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!