished with the set, my legs were dead and I wanted to cry! Yea. I love that feeling at the end. It reminds me that this is what I need to be feeling after every workout to know I am doing things right.

I have been off on my P90X training, so I hope to pick that back up on Monday.

Monday 1/14/08 - Too Tired To Think Of A Clever Title

Its been a long day today. It started with my usual Monday morning coaching. I wrote the workout the night before, but I feel I am running out of ideas and clever workouts. So in order to not come up short, my plan will be to write the following workout the week before. Hopefully this will give me time and not feel rushed into doing some boring set.

As for my workout, after work I had Legs and Back. Working the calves can really burn!! But I stuck through it, although occasionally I would see something that needed to be organized in the laundry room and do that real quick and take a break. HAHA. After the hour workout, I had my 16 minutes of Ab Ripper X. I love this workout, and each time I am more successful and doing more and doing them correctly!

Then it was off to the pool. I decided to once again only go for 60 minutes, but was able to get in 3100 meters! Thanks Jac for great workout that was long, tedious but good for me. Here it was:

500 w/u
8 X 50s pull on :50 (averaged :39s)
Man Set:
10 X 200s (#1 and #10 are IM, the rest free).
The IM were on 3:30, and the Free was on 3:20.
200 cool down
Total - 3100 meters

So I wasn't fast at all. But I did the workout, and didn't give up. I can still feel that I am completely out of shape, but I am focused to stop saying that as an excuse. My 200s free started off at 2:52 or 2:51, then I went a few at 2:50, and then finished the final three at 2:48. Ideally, my times should be under 2:40, so I'd really like to try this set again in a few months to make sure I am at that level.

Its now 9:47pm and I whould be in bed. I have to wake up at 4:45am for Kempo I believe. At least its only an hour. I am debating about swimmimng tomorrow night. What do you think?

1/9 - 1/13/08 - Busy Week

1/9 - So on Wed I swam in the cold water. I am really not swimming well, and need to be more consistent. For P90X, it was my off day.

1/10 - Chest/Back/Abs. I woke up early to get it done. That was nice. Nothing special to report, except I did them. Push-ups are hard!!

1/11 - I woke up with a kink in my neck and decided to take it easy. Then we had a boat party in the evening. It was a lot of fun, but I shouldn't have eaten so much.

1/12 - Slept in, missed swimming and P90X. Ugh. Then I went to San Diego for my two nephew's bday party. It was a lot of fun. They are growing up fast. When they took pictures blowing out their candles, it reminded me of my 6th bday party (or around there). Life goes by so quickly. How do we slow it down? Or at least let's learn to slow down the weekends.

1/13 - Met Daisy at 6:15am for a 15 mile bike ride that put us at the pool. Then we swam with the team for 90 minutes. I swam like crap. I felt like a spastic novice. My arms had no direction and my kick was off. I was really frustrated. But oh well. I will only be bothered if it continues. After workout, Daisy and I biked to the board meeting, which was not fun at all. SOMEONE, who will remain annonomous, what a cranky bitter queen with no patience. But whatever. I thought this person and I had gotten better as friends and we had a good relationship lately, but I guessed wrong. I guess some people weren't meant to get along. Oh well. After the meeting, I went home and finally put away all the X-mas stuff. I felt like I was missing something in the living room, since without the tree, there was so much more room.

I need to get back into the swing of things. I slacked for only 2 days, but right now I need to not let that happen too frequently. Las Vegas is in 2 weeks, so in order to allow myself to have a good time there, up until then, I must be FOCUSED.

Tuesday 1/8/08 - Is It Working??

Oh great. I am already questioning my workouts. Why does my brain work that way.

Monday 1/7/08 - My Madness of a Monday

Today is my first official Monday back to work in a few weeks. That means a FULL 5 days of work. YIPPEE. It also is the first Monday of the month, so I go and get bagels for my Monday morning swimmers. Most of them really look forward to them, but for me, its an additional 30 mins earlier I must wake up. But its fun and worth it.

It was a full and busy day for me. I woke up at 4:15. Showered and all that and then went and got bagels. Then I coached from 5:30am to 6:30am. That was fun, and I think I gave a decent workout. I am really trying to think of more creative workouts that will benefit my swimmers. I hate to repeat things or copy a workout from the internet, but I will if needed.

After workout I was off to work. After putting in 9 hours, I came home ready to begin "Brian's Workouts".

First up was Legs & Back along with Ab Ripper X. This workout involved squats, lunges and pulls for both the lower and upper body. The main focus for this is to strengthen and develop the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. To be honest, I felt like I really only gave it a 80 - 85% effort level. Being that its my first wee and still adjusting to this lifestyle change, I feel that it was just adequate. But the more I do this workout (all workouts), the more intense i want to become. After about 50 mins of Legs & Back, I went immediately into my Ab Ripper X workout. I can feel my flexibility getting better as well as my performance in these Ab workouts. This time around I was closer to doing almost all of them, working them harder and most of all, FEELING THE BURN!!

30 minutes after I finished my dryland, I was off to the pool. Since I am just getting back into swimming, I am playing it smart with my head. Last week was only 2K. Tonight must be at least 2600 meters, if not 3K. Suprisingly, I didn't feel too bad. I really think working out beforehand (lots of stretching) and the other workouts have woken up my muscles more and stretched them out. I never felt really tight in the water. Now this doesn't mean I was fast by any means, but I was faster than expected. Here was the workout:

500 w/u
3 X 200s (50 kick / 100 swim / 50 kick)
4 X 150s (50 back/50 breast/50 free)
Main Set
6 X 200s IM
1 & 4 straight through
2 & 5 break at 100
3 & 6 break at 50.

100 cool down.

I ended up only doing 4 of the 200 IMs. Ken "Snuggles" Bixler had planned on getting out at 8pm (for "dinner"), so I figured it was a sign for me to not overdue my training for the day. With a 100 cool down, it would place me at 2600 meters. The 200 IMs were decent. I was going just around 3 mins for each of them. The final 200 I went 2:55. I am working my breaststroke a little bit more too. Two key things. One, I am keeping my hands closer together when they come out of the water. I am not really doing a wave type of breaststroke, but maybe a tad. This appears to help me keep my hands close. The second and main focus, is my kick. Before I would just pull, then kick. Now I am trying to get more of a roll with my swim. Dr. Tom pointed out that I need to begin my kick as I begin my pull (in a dolphin sort of way). I feel it being faster when I correct it, but I am erasing 30 years of swimming. Its really hard to do and sometimes I feel I am drowning. But with time, I think I have found a key problem that will in time, make my IMs faster!

Saturday 1/5/08 - Its NOT Raining Men

Although the so-called storm we were to have has not reached the level we were warned about, it has still rained on and off. It was more in middle of the night, and not much during the day. But even though it hasn't rained, the rain unmotivates me to hit the pool. As the great Pat Powers once said, "Who do we have to prove?". With that, I convinced myself to take the day off. My goal for swimming is in the month of June, so this weekend and the rain win!! :-)

Although swimming can be skipped, my P90X CANNOT!! On today's schedule was Shoulders and Arms along with Ab Ripper X. This workout is a lot of dumbbell use. Pressing, curling, and fly movements working on my deltoid muscles, biceps and triceps. After an hour of this, I had 16 minutes of Ab Ripper X. I love this workout and each time I get more and more out of it. My favorite of the estimated 300 sit ups done are the final Mason (Kayak)Twist. You are seated, hands clasped together and raised feet 4 to 6 inches off the ground. Then you twist your upper torso from side to side, touching knuckles on each side of the floor. We are instructed to do 40 of them, but as we get closer and closer to 40, we push to 50 instead. The burn hurts so bad/good. I loved it and it makes the close of Ab Ripper X feel worth it.

Phrase of the Day/Week - BREATHE!!!

Friday 1/4/08 - Plyometrics - Jumpity Jump Jump Jump, Jumpity Jump Jump

Day 4 of P90X and I am still going strong. This morning was Plyometrics, which has a lot of jumping, squats, running in place type of exercises. The key to doing this weekday workout, was my waking up. I can do it twice a week for my morning swim workouts, but now I have incorporated these 3 other days, so my life has been turned around. I am now waking up no later than 5am every day. YIKES. I am hoping that I can keep this up. My feeling though is that once I am awake, 5 minutes later I am good to go.

The forecast today was rain. And rain it did. Therefore I was in no mood to swim. Maybe I will take a few more days off from swimming, and start fresh on Monday. June 18th is my day to shine in the pool, so I feel its far enough away that I can bag a few more days of vacation from the pool.

Peace out.
B

Thursday, 1/3/08 - Happy Birthday Pops

First off. Happy Birthday Dad. Miss you tons and I hope you are looking over me. Do what you can to watch over Mom too. She sure misses you a lot. Give her a sign that everything is ok. You'd be proud of her. She has lost almost 30 pounds and doing great. I have gotten her into water aerobics and she's doing Weight Watchers. I hope things are well up in Heaven and they celebrated your birthday in style. See you soon, but in soon, I mean 60 years or so!!!!

Today I woke up at 5am to do P90X. I was proud I woke up at all!! It was Chest and Back for about an hour. Boy was it tough. It was a lot of pull ups (I used bands) and push ups. For the push ups, I started off good, but my lack of training came on strong. To make sure I continued with the workout, for some of the push ups, I switched over to doing "girl" push ups on my knees. I must say, even doing those can be difficult!!! It was a great workout though, and TOUGH! After that, followed 16 mins of Ab Ripper X! Its an intense ab workout, with different variations of sit ups.

I finished around 6:45 and then made myself a protein shake. I also prepped my meals for the day, which included cottage cheese, a tortilla sandwich with ham and mustard, yogurt, a banana and an orange. I felt very good about my choices in my diet for the day. I'm off to a good start, but the first week is always easy!!

Wednesday, 1/2/08 - Soooo Out of Swimming Shape

Ouch! That is all I can say. Two weeks out of the water can really do a number on me. My arms were really sore too. Not only from being out of the water, but from Kempo the day before. I knew I would feel the pain of Dr. Tom's workout, but I just made myself go so I could break the seal of swimming. I wanted to at least do 2000 meters my first day back. Here was the workout:

1 X 500 (every 3rd 25, do a stroke)
2 X 300s pull on 4:15
3 X 100s kick on 10 secs rest

Main Set:
9 X 150s - (50 EZ speed, 50 faster turnover, 50 add legs).

I only did 4 of them which put me at 2K. It was all I had this morning, but on the positive side, although I didn't go fast, I did the set correctly.

I finished with a 200 cool down, to put me at 2200 meters.

No P90X today. Chest, Back and Abs tomorrow

Tuesday 1/1/08 - My New Years Resolutions - The Sabbatical Has Ended

Oh what a year 2007 was. I had my ups, I had my downs. But for the most part, it was a good year. I swam well. I ate well sometimes. I bought a bike. I ran a 1/2 marathon. I also travelled a lot, as I went to Europe, Las Vegas, Georgia, Northern California, Indianapolis and Texas, the latter two for work. So with 2007, I was happy with my life. Each year, my goal is to try and better myself and make each year better. And to do that, I try to live life to its fullest, travel and see the world, and for the most part, better myself.

So here are my new years resolutions:
- Eat better which will become more of a routine, for the most part
- Exercise more frequently (swimming, but not ONLY swimming) 5 or 6 days a week
- Lose some of my body fat so that I weigh 172 or less (this goal is by my 35th birthday in May)
- Have all of my credit debt paid off
- Be successful is saving $$ for both myself and my mom to go on an Alaskan cruise in July 2008 for her 65th birthday
- Be consistent and focused in my P90X training
- Do personal best masters swimming times at IGLA in Washington D.C.
- Be more successful in the upkeep of the backyard
- Build something from scratch
- Become a better cook

OK I guess I could keep on going, but let's just leave it at that for now. I have already began a few of these changes today. I recently purchased a few books on nutrition and eating healthier along with my own copies of DVDs for the P90X training. One book is titled, "Eat This, Not That", which is a helpful guide in making decisions when you are out eating. There are lists of popular restaurants and each page has one side stating the best things to eat from there, where the other side has items that you should STAY AWAY from. It is a very visual book, which I like. If its just boring words, I have a habit of just reading a few pages or a chapter and then lose interest. The book also has recommendations for generic restaurants, along with party or holiday decision making on what to eat.

I have also began P90X training today. The official day it begins, is Thurday the 3rd, since when I was on that schedule, it worked out well with everything else in my life. So today and tomorrow I will do what I would do next week, but unofficially.

Today's workout was Kempo. Its P90X's version of Tai Bo I believe. Its pretty much different moves with your arms and legs that result in punches, kicks, jabs, etc. The workout started with 10 mins of various stretching, followed by 45 mins of intense Kempo, then about 5 mins of cool down. My heart ranged from 130 to 165 throughout the workout. It was a fun workout, but I know my arms will be sore tomorrow.

After the hour of Kempo, I suited up and joined Drew for a 60 minute bike ride. I believe it was about 18 or so miles we did. There was some nasty winds in different directions, which made it more difficult, but all in all, a fun ride.

I also went shopping today for food. I tried to focus on getting healthier snacks and meals. I want to eat more fish and fruits and vegetables. But since Trader Joes was closed, I went to Ralph's and only purchased select items and will finish up my shopping tomorrow.

So Day 1 was a success. Tomorrow I swim and will do Legs/Back/Abs (which will normally go on Mondays next week).

Key phrase of the day/week - DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!

Friday 11/9/07 - Alone But With My Fans! :-)

Tonight there were only a few swimmers at the Friday Optional Workout. I really like to pound out a long distance workout, most of the time pulling/.

After my normal 500 w/u, I decided I would pull the rest of the workout. 800 / 600 / 400 / 200 / 100.

The 800 started out tough, but by about the 600, I started to loosen up more. I turned at the 400 at 5:38 and came back to finish around 11:08 or something.

The 600 really felt good. Its now Sunday, and I am struggling to remember my time. But it was strong and fast. I probably averaged 1:22s, so around 8:12 would be right.

The 400 I had Agnes and Daisy cheering me on. I told them I wanted to be under 5:25. I ended up going 5:18, so I was really happy.

The 200 I was told by Daisy and Agnes that I had to be under 2:30. I went out in 1:13, and came back in 1:15 for a 2:28. I was pleased, but not overlly happy.

The 100 was just a mad dash down the pool and back. The goal was under 1:10. I came in at 1:08 high, so I was happy.

200 cool down.

OK the workout was nice. I just need the consistant training.

Wednesday 11/7/07 - Almost, But Not Yet

This morning's workout was tough, more mentally than physically. The main set 3 X 200s, 50 smooth, rest 10 secs, 100 hard (50 build with faster arms, 50 apply the legs), rest 10 secs, then 50 bring it all home.

Round 1 : Not too bad. 2:16 was my time after deducting the 20 secs rest.

Round 2 : It started to hurt, but I hung on barely, to get a 2:17.

Round 3 : Mentally I just didn't have it. I was on pace for another 2:16, but at the 125 I just hit the wall and stopped. I wasn't happy with it, but it just means that I I need to be more consistent with my training and be more focused.

Saturday, 11/3/07 - Banquet Night

Today was a busy day. First swimming. Then errands. Then prepping for the banquet. Then the banquet.

The workout this morning was really fun and brought back a lot memories during my first year on the team. We had part of the old gang all swimming together from the pain lane. There was myself, Viking (visiting from up north), Dr. Tom, Drew, Ken Bixler, and BGS.

When trying to remember the workout, I am drawing a blank except for the main pull set. I believe it was 5 X 200s pull on 2:45. the 2:45 was a good interval. I went 2:24, 2:28, 2:25, 2:24, 2:16. I stepped up the last one when Viking said I had to beat him or I'd have to buy his drinks all night. Now of course I knew I really didn't have to, but it was a fun wager. He said he would make his move on the 75, so I made sure I took the first 75 smooth and work my ass off the last 125. My final 50 was all but a mess as I did whatever I could to get my arms to go as fast as they could. I finished in 2:16, to my amazement. I'll take that. Viking always knows how to make me swim fast.

The rest of the day/night all I did was stress about the banquet. Will I say the right things? will I be funny? Will I do the team justice? So many things to do. This will be my third year as head coach and occupying most of the stage with award presentations. Even when I got to the banquet, all I did was stress. I really need to not worry about it. I guess though its sort of a sacrafice though for the good of the team. Honoring my swimmers with serious and funny awards make the night fun and entertaining to all. After analyizing it more, I think due to my promotion at work, I didn't have the nomal free time to prepare more in advance. So I think next year I will just make sure I am ready over a week in advance so that I can relax at both the pre-party and banquet and then roll. After talking with others, the banquet came over as a success. I was funny. People enjoyed the awards. Kenny did great as my co-presenter of funny awards. The only glitch was the video Bart, Don, Anne and myself did a few weeks ago. We pretended that I traveled the night of the banquet to Bhutan to see Anne and give her the UCOC patch she earned.

OK I am getting sleepy now and want to go to bed. I will proof-read later.

Tuesday 10/16/07 - Promotion? Me? Really?

Yup, you heard it here first. After a ho-hum morning at work, I was taken into the conference room for my mid-year review. Normally its to go over how I have performed so far, am I reaching my goals, what do I need to do to perform better, etc. At the end of the review, the last sentence my senior manager wrote was, "I recommend a promotion". I thought that was really nice of him. Damn straight I deserve one, but its great to hear it from someone else. I thanked him for his nice remark and then stated, "Let's hope others feel the same way and it gets me one". He then responded with, "Well that leads us to the next folder".

To make a long story short, I received a promotion, a nice salary increase and a big smile on my face. The day couldn't get any better.

After work, we went to the gym where I took the spinning class. I had never taken Stacey's class before, but it was FANTASTIC. I will definitely be going to her class again. I worked my butt off and with the high of my promotion, the endorphins I was producing put me on cloud nine.

Drew and I celebrated with a nice bottle of Dolcetta (sp?) red wine. It was a $40 bottle we purchased at Callaway winery in Temecula. I have to say it was probably one of the best bottles I have had.

Tuesday - October 16th. Great day for Brian. Plain and simple.

Monday 10/15/07 ....and Brian's getting LARRRRGER

I've done it. I've completely fallen of course. Motivation has once again escaped me so bad that not only have I slacked off in my swimming, but also in my diet. Its like a broken record lately. Why do I like food so much? And its ALWAYS the bad food I go for. Why do I have no control? I just go nuts and can't stop. I lack the discipline that is needed, and boy does it get to me. If only I could not be bothered by my physical appearance.

As I was taking a shower this morning, my belly literally increased before my very eyes. I instantly hopped out of the shower and onto the scale, soaking wet to see what the damage was. 195. WTF!?!? How did that happen? Where was the 178 of two months ago? Its amazing that I can gain that so quickly. I about fainted at those three numbers. To make light of the moment, I pushed out my belly as far as it could go, pretending I was pregnant. Then when I realized that it looked more like I was 9 months pregnant than 2, the humor quickly vanished. How did I let this happen? Better yet, how am I going to fix this?

So once again, I'm at that all too familiar spot. Where I tell myself this time I'm going to be more serious and be proud of the body I have worked for. But the question remains, what will I do THIS time to make sure it happens? Why will this time work, unlike all the others? Do I need to start up P90X again? Do I need to plan out my diet and weeks worth of exercising? Schedules always work best for me, so that has to happen. What about my eating? How will I eat an apple instead of a slice of cheese or spoonful of peanut butter when the cravings hit? And what of my snack when I get home from work? How can I make sure I get something healthy, but also filling enough that I don't eat whatever is in sight, and don't stop until its all gone and my belly is full? It also must taste good, or I can forget it. Are the lean cuisines I have at lunch really that good for me? Should I be also having other meals that aren't so high in salt? And then there's the knee. So no running right now, but I need to definitely get spinning. I'd also like to get a bike soon, so I could possibly joing the guys training for ironman on the bike rides.

I have so much to figure out, that the solution isn't here yet. I will swim tonight and try to have a light dinner. I need to also stop eating desserts (well once a week is ok, but NO MORE!!). When you have a boyfriend with a HUGE sweet tooth, the temptations come even more frequently than before. Next time he bakes brownies, grab a banana. Or yogurt. Whatever I can. BE STRONG BRIAN!! That is what I have to remember. There is a goal I want to acheive, and always allowing a little bit of cheating turns into a complete waste of time. Snack a little bit here. A little bit there. Next thing that happens, I have lost my way and am eating an entire jar of peanut butter.

For now I will put together my diet and exercising and begin another try. I Have 7 1/2 months until I turn 35, and for a present to myself, I'd like to see how disciplined I can be. I'm 195 now. My goal will be 170. But more, I want to finally look at body in the mirror and be proud of something I worked hard for. It will be a great birthday present to surprise myself with. Because I can tell you for certain, I won't be expecting it.

Good luck, self! :-)

Update - Went to workout tonight. Knowing I was out of shape, I made the decision that my sole goal was to finish the workout without getting out early. Here it was:

LCM
600 w/u
8 x 50s - ez down / fast back
3 rounds of 5 X 100s on 1:45, 1-3 medium, 4 fast, 5 EZ
3 X 100s sculling
200 pull / 100 kick X 2
Total - 3400 meters

I felt really out of shape but just made sure I stayed motivated. My 3 fast 100s were 1:14, 1:12, 1:08. As always, the more I got warmed up, the faster I swam.

I have decided my swimming will me Monday nights, Wednesday mornings, Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings. I think I will spin on either Tuesday or Thursday (or maybe both). Then I need to incorporate P90X.

Sunday 9/30/07 - Still A Little Under The Weather

Yesterday I pretty much laid around the house since I wasn't feeling to well. I rested a lot and took some meds to prevent myself from getting any worse. When I woke up this morning, I felt a lot better so I decided it would be ok for me to swim. But 1/2 way through the workout, I really began to feel weak, so instead of pushing it any further, I decided to just pass 2000 yards and call it a day.

Here was the workout until I stopped:

500 yards
12 X 25s - forgot how we did them - 300 yards
12 X 75s - M, MF, F - 1:10, averaged 48s - 900 yards
200 kick
150 easy swim

During the 75s was when I felt somewhat weak. The 48s were not bad, but they were draining me a lot more than normal, which I knew was a sign that I had not recovered. So I decided to finish the set, get passed 2000 yards and get out.

This past week I was off in my training with company here. I hope to do better this week, but with me being in El Paso for 2 1/2 days and not being able to run, I'm at a loss. Maybe the hotel has a gym I can use.

Wednesday 9/27/07 - Short but sweet

So its been a week since I blogged, but training wise I have been ok. Diet and P90X have been put on hold until Drew's parents leave.

This morning's workout was fantastic. We didn't go far, but I produced some eye-popping times for my standards:

SCM pool

Each swim should get faster:
500 w/u breath every 5th - get 400 split - 500 was 7:33, 400 was 6:00ish
8 X 25s kick stream line
400 swim breath every 3rd - get 300 split - 400 was 5:25ish, 300 was 4:00ish
8 X 25s kick stream line
300 swim working on turns - get 200 split - 300 was 3:50, 200 was 2:30
8 X 25s swim working on streamline and hard kicking
200 swim fast - get 100 split - 200 was FAST 2:18, 100 was 1:09
8 X 25s swim working on streamline and hard kicking
100 swim all out - 1:04
200 cool down
Total - 2500 meters

This set produced fast 200s and 100s. After going a somewhat easy 2:30 for the 200 on my 300, I was thinking a 2:23 or 2:25 would be good. So when I came in at the 100 at 1:09, I knew something good could come out of it. I pushed the 2nd 100 as hard as I could to finish in 2:18. Seeing how I was on the wall for 1-2 seconds, I'd say a 2:16. That converts to a 2:01 SCY or a 2:19 LCM. Damn! That is really fast for me. The 25s after the 200 were basically just a recovery. I knew that with the 2:18, I could get under 1:05. But immediately when I pushed off the wall, I felt the 200's results. That first stroke made me want to stop. I internally cried real briefly. But then I told myelf its just over a minute of pain. As I was going down the first 25 I saw something to my right. "Oh great," I thought, "Drew wants to race." Of course that made me have to work even harder, thus ever more pain. We flipped even at the 25, but by the 50 I had began to take off. The next 50 I felt like a spaz just trying to get to the wall as soon as I could. I finished in 1:04, which is good as well. I was really happy with this mornings workout.

Wednesday 9/19/07 - Make It Hurt So Good!

After not working out yesterday (I worked over 10 hrs), I wanted to put in a good workout in the pool this morning. I can feel myself feeling better in the water since I have upped my swim workouts per week. Here was the workout:

W/U - 300 swim / 3 X 100s kick no board - 600 meters
6 X 50s on :60, descend by kicking harder - 300 meters
6 X 100s on 1:40 - nice and easy, working turns - 600 meters
Main Set:
4 X 50s on :60 (1-moderate;2-increase kick;3-increase kick even more;4-less kick but rapid turnover. Follow that by a 100 easy.
Do this 4 times through. R1 on :60, R2 on :50, R3 on :45 and R4 on :40.
150 cool down.

Total for workout - 2750 meters.

The main set was really good for me. I was able to produce low 30s for the 50s with just a little kick involved. My final broken 200 added up to 2:13, which I was pleased with. :34, :33, :34, :32.

Starting next week, I will be coaching Monday morning workouts. The morning coach wanted a break from the 5:30am schedule. Knowing I would be the only one who can help, I offered to switch. It really doesn't effect me much. Now I will be coaching when I swam in the mornings, and swimming when I coached in the evenings. Plus I'm sure Mr. Bixler will be happy to have another workout he can swim with me :-)

In other news. Drew's parents arrive from Georgia this Saturday for a week. It will be a fun and busy week. Aside from house upgrades, we are going to go wine tasting on the 28th and possibly the Aquarium on the 27th. I'm going to take both those days off, which I hope will be relaxing.

Monday 9/17/07 - The 9:15am Tired Wave

This morning's workout was good. The water was slightly cooler than normal, but still a warm 83 degrees. I woke up refreshed and ready to begin the week with a good head on my shoulders. Here was the workout

SCM
500 w/u - 500 meters
4 X 75s (BK/BR/FR) - 300 meters
main set
8 X 125s (FL/FL/BK/BR/FR, FL,BK,BK,BR,FR, etc) - 1000 meters
6 X 75s (25 kick hard / 50 swim EZ) - 450 meters

So this workout only totals 2250. I'm not sure if that is accurate. But hey, maybe it is. The main set was decent. I really need to work on getting my hips up more though.

Getting up at 4:55am on Monday and Wednesday morning for swimming has been great for working out, but boy do I feel the effects around 9:15am. Its funny, as its not only me. Kurt has said the same thing. So now I make sure I have an energy drink on those early mornings, ready to drink anytime between 8am and 9am.

Work is crazy right now, so I will cut my lunch short and get back to it. P90X is up next when I get home and then off to coaching. I will be back after that is all done!

Sunday 9/16/07 - The Domino Effect

Its funny how one thing can effect another and then another and then another. Up until a month ago I was going great. Running a few times a week. Diet wasn't too bad. Pretty consistent with the P90X training. Swimming at least twice a week. I had lost about 12 pounds and was down to my lowest in years of 178. Then I just fell apart. First it was my kitchen situation. The remodel took about a month longer than anticipated so eating better became a more difficult task. Then my knee starting giving me major problems. This resulted in me having to back off from my running and even some of the P90X training. Then I just began to eat worse and worse and hardly do any exercise. I even fell off my blogging. After reviewing past blogs I have found this to be a pattern. I am on top of my blogging when my life is more in order. When I'm eating better. Exercising better. Work is better. Homelife is better. But when I begin to sink, I fall apart.

I've gained all my weight back. But the kitchen is done. My knee is still messed up. But I'm ready for P90X again. Work is difficult. But I'm swimming with new found motivation. So here I go again. I'm ready to work hard and discipline myself. Even with the holiday season approaching, I'll be tough. I won't be mad if I choose poor diets occassionally, but its the bigger picture I need to focus on. Portions baby, PORTIONS.

Tomorrow it will begin. Morning workout. Better eating. P90X after work. Then coaching. Sounds like a lot, but its what works for me. I need planning. I need a schedule. If I don't have one, I get lazy.

If all works out well, you all should be hearing a lot more from me. If not, well, then most likely you all can draw your own conclusions.

Tootles!