Boxing Day Swim - 12,000 Yards

Got up at 5:30am to go swim at SDRC.

800 - 800 (200 kick-drill-IM-swim)
10000 - 25x400 Done in 5 sets of 5 (Only take water/food breaks in between sets of five)
set 1 = even kick, odd easy
set 2 = normal on 6:20 (6:00)
set 3 = pick it up on 6:10 (@5:48)
set 4 = fast on 6:00 (@5:40)
set 5 = fast on 5:50 (held 5:40 even though I was trying to go harder)

1200 - 6x200 easy. first one total recovery, 2-6 are 50 drill, 50 swim choice. :20 rest

12,000 yards total

A guy named Mark kept asking for advice during my 400's, but I spent the time he wanted when it was in between fifth sets. But gave him quick and short answers otherwise. I didn't really want to mess up the workout.

The 400's were tough especially the last two sets of 5. I tried going faster, but I just couldn't get the kind of intensity I wanted. But I didn't get slower and I didn't give up.

I was hoping to get this done just over 3 hours and it actually took me close to 4. Really took the first and second set probably too easy. Especially slow on three sets of 400 kick. Lower back a little tight.

Now for getting ready for the cruise. Hopefully I get some good swims in while there! We'll see.

800s

1000 - 4-4-4
3200 - 4x800 1 = pull w/ buoy (other equip optional), 2 = fins swim, 3 = alternating 100 fast, 100 normal, 4 = strong :30 rest
100 - 100 warmdown

Total 4300

The last set of the 800's I wasn't confident that I could go real strong, but just before starting the last 800, some high school kid on Christmas break got in and was doing 400 IMs and was trying to pass me. I kept him off me, so that forced me to go strong. Nice.

Merry Christmas. I'll get back in the water on Boxing day real early and go for 12k.

400s strong

600 - 300 free, 200 kick, 100 drill warmup
600 - 12x50 down drill choice, back free easy on :50
1200 - 12x100 pull pads w/ band on 1:30
1200 - 3x400 strong pace on 6:00

I did these at a great pace. I felt wonderful. I was really pushing these. Third set I sprinted the last 100 like it was a race. What a great workout. Just wish I had about about 6 more minutes to do a fourth one like I was supposed to.

200 warmdown

3800 Total

I was supposed to do 4x400's but I didn't have time to do it. I know what it's like late at night when people are still swimming and the pool is technically closed. It's really annoying for the lifeguard who wants to go home.

Pulling

I used to think that if my legs were cut off I'd probably be a better swimmer. Today's workout proves that isn't true:

500 - 10x50 warmup doing pushoff and 20yd sprint, rest easy, odds no pushstart 15yd sprint rest ez on :45
1000 - 10x100 pull on 1:25 (banked 6 seconds overall)
1000 - 5x200 pull no paddles on 3:05

It was tough keeping 3:00 so I ended up doing 3:05. Definitely faster with paddles.

1000 - 5x200 pull no paddles or ankle strap on 3:00
10x50 same as warm up

total 4000

Evening swim at SDRC while the boys play at WFTTC

I took Austin and Jacob to the Table Tennis Club and went for a swim while they played. Here's what I did:

1000 - 4x4x4
1000 - 2 x 500's kick with fins
2000 - 10 x 200's pull on 2:45
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30 (Banked 10 seconds at the end)

What is "bank"? If you do a set on 1:30 and feel like leaving a little early, say five seconds less rest than prescribed, you "bank" that 5 seconds to be used later if you feel like taking just a little more rest. This gives me the option of working harder and then not feeling guilty if I am unable to maintain the killer pace and take a little more next time. The goal is to bank as much as possible by the end of the sets without "flying and dying". I've not heard of this before, but thought it might be a fun little thing to try, which it was.

300 - 100 breast, 100 back, 100 free

5300 yards total

Rewarded myself with 10 minutes in the steam room afterwards, man that was so good for my sinus'!

300s

200 warmup
3600 - 12x300 on 4:45 descend 1-3 hold 4th. (4:25, 4:12, 4:00, 3:53)

Successfully got goal on each set. Probably went way too easy on the first one (so I could get a good set time), but I made sure to get some serious improvement on each set.
200 warmdown 50 fr 50 bk 50 fr 50 bk

4000 Yards total

Slept in this morning and had to hurry to work right afterwards and skipped the shower. Now I smell like chlorine, but I like that smell. 6 months ago I couldn't really smell it that much.

Shiny fish

1000 - 4-4-4
2000 - 4x500 descend 1-3 and hold same pace for 3-4 (7:15, 7:00, 6:50, 6:51)
100 ez back
500 - 10x50 all strong pace on :40

On the first one I was able to get 5 seconds rest, next one 4 and so on down to the fifth one I had to start doing slow flip turns cause I didn't have enough time to stop or do an open turn to get the 40 second pace. But at least I was able to maintain the 40 second pace the whole time so that I ended exactly on the 40.

400 warmdown 100 kick drill pull swim

total- 4000

There is a "shiny fish" who I've noticed comes every morning and makes my swim a little less boring.

Catching up with Steve Roberts

This morning when I drove up to the SnS parking lot, Steve Roberts also pulled in. We talked a bit. He's training for the Boise Half Ironman in June as well. Made me remember that I need to get the bike down and put it on the trainer so I don't forget how to peddle. I need to be committed to my training plan. We shared a lane most of the workout cause it was a little crowded:

1000 - 4x4x4's (100's on 1:30, 50's on 1:00)
1000 - 2 x (400 kick drills with fins, 100 free with fins)
1000 - 5 x 200's pull on 3:00
50 ez
300 - 2 x (100 free fast on 1:30, 50 drill)
50 ez
150 free strong
50 breast

3600 yards total

4000 yards straight

Tonight I had to stay late to work, so I just stayed until 8:00 and then drove to the pool to swim before going home. My goal was to swim 4000 yards straight and hopefully get it done in the one hour I had. I did it in 56 minutes. I felt great. Went at a easy pace and bilateral breathed the whole time. I think the ability to exhale is really improving my performance.

4000 yards free

Back to normal routine

800 - 800 drill-kick-pull-swim x 200
2400 - 4x600 pull easy on 8:00
600 - 8x75 (odds 25 fast, 50 easy, evens 25 easy, 50 fast.) on 1:15
200 - 200 warmdown drill-kick-pull-swim x 50

total 4000

I can tell that I've taken a couple weeks off. My arms feel a little fatigued earlier, and I'm not as fast, but at least I can exhale! Feeling great!

Exhaling through my nose

I haven't been able to fully exhale through my nose while swimming cause the flow just wasn't clear enough to do so. But now after my surgery, I'm exhaling like a champ! Since this is my first swim since last Saturday, and I slept in too much this morning I decided to just swim for 1800 yards straight and get my time.

1800 Yards - 1800 Free

Finished at 27:44. Not bad for just going easy and not really pushing it until the last 50.

Warning - TMI: Afterwards during my shower I blew my nose and got a massive blood chunk out probably half the size of a golf ball. It felt great! I just keep getting clearer and clearer. I must have so much space inside my head now. Makes me wonder if I'm literally an airhead.

New PR for most yards in one day - 22000 yards

So my coach gave me a long workout, but I was in the mood for a new PR so I doubled it:

Do this entire workout twice.....
Eat Buzz Bite
2000 - 2 x -4-4-4 (400, 4x100(on 1:30), 4x50(on :45))
3000 - 3 x 1000 :30 rest. hold channel pace, and aim to go the exact same times for all 3 (14:30, 14:17, 14:08, 2nd time around: 14:07, 14:18, 14:23). focus on getting a LOT of liquid in you during your breaks.
Eat 1-2 cereal bars, and drink some gatorade
100 - 100 recovery, do some backstroke/double arms to loosen shoulders
800 - 16 x 50 free odds push-off 20yds fast no breath, rest easy; evens no push-start, 15 yards fast no breath, rest easy. 1:00
500 - 5 x 100 kick freestyle, go 50 regular kick w/ a board, 50 'tombstone' (place board vertical w/ board halfway in water...major resistance)
Gatorade/water and another cereal bar

first 50 kick got around 1:00, but on second 50 with the tombstone, I was getting @ 1:45. First time seeing this done, not to mention doing them. Got quite a few looks from other lap swimmers giving me mental questions like "What the heck are you doing?" I felt like saying, "I know not, save my coach commanded me". Although I'm pretty sure it's just to create resistance and make the set tougher. It was kind of fun, but slow!

100 - 100 recovery
3000 - SNAKE TIME! GOAL: get between 42:30 and 45:00 on the whole set. Stop at halfway point just long enough to get a drink from bottle and go! No more than 10 seconds. 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, drink, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 fast

Got 43:07 on first round, second round - 43:02. Really focused on long extended strokes rather than going fast on the second round, and it paid off.

100 - 100 easy
400 - 8x50 backstroke on 1:00 nice and easy
Gatorade/water and another cereal bar
1000 - 1000 free easy.
Repeat one more time so you do this workout twice...

22000 yards total

Had to get out three times to go to the bathroom (@3-4 minutes each). Also had three 1-4 minute conversations with three different people I knew. Other than that and taking quick nutrition breaks, I was going.

Total time (including breaks, etc): 6:40:27
Total Yards: 22000 yards (12.5 miles)
Time per 100 yards(including breaks, rest, etc): 1:49

My shoulders started to ache when I got to 14K yards. But the pain receded a little. It's the kind of pain in the shoulders where it feels like you've run out of oil and it feels like things are grinding that shouldn't be. But it wasn't too bad.

Cathi showed up when I only had 800 left of my warmdown set so she sat around for about 10 minutes and she was there to give me a high five when I hit 22000. So I'm very pleased with this swim. I never felt like giving up. I set the goal and just kept my eye on the prize. I was patient and glad that this was broken up in a workout like this rather than just swimming 22000 yards straight. That would have been really tough!

So this new PR isn't for being the longest swam due, to the breaks, etc, but the most yards swam in one day. Granted it isn't open water and the pool temp was probably 79-80, but it's something.

Now for the Gridley Thanksgiving dinner this evening! I've earned one piece of pumpkin pie I think! (But that's it)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slept in this morning cause I have worked more than enough at work and knew I could go in a little late. Got to the pool at 7:50am which is really late for me. Here's the workout:

400 warmup
1200 - 4x300 pull base on 4:20
100 backstroke recovery
800 - 4x200 pull strong on 2:50
100 backstroke recovery
1200 - 4x300 strong. Focus on fast arms constant forward movement. On 4:30
100 warmdown

total 3900

The last set of 300's was tough. Mostly cause of the breathing. Had to slow down a bit cause the bilateral wasn't enough for me once I got halfway into the set. I'm excited for next Tuesday. I'm having surgery to get the polyps in my nose removed. I'm off work for two days to recover and imagine I probably won't be swimming. But once I'm recovered I fully expect that my breathing will be much better (since I'll actually be able to exhale through my nose without any resistance).

The plan for this week is to swim on Saturday morning for 6.5 hours and get in 20K yards. I'll do my coach's long 10K swim twice. That's the plan at least. If I'm successful, it will be a new record on the amount of swimming done in one day, even though it's pool swimming.

Saturday morning swim

1000 - 1000 free under 15 min
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30
1000 - 5 x 200's pulling on 3:00
1000 - 10 x 100's kick with fins
100 - 50 fast (:32), 50 EZ

4100 yards total

The fast hairy guy came in half way through. It's lame that they only start lap swim at 8:00 on a Saturday morning. Would be nice to come in earlier so I could get a head start on my day. Today I'm "Mr. Mom", while Cathi runs the Mesquite Marathon this morning with a couple of running friends.

I'll be back at noon with a couple scouts to work on the Swimming MB. Then need to do some yard work. Not a very fun day, so this is probably the highlight of the day for me. I think I'll put on a movie for the kids this evening, have Austin babysit while I go to the temple tonight.

Two workouts in one day

Since I need to get to work early tomorrow and can't swim, I decided to swim tonight instead, so this is my second workout today. Right on!

500 - 10x50 on :50
1200 -12x100 on 1:30 go hard! try to get @1:15
50 easy
200 - 4x50 down no breath and flip if you can, then easy back 1:10
50 easy
300 - 12x25 FAST 4 x (25 fly, 1,2,3,4 breath, 25 free cross your legs) on :30
50 easy
600 - 6x100 on 1:25
50 easy
100 - 2x50 down no breath, then easy back 1:10
50 easy
300 - 12x25 4 x (25 fly, recover, 25 free cross your legs) on :30
50 warmdown

total 3500

If I swim 25 no breath I need more rest to catch my breath. Doing fly I hold my breath in order to get only one breath every other stroke. So I end up holding my breath which isn't good for doing a no breath on the next set. So I ended up increasing my breaths by 1 each set.

Felt great about the 12 and 6x100s sets. I really pushed it on those. Also I don't recall ever doing free with legs crossed. My legs sank even further than this morning. Felt like someone was holding on to me holding me back. Those were tough!

Swam 5 miles today with the two workouts combined. Not bad.

3 Mile swim

This was a great workout! I must say I like the longer sets rather than the short sprints.

800 - 800 dkps (drill, kick, pull, swim)
200 - 4x50 odds no-push starts, 15yds sprint, rest easy. evens push-start, 20yds sprint, rest easy. :50
4000 - 4x1000 on 14:00 1=pull w/ buoy, strap and paddles. 2=pull strap and paddles (on 18:00). 3 + 4=paddles, do not drag legs. Try to even split the 2x500s w/in the 1000. These are hard, you should have a HR of at least 150. These are faster than your channel speed. Do not be afraid to 'fly and die'!
200 - 4x50 same as above :50
100 easy

total 5300

Swimming with paddles and just ankle strap is hard! I was able to even or negative split all my 1000's except for that one. I was able to hold 6:30 on my 500's on everything (or just a bit faster), except for the pull w/ankle straps. On those I did 8:15 then 8:32. Felt like I had a lead weight tied to my knees, I just couldn't get my lower body streamlined without any kicks.

The rest of the workout was awesome. Lots of pulling. I love it. I took pulse at the end of 1000 and got 160bpm, so pretty good!

Workout from Mark Gangloff

Got this workout from USMS website.

400 - 400 free
300 - 4 x 75 descend 1-4
300 kick
400 - 8 x 50 free with fins – on 1:00 (first 20 yards underwater dolphin, rest free)
100 - 100 easy

1700 - 6 x (8 x 25) on :40, :40, :35, :30, :25, :20, w/ 100 EZ between sets
350 - 1 x 50 off the blocks FAST!!! 300 Warm Down

3650 Total

Not a big fan of 25s. They're too short and I don't feel like I'm getting a workout, even though I'm going fast. I prefer longer sets (200-400 yards). But good to throw them in when you need some variety.

Day 2 of SDRC Masters Meet 2009

50 Free - Last meet I did 25.12. But for this meet the person who gets the closest to their seed time gets a new swim suit. I guessed 25.50. Well I got 25.51. I won! I guess if I didn't get faster, at least I could win a suit out of it.

100 Free - Last meet I got 55.22. This year I got 55.17 So only 5 hundreths faster. I'll take it

200 Free - Last meet I got 2:03.47. This year I got 2:00.64 Man I'm aching to get back under 2:00. Will have to wait until next spring.

Then was the first leg in a 200 free relay. Got 26.06 on that. Our group did 1:46.44 and took fourth overall. Not bad.

I was really pleased with this meet and that I was able to better my time in three out of the four events. Not by a ton, but still by some and improving is all you can ask. I'm pleased.

I'll be picking it up this winter at the pool. Going for 5 workouts per week.

Day 1 of SDRC Meet - 1650 yd in 20:59

This evening I was registered for the 1650 yd Freestyle. My goal was low 21. My personal record I set earlier this spring at 21:09. I didn't think I was going to be able to beat that because I haven't been doing much distance training. My main sets have been shorter (200-600 yards max). I haven't swam 1000 yards straight or even a mile straight in a long time.

I was nervous all day long. I shaved the sides of my head (which were already short thanks to my halloween costume a couple weeks ago) and my arms and ankles. Don't need to shave my legs because of the legskins I have. Anyway, I was feeling ill prepared for the 1650 this time and wasn't setting my expectations very high. I didn't think a PR was possible.

I ranked 4th in the field in the 3rd heat which was the last one. I was swimming next to James Jonnson. He swam the Deer Creek 10 mile this year and was ahead of me. I've never beat James. When we started the race the guy to my right went all out. I knew that pace wasn't going to last and within 100 yards I passed him. I ended up lapping that guy twice over the 1650. James on my left inched his way ahead the whole time and ended up lapping me at around the 800. My goal was to not let him lap me twice before ending. "Lap me once, shame on you. Lap me twice, shame on me." haha.

I also had a goal to bilateral breathe at least the first 1000 yards. I ended up only going 250 yards before going to just my right side. I just wasn't feeling comfortable going at race pace with bilateral. I'm glad I switched because I was able to feel much more comfortable with my pace and kept it up. I didn't get split times, but I'm hoping that I'll get a copy tomorrow.

My 1650 finish time came in at 20:59.20 I beat my PR by 10 seconds. Not very much considering the distance, but at least its a new PR and I wasn't even thinking I'd come close to it. Plus I was hoping to get under 21 minutes since the last meet. Now I've set a new bar. No more getting 21 something in the 1650. Now it's got to be in the 20 minute range. Wouldn't it be great to get into the 19 minute range some day?

Today's race sure was a confidence booster. Plus I'm thinking with the training I've been doing with Coach JaGal, I'm more prepared for tomorrow's sprinting events anyway, so tomorrow afternoon I should be a happy dude, even more so than today.

Last taper workout before meet

400 k-d-p-s
400 - 2x200 pull with optional strap and pads 3:00
400 - 8x50 1-3hold 2x on :45
300 - {75 25 easy, 25 medium, 25 fast on 1:20, 50 25 medium, 25 fast on :45,
25 fast on :30} x 2
300 - 3x100 ascend 1-3. aka 1=fast, 2=strong, 3=ez. 1:30
200 - 4x50 drill 6-3-6, 8-1-8 on 1:15

2000 yards total

Good thing this was short cause I only had 30 minutes to do it before being late for work. Spent this morning helping Austin clean the basement. Didn't get to leave the house until 8:00am which is almost when I'm done with my workout.

Need to eat good today and tomorrow. I'm mostly nervous about the 1650 being able to stay strong the whole time. I really want to get in the low 22 minute range. I'll be sad if its 23.

First taper workout this week

1000 - 4-4-4
700 - {200 slow, 100 strong, 50 fast, 200 fast, 100 strong, 50 slow) 10 rest between
50 double-arm backstroke easy
800 - 16x50 free (odds- 20 yards fast, rest is easy. evens- floating start w/ 15 yards fast, rest is easy.) on :45
50 double-arm backstroke easy
200 - 8x25 ALL OUT on :40
200 easy warmdown

TOTAL 3000

The 50s were tough. Mostly because I was trying to keep them at :40 so I could get some rest. So the "rest is easy" portion, wasn't really so easy.

I'm confident that my surgery to remove the polyps in my nasal area will help my exhale. I was talking to Brian Dickson yesterday about it and he said I'll be so glad I got them removed. I can't wait. My appointment with Dr. Stoker is on November 19th. I may be able to get a full breath for Christmas!

Gutter ups

500 - 500 free warmup
1000 - 50 one arm, 100 free, 150 IM no fly, 200 free strong (and back down) @ :15 rest
1000 - 10 x 100's build up (first 25 EZ, last 25 sprint) on 1:40
500 - 10 x 50's (even - free, back odd - fly, breast) with 10 gutter ups on every east end of the pool.

3000 yards total

The edge of the deck is 1 meter from the water so getting up to a chin up position is pretty good. In other pools it would have to be a up and out type thing like a push up. At Layton, if you can get up to chin up level, your fine. This meant I did 100 chin ups and at the end I was tired and my sternum was rubbing the tile and getting irritated, my top of my right foot was used to help cushion the downward movement and when I got out of the pool looked down and my toe was bleeding.

Good workout.... not a ton of yards, but getting in the pool is half the battle.

400s

1000 - 4x4x4's
2400 - 6x400 Odd Kick with fins, even pull Strong effort.
500 - 10 x 50's hypoxic breathing 10-1 last 50 only one breath 1-7 on 1:00 8-10 on 1:30
100 Breast

4000 Yards total

Felt really good about this one. My shoulders and upper back are a little sore from lifting biceps a couple days ago. Need to lift chest today as well as run at lunch.

I made a bet with Cathi that this week I could lose a greater percentage of weight than her. If I lose I have to eat her favorite cabbage soup with her for a week. She loves it, but just the smell of it makes me dry heave. Gross! So I've got to step it up on the exercise and diet. Need to get down to low 190's by next Monday.

Descending sets

500 - 2x2x2 Warmup
1200 - 12x100's descend 1-4 on 1:45
50 EZ
600 - 12x50's descend 1-4 on :50
50 EZ
300 - 12 x 25's sprint on :30
100 Breast
500 - 2x2x2 Warmdown

3400 Yards

Fast sets on 100 and 50's were good. Got heartbeat up there.

Review of "On A Clear Day"

I read about a recent viewing of "On A Clear Day" on the 10kswim.blospot.com website. I went to Amazon.com and order a used copy of it and watched it last night. I'm quite a harsh movie critic, so I only gave it 7 out of 10.

It was more of a drama than an inspirational movie to me. This guy gets laid off and is depressed and confused about his future and gets the urge to train to swim the channel with only 6 months of training. His 4 closest friends immediately jump in to help him with his training (which seem to once a week to one of his swim workouts at the pool). The movie has comedic elements to it. The movie is definitely not that great of a film, but if you're a huge English Channel fan, this is a good show to have in your library.  It's got enough real training stuff in it, that it's nice to watch every once in a while to see what it takes to train for a swim.

It's a drama so it's not a nail biter, and there are a few funny spots in it, but not a blockbuster.

Skinhead

Shaved my head last Thursday night because of my planned halloween costume. So today's swim felt nice with the water going around my head so smoothly. I don't like wearing a cap (cause I get too hot with it on). Skipped last Thursday's swim so that I could work on the Chicken nesting box. I kept putting that off and the poor chickens were exposed to near freezing temperatures. So I had to sacrifice only one day of swimming to build it. Not bad I guess.

800 - 4 x 200 k-d-p-s
250 - 5x50 1-3 and hold (aka 3-4 are fast.) :40
1650 - 1x1650. Go strong, but focus on pace. Keeps abs firm. Time = 23:03

When I got to about 1200, the alternating breathing just wasn't cutting it and I was getting fatigued. I felt like I needed more air. So I ended up breathing every stroke, but alternated which side to breath on each each 25 on the last 450 yards. I felt good. I wasn't slacking, or pushing it too hard. It was a strong effort and I was satisfied with the time. Not overly pleased, but satisfied. I got 23:25 two years ago at the Utah Summer Games, and low 22 last year, so I'm confident that in a race I should get pretty close to that or better.

500 - 10x50 odds 6-3-6 evens 8-1-8 on 1:00
400 - 16x25 2 fast :25, 2 easy :30
400 k-d-p-s by 100. Backstroke

TOTAL 4000

I've got to be better about reading the workout closely. I accidentally skipped the 10x50's after the 1650 and the warmdown I did free. So I really only did 3500 today. Need to get at least 3 more workouts in this week. No more doing just 2-3 workouts per week! SDRC meet in two weeks.

Build up to sprint, then back down

500 warmup
1000 - 10x100 odds kick 2:10, evens pull with buoy only 1:40.
1800 - 12x150 descend/ascend by 50. odds- 50ez, 50 strong, 50 all out fast. evens- 50 all out fast, 50 strong, 50 easy. on 2:15 - 2:25
900 - 12x75 same as 150, but by 25. on 1:10
300 - 6x50 drill easy 1:15

TOTAL 4500

The descending sets were tough! Took my heart rate in between one of the sets and it was 170. Took again on the 75's and it was 145. This was hard!

Pulling without buoy

1000 - 4-4-4
600 - 12x50 odds 6-3-6, evens 8-1-8 on 1:00.
1800 - 6x300 pull on 4:15 - 4:45. 1 and 2 are pull with buoy, strap and optional paddles. 3 and 4 are pull with strap and paddles. 5 and 6 are strap only.

This was tough. The first two were great, but the rest.... I've never done paddles without a buoy and with an ankle strap? My legs had a tendency to sink so I really had to pull hard to keep my body streamlined and prevent my lower half from slowing me down.

600 - 3x200 free strong on 3:15, mimic the body movement from the pulling
100 warmdown

TOTAL 4100

Good workout.

Early morning swim

I don't normally get up so early to get to the pool at the time it opens (5:30 am), but this morning I had an awesome dream that ended at 5:15 am so I just got up and decided to go swim and get a head start on the day. This is the last workout I've got for this week from coach JaGal. Our family heads out late this afternoon for a very long road trip to northern Oregon for the Columbia river half/full marathon. Jacob and I are doing the half and Cathi's doing the full.

Here's today's workout:

400 warmup

Wow - I can really feel my pecs thanks to Tuesday's lifting session. Should help with the distance sets to let the pecs get the stretch and pull. I notice I don't get as tired on distance sets when I let my chest take more of the work and less of the arms and shoulders.

1000 - 20x50 free(odds- 20 yards fast, rest is easy. evens- do not push off wall [floating start] and 15 yards fast, rest is easy.) on 45.

These were fun! And the 45 seconds interval was perfect. Only got about five seconds rest on each

800 - 1x800 relaxed stroke...zone out, channel pace. get time. (11:23) on 12:00
800 - 2x400 get 1/2 of 800 time - 5:40 (5:40, 5:40) on 6:30

Amazing how I got both of these. I cheated just a little on the second one by looking at my watch on the last flip turn to see how my last 25 needed to be. I could tell I was on pace so I just kept the same speed and ended up getting the same as the first one to the exact second! Had I not looked at my watch I probably would have gone one second faster on the second set.

800 - 4x200 (get 2:50) average of 2x400s, half it, and hold it equally for 4. on 3:15
*remember, this is not hard.*

The workout actually called for 3 of these, but I misread and assumed that halfing the distance also meant doubling the reps. So I ended up doing an extra 200.

200 - 4x50 drill choice on 1:15
100 warmdown

total 4100


What a great workout. It was kind of hard holding back and doing a distance pace. Even though I'm sure I would have bonked if I tried going faster on the 800 or 400's. It's been a while since I've gone at a "base pace". Which is good considering I have a meet coming up in 3 weeks.

Drills and sprints

1000 - 4-4-4
600 - 3x200 (100 back 100 free) on 3:15
400 - 4x100 kick with board on 2:00
900 - 6 x {75 drill easy on 1:30, 50 drill/swim medium pace x 25 on 1:00, 25 swim fast on :30} drills: 6-1-6, 8-3-8, touch and pull, fist, fingertip drag, one arm
50 easy
400 - 4x100 pull on 1:25
400 - 16x25 free (3 fast on :25, 1 easy on :30)
50 easy

total 3800

The breathing rhythm on the drills weren't as good as I wanted. I also suck at backstroke. It was good to mix it up though. The 25 sprints were especially fun. I also loved the pulling set.

Glossary of Terms

• Pull(ing) - Pool Buoy, Extra large hand paddles and sometimes ankle strap to totally restrict kicking.


• Kick or k - using a kick board. Feet only.


• 4-4-4: 400 warmup loosen, 4x100 warmup loosen, 4x50 warmup loosen NOT FAST


• 6-3-6: You take 3 strokes, breathing on the 3rd stroke, and then putting your head back in the water. You hold your extended arm in the streamline and kick 6 beats. Don't really worry about the actual beats, just count to 6. You then take 3 more strokes, not breathing until the 3rd stroke again, and repeat the 6-count


• 8-1-8: It's exactly like 6-3-6 but with an 8-1-8. So, one stroke and breathe, then put head back in the water and kick for an 8 count


• Ladder: a set that involves with an increasing distance and optionally back down. For example: 50, 75, 100, 100, 75, 50


• kdps - Kick, Drill, Pull, Swim


• 1-3Hx2 - descending sets with 3-4 fast. (Hold 3rd set twice)


• Texas 25's (or 50's): Start 5 yards from the wall, swim towards the closest wall do a flip turn and swim to the other side, do a flip turn and swim 5 yards from the wall.

This list will continue to grow as I find terms that I haven't previously defined.

Trying to slow down and relax

600 warmup

1000 - 20 x 50 odds kick with board on 1:15, evens pull with buoy and paddles on :45

1000 - easy even pace. Heart rate should not go above 130

Took heart rate at end and it was 146 (too high!). Did the set in 15:25. My upper lats and deltoids were tight (probably from last nights tough sprinting sets) and I couldn't really get in the "zone". But I really made a conscious effort to slow down, do long strokes, concentrate on even and relaxed breathing, but I think I still pushed it harder than I should have.

800 - 16 x 50 odds 6-3-6 drill on 1:00, evens 8-1-8 drill on 1:00

200- 4 x 25 warm down

total 3500

SDRC on the way home

Since I skipped this mornings lake swim, I decided to stop at SDRC on the way home from work. I tried calling Cathi to let her know. No answer. She wasn't pleased when I got home. I've got to get this stuff done early in the morning when everyone in the fam is still asleep. I can't be working out at night when kids need homework help and Cathi is about ready to fill up the tub. Great workout though.

1000 - 4-4-4
2000 - 10 x 200's on 3:00 (Got 2:40-2:53 on all) Tried to focus on exhale. Nice long strokes and even pace.
400 - 400 FAST, all out. I wanted under 5:15, but got 5:18. Got a serious cramp in my right calf 150 yards into it, which lasted strong for 75 yards, I just stretched and kicked through it. And it went away, but slowed me down just a bit for that 75 yards.
100 easy
200 FAST (Wanted 2:25 and got it exactly)
300 - 6 x 50 on 1:00 down drill, back swim, recovery

total 4000

Thanks coach!

Hanging up the goofy googles for this year

This morning I went to Bountiful Lake at 7:30 and threw in the thermometer thinking it would probably be 60 or maybe 59. It was 54.

I got in up to my waist and it was freezing. The wind was blowing and I was struggling mentally going full the full dunk. After standing there for a couple minutes hoping I could build up the guts to do it, I ended up going back to the car.

Swimming alone in open water is risky, swimming alone in 54 degree water without previous cold water acclimation is stupid. I thought about Cyrise Sanders' hypothermia incident as well as last weekend's fatal accident at Ragnar and realized the risk just wasn't worth it. So I'm done with Open Water for this year. I'll pick it up again next spring and hopefully get more cold water acclimation before my full year training for 2012.

Back to real life

After taking the nice weekend away in Vegas it was time to really hit the pool hard, so I did this workout from my coach:

600 - 600 nice, easy. remember reaching arms, focus on pull-through once your hands enter the water. (30 seconds rest)
400 - 4 x 100's alternating 100 back, 100 free on 2:15, 2:00
200 - 200 free FAST, all out on 1:45. no saving up for later.
repeat this entire set (600, 400 200), done in the same fashion
800 - 8x100 on 1:30 (:10 rest TOPS). Took heart rate at 8 and it was 170.
50 easy
400 - 8x50 odds back, evens free on 1:00, :45
800 - 2x400 :10 rest (5:30) these are HARD! same as 8x1's (HR @ 170 bpm)
150 nice and easy warmdown.

total 4600

I puked just a little on the first set of 200 fast. Didn't have anything in my stomach so it wasn't a big deal. Just a little acid. Very tough set, especially the 400's at the end. I'm glad that was the last set cause I gave it my all and emptied my energy tank.

1 mile swim in Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas

After spending the afternoon lounging in the big pool area at Red Rock and not seeing a lap pool, I gave up on a workout swim. Then when we got to the hotel room and looked out the window. John and Kristen said, "Hey Gordon, there's your lap pool." Sure enough in a private closed section there was a pool with a couple lane lines in. I quickly suited up and went down and did this:

1000 - 4x4x4's
500 - 10 x 50's various kicks on 1:00
800 - 4 x 200's free buildup speed on 2:00
100 cool down

2400 yards total

This took me 30 minutes to do. I realized walking into the pool area, that even though the pool bottom was marked like a real lap pool, this was NOT a 25 yard pool. It was 15-20 yards max. Thus the faster set times. But to avoid confusion I kept track of my yardage as if it was a full 25 yard pool. So taking the total and multiplying it by .75 gives me a total yardage of only 1800 yards which corresponds to the total time spent.

The water was probably 83 degrees so it was pretty warm for a lap pool, and no lane lines so it was pretty wavy. I was the only person in the two lane pool. There was some "massage music" playing in the pool area as it was a spa. Not the best atmosphere for a rigorous swim, but a swim nonetheless.

2 mile Swim in Lake Mead

After the first leg of the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay we waited at Callville Bay for Van 2 to finish their first leg. I saw some no swimming signs and was very disappointed. The bay was full of boat docked permanently. John and Kyle went down anyway to just go for a dip and get rinsed off. They said they went to a place where there weren't any no swimming signs so I got in the van with Cathi and drove over since it was a good mile or so away. Sure enough there was a way I could swim outside of the bounds of the boat docks. I had Cathi over on the side of the hill that we climbed down resting in the shade of a tree. She took a few pictures off in the distance.

So I got in and the ground under the water was about two feet deep mud. I ended up sculling a good 30 yards before I felt comfortable enough to start swimming freestyle. It didn't get deep very fast and there were razor like plants near the surface which kind of hurt brushing up against. But within a minute I was free and clear of that stuff and deep enough to get into it and really enjoy it. The water was probably low 70 degrees. It was nice. I started my watch once I started swimming hard. I went 18 minutes out and then swam back to the white buoy which was right up next to the "beach" where I put my clothes. Then swam back out 18 minutes and then back. For a total of 1:12.

I'm estimating that I went about 2.5 miles or so. Here's the route I did:


There were a few little cool sections and I could see the bottom in several places. It was clear and relatively clean once I got out away from the beach. I was on the north end of the lake and it seems like spilled gas, garbage, bird poop, etc. All like to float up to the north end. Once I got out and away from that stuff the water seemed much like any other lake or reservoir. It was fun and helped to give my upper body a workout as well as let my legs recover a little from the hard work of my first run.

Check out my post on the Ragnar Relay.

Quick less than 1 hr swim

1000 - 4-4-4s
2000 - 1x2x3x4 ladder and back down. Odd-fast, even-normal pace
400 - 400 IM Kick

3600 Yards total

I didn't have time to print out the workout set number two that coach JaGal sent me so I came up with this one.

I was surprised that I did this workout in 56 minutes even with the kicking set which usually really is slow.

Now I'm off to Vegas!

Had to get to work early..... whatever! You chickened out man!

This morning I was planning on doing a lap or two in Bountiful Lake. The air temp came in at 36 degrees. I could see my breath on the way to the car. I was in my swim suit and sweats ready to get in. When I got in the car, the lazy gears in my head got to turning.

I have to work 10 hours today since yesterday I had a Dr. Appointment. If I just went to work and avoided the swim I wouldn't be there till late. I could come home and then really get going packing for this weekend's trip to Las Vegas for the Ragnar Relay.

It was a plan. I skipped today's swim because of work. Not because the water was probably below 60 degrees. I can just kick myself!

By the way. If I won the lottery (I'm blogging it here just in case I do, and need to reference the web sites), I would install:

1. SwimEx 400os pool in my back yard.


2. A DynaDome enclosure around the pool so I could swim year round.

And I'd keep the water at Channel-like temperature and get serious!

500s

Man this was a tough set!

500 - 500 warmup
600 - 12x50 (odds- up fast, back easy. evens- up easy, back fast) on :45
2000 - 4x500 on 7:45 get @ 7:20 on each. Hurry and get a drink between sets.
100 - 100 easy
1000 - 2x500 on 7:35. Get @ 7:15 or better on each. I got 7:12 on the first one and then 7:25 on the second. I don't get it. I wasn't dogging it either on the second one and I was pushing it on the last 150.
100 warmdown

total 4300

I had some negative thoughts on the second set of the 500s. My arms were already tired and I was already running out of breath and felt like getting out. By the time that 500 was over I was feeling better mentally. I focused on getting a deeper breath each time. I think I was breathing too shallow and never felt like I was getting enough oxygen. When I focused on a good exhale and full inhale I felt a little better. Also focused on really keeping my head inline and barely getting my mouth out of the water.

This was tough! I did feel like throwing up on the first two sets of 500, but that diminished as I got through them. Had I had breakfast before the swim, I'm sure I would have.

4s

4-4-4's:

400 warmup loosen
4x100 warmup loosen
4x50 warmup loosen
(this set will further be referred to as '4-4-4' as in 400, 4x100, 4x50. good longer warmup to get you going when you're more fatigued. all intervals optional...do not push yourself on this.)

2400 - 6x400 on 6:00. Take Heart rate at each set (14-15 beats per 6 seconds)

100 warmdown
total 3500

Much needed swim

Being in St. George has been fun. After getting back after the 65 mile bike ride this morning I felt undernourished so I kind of pigged out afterwards. No junk, just lots of stuff. I must have eaten about 2500 calories of chicken alfredo pasta. Good stuff. Since I had so much energy I decided to go and do the real version of Coach Galloway's 2nd set which I screwed up on last week. I followed the workout plan to a T!

300 - 300 warmup loosen
1200 - 12x100 on 1:35 (get 1:30 on each one) strong effort, even pace.
200 - 4x50 recovery (15 seconds rest, nice and easy)
1000 - 10x100 (get 1:30 on each one) strong effort, even pace.
200 - 4x50 recovery (15 seconds rest, nice and easy)
800 - 8x100 (get 1:30 on each one) strong effort, even pace.
200 - 4x50 recovery (15 seconds rest, nice and easy)
400 - 4x100 on 1:30, get 1:25 on each. FAST, all out!
200 - 4x50 warmdown

total 4500

Felt great to actually get the goal times on all these. They were all at the right amount of effort and I didn't bonk. I should have got my butt kicked if I did bonk for the amount of calories I consumed today. Great workout!

Davis County reponse to swimming in Bountiful Lake

I sent an email to Jerry Thompson regarding the safety of swimming in Bountiful Lake and here was his response:

Mr. Gridley: I have received your inquiry regarding swimming in Bountiful Lake. Bountiful City tells me they have no restrictions on swimming in the lake, and Davis County Health Department has not closed the lake to swimming due to public health concerns. That is not to say it has a clean bill of health. It does not meet public pool standards, and there may be parasites, toxic algae or other safety issues that are under the surface, but we don’t know/test for that. What we have tested for doesn’t show obvious public health hazards are present.

The landfill (BARD) operates the lake, and their number is (801) 298-6169.

I would suggest the following if you still plan on swimming: Swim with a buddy. Do not swallow the water. Always go feet first especially if you don’t know what’s under the water. Probably best to keep your head up above the lake surface. Be cautious and stay away from snapping turtles. Shower after use. Jerry Thompson, Davis County Environmental Health (801) 451-3296.

From the start I've always used earplugs when swimming in BL which I originally did for preventing heat loss, but am glad because it keeps water out of my ear and possible parasites entering that way. I also am good about not getting water in my mouth not to mention swallowing. I find that my throat swells from the start. It's like my body knows that stuff shouldn't go in there and I end up coughing up a bunch of phlegm after the swim and the swelling goes away. Only thing is that occasionally a very small amount of water enters my mouth and nose and are quickly and fully expelled. With goggles no water ever is exposed to my eyes.

So until somebody (probably me or Josh) actually gets sick or something, Bountiful Lake will probably remain open to swimming. It's pretty funny that the lake is administered by the dump.

So are my concerns satisfied?

• Well as far as swimming with a buddy? I agree, that its a good idea, but it won't happen every time. When it gets cold I'll have to meet that standard, but I have a few weeks left before hypothermia will be a valid concern.



• As far as going feet first, everytime. Diving isn't an option.


• Toxic Algae and parasites possibilities? It doesn't look like the county health dept plans to test for that so it's highly likely that it's there as BL isn't a typical swimming hot spot, just a fisherman's hangout. So my concern isn't quite satisfied there and I'm having trouble wondering if I'm overly cautious or what.


• Watch out for snapping turtles? Maybe that's what bit Josh last month.


• Shower after use - everytime I've gone I've showered right afterward with plenty of soap. Either at work or my parents house.

So without BL getting tested for parasites, it's highly possible that it does to an extent. With the amount of exposure I've had so far (over 16.5 hours), I've not got sick or had signs of skin or stomach issues. But at the same time, just cause you haven't got mugged after a couple weeks in Queens, doesn't mean that your beating isn't just right around the corner.

Thoughts?

Cause for concern

Last Saturday I was talking with Brian Child. His wife, Teri did the Daybreak Triathlon. Apparently they had to move the swim portion of the tri to a pool that included a simple 50 yard swim and then a 1 mile run to transition. The reason for the change was a roundworm outbreak in Oquirrh Lake.

This morning I got to Bountiful Lake at 6:40 and started my swim at 6:45. Here are the stats:

Air Temp: 54 degrees
Water Temp: 65 degrees
Distance: 1 lap (@1.1miles)
Time: 28 minutes

I was planning on three laps, but the situation at Oquirrh Lake kept plaguing my mind! When I was on the southeast corner of the lake I kept smelling garbage (from the dump to the North). It made me think of how foolish I've been to just assume BL is safe to swim in. So I decided to call one lap good and get busy. So I went to Davis County's website and found that Jerry Thompson is the manager for Water Resources Bureau. I sent him an email asking about BL. Hopefully I hear back from him soon because I'd like some peace of mind.

Getting in this morning was tough. It is definitely cooler than last week. Again, once I start though, within just a few seconds, I'm no longer cold, but get in the routine. Once it gets down to 60 degrees I'm going to have to a partner for sure every time just to make sure that we're watching each other for hypothermia. 65 is cold, but nothing that's gonna give me hypothermia for a few laps.

2nd tough workout from coach JaGal

300 - 300 warmup loosen
1200 - 12x100 on 1:40 (held 1:13 on all of them) strong effort, even pace.
200 - 4x50 recovery (15 seconds rest, nice and easy)
800 - 8x100 on 1:40 (held 1:13 on all of them) strong effort, even pace.
200 - 4x50 recovery (15 seconds rest, nice and easy)
400 - 4x100 on 1:35 (held 1:08 on first three and 1:06 on last one) FAST, all out!
200 - 4x50 warmdown

3500 yards total

I misread the workout and didn't get the 10x100's and I also didn't pay attention that I was only supposed to get 5-10 sec rest on the 100's, not 25 seconds. On the way out, I thought I was awesome for getting 4500 yards in an hour, and duh, I missed the 10x 100's.

I'm going to do this workout over and do it the way it was written and pay better attention to the prescription. Even though it was kicking my butt even with 25 sec rest between sets. Usually when I do 100's I do them on 2:00 so going down to 1:40 was a big step. I know, I take way too much rest.

I discovered that I'm not breathing properly. I'm holding my breath as soon as I put my face back in the water and not exhaling immediately. I'm holding it in and end up exhaling after the first stroke so that by the time I get my head back out on the third stroke, I have to force exhale the rest so I don't end up breathing out when me mouth is out of the water. I just didn't feel right, so I tried to focus on exhaling sooner, but I just didn't feel like I was getting enough air, or I was hyperventilating. I either need to try every fifth stroke instead of third, or lengthen my stroke and bring my cadence down just a bit to get more time between breaths.

Today's set was tough. My heart rate was higher than it normally gets and on the last set of 4x100s sprint I was really breathing. I was worried that I'd get slower on my last 100 so I really pushed that one. It was still two seconds faster so I was pleased. I can still push it. Only thing is I need to do the same thing, but with less rest, and don't miss a major set either.

Will swim BL on Wednesday and do this one again on Friday morning, but do it right. It's really gonna kick my butt. With less rest, I'll have to expect to hold probably just under 1:20.

Ton of fisherman - 4 laps in Bountiful Lake

Today I got up at 5:45 and got ready to head out to Bountiful Lake. I started the swim at 6:45am and was planning on 4 laps. I did two full laps before the sun came up over the mountains. On my third lap I had to stop because I saw someone fishing from one of the islands which I've never seen before.

I had to check to see if I wasn't just imagining it when I breathed off to my left. By the time I finished the four laps there were about 15 cars in the parking lot. There were fisherman all over! I hope I'm far enough from the shore that I don't end up going over someones line or get a hook in my arm or something.

When I got out, one of the regular fisherman is this old lady who fishes right there next to the boat ramp. She has a walker loaded up with fishing gear. She said quietly her displeasure at seeing old plastic bottles floating in the water. I nodded my head in agreement. It is gross. There were about 4 of them that I could tell throughout the lake.

I also noticed a tree sticking out of the water only about 12 inches, located about 100 yards from the east fishing dock. I'd hate to run in to that. I'm surprised I haven't noticed it before.

Stats -
Distance: @ 4.4 miles
Time: 1:57
Water Temp: 67 degrees
Air Temp: 60 degrees

Tomorrow is the Top of Utah Marathon so I'll be up in Logan with the fam. Will be running the last 10K of it with Cathi. But no plans for a long swim/bike ride or run this weekend thanks to other family events (football game, Stake Conference)

Next weekend is my infamous Pocatello to Syracuse ride (160 miles) with Dale Majors.

Swimming three laps with Kevin

Got to Bountiful Lake this morning just before 7am and noticed a runner stretching by one of the picnic tables. When I parked he started running towards my car. When he got close it was Kevin Mortensen. He was here to swim. Very cool. Josh was sick so I thought I was on my own today.

We did three laps and the water temp was 67 degrees. It was cold to start, but after a few strokes, unnoticeable and actually pretty refreshing.

Distance: @ 3.3 miles
Time: 1:27

It was a beautiful morning totally clear skies and halfway into the second lap the sun came up over the mountains. Pretty good swim, not the most energetic swim I've had. Looking forward to swimming at Layton on Monday morning.

Two laps in an unsettled toilet

I got a ton of sleep yesterday. I took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and also got to bed last night at 9:30pm. I set the alarm for 6:00 am and slept through it till 6:20. So I got nearly 9 hours of sleep plus a nap in the past 24 hours! But it sure was tough getting up.

Both Layton and South Davis Rec Center pools are closed, so instead of not swimming at all, I decided to do a couple laps at Bountiful Lake.

Despite the storminess last night there weren't very many clouds in the sky at all. The sun had not yet popped over the mountain. I threw in the thermometer and eased my way in. It's getting colder. The water is usually as smooth as glass, but this morning it was a little choppy. Only tiny little 6 inch waves, but enough to make breathing sometimes involve getting some water in my mouth. YUCK! One of the only things that Bountiful is helping me prepare for the channel is to keep water out of my mouth.

Did two laps and by the time I started my second lap the sun came over the mountain top. When I finished there were quite a few fisherman at the Northeast corner where I enter/exit. They always just look at me like I'm a freak. It's funny. The thermometer read 67 degrees. Sweet! That's the coldest it's been so far and I'm looking forward to it getting to low 60's. I wasn't cold one bit, once I started swimming. It was perfect.

Will swim on Wednesday too here at Bountiful Lake (BL). I gotta quit calling it the toilet.

Distance: @ 2.2 miles (3900 yards)
Time: 58:13

First coached workout since High School

So I now have a coach! She gave me this workout to do and it felt great fulfilling this presciption:

400 - 400 free warmup
500 - 10x50 (5-10 secs rest) descend 1-3 and hold to 5, repeat again. (as in, 1 easy, 2 med, 3-5 hard, and repeat)
4000 - 20x200 (find an interval that's 15-20 seconds rest tops) hold within 3 seconds the same time for all. keep stroke long, smooth, steady
400 - 50 easy, 3x100 kick w/ board, 50 easy

5300 total

On the main set of 200's...Despite intentionally going slower on the first one to keep a reasonable pace, it still was too fast to maintain (2:38) By the 5th set I was at 2:47 and was able to maintain that speed throughout except for one screw up at 2:50, but 80% of them were at a 2:47 pace. So it looks like my 100 base pace is about 1:23. I ended up doing these on 3:00 so I was getting around :13 rest between sets. It was tough, but my focus was on long, smooth and strong strokes.

What a great workout! Those 200's were tough. The water was so warm! I put in my thermometer after the workout and it was 80 which I guess is normal for Layton, but I'm getting used to colder temperatures swimming open water lately. Not that I'm ready to just jump in to 60 degree water or anything, but 70 is perfect!

The swim plan for next week: Mon - SDRC morning, Wed - Bountiful Lake, Thu - SDRC morning. Layton is closed next week for putting the bubble up.

3 laps in Bountiful Lake and chatting with Kevin Mortensen

Met wet Josh at 6:20 at Bountiful Lake. We did two laps together and he had to go to work. I did one more lap. What a beautiful morning. It was cool with the steam coming off the water. I'll have to take my waterproof camera next time and capture that. The outside air temp was 59 degrees, the water temp 71 degrees.

When I got out a biker guy came around in the parking lot. He said Good Morning and stopped. I immediately recognized him once I saw his face. It was Kevin Mortensen. He swims at SDRC with the masters team. We talked for a good 10 - 15 minutes. I invited him to join us next Wednesday. Told him about the facebook open water group and the utahopenwater.org website. Hopefully we can get at least one more regular on Wednesdays.

Total Distance: @ 3.3 miles
Time spent: @ 1:25

Makeup for the cancelled 10 mile Deer Creek Race

So with the cancellation of the Deer Creek Race I was bitterly disappointed. I was determined to make up that race some time this year. I figured that Labor Day was the perfect opportunity, even though I just did a half marathon two days ago and am limping around like a half crippled old man. I was hoping that since my upper body wasn't affected that much from the marathon, that it would be fine and my lower half could just drag along.

So I hired Hayden Buchi and my son Austin to be my support team. They did a good job staying relatively close to me and keeping me fed during my allotted times. I immediately noticed that the water was a good two feet lower than last time I swam at pineview. The thermometer read 71 degrees when I got in at 7:30 am. The sun had not quite come up yet and it was mostly sunny. No chance of getting rained on today!

The first 4 miles went really fast and I was getting sub 30 minute miles. At around mile 3.5 I could see the bottom and it got shallower. I was in the mood to play so I yelled at the boys to come over and see some fish in the water. They eagerly paddled closer. When they got right up next to me I said, "I'm gonna go under and see if I can catch one." Then I went under and planted my feet on the ground and jumped up as hard as I could. I yelled out at the same time and came a good 3 feet out of the water. Hayden about fell out of the boat. It was hilarious. The look of fear on his face was classic!

I immediately then resumed my swim. We went to mile 5 and I decided to keep going and skip one of the many bays that we went into on our way there. So when we got to mile 5.75 we turned around.

Coming back was tough because it was later in the day and the waterskiers and jetski people were zipping right along creating wake and also the wind was coming from the south so I had some fairly decent waves to deal with, but nothing out of control.

Here's the map of my route.



The last mile was tough. From mile 8 and on my shoulders were giving me the "Low Oil Pressure light", but I kept on going, although at a slower pace. My overall time was 5:26:04.

That included a little goofing off, taken some pictures, yelling at the boys to stay closer and some quick feedings. It was very sunny and I'm glad I put on some sunscreen. According to the GPS we went 11.4 miles, but after straightening out the zig zagging that the boys did in the boat, it came to 10.6 miles.

So now I have a new distance PR. Although it was in very toasty water, I'm pleased with this milestone and hope to get 15 miles sometime next spring. You can check out the full collection of video and pictures taken of this swim here.


My entire body is now completely thrashed, not just my lower body anymore. Need to take some serious recovery time. Will pick up the bike probably one Thursday.

Next weekend will be nice to not have a major physical event going. I'm taking Lucy camping on a Daddy-Daughter campout. So I'll be taking this weekend off to spend time with my little girl.

I don't wanna stop

Bountiful Lake swim this morning. Started the swim later since the sun is coming up later and I don't want to swim in pitch black. Josh swam Alcatraz last Saturday and had some stuff to catch up on at work so I went solo today.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Time: 1:27
Water Temp: 73 degrees
Air Temp: 70 degrees

I noticed that I'm consistently after every swim in Bountiful Lake coughing up a ton of phlegm after I get out and on the way to work. I think my body realizes that I shouldn't swallow any of that water and causes some sort of reaction in my throat to fill up. I don't get that in pool swimming and haven't noticed it in any other bodies of open water I've swam in. Weird.

On my way to Bountiful Lake this morning, this song came up on my MP3:



The song played over and over in my head. "I don't wanna stop" Very catchy.

One more try for a group swim

I didn't get anyone to agree to go on a long swim next Thursday. After looking at the calendar and realizing I have the Monday after that off for Labor Day, that will be a better day for a long swim. So I'm planning to do 10 miles that day. Details not worked out yet, but probably going to do it in Pineview.

Let me know if you're interested in going, even if for a portion of it.

Quick lap around the toilet - 28:59

It was tough getting up this morning due to getting bed at 1 am last night. Last night's concert left my ears ringing when I went to bed.

Hit snooze three times and that resulted in my being late to meet Josh at Bountiful Lake by about 5 minutes. We planned to only go one lap cause we both have events this weekend. I have Bear Lake Tri and he has a open water swim from Alcatraz to SF.

So we started out fast and tried to keep a fast pace. When I got back to the start my watch stopped at 28:59. Not bad. I wanted under 30 minutes, but closer to 25. It was hard to maintain a really fast pace more than 5 minutes. But it was faster than normal.

The thermometer read 72 degrees this morning. It felt colder than that. If Bear Lake is 65 then I'm going to freeze my butt off, but I'm no longer wearing a wetsuit!!!!!

As Josh and I were talking afterwards in the water before getting out a fish bit him on his waist and scared him a little. The fish were sure active. We got out just as the sun was coming up over the mountain. There were some big ones jumping clear out of the water going for mosquitoes.

Still no word from anyone wanting to swim with me @ pineview next Thursday. I may have to go solo on that. I should probably find a support crew though as Cathi will be busy with kid stuff that evening.

Group swim @ pineview

I'm thinking about doing a swim @ pineview on Thursday, September 3rd. I found a good place to get in that is close to the water, offers parking, and you don't have to pay $10 to get in! Here is a google placemark to the spot to meet. I was hoping to start swimming @ 5:30pm to allow for a good two hours of swimming before it gets dark.

Let me know if you're interested in joining. Hoping to go around 4 miles or so.

4 laps in the toilet

This morning woke up to the alarm after it had already sounded for around 25 minutes. I was late! I jumped up hurried in to my suit and raced to Bountiful Lake. I texted Josh to let him know I'd be a little late.

The thermometer this morning read 70 degrees f. We did 4 laps in 2:01:24 coming to 4.4 miles

As I was doing the fourth lap I was reviewing in my mind the events of Julieann Galloway's training that I read up on last night. I can't get over how she was able to swim in that super cold sea water in Ireland during the winter months. Granted she'd swim 10 - 14 minutes or so, but that's simply amazing.

In my mind during the fourth lap, I also kept seeing her "pinup picture" which she posted in picasa. I'm a good mormon boy and don't go looking for bikini pics (or worse) on the internet, but after going through her album of her swims that was the last one. Man she looks good and given her history of all the training she had to do, she deserves a picture looking hot. Good for her!

4.4 miles in 2:01:24

Next weekend I have the Bear Lake Classic so I'll probably just do one lap in a sprint and see if I can get under 25 minutes.

Another entertaining couple videos of a channel crossing

So I found out the guy who took video of Juliann Galloway's crossing was Nick Adams. Apparently he is a heroic legend of his own right. He crossed the channel for the 6th (that's right six!) time this summer. Here is the video of that (part 1 and 2). Quite a bit of chop he had to get through. Talk about a sickening last few minutes! Nick Adam's is an inspiration and an animal! I love how fast a few of his feeds were. Fantastic!

Swimming Bear Lake according to Channel Swimming Association standards

I was hoping that there might be something on record showing John Quackenbush's historical swim from Idaho to Utah through Bear Lake. But surprisingly found that it had already been done by a guy named Neal Phelps. Check out the article here, The picture that accompanies the article however shows him in a wetsuit and snorkel.

While it was quite a feat even with a wetsuit, it isn't as impressive without a wetsuit which John Quackenbush did this last week.

When I do this swim in 2011, it will be according to the channel swimming association's standard - just a speedo, a cap, some earplugs and goggles.

At the same time, I don't mean to belittle the feat in a wetsuit, but it just isn't the same.

3 x 1 mile sets

1800 yards free - 26:16
50 grandpa swimming
1800 yards free - 26:31
50 grandpa swimming
1800 yards free - 26:06
50 grandpa swimming

5500 yards total

Bilateral breathing of course. From now on that is assumed. I've kicked the breathe only one side thing completely.

Felt strong and the last 150 of each set would pick up the pace until the last 50 is a sprint with really long reaching full and powerful strokes.

Results of the 2009 Deer Creek Open Water Swim

Cathi, Jacob and I slept in the van at the campground. It rained off and on all night. In the morning it was just partly cloudy. The themometer read 69 in the water. Steve and Meg showed up and started the race with me. I entered the 10 mile swim. There were about 8 swimmers in that event and about 50 swimmers total. Quite a bit more than last year.

The first 2 miles was choppy mostly because of all the other swimmers around me. Then we passed the 5K turnaround buoy and it was much less crowded. I took a buzz bite and then waited for another half mile for quick drink of water.

The wind started to pick up and then it started to rain. Then I had some pretty good waves coming in to me. I could see the flag on the kayak was consistently showing the wind direction coming pretty strong from the east. Passed the 10K turnaround and was making good time. Watch read 1:27.

Kept on going and noticed Meg and Steve were going headlong right into the waves. They were a good two feet high. I was having fun with the waves. They'd crash into me, but I felt strong and pushed through them. I felt like it was me against nature and I was kicking her ass.


I past another buoy saying to just keep going. Then I turned another bend and headed towards the 10 mile turnaround. The waves were getting more and more vicious. Then I saw off in the distance a boat with police lights flashing. It got closer and they tried yelling something at me. I couldn't hear with my earplugs in, but Meg and Steve started heading towards the shore. They said that lightning was coming and the race was canceled. I saw one lightning strike the water off in the distance while I was heading to shore. Guess what? I'm still here. I didn't feel anything.

After that I didn't see any other lightning although it was raining pretty good. Some people in a boat came and took me and the other three 10 mile swimmers at the front. When I got back it was still pretty windy but the rain was just sprinkling. I got the jetski on the trailer and went over to the east dock two miles towards Heber to pick up Meg and Steve. They were freezing. Took them back to their car and they drove home. Went back to get the kayak. Then drove home. By the time we got to Park City it was sunny. How annoying!

I was fuming the whole way home. I was so mad. I was feeling so good at the 4.5 mile mark. I was going strong. I was confident that I could do it. In fact I was looking forward to going another twenty minutes to get to the turn around and then practically body surf the whole way back. I stopped my watch when they made us stop and it said 2:09:40. According to Steve who had the GPS it was at 4.45.

Click the picture below for a short video:

From Swimming

When we dropped off the jetski and got home it was sunny outside. So I went on a 50 mile bike ride.

Inspirational Hero!

I love this video! Julie swam the channel in 9:51? That's fantastic! I'd love to have a video guy and support crew this upbeat and entertaining.

Water Samples

After noticing recently the huge differences in various lakes and reservoirs, I decided to have a little fun and take a visual water sample from five different places I've swam: Pineview, Deer Creek, Lake of The Woods, Bountiful Lake, and Bear Lake. Like any sample it's just that a sample. It's also a visual sample, it doesn't cover taste or actual cleanliness of the water. Can you guess which one is which? Leave a comment with your selections.

A:

From Water Samples

B:

From Water Samples

C:

From Water Samples

D:

From Water Samples

E:

From Water Samples

C:

Here are the correct answers.

Two laps in the toilet

Met with Josh at 6am this morning at Bountiful Lake. After swimming for two minutes (it was still pretty dim outside), I breathed to the left looking south and saw a huge shooting star. It was cool. Nearing the end of the first lap I breathed to the side and saw Josh's Brother, Jake treading water. I said hello and noticed someone else too. Josh's Dad, Kelly also was in the water.

We completed our second lap and the time was 1:02:45. Not bad considering we stopped for about a minute to say hi to Josh's family.

Distance: @ 2 miles
Time: 1:02:45

Now for some real tapering and carb hoarding. I paid for the deposit on the jetski for this Saturday and Steve and Meg are onboard. 10 miles here I come!

Test swim @ pineview - 7 miles

I took PTO today originally to be a support for John on his Bear Lake Swim (which I've not had an update on by the way). But he decided to do his swim yesterday which prevented me from being a support. So I decided that rather than go to work I would do a test to see if doing 10 miles this Saturday would be a possibility. So I took Cathi and Austin with me to Pineview to do a 7 mile swim. If I did 7 miles and still felt good at the end and not dead tired, I would go for the 10 mile.

Here's the map of what I did:


The water is higher than what shows in the satellite image for this map.

I spent a total of about 4 minutes telling Cathi and Austin to get closer, or too far, or avoid getting rammed in the back of the head. Austin thought it was funny. So I spit water at him when he got too close, or would yell out "Ramming speed!" to give them a bit of fun. The water temp at the beginning was 76 degrees. I started my swim at 9:51 am. Good thing Cathi put some sunscreen on cause it was totally sunny.

From Swimming

I took about 4-5 breaks where I took water, a buzz bite, and/or a nutrigrain bar. The last 2 miles Cathi had me sprint for 3 minutes, then go normal speed for 7 minutes. That made the last two miles go by kind of quick. That was a good idea. My shoulders were a little sore along with my lower back, but nothing totally painful. I really think 10 miles is a good distance and very achievable. So the plan is to rent a jetski and give Steve and Meg a break at the halfway point.


When I got at the end I was short by about a tenth of a mile so I crossed back over to the other side of the beach area to get the full 7 miles in. I checked the temp on the way out and it was 78 degrees. I stopped the clock and it showed 3:42:21. A little slower than the 30 min/mile goal, but much of that was due to joking and correcting my support boat.

I'm looking forward to this Saturday and will only be swimming once more this week: 2 miles on Wednesday morning with Josh @ Bountiful. After that, I'll be carbing up like a madman.

Swimming in the evening at Deer Creek

Josh updated his FB status reminding me of a group swim at Deer Creek this evening. When I initially heard about this group swim I decided it was too far and cast it out of my head. But after helping our neighbor last night to help cut up a tree that had split due to last night's microburst storm, I had to skip this morning's swim to take a trailer load of tree limbs to the dump.

I was planning on swimming this evening on the way home. Then I thought, I might as well go down and do some open water swimming in Deer Creek where it isn't warm and get some open water exposure.

Although I was a little nervous since there is some pretty strong storm activity going on throughout the Wasatch Front. What happens when lightning hits water? I've not heard of fish getting electrocuted to death and schools of fish dying, so the chances of me needing to reasonably be concerned is minimal. Although this picture isn't very reassuring.

We started the swim at 6:30 and swam down to the end south of the boat ramp, and then back north on the east side. Got back up to the bend across from the boat ramp and worked our way back. I'm sure Josh will post on his own blog the route from his GPS which he brought along.

In a few places the wind was really picking up and the waves were getting pretty good. It was fun. When it gets crazy in the water with waves and wind, you can't panic, go with it. Then you defy what mother nature throws at you. Not by fighting it, but by going with it. I would just make my recovery higher and then focus on a good long reach. I kept my momentum always moving forward.

When we finished it was nearly dark: 8:55pm. We swam for 2:23 and according to Josh's GPS swam 4.39 miles. The thermometer I threw in when I first got there read 73 degrees. It was the perfect temperature. It could have been a little colder, and I would have been fine. The difference between 73 and 84 is huge so I imagine the difference between 73 and say 62 would be just as dramatic. I need some serious cold water swimming.

What a fun time! The water didn't have a bitter taste to it, like Bountiful Lake. Which I'm going to start referring to as "the toilet". However, swimming at Deer Creek cost me $10, while swimming in "the toilet" is free. So either way, your gonna pay for it.

Looking forward to next weekend to swim the 10K.

4 Mile Swim in Bountiful Lake

Met Josh at 6am and waited for a few minutes for another guy who never showed up. Did three laps with Josh and he was right with me. He's getting faster. Didn't have any breakfast and so I was running on empty. My muscles weren't getting fatigued, just low on energy.

During the third lap I thought to myself that I really ought to do one more, so I did that. Next week I'll do just two since Deer Creek is next Saturday and ought to taper a bit.

John Quackenbush's Bear Lake Swim is coming up this weekend. I have Monday off work to go help support him. I bet he's getting really excited. It's gonna be fun.

Stats:

4 laps = @ 4.4 miles
Time Elapsed = 2:10
Temperature = 77 degrees (Much better in the morning)

Finally back to normal

After last Saturday's Bair Gutsman race, I've as stiff and sore as a dog! Sunday and Monday were especially painful. This evening I swam at the Clearfield pool. The water was cloudy and warm! Almost as bad as the Bountiful Lake, except with a chlorine aftertaste instead of dirt. Decided to just go for long and easy strokes:

3600 - 2 x 1800 free on 30:00

Now to go to bed, only to get up at 5:15 to go swim again with Josh at Bountiful Lake. Looking forward to it!

Couldn't resist

This afternoon on the way home it was quite warm and I was thinking that I could hurry and get the kayak on the trailer and go out to Bountiful Lake. I did just that and Cathi and Jacob were my support crew.

When I got in, it was too warm. The thermometer said 85 degrees. OK. I'm not going there again in the evening. Early in the morning is warm enough. Anyhow I did two laps while Cathi and Jacob took their support boat responsibilities way easy and a few times they were clear on the other side of the lake.

I hit a couple of "turds" along the way and it kind of freaked me out. I sure hope those aren't human logs I'm hitting.

2 miles - 1 hour.

Swimming in Bountiful Lake with Josh Green

This morning I met with Josh Green and his brother at 6:10 am at Bountiful Lake.



At first I was a little nervous as the water wasn't very clear. Tasted like dirt and brushed the bottom once near the start, but after a couple minutes I got used to the taste, and the lack of visibility (only about 2-3 feet). The first lap was slow, and Josh's brother called it good. Josh and I did two more laps and they went faster and more relaxed.

Josh's stroke is nice and smooth with no splashing. Looking very clean and effortless. Nice stroke for distance swimming. I stopped at every "corner" of the lake to let Josh catch up a bit. Our speed is pretty close. He was only 100 yards or so behind each corner. I didn't start my stopwatch in time, but we started at around 6:15am and got out at 8:00.

Josh's GPS read 3.3 miles. So with that here are the stats:

Distance: 3.3 miles (@ 6000 yards)
Time: 1:45

I forgot to bring my thermometer, but I'd estimate the water to be 78 degrees. Almost too warm. We had such a good time, we're planning on doing it again next Wednesday morning.

Here's Josh's post on the experience including actual GPS data.

Short swim and 400 free medley relay World Championships in Rome

Yesterday afternoon I switched on my favorite channel KSL 5.2 Universal Sports and saw the US beat France again in the 2009 Swimming World Championships in Rome. Check out the video of the first and last leg here. It was another come from behind win in the last leg. It was awesome.

This morning's swim was cut short due to a lack of motivation and I wasn't going to force it since I had such a good swim on Saturday.

1000 Free bilateral breathing in 14:02
1000 - 5 x (100 breast easy, 100 free fast (under 1:06)) in 3:30
100 breast easy
1000 - 5 x 200's free pull bilateral on 3:00
100 cool down

3200 yards total

10K Swim in Pineview Reservoir

My Brother in law Steve Low and his wife Meg drove up from Draper early this morning and we drove up to Pineview together. We got there right as planned at 7:45 am. Got everything in the boat and started our swim at 8:10 am. I left a message a few times on John's phone but wasn't able to get a hold of him. I was worried that he was on his way and didn't have cell coverage. But decided to shove off anyway and get started.

I started out really slow and decided I was going to pace myself and not push it. When I swam for 28 minutes I stopped for some water even though I wasn't thirsty yet. Meg threw me out the water bottle and I asked Steve how far: 1.1 miles. Good time. So I started off again. I decided stopping every thirty minutes was the plan. I felt strong the whole time. My stroke was easy, long and efficient.

The goggles I picked up a couple days ago hoping that they would work well were Speedo Baja. They worked so good! They didn't fog up the slightest, and provided a great range of vision.

I was able to bilateral breath the entire course. Meg and Steve did a fantastic job with they spacing and boat position. I could tell that they weren't pushing it that hard staying with me. In fact they had to slow up for me several times. As the morning progressed I was pounded with more and more waves from nearby waterskiers. I didn't mind cause I kept thinking that it was something I would have to get used to when I swim the Channel. The waves also gave me a sensation of being like a ragdoll in the water. Completely relaxed and just keep my strokes nice and long and roll with the waves. Don't try to fight them. I just kept on with my bilateral breathing and had fun.

I told Steve to stop me at 3.12 miles and I ate the rest of the banana that I ate just before starting. Had a buzz bite and a few sips of gatorade. Heading back I tried picking it up a bit. I was trying to not go fast the first half so I wouldn't be dead at the turn around point. Problem was I had a ton left in the tank even when I finished. I think stopping every mile is unnecessary. Next time, I'll try to go 45 minutes or so between water breaks. That would be 2 less stops per 10K.


I did forget to shave this morning so I had a couple of good burning chaffing on my left and right shoulder. It was cloudy and the sun only came out in spurts behind the clouds. Wind was minimal and here's the real shocker for me today. The water temp according to the thermometer I had dangling behind the kayak showed 76 Degrees. The water was so warm! I would have died in a wetsuit. I was a little disappointed it was so warm.

I was very pleased with my bilateral breathing, the lengths of my strokes, the fact that I didn't cramp up one bit. It was a great swim and makes me feel that the Deer Creek 10K won't be that tough. I'm really looking forward to it.

I found out when I got back that John had some form of food poisoning the last couple days and was feeling really ill. That was too bad. I'm just glad my support boaters Meg and Steve were able to come through for me. I couldn't have done it without them. They were so patient. My final time was 3:13:38. I wanted under 3:15 and I got that. But was really hoping for under 3 hours.

I had a fantastic time and would definitely do it again. The last mile was a little tough as my shoulders started to feel a little "dry" like an engine grinding lacking in oil, but that was the only strain. Nothing really that bad and it didn't damper my resolve or spirits.

Thanks Meg and Steve for the support! (And for committing to support me @ Deer Creek)