Swimming angry

Workout first:
300 free
300 - 3 x 100's descend 1-3 on 1:25
300 - 6 x 50's on :45

5000 - 5 x 1000's odd pull, even no equipment

Total: 5,900 in 1:40

Today I had a 10K planned, but could only get through half of it.  It's been a very emotional 24 hours.  Yesterday my wife called and said an Animal Control Officer was at our house responding to a dog attack that our two dogs were involved in.

Apparently one of the kids unlatched the dog door in the side of the garage.  Girlfriend had gone through that door and through the open garage, to go after a little poodle that was being walked by a lady in front of our house.  Nobody at our house was around at the time and from what Cathi was told by the little dog owner, Max and Girlfriend our two large St. Bernards ran as fast as they could up to her dog and started to tear it to pieces.

Max and Girlfriend camping with us a couple years ago.
They're sure cute and wonderful dogs with hearts of gold
towards people.  But if you have a small dog, they consider
it food.  Really makes me sad.  I love them both, but what
can you do when they just go ballistic and you're responsible
for their actions?  

So the little dog underwent surgery yesterday and as of this morning, the little dog just died.  When I first heard about this incident on the phone yesterday I came unglued.  If I had a gun I would have shot those two dogs last night.  Instead we are trying to find someone who is willing to take them, on the condition that they work on their socialization skills.  We just have way too much on our hands to give them the proper training.  It's either they get trained on how to behave around other dogs, or they get put down.

So this morning I started out the morning really sad, but as I progressed through the swim that turned to anger.  These dogs have cost us over $2000 the past year considering the Spay and Neuter operations we put them through, then with complications from that surgery and now we owe this poor old woman nearly $900 to pay for her little dogs surgery.  With MIMS payment coming up in the next couple days, I don't know how I'm going to pay for this!  Money is really tight right now and it's extremely frustrating to get constantly hit with these $1000 jabs here and there.

I wasn't enjoying my swim or giving the proper attention to it.  My speed and energy level were good, just mentally I was extremely aggravated and not having fun.  Don't get me wrong, swimming for me is a stress relief but I had way too much.  I needed a boxing glove on my hand, not a paddle.  Then I remembered how I am behind in hours at work, and given I need to get home at a good time for the kids to go trick or treating tonight, I called off the remaining portion so I could leave work early and not still be behind in hours.

Shark Attack

So for Halloween this year, I am a Great White Shark.  In particular a Diana Nyad fan Great White that likes really chewy human jerky.  I am wearing my DN shirt that has been shreaded at the bottom with fake blood, and a shark mask.  Then Cathi is going to be Diana Nyad and I'll spend the evening chasing her around trying to get a taste.

I wore the mask today for a few minutes and it sure got the old water aerobic ladies out of the water on time.

I did:

3300 - 3 x (1000 free, 100 drill)
400 - 100 free, drill, IM, choice
900 - 3 x 300's (1st pull on 4:15, 2nd - 3 x 100's on 1:20, 3rd - 6 x 50's on :40)
400 - 8 x 50's focus on sprint for half the pool length at various places on 1:00
200 - 8 x 25's focus on sprint into/out of walls on :40
200 - 4 x 50's starts
150 easy
50 relay

5,600 yards total in 2:00

Then met with Kris afterwards for coaches planning and discussion.

Cupcakes for breakfast

Lucy had a Halloween party this weekend and there were some leftover cupcakes, so I did indulge figuring it would be great to have some sugar in my system for today's workout.  It was perfect.  Felt strong the whole time and didn't ever get a drop in energy.

Got in at 0505 and did this BEFORE masters:

3300 -  3 x (1000 free, 100 drill)

Then joined Scott, Kris, Katie and Matt in Kirstin's workout:
400 - 200 swim, 100 kick, 100 IM drill
400 - 4 x 75's swim/kick/drill by 25 @ 1:30, 4 x 25's build on :30
800 - 4 x 200's 100 back/free, 100 breast/free
450 - 200 pull, 100 kick, 25 kick/100 build/25 kick
Then did some serious sprints:

2 x 100's free (1:03) on 2:30
200 - 4 x 50's free (:29) on 2:00
100 - 2 x 25's (:12) + 25 recovery
50 recovery

Session was over and so I resumed part of the workout where I lane skipped in order to do the sprints in time:
900 - 2 x (200 pull, 100 kick, 25 kick/100 build/25 kick)
200 easy
Broken 500's:

500 easy
100 fast, 400 recovery
100 pull, 100 fast, 300 recovery
200 pull, 100 fast, 200 recovery
300 pull, 100 fast, 100 recovery
400 pull, 100 fast

100 easy

10,100 yards total in 3:05

Got an email from Lexie regarding the GSLOW race maintaining its position in the standings for the top 100 open water races in the USA.  In fact we are at #40.  Nice!

Certified Coach

Yesterday I spent the day up at the University of Utah attending the coaching clinic and completed the tests this morning.  So it's official, Josh and I are certified USMS Level 2 coaches.

This morning I got up at 0600 and swam at Layton Surf N' Swim and did Anne Cleveland's Aerobic Distance workout for October 21st:

200 easy
500 - 5 x 100's  odd free/even stroke
300 - 6 x 50's odd kick even build

600 pull
600 - 3 x 200's on 3:00
600 - 6 x 100's on 1:30

500 pull
500 - 2 x 250's on 3:45
500 - 5 x 100's on 1:30

400 pull
400 - 2 x 200's on 3:00
400 - 4 x 100's on 1:30

300 pull
300 - 2 x 150's on 2:15
300 - 3 x 100's on 1:30

200 pull
200 - 2 x 100's on 1:30
4 x 50's on :45

Then did the Broken 500's workout that Mel Goldstein gave us yesterday:
500 pull

100 fast
400 recovery

100 pull
100 fast
300 recovery

200 pull
100 fast
200 recovery

300 pull
100 fast
100 recovery

400 pull
100 fast

200 easy
100 kick
200 IM

10,500 yards total in 2:50

Swim before USMS Class

This morning I swam with Will, and his crew at Steiner and did the following:

300 free warmup
200 - 1 X 200 FR
350 - 2 X 175 FL/FR/BK/FR/BR/FR/FR 2:40
450 -3 X 150 (S 50 FR + K 50 CH + S 50 FR) 2:30
500 -S 4 X 125 (100 IM + 25 CH) 2:00
500 -S 5 X 100 FR 1:20
450 -3 X 2 X 75 (stroke/free)
350 - S/K 7 X 50 CH ::45/:55
200 - S 8 X 25 CH No Breaths

Followed by:
500 kick
1000 pull
300 - 3 x 100's strong on 1:30
200 cool down

5,300 yards total in 1:45
Then met up with Dennis to help him get stuff setup for the USMS Coaches clinic.  Met Mel Goldstein and Bill Brenner.

Finding a Mud Dauber larvae swimming in the GSL

This afternoon I picked up Cathi from the train station in Salt Lake and drove out to the Marina where we met up with Jim.

It was a beautiful day and the water was warm (for this time of year anyway).  I swam 5 laps out to the marina entrance and back.

A total of 1.25 miles.  My watch temp read 61.6 degrees at the end.  Total time in the water was 35 minutes.  Water felt awesome.

On my way out some guy was by the boat ramp with his dog.  It got in and was swimming out near the ramp with Jim and I.  It got so close to me while it was swimming it started to scratch me on my back with its claws.  I quickly got out of the way while the clueless dog owner just looked on.

I saw a small brown shiny sac in the water.  It looked like a microscopic water balloon.  I scooped it up in my hand and looked and inside appeared to be some sort of larvae.  At one end was a dark color.  Here is a picture:

I took it over to Dave's office to ask and he said it was a Mud Dauber larvae.  It's an insect that resembles a wasp, but is much less aggressive.  Yes they have stingers but they don't form colonies like Wasps and Bees and are more independent and actually hunt their prey.  They probably feed on the orb weaver spiders out there in the marina.

FOGSL dinner tonight

This morning I was in the pool at 0510 and did the following workout:

800 swim
400 - 8 x 50's kick
750 - 10 x 75's free/back/free on 1:15
800 - 4 x 200's pull in 2:45
200 free
200 IM
50 easy
4000 - 10 x 400's odd pull (Agility or star trek paddles), even no equipment :15 ri

7,200 yards total in 2:00  

Cathi is joining me tonight at the GSL for an evening swim right before we head off to the Friends of Great Salt Lake fundraising event.  Should be fun to see fellow GSL enthusiasts there.

Halloween Costume Idea

I had a fantastic Halloween costume idea come to me and today during my swim couldn't keep my mind off of how to enhance it.  It's a swimming related costume so stay tuned next week.  It's gonna be awesome.  I can't wait to swim in my costume.  It's gonna freak some people out!

Today I was in the water again at 0500 and did the following before Masters:

3300 - 3 x (1000 free, 100 sculling drills)

Then did Craig's workout:

400 - free, kick, drill, free
600 - 12 x 50's desc 1-4 on :45
400 - 8 x 50's fins kick/swim by 25 on :50

800 - 4 x 200's IM on 3:10

Kris encouraged me to trade lanes with her so I could go with Matt who is a freaking hero.  We did:
600 - 4 x 150's pull on 1:50
400 - 4 x 100 fly/free by 50 on 1:30
200 - 4 x 50's on :40
50 easy

Then moved to the north end of the pool with the HS swimmer kid invasion and did:
250 back
500 kick with fins
1500 - 3 x 500's pull desc paddle size with ankle strap
1000 - 10 x 100's odd free sprint (1:10 - 1:13 on all of them) even recovery

10,000 yards total in 3:05

Getting a push from Matt and Scott

This morning I was in the water at 0500 and did the following before masters:

3300 - 3 x (1000 free, 100 sculling drills)

Helped put the ropes in and then did Kirstin's workout:

200 choice,
200 - 1 x 200 free
350 - 2 x 175's (50 free, 75 fly/back/breast, 50 free)
450 - 3 x 150's 1-free, 2 - kick, 3 - pull
500 - 4 x 125's IM + Swim (100 IM, with rotating stroke on last 25)
500 - 5 x 100's pull on 1:15 (held 1:12)

Matt was in the end lane and was really pushing me on these.  I was in a lane with Scott who was also pushing me.  He went first on the IM sets.  

450 - 6 x 75's - first three stroke/free/stroke, last three free/stroke/free
400 - 8 x 50's - odd swim, even kick
250 - 10 x 25's every third 25 stroke, the rest free

Good workout.  Then did my own thing after it was over.

400 kick with fins
1000 pull
1000 - 10 x 100's odd free sprint (held 1:12), even recovery on 3:15
1000 - 5 x 200's odd finger paddles only, even (25 breast/free, 50 back)

10,000 yards total in 2:59

Saturday morning Coaching

This morning I coached at SDRC and today gave each lane an option: Distance with a moderate intensity and short amount of rest, or sprint sets with extreme intensity with more rest. Most people opted for the sprint sets:

Objective:  Aerobic/Distance

Advanced - Total 5,500 yards

Warm up:

300 - 100 drill free, 100 choice, 100 perfect freestyle

300 - 6 x 50’s on :45

Main Set:

2000 - 10 x 200’s (4 on 3:00,  3 on 2:50, 3 (pull) on 2:40)

100 choice easy

1600 - 16 x 100’s (4 on 1:30, 8 on 1:25, 4 (pull)on 1:20)

100 choice easy

800 - 16 x 50’s (4 on :45, 4 on :40, 4 on :35)

Cool Down:

100 easy kick

100 easy pull

100 easy choice

I took a quick break and ate a Powerbar which was perfect cause the next set was all about speed with more recovery:

Objective:  VO2 Max

Advanced - Total 4,500 yards

Warm up:

300 choice easy

200 kick

300 choice Desc 1 - 3

Main Set:

300 free @ 75-80% effort, rest 15 seconds

400 - 4 x 100’s, :20 ri, but HOLD FAST TIMES! (1:35 interval holding 1:13)

300 free @ 75-80% effort, rest 15 seconds

500 - 5 x 100’s, :20 ri, but HOLD FAST TIMES! (1:35 interval holding 1:13)

300 free @ 75-80% effort, rest 15 seconds

600 - 6 x 100’s, :20 ri, but HOLD FAST TIMES! (1:40 interval holding 1:15)

300 free @ 75-80% effort, rest 15 seconds

200 - 4 x 50’s, :30 ri, but HOLD FAST TIMES! (1:00 interval holding :30-31)

Cool Down:

100 easy choice

200 kick

100 easy choice

400 pull large - small paddles

10,000 yards total in 3:00

After the workout and everyone was gone, I got my suit on and did BOTH workouts. Felt great during them all..

When I got home my copy of H2Open was in the mail with the article on the GSL that Paul put together. Very cool!

Gravity

This morning coached at SDRC and it was fun.  Kris was introducing progressive drills and was showing me the ropes.  Tomorrow morning I'll be coaching as well.  Just as we were about to leave, Kris mentioned that she'll see me tomorrow.  I was like, what about the coaches training which was I had taken off work to attend.  She said It's not till next week right?  I checked the calendar.  Sure enough I had me weeks wrong.

I wasn't about to go to work today, I was looking forward to an extra day off.  I couldn't bear the thought of going anyway so I got in my suit and did the following workout:

500 warmup
800 - 8 x 100's kick with fins
4800 - 12 x 400's first four desc 1-4 pull w/ desc paddle size, 5 - 8 free no equipment, 9 - 12 free no equipment,

800 warm down

6,900 yards total in 2:00

Afterwards took Austin, Lucy and Jonas to see Gravity.  Fun times!

Chatting with Jim

This afternoon  I met Jim Hubbard out at the Marina and we swam out to past the red buoy together.  In fact we more like doggy paddled/ breast stroked it.  We chatted the whole time.  The water was comfortable.  It was 59 degrees.  The round trip "swim" took 40 minutes and was probably about 600 yards total.  I didn't care.  It was more about the exposure to the water and getting to talk with Jim a little instead of just jump in and swim past each other a few times.

He gave me some of the most delicious apples I've ever had!  He has an orchard of apple trees and these apples were huge and juicy.  What a nice guy!

I need to take more pics when I get out there.  The water was REALLY calm and flat even out of the marina.  It was glassy.  Perfect for calm swimming and hanging out with your friends out in the lake.

Total: 1/3 mile in 40 minutes

Coach Gridley

It's official, I'm now an employee at SDRC coaching Masters one day a week.  Which is a huge bonus cause I get to swim there for free now.  I enjoy coaching and helping people grow.  I'll have to be careful because I sometimes get disgusted with people who are resistant to improve themselves when it involves change.  For me I respond well to coaches who take charge and expect me to be disciplined and accountable.  People who aren't disciplined and resistant to change kind of bug me.  But we're all different and not everyone has a desire to be the best they possibly can be.

Wes was behind the kid in lane one
and ALMOST caught up.  Only
.01 of a second away!  Still, a 1:51 in
the 200 free is amazing!

I failed to log the results of the Masters vs. Youth meet on Monday.  I swam the 200 free and then also swam 50 free in the two relays.  I did a 200 warmup so I swam a total of 500 yards on Monday.  It actually went quite well considering Saturday's swim.  I did end up scratching the 500 cause I didn't want to push it that far.

I swam the 200 in 2:07.09.  I'm not thrilled with that time, but again considering my lats were fried I had to be satisfied.

I never told him this, but Goody is
really looking handsome.  His skin color
and hair look great.  Compared to the
QUAC meet earlier this year when he
was in the middle of Chemo.  Looking
sharp there buddy!  

As for this morning's swim at SDRC.  I got there at 0510 and swam 2200 yards BEFORE masters workout which was provided by Craig:

100 free, 100 stroke, 100 kick, 100 stroke
600 - 12 x 50's kick/stroke on :50
600 - 6 x 100's free desc 1-3 on 1:30
600 - 3 x 200 IMs on 3:00
600 - 2 x 300's pull on 2:50
600 - 3 x 200 IMs on 3:00
100 easy

5,700 yards total in 1:50

Then met afterwards with Kris to get some workout constructing pointers as well as best practices in working with beginners.  I'm excited!  If you're in Davis county and want to workout with a good group come on up to South Davis Recreation and swim with us!

12 hour swim - and new PR for Longest Pool swim in one day

Will Reeves organized an online challenge to swim 12 hours in a pool.  I opted to swim it today.  I got up at 0440 and was at Steiner at 0630.  I warmed up in the 25 yard pool for 800 yards before they opened up the outdoor 50M pool at 0700. Then did the following:

Set 1 (2400 - Sue Frehse set):

1000 free easy

200 back

1000 - 5 x 200’s free on 3:40

200 back

Set 2 (6000 Coach Andy Ladder Set):

4 x (400 free, 200 free, 100 back, 50 breast, 50 back, 100 breast, 200 free, 400 free) Drink Gatorade halfway

Set 3 (3100 - Goody Tyler set):

2100 - 3 x (200 free, 100 back, 300 free, 100 free :10 ri between subsets)

1000 free

Set 4 (5200 Josh Green set):

2 x (50 breast, 100 back, 200 free, 5 x 100’s down hard, back easy

50 one arm fly, 100 breast, 200 back, 400 free, 10 x 100’s down hard, back easy)

During the second set of 10x100s Sue showed up and it was perfect timing cause I was really starting to hurt. Having her there made me "buck up" and quit whining mentally. It was great!

Set 5 (4300 - In Memory of the kids set):

April (Austin and Jonas): 2 x (4 x 100s strong :10 ri) May (Oliver): 500 straight, Gatorade drink June (Jacob and Sam): 2 x (6 x 100’s strong :15 ri) July (Lucy): 700 straight, Gatorade drink November (Isaac): 11 x 100’s moderate :05 ri

Only about 30 minutes after Sue left Josh showed up and we swam together.  I was still hurting pretty bad and he stayed with me for through all these until I got to November.  I sure am lucky to have such supportive friends!

Set 6 (4000 - In Memory of Dover):

3000 - 15 x 200’s free stroke rate @ 70 spm :15 ri

1000 - 5 x 200’s stroke rate @ 65 spm :15 ri

This was officially the hardest set of the entire swim. I was alone, the breeze picked up from the south and my shoulders were on fire!

Set 7 (3000 - Distance and mental stamina):

Really got a second wind when Will showed up.
He already swam with me for a while in the morning
and this was his second time supporting for the
day.  What a nice guy!

3000 free straight focus on form and efficient catch!  Count by 100’s (1 year) up to 30 yr old

At this point Will showed up and we split the above actually into 3 x 1000's with a quick stop for a drink.  Probably about a minute or less stop.  He kicked the second 2 sets with fins which was great cause it was much easier to keep up with him instead of feeling like I was really holding him back.

Set 8 (7,000  - Colm Breathnach set - Only set allowed to use equipment of any kind, so enjoy it!):

6 x 400’s pull (large paddles, NO buoy)

3 x 800’s pull (agility paddles, NO buoy)

2 x 1000’s (finger paddles, NO buoy)

1 x 200 (anti (PT) paddles NO buoy)

Jacob got his own PR for longest swim:  3600 M

Cathi, Jacob and Oliver showed up and at this point my shoulders finally weren't hurting and I had a couple Little Debbies at the last feed and that really got me pumped! I was able to get through this last set with some decent quality. I was torn between not using equipment on this last set in order to have the entire workout be swum "naked". But I said to myself. My last PR pool distance swim was with equipment and I was really looking forward to it, so I went for it. It was nice to have some decent power with those paddles. It sure made a huge difference in my sanity and joy level.

Frosting Set:
1400 - 14 x 100's free no equipment on 2:00

During the last 1000 or so Gary Shaw also swam in the next lane with me. Right to the bitter end of the 12 hours. I kept a close eye on my stopwatch so that on the last few sets I cut the rest to :15 instead of :20 in order to get a full 100 in within seconds of the 12 hour mark getting hit. It was perfect timing. I ended that last 100 with only 3 seconds to spare.

Total in 12 hours: 36,400 M (39,807 yards or 22.62 miles)  

Total for the day: 40,600 yards (23 miles) in 12:15

Thank you to Sue, Josh, Will, Gary, Jacob, Cathi and Oliver for the support. New PR! Yippeee!

Almost psyched myself out!

This morning I came up with this Saturday's plan.  This afternoon I got off work and went to the GSL Marina.  It was rainy all day and very overcast and breezy.  When I got to the marina I stopped at the restrooms to change, but after a few seconds observing the flags blowing aggressively and the wind chill I started to second guess my resolve.  I looked down at the boat ramp and saw several vehicles.  Wasn't sure if anyone was planning on joining me so I drove down.

Sure enough Jim's truck was there and he wasn't in the cab.  I drove to the ramp and there he was swimming in.  I quickly changed in my car and started to run down the ramp, just as he was getting out.   I was so grateful he came because I seriously would have turned around and went home.  Which would have been a HUGE mistake cause the water felt just fine.  I wasn't cold and swam four laps to the marina exit and back.  It was really choppy once I got to the marina opening, but relatively smooth inside the marina.  I was thinking about the ice mile and how it might be 15 degrees cooler.

Total 1 mile in 25:58  Water temp was 56.4 degrees F.  Can't allow myself to get psyched out like that and chicken out!

Tapering

There is a swim meet next Monday I'm going to, but that's not really why I'm tapering.  I'm tapering cause this Saturday I'm doing a 20+ mile pool swim.  It's based off 12 hours, so the goal is at least 20 miles.

So today was a short one:

400 free warmup
200 - 4 x 50's kick
200 - 8 x 25's fast first four on :30, second four on :25
1950 - 3 x (50, 75, 100, 200, 100, 75, 50) 1 and 3: down fast back easy, 2: pull
200 - 8 x 25's stroke IM order on :25
600 - 8 x 75's kick with fins
100 - 4 x 25's fast on :30
100 easy

3,750 yards total in 1:00

Medical crap. Check!

Yesterday afternoon I got my physical done for MIMS.  I went the extra mile and opted to get the Heptatis A and B vaccine.  It's a three part series, one now, one in a month and one in April.  I asked her about antibiotics and she said that if I got sick I could just call in my symptoms and she would phone in a prescription to a pharmacy of my choice in New York.  Sounds reasonable.

Me and my dog, Max chilling last Sunday to Conference.

I got my Polar Bear shirt last week and I have enjoyed wearing it.  Makes me get geared up mentally for my ice mile attempt in a couple months.  Looking forward to colder temperatures so I can really get my cold water acclimatization going.   For MIMS I needed an EKG (since I'm over 40).  Which was convenient because I needed one anyway for the Ice Mile.  She said it looked great.  My pulse was under 60 so it's labeled "sinas bradycardia" which the doctor says isn't necessarily a bad thing.   A lower heart rate just accompanies a heart that's in good shape. Here's the EKG.

This morning I got up at 0345 and swam at SDRC.  Here's the workout I put to paper last night before bed and swam successfully this morning:

400 free warmup
400 kick no fins
1600 - 8 x 200's odd free even IM :5 - :10 ri
3000 - 6 x 500's odd pull (large paddles), even free focus on quality catch and good form. : 10 ri
600 - 8 x 75's weighted 25, 50 free strong on 1:15
4050 - 3 x (6 x 100's free desc (1:20 -> 1:14) on 1:30, 400 pull, 200 free strong effort, 100 kick no fins, 50 sprint)
150 finger paddles warm down

10,200 yards in 2:55

---

This afternoon swam at GSL for 1.29 miles according to GPS.  Water was cooler than last week.  Average temp was 61°F.  Water felt fine though and didn't have any issues with being too cold during or after the swim.  Looking forward to the 50s!

1.29 total in 35 minutes

Total for the day:  7 miles

Deny yourself of unnecessary dependencies

I have a few dependencies when I swim, some more important than others:

• Swimsuit - that's an obvious one.  I don't want to get arrested for ludeness.
• Goggles - It sure is nice to see where you're going
• Eagplugs - thanks to a nasty ear infection a few years ago I don't risk the long term exposure of my inner ear to water that can have bacteria.  Not worth the risk.

When I swim in the pool yes I like to mix things up with some paddles, buoys, kickboard and fins, but when I swim open water, I don't use any of that pool training equipment.  I do use a safety device for visibility which I tow behind me, and for floatation should an extreme emergency happen which requires me to need it.  I use my Swimmer Buddy Board in open water for towing along feeds which I can grab anytime during long swims.  There are some other nifty gadgets I throw in a waterproof container: handheld GPS, camera, cell phone.  

I'm so glad Diana didn't swim (according
to her pics swimming  from
Cuba to Florida, she didn't) with
an MP3 during her Cuba to Florida swim.
My friends would have had one more
thing to freak over.

One electronic gadget that I highly discourage is waterproof MP3s.  I ride my bike with an MP3 and love it.  But I'm not training for Tour de France and bike just for fitness and for transportation.  If you're actually training to swim a marathon distance or perhaps even a channel crossing, be warned:  MP3 players while swimming are banned.  So training with something that is banned regardless of how bored you are will create a dependency that, trust me, you don't want to start.  If you're disciplined mentally during a workout to stay motivated without an external source of entertainment, you'll be disciplined mentally during the long event in which you will need to stay focused.  

As for today, I got up at 0445 and got to the pool and Andy wasn't there.  I guess he doesn't come in on Friday's anymore.  So I took a few minutes and compiled this workout on the board:

500 free

200 kick

400 - 200 free, 200 IM

4 x (500 pull, 400 free, 4 x 75's free/stroke/free by 25, 200 IM, 100 sprint (1:10, 1:05, 1:06, 1:07))

400 Kick with fins

400 - 8 x 50's hold :36 on :50

100 warmdown

8,000 yards total in 2:10

Missing my swim to net that Eagle

This morning I wrote up this workout on the board at NWRC:

500 free
400 kick
600 - 8 x 75's rolling IM
3000 - 4 x (500 pull desc paddle size, 200 IM, 50 free easy)
800 - 8 x 100's free desc 1-4 on 1:30
800 - 800 kick with fins
1200 - 2 x (300 free (fast, easy fast), rest 30, 200 free (fast, easy) rest 30, 100 fast!)
600 - 3 x 200's 1-IM, 2 - free, 3 - back
100 warmdown

8,000 yards total in 2:30

I was planning to swim GSL this evening, but Jacob gets his Eagle Scout Board of Review tonight.  I don't mind sacrificing my swim for attending that!  I've been bugging him for literally years to finish that final 1% in actually getting it.  Man!

Government shutdown affecting Slam the Dam

Yesterday many of my friends were face smacked with the news of Slam the Dam being cancelled.  I didn't register this year because of the goofy format for the Grand Slam: Swim 8K, get out then after a certain period of time get back in for the 1.2 mile.  I hate that.  Since Cathi is running St. George Marathon I took that as an excuse to not register.  Good thing I didn't register, cause I didn't lose any money.

It wasn't the race director's fault.  The federal government shut down yesterday, and with Lake Mead being a National Park and not a state park, the race had to shut down since the park is shut down.  Lots of ticked off swimmers.

This morning I got to the pool at 6:02am.  Paul and James didn't show!  That's a first!

I swam Andy's workout twice through:

300 free easy
200 kick
450 - 6 x 75's Rolling IM's on 1:15 drill the fly and free strokes
1600 - 4 x (4 x 100's pull) odd groups free, even groups stroke/free by 25 on 1:20 for the free, 1:30 for the stroke sets
200 - 8 x 25's kick with fins sprint on :25
600 - 12 x 50's free sprint on :50

6,700 yards

Then I did 13 x 100's finger paddles easy free on 1:45

8,000 yards total in 2:28

A couple days ago I got this community calendar/coupon book in the mail.  The theme of the calendar was "Deep Sea Creatures".  The main cover picture was of Great White Shark with this saying:

"Many people do not survive shark attacks.  The mouths of sharks are designed for tearing, not chewing.  A single bite from a Great White Shark, the largest predatory fish in the sea, can cut a person in two."

That really pissed me off.  What bull crap!  They fail to mention that shark numbers are dwindling because of overfishing and the odds of even getting attacked are less than many other absurd scenarios that are more likely to kill you.  It's this kind of hype and irrational fear-mongery that just makes me shake my head.  I threw the calendar/coupons in the garbage and Jonas fished it out twice!

Short GSL Swim with Stacey

Met Stacey at GSL Marina at 1645.  Got in at the boat ramp and man the water is sure down!  I hope we have a really packed winter and get lots of snow!

We swam out to the red buoy and then from there pretty much split up.  I think she was a little cold and decided to do her own thing so she could return without interrupting my swim.  I decided to swim along the deep channel buoys towards Saltair.

I got to the easternmost buoy and then checked the GPS: .88 miles.

Panorama pic looks like crap when the waves make you move and can't stay steady.

I then swam back to the main entrance and then swam north for a few minutes and then swam back into the marina.

Water temp: 65 degrees

Total: 1.88 miles in 59 minutes