1000 with Jeff

This morning I got up at 4:20 and was in the pool at 5:30.  Swam

2000 free

then joined Masters with:

300 - 100 free, 100 back, 100 kick
450 - 9 x 50's kick
800 - 4 x 200 IM's on 3:40
800 - 4 x 200's pull on 2:45
400 - 4 x 100 IM's on 1:40
400 - 4 x 100's free no equip on 1:25
250 - 10 x 25's 6 fly, 2 back, 1 breast, 1 free

Then stayed after and Jeff joined me for:

1000 free.  Pace was at 1:27/100yd nice and easy
He took off and I continued with:

2000 - 2 x 1000s on 15:00
500 pull
500 kick


9400 yards total

Met Maurice.  He's an older gentleman who I often see there.  He's a retired accountant.  He uses a rolling walker and I see him in the leisure pool with his wife.  Nice guy.

Meeting with Lynn de Freitas

This morning I met Lynn de Freitas, the Executive Director of Friends of Great Salt Lake.  I also met with KUED Producers Nancy Green and Natalie Avery.  We met at the Oasis Cafe for breakfast to talk about the GSL length swim for any potential in doing a documentary.  I was surprised at how much money is needed to really put something together.  Wow!  I would need Cathi to help me by focusing on fund raising and let me do my training.   Anyhow I enjoyed meeting with them and am eager to do my part in drawing more attention to the lake.  It really is something that doesn't get enough attention given it's vastness and beauty which most people fail to recognize.

Todays workout began at 2:30pm since SDRC was closed to the public this morning due to another high school regional swim meet.   I carbed up like crazy the last couple days knowing I'd be doing a long one today:

20,000 - 10 x 2000 yards odd sets free, even pull on 30:00
1000 - 2 x 500 kick with fins
400 IM easy

21,400 yards total in 5:15

Had some minor aches in the shoulders, but nothing major.  I could tell at 18K yards that I wasn't getting enough water as I felt my hands were getting all shriveled.  I forgot to stop and get a Gatorade on the way in and my water at that point was warm and gross so I didn't get hydrated as much as I should have.   But I swam strong and I really enjoyed the pulling.

I really bruised up my right arch in my foot.  Three different times when I did a flip turn I pushed off the wall and my foot slid up the wall and pushed against the edge of the gutter which really hurt the arch of my foot each time that happened.  I need to push off the wall a little deeper to prevent that kind of crap from happening.

But today's workout went well.  I had originally planned on 20K, but put in a little extra to round up the yardage to a whole mile amount - 12 miles exactly.

Getting pushed out of the pool by the high schoolers

Got up early and was in the pool at 5:15am.  Swam

2000 - 2000 free in 28 minutes
1000 free just in time for Masters workout:

300 - 6 x 50's drill/swim on :50
300 - 6 x 50's kick free/fly on 1:00
500 - 10 x 50's free build on :50
500 - 10 x 50's back on 1:00 every 4th one all out!
500 - 10 x 50's desc 1-3 three time, 10th one easy
500 - 10 x 50's pull on :40

5600 yards total

The pool was all setup with chairs, timing system pads, posters, you name it.  Made me wish I was in high school.  Didn't get to swim after 7am cause they were going to open the pool to warm ups soon.  Will get in a long swim tomorrow.   Aiming for 20,000 yards (that is if Cathi will let me have that much time on a Saturday)

Lifeguarding Mr. Rogers

Today was my last day working at SDRC as a lifeguard and there is one guy there who is no kidding a clone of Mr. Rogers.  He wears a solid blue jammer and does laps at a leisurely rate.  If he came in there with a sweater and sat down to take off his shoes, I'd love it!

I noticed the other day that my PR for doing a 4 mile swim is 1:42:59?  I can certainly beat that!  So I kept track today of my time which was:

6000 - 3 x 2000's free stop only to tread for :15 and get a drink from the water bottle, then continue:
1200 free strong

7200 yards total in 1:39:40

So there you go!  A new PR for 4 miles.  If I tried swimming 7050 straight I'm sure I'd break the record again.

Coveting Superpowers

I slept in this morning a little but I still made it to the pool at 6:00am sharp.  I started right with the Masters team:

300 warmup choice
200 - 4 x 50's choice drill/swim by 25
2500 - 5 x 500's Odd 500 swim, even - 5 x 100's on 1:20  I pulled the 3rd 500 and was able to stay with Josh. That guy is fast and pulling strong was all I could do to keep up with the guy.
200 - 4 x 50's descending free on 1:00 (:36, :34, :32, :30)
100 - 2 x 50's off the block sprints (Both :28)
100 easy

Then I did:
800 kick with fins
4000 - 2 x 2000's free 1st one pull (under 26:30), 2nd one no equip(27:15).  Go strong!
200 - 100 back, 50 breast, 50 free easy

8400 yards total

I felt so good today!  I sometimes get worried that if I really push myself with masters, that I'll die out and won't be able to get my 8-9K for the day with much quality, but today proved that theory wrong.  I swam really strong with Masters and didn't bonk for the distance sets in fact I did pretty well.

During my swim today I kept thinking "What if I were given a free superpower but only one?"  You can pick:

1. The ability to fly
2. Super strength
3. The ability to breathe underwater 
4. Lightning speed
5. Be the object of desire around the world by silly girls.

I would definitely pick #3!  I felt like a fish today!

Being lapped, and being the lapper

After I guarded from 5-7 this morning I got in and did:

4200 yards free straight
15 sec rest while treading to get a drink
3000 yards free - last 150 sprint!

7200 yards total

During the first hour, coach Steve had three of his fastest boys doing sets of 400 and during those sets I would get lapped once.  The got out and during the second hour of my swim there was a bunch of other guys where I was the one lapping them every 400 yards.  But then again I was going straight and not doing any particular sets.

I placed the flyer for the greatsaltlakeopenwater.com race on the bulletin board at SDRC.

Last Saturday

I'm excited that today is my last Saturday working as a Lifeguard.  

Got in the pool at 6:05 am and did:

2000 yards free

2000 pull

500 Choice easy

Then joined Masters:

300 - 100 free, kick, pull

200 - 4 x 50's free easy

900 - 3 x 300's on 4:00

100 kick

900 - 6 x 150's on 2:10

100 kick

800 - 4 x 200's pull on 3:00

100 kick

800 - 8 x 100's free on 1:20

25 kick

8725 yards total

Had to get out early to get on duty on time.  

Only one more week of being Mr. Nice guy

On my way to my swim this morning real early I was texted a request to cover a 7-9 shift.  My initial response is no way, that's my swim time, but then I though well, I only am going to be working there for one more week, and I'll already have about 7000 yards at that point, so what the heck!   Doing something like that really puts pressure on me to hurry and not dilly dally.

2000 yards free strong :15ri go right into:
2000 yards pull strong

Joined Masters and did:

800 - 4 x 200 IM's
200 - 4 x 50's free on :45
300 - 3 x 100's free on 1:30
300 - 2 x 150's free on 2:15
200 - 1 x 200 free on 3:00

300 - 2 x 150's free on 2:15

300 - 3 x 100's free on 1:30

200 - 4 x 50's free on :45

6600 yards total

Less than I wanted in yardage, but I pushed the Masters workout and swam fast.  Only 5 more days of being a lifeguard there, then I will go back to getting like 2 texts a month and no more phone calls or emails requesting to guard.  I'll be in the water swimming the workouts that I want to get!

Treading during feeds

Today I got in after a two hour shift of lifeguarding.  Started at 7:06am and did:

6000 - 3 x 2000 free :15 ri just enough to get water while treading and go!
1200 free

7200 yards total

Felt great!  Did the whole thing in 1:45

APB for Utahn Marathon swimmers

So the Antelope To Blackrock Beach race on June 11th already has 4 registered swimmers, 3 from California and 1 from Colorado.  We need some Utah representation!  This morning I slept in a bit and started right at 6am with the Masters:

300 - 100 Swim, 100 Drill, 100 kick
500 - 2 x (25 drill breast, 50 build free, 75 drill fly, 100 build back)
600 - 4 x (100 pull, 50 kick)
200 - 4 x 50's drill/free fast on :45
600 - 3 x 200's fast on 3:40
800 - 200 IM, 4 x 100's free on 1:20, 4 x 50's free fast on :50
200 easy

Then did 2 x 2400 free only stop for quick drink between sets.


8000 yards total

Lifeguarding Too much strain

I realized today that lifeguarding at SDRC is putting too much of a strain on

1. My training (I'm only getting about 70% of the yardage I really want
2. My career.  Because I've been trying to get as much yardage as I possibly can in the measly 2 hours I have after my shift, I'm often right on time for work or a little late.  I'd rather get in earlier to work.
3. Scouts - I have a campout once a month with the boys and oftentimes the inservice training is the same weekend as scout camp and I definitely can't miss scout camp, so then I have to go to remediation.

I'll still plan to get up early to get there when it opens so I can get my full yards in AND still have plenty of time to get to work early so I'd rather just pay the yearly membership fee and not have to worry about being tied to the job.  It's nice being trained though.  It'll be nice to have should something happen while I'm at the pool, or at a scout camp to be prepared properly in the event of an emergency.

I thought about this decision the entire time during this morning's swim and felt great about the decision:

7200 - 2 x 3600 yards :15 ri just long enough to get some water and GO!

7200 yards total

How to avoid bonking for a super long swim

In preparation for this summer's GSL 6 day staged swim.  I started looking for information on what to eat during the 6 day swim.  I found this great article and I think I'll need to do more research on what EXACTLY I'll pack and plan to eat for the week.  I'll need to plan on taking plenty of carbs and eating up to 7,000 calories a day.  Dave Shearer warned me especially of the need for hydration.  He told me many times that the salt water actually pulls the water out of my skin so I'll need to hydrate much more in order to keep the fresh water inside me.

I can't think of a tougher endurance sport than cyclists who bike for 8 hours a day for weeks.  If I can get a clue of what they do to keep their energy bank filled, and follow it, I should be much more prepared.  So I sent an email to Jared Eborn who is probably the best resource I know personally for advice on this issue. I really need to have a plan for this event and be confident that my food choices and quantities will fuel me for the entire length of the swim.  I would really hate to bonk 4 days into it.

Breakfast with Austin

Since the kids are out of School today for Martin Luther King Day, Austin wanted to go to the Table Tennis Club in Salt Lake.  I told him he could if he could hang out all morning until it opened.  So I got in the pool at 5:15 this morning while he slept up in the stands with his pillow and blanket.  I did:

1000 free strong

An older guy who was pretty fast was doing 100's and trying to race me so I picked up the pace a little.

1000 free easy
500 choice
Then swam with masters:

300 free
300 - 6 x 50's kick
400 - 4 x 100's alternate free, IM, Pull, kick
400 - 4 x 100's kick
400 pull
400 IM
400 - 4 x 100's free fast! on 1:15
400 easy

Then I moved to the north end of the pool and swam:

500 free

I was going to do my normal 9000 yards, but I kept thinking of Austin up there on the concrete floor sleeping uncomfortably.  I felt bad so I decided to cut my swim short and take him to Denny's for breakfast.  We both had a French Toast slam.  Yummy!

No more excuses the rest of the week.


6000 yards total

Waterpolo and long Saturday swim

This morning I got in the water at 6:15am and swam the following:

2000 yards easy
1000 kick
1000 Temp trainer at :97
2000 pull
1000 - 5 x 100's IM on 1:45, 5 x 100's free on 1:30
2000 free

Then I got out and lifeguarded for three hours.  The south end of the lap pool was closed because of some waterpolo practice that was going on.  They finished at 12:30 and my shift ended at 12:00 so I went and finally got my employee pass to SDRC.  No more looking at the front desk people and trying to look official.  Now I'm legit!  At 12:30 I got in and did a quick 2000 yards more:

11,000 yards total

Totally inappropriate song stuck inside my stupid little brain

Heard a song on the radio a few days ago and then again yesterday,  Black Eyed Peas - My Humps.  What a crappy song.  It is totally inappropriate and retarded, but at the same time a little catchy.  So my goofy little section in my brain kept playing it over and over in my head and I was singing along underwater,  "Whatcha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk, inside your trunk......"  What a doofus.  At least my swim went well.  I swam strong, focused on a long extended reach and a pull that stayed in line and away from midline.  I slept in a bit so I didn't get in 10K like I wanted, but better than missing it all together:

2000 free strong
1000 kick w/fins
2000 pull
1000 free with tempo trainer at :97
1000 - 10 x 100's on 1:45 alt IM and free (well under 1:30 on IM, and 1:15 on free)
1000 easy

8000 yards total - Good strong swim.

Broken 1000s

1000 Free easy on 15:00
1000 - 2 x 500's on 7:30
1000 - 5 x 200's on 3:00
1000 - 10 x 100's on 1:30
1000 - 20 x 50's on :45 alternate free/back
2000 free build
200 - 100 back, 100 IM

7200 yards total in 1:45

Met with Dave Shearer and Chris Haramoto yesterday.  The Great Salt Lake Antelope Island to Blackrock event is starting to solidify.  I updated the webpage with details and a history of the swim.  Excited.

Being nice and missing Masters

So a while back I was nice and picked up a shift for Wednesday 5-7am.  Which means I miss the masters workout.  But at least I was able to get in at 7:15am and get in 4 miles:

1000 free on 15:00
2000 pull on 30:00 (bank as much as possible cause you're a slow kicker.....)
1000 kick with fins (perfect bank amount as I was able to start the next 1000 on 45:00)
1000 free on 15:00
2000 - 1900 pull, 100 with fulcrum paddles (see review)
200 - 100 back, 100 IM

7200 yards total

I love it when other fast swimmers are in the next lanes.  It makes me pick up the pace a little and really focus on strong long strokes instead of just a high stroke rate.

Review of Forearm Fulcrum Paddle

So with part of the $40 I won from winning the Lake Huron race, I bought these Forearm Fulcrum Paddles.  They were reviewed in USMS Masters Magazine as being more intended for beginners to learn proper hand/wrist orientation, but also pretty good for advanced swimmers to drill with.  I'm here to tell you that this piece of equipment is pure crap.  First of all the paddles came with no instructions whatsoever.  No picture, no written instructions, just the paddles in a bag.  Lame.  So I tried to put them on using what I thought was correct logic.  I noticed that the hole for the forearm is too small.  I have relatively large forearms so the only possible way I could wear the fulcrum paddle was to position it as far up my forearm as possible without cutting my circulation off.  Here's how far I could get it up:

This picture is actually from the Finis Blog (the makers of the paddle).  Notice that the guy who is wearing it has very girly forearms.  Mine fill the hole so much that I can't fit it any further up my arm.  So I end up not getting my hand all the way in on the other side.   This next picture is the proper way it should be held.....

Notice that there is still plenty of room for this very skinny swimmer.  He probably has a pencil neck too.

At any rate.  When I swam with this thing it hurt.  Well after visiting the Finis website, come to find out I'm holding the stupid thing wrong.  I was doing it like the INCORRECT PICTURE ABOVE.  So after trying it further holding it correctly, (See picture to the right) it doesn't hurt AS MUCH.  But still forces my hand to go down at an angle which is really weird when you push off from the wall cause it takes longer to surface.  I just thought the paddles were plain goofy.  Sure it's nice to make sure your hand is pulling back properly, but I don't think the paddles are something you would want to use as a drill.  Their probably better for correcting some REALLY BAD HABITS that have already formed by new swimmers.  Advanced swimmers most likely don't have the poor hand position that these paddles claim to fix.  So I'm going to try to sell them on Ebay as they really aren't conducive to my training at all.

Hopefully I don't lose too much money on them.  Sucker!

4 mile swim in 1:50

Got in the pool at 7:10am after lifeguarding for a couple hours:

2000 free on 30:00
1000 free on 15:00
1000 - 10 x 100's on 1:45 (odd IM, even free)
2000 free on 30:00
1000 free on 15:00
200 - 100 back, 100 IM cooldown

7200 yards total in 1:50

3 hr swim

Got in the pool at 5:15am and swam:

2000 free on 30:00
100 free on 15:00

then joined the masters:

300 easy
500 - 10 x 50's kick w/fins 25 flutter back, 25 dolphin back
1200  6 x 200's free fast on 2:45

Craig Barnes ended up getting about 10-15 yards on me by the end of each set.  That's one great swimmer.

1000 - 10 x 100's pull w/ankle strap on 1:40

The others did IM / free no pull etc...  So since I was spoiled with so much rest I forced myself to go strong on these.  Kept all of them under 1:09. 

Then moved to the north end of the pool since masters was over and did:

4000 - 2 x 2000 free strong on 30:00

100 easy

I love how some people get in and try to race me.  I just focus on long reaches with a good glide and a strong pull.  That keeps me going strong and effortlessly.

Felt Great!
10,100 yards total

Lost 5 IQ points

Today I got in the pool at 5:30 am and swam:

2000 yards free
Then swam with masters:

300 - 100 free, 100 kick, 100 IM
500 - 10 x 50's kick alternate IM and free on 1:00
800 - 4 x 200 IMs on 3:10
800 - 4 x 200's free pull on 2:45
400 - 4 x 100 IMs on 1:40
400 - 4 x 100s free pull on 1:15
100 easy

Then moved to the north side and swam:

2000 free easy

Then Stephy asked me if I could work.  I told her I only was going to swim for another 20 minutes and then go to work.  But then I remembered that I had to get off early from work.  If I actually took her 7-2 shift then I could get home a little sooner than planned.  Plus I already worked extra this week, I could work on Saturday and make up for some lost hours today.  I called in to work and got the OK so I took the shift.  Talk about boring!!!!  Stephy had to take a class and was going to miss it, so that's why I felt charitable.  I hope she gained IQ points, cause I was so bored that I'm sure I lost some.  I think it's the last time I'm going to do that!

During one of my breaks I swam an additional 1000 yards


Total yards: 8800 yards

Easy swim

Today's swim was very refreshing!  I didn't worry about going fast, just focused on a long strong stroke, consistent bilateral breathing.  Relaxing my arms, doing a good bend, and exhaling.

6000 - 3 x 2000 free on 30:00
1000 - 1000 free build

7000 yards total

Swimming with drag suit

When I get on the pool deck, I don't just walk around in my speedo.  I wouldn't want other swimmers or normal folk have to endure the unsightly memory.  So I usually just wear some long running shorts over the top until I get in the water and then take them off.  But today I decided to swim with them for the first 1000.  Boy it felt like I was dragging a parachute full of water behind me.  

1000 free with drag suit

1000 free normal

100 breast easy

150 - Helped get lane lines in and then

400 - 6 x 75's on 1:20 (breath 3,5,7 by 25)

1400 - 2 x (100 free, 200 IM, 400 free ) :30 ri 

750 - 15 x 50's pull on :40 

These were fun!  I went after Tim.  I ended up only getting like 2 seconds rest between these sets,  It was MOVE MOVE MOVE!  Loved it!

100 - 2 x 25's sprint off block, 25 easy back

Moved over to the north end of the pool since our time was up and did:

1000 free
900 - 3 x (100 kick, 100 IM on 1:45, 100 free on 1:40)


 6800 yards total

2011 One Hour Postal - 4535 yards

So this morning I worked from 5-7 and then hurried in to the pool, did a 350 warmup and then started my one hour postal.  I had a fellow SDRC lifeguard, Brynnlee Wanlass as my counter.  She filled out the split sheet as I swam each 50.

Here it is:

I was aiming for a 1:20 pace and I got under it (1:18.5 average).  Last year I did 4255 yards, this year I beat that by almost 300 yards, so I'm very pleased with that.

Then I did 650 yards cool down, and then

1000 free
1000 - 2 x (200 IM, 100 free, 200 IM)


7000 yards total

Bonk!

300 free easy
450 6 x 75's swim, kick drill
200 - 200 KPS
200 - 2 x 100's all out on 3:00
200 pull
300 - 4 x 75's all out on 2:30
200 pull
300 - 6 x 50's all out on 1:30
200 pull
200 - 8 x 25's all out on 1:00
200 easy

Then got out, went to the other side of the bulkhead and planned to swim long, but I wasn't feeling it.  Only did:

250 easy

3000 yards total

Those all out sprints really took it out of me.  I'm not used to going all out like that.  I'm hoping tomorrow when I do my distance set, I don't bonk like I did today.  So I'm carbing up today.   With good carbs too. No more junk.

Happy New Year Swim

This morning I got in the pool at 6:20am and there was NOBODY else in the water.  That was a first for me.  I've never been at SDRC with nobody else in there.  Strange.

I did 3 x 1000's free on 15:00.

Then helped get lanes in for masters and then swam the following with them:
200 easy
1000 - 10 x 100's free on 1:30 (was holding 1:10)
900 - 9 x 100's back on 1:45 (was holding 1:30)
800 - 8 x 100 IM's on 1:45 (was holding 1:23)
700 - 7 x 100's pull fast on 1:20 (Was holding 1:08)


6600 yards total

I had to get out at this point cause I had to guard from 9-noon today.  Not the longest workout, but I was pushing it with the Masters and I felt great the whole time.