Morning Workouts Begin - 2/12/07 - 2/18/07

Monday Morning - SCM

Weekday morning workouts have arrived. We are offering workouts Monday and Wednesday mornings from 5:30am to 6:30am. The great thing is that the pool is literally less than a 5 minute drive from my house. So so nice. I figured this will be good for two reasons. 1) - I coach on Mondays, so instead of rushing to the pool after work and before I coach in the afternoon, I can now instead swim in the mornings and go home and relax after work. And 2) - I can now skip Tuesday night workouts and swim Wednesday morning workouts, which in return will give me another night off to relax after work and not feel like my day is so crammed. If all works out, my workouts would be Mon morning, Wed morning, Thurs night, Fri night, Sat morning and Sunday morning. That's 6 days a week, which I think is good.

Workout - Its only about 55 minutes, so I think anything over 3000 meters is a success.
W/U - 400 swim / 200 kick / 400 pull
3 X 300s on 4:30 - go 3:55
4 X 150s descend on 2:30
6 X 75s - work only on turns and breathing
200 cool down
Total - 3,150 meters

Having another back to back early morning workout will eventually be good once I get my body used to it. It was fun as we had 11 swimmers show up. A few even came out of "retirement" since we now offer mornings.

The 300s were ok. I was only holding about 1:18s (about 1:09/1:10 yards) for the entire 300s. I wasn't too impressed with that, but oh well. The 150s descend were better. 2:06, 2:02, 1:55, 1:49. Yards that is averaging 1:15, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05 per 100s. So that's better. It just shows the more I warm up, the better I am. The 75s were a good exercise for me to work my turns. I emphasized good streamline, not breathing right off the turns and kicking hard.

Tuesday - Taking off

Wednesday - SCM pool 5:30am

Another morning workout. I just realized that since I have to go to El Paso on Thursday and Friday, I will be missing two workouts. Ugh. And I can't go in early enough on Thursday to get a workout and I get home too late for a Friday. Crap!!!! This sucks. My flight lands at 730 on Friday, but if for some reason it lands earlier.. oh who am I kidding, there is no way I can get to the pool by 8pm for 30 mins of swimming. UGH!!!

OK back to today's workout. So with Coach Erik coaching, it looks like this may become a sprint workout, which is fine. We only did 2600 meters in the 1 hour, but it was quality swimming.

6 X 75s IM (no free) warm up - 10 secs rest
50 easy

3 X 100s IM on 2:00 go 1:22s (1:13 yards)
3 X 100s free on 2:00 go 1:12s (1:04 / 1:05 yards)
3 X 100s IM on 2:00 go 1:19s / 1:20s (1:11 yards)
50 easy

10 X 50s kick (5 on 1:10, 3 on 1:05, 2 on 1:00)
50 easy

4 X 50s (25 easy on 1:00 / 25 sprint on :30) total 1:30
Did one of each stroke

300 pull
100 cool down
Total - 2500 meters

I took the 75s easy as a warm up. The 100 IMs were actually pretty solid and consistent without pushing them too hard. I backed off on the free ones but still went decent times. The last IMs I pushed a little bit more as the times show. The kick set kicked my ass. I have never been a kicker, but by the end of the set my legs were dead. The intervals were hard enough for me that I had to try which normally I don't do in kicking. The 25s sprint were fun. I went in reverse IM order. Free was a :14 high, Breast was a :17 or :18, Back was :15 or :16 and Fly was :14 high. This was SCM so I am not sure how they are really at, but the back and fly felt fantastic.

SATURDAY - SCY

500 w/u
4 X 50s work on turns

Set #1:
100 (25 easy 50 hard 25 easy)
200 (75 hard 75 easy 50 hard)
300 (100 easy 100 hard 100 easy)
250 (100 hard 100 easy 50 hard)
125 (50 easy 50 hard 25 easy)
25 (25 hard)

Set #2:
10 X 50s (odds free, evens IM order)

10 X 25s kick
300 pull
10 X 25s IM order
200 cool down
Total 3200 yards

The only thing I didn't like about this workout was that we only swam 3,200 yards. It was a more catered sprint workout, but I made the best of it and was happy with my results. On Set #1, with the distances and speeds alternating, its hard to really know what I was going. But on the 250 (100 hard / 100 easy / 50 yard), I flipped at 1:04 or 1:03 and then went a 100 easy, but still finished at 2:49. That is averaging 1:08 even with the slow 100 where I probably went 1:15 or something. The entire set felt strong. The 10 X 50s were great. My fly is on right now. Both 50 flys were either :27 or :28 and with not being an all out sprint was a shocker. YA MARC, I SAID :27 FROM A PUSH NOT ALL OUT. Backs were :30 and :31. Breast was :34. The rest of the workout was solid as well. Swim meet is tomorrow. Entered the 100 free, 100 IM and 100 fly in that order. I wish the events were the other way around as I am eager to see how I can do in the 100 fly. Sub 1:00 is the goal, but being at the end of the day I am not sure. As for the 100 IM, a sub 1:00 would be great, but anything at 1:01.19 or faster is the goal. As for the 100 free, my time should hopefully be under :54.

SUNDAY - SWIM MEET 25 YARDS

Today myself and the rest of the Long Beach Grunions (well some of them) headed out to East Lake in Yorba Linda for a swim meet. I entered the 100 free, 100 IM and 100 fly. I was most excited to see how I would do in the 100 fly, but the real test was to see my 100 IM time. I did about a 1000 warm up and then waited for the 100 free to begin. I have no idea where my head was, but when I dove in, I took off as if I was swimming a 25 or a 50. When I flipped at the 25, I realized what had happened but it was too late. All that I could do now was hold on and not use all my energy for the remaining two events. My final time was something like a :54.5. Oh well, its good to mess up from time to time to help you remember how to swim a race.

The next event was the 100 IM. Unfortunately, only a few heats of 50 back were in between my 100 free and my 100 IM so I did my best to cool down in between and just stay in the water. My pulse was still going strong when I got up to the blocks, but I was pumped up to erase the disappointment of the 100 free. The fly and back were strong and the breast felt good, but a little off and then I just did whatever on the free. 1:00.79 I think I did. Not too bad. I said I mainly wanted under 1:01, so I can't really be disappointed with that. It was the fastest I have swum in 3 years so yea! I think if the 100 free hadn't been so close I might have had a better shot at breaking 1:00.

Recently my butterfly has been feeling good, so I was excited about this event. I really haven't had a good 100 fly in yards lately, so I thought a good goal was breaking a minute. In warm-up earlier, my fly hadn't felt on, so I was curious to see if racing would make the adjustment. I took the first 50 out solid and still had a lot left which was good. Turning at the 75 I figured I would turn in on which meant increasing my stroke which would then suffer in form. I am not sure which is better. Either way, I think the wall at :59.49. Yea. I am beginning to like fly again. My crazy brain is now wanting to do the 200 fly, so I think that will be on the agenda for the Santa Clarita meet at the end of April. I am thinking with more fly training, by then I want my 100 fly down to anywhere in the :57s.