Trying to keep Jason off my feet

This morning I started my swim with Masters instead of coming in early to get in a longer warmup.  Pat was the coach this morning and it involved lots of IM:

900 - 3 x (100 free, 100 IM, 100 kick)

1500 - 4 x (4 x 50's stroke/free on :50, 100 IM on 1:30, 75 free)

900 - 3 x (2 x 50's kick on :55, 75 free build on 1:10, 75 sprint (get under :50), 50 easy)

3,300 yards total

Typically I have Jason go before me on IMs but since these were shorter IMs I figured I'd just push it, and boy did I.  On the last 75 sprint I did 25 fly+50 free and got under :50.  Not too bad.  

Swim is shorter today to accommodate a longer one tomorrow with Joelle.  Aiming for 15,000 yards tomorrow.  

CHS Banquet

Last night I accompanied my son Jacob at the Clearfield High School Swimming Banquet celebrating the swimmers at the end of the high school season.  Jacob told me the requirements for lettering at the start of the season.  He told me the swimmers have to reach the following milestones:

1. Dedication - Minimum of 95% attendance to all swim practices and meets.
2. Speed - Must qualify for State
3. Improvement - Must demonstrate improvement by cutting their times by achieving increased fitness and swimming technique.  (I don't recall the way he said this would be measured)

It was neat cause apparently they needed to achieve just ONE of the above, and not all.  So Jacob ended up lettering.  He wasn't quite fast enough for state, but he improved a ton and went from a 2:40 on his 200 free down to 2:17.  And he also had a high attendance to practices.  He didn't get 100% but was way up there.  

I'm proud of that guy. I only lettered my Jr and Sr year in high school.  He is only a sophomore and has his first high school letter.  Nice work Jacob!

This morning I got up and swam at SDRC.  I'd much rather swim at NWRC, but I don't have a membership there and can't bear to pay $4.50 every time when I can go to SDRC for free.  

This morning I did this workout that I wrote up last night::

150 - 6 x 25's one arm fly

250 - 5 x 50's odd free/even drill on :50

500 - 5 x 100's kick with fins no rest

1000 - 5 x 200's free on 2:50

1500 - 5 x 300's odd (stroke/free/stroke by 100), even free :10ri

2000 - 5 x 400's odd (4 x 100's free on 1:25), even IM

2500 - 5 x 500's pull start with large paddles and descend every set down to finger paddles on the 5th set.

100 sprint (1:05)

8,000 yards total in 2:15

UK Ice Mile Swimmers

Saw that Fegal Somerville organized a group ice mile swim with many swimmers in the UK.  7 out of 9 swimmers actually finished their ice mile swim.  Very cool.
Ice Mile Swim - the second year. from Vanessa Daws on Vimeo.

I got my patch from IISA in the mail last week and got it on my parka.  Framed the certificate which is up on my bedroom wall.

As for this morning's swim.  My shoulder is feeling good as new.  I was in the pool at 0545 and did 1000 yards before doing Craig's workout with Masters:

400 (100 Swim, 100 Drill, 100 Kick, 100 Swim)
12x50 (25 Kick, 25 Swim)
6x100 Free Desc 1-3 on 1:30
3x200 IM on 3:00
2x300 Pull on 4:00
3x200 IM on 3:00

Then went to the north side of the pool and did my own thing:

400 kick with fins
100 free easy
200 IM
300 - 4 x 75's drill/free/free by 25 on 1:10
400 - 2 x 200 free build on 2:45
500 free pull w/ankle strap
500 finger paddles w/ ankle strap
400 - 4 x 100's build on 1:30
300 - 4 x 75's drill/free/free by 25 on 1:10
200 IM
100 free easy
200 cooldown - 100 back/100 breast

8,000 yards total in 2:15

This one's for you Doc

Yesterday morning I went to see Dr. Spencer Richards, my sports medicine doctor to get an ultrasound on my right shoulder.  Even after taking 4 full days off from swimming it was still tender and I was really worried I might have a serious injury like a rotator cuff tear in my right shoulder this time.  Except the pain on this one was right on my AC joint, so I wasn't sure.

Spencer Richards
located in Bountiful

He did the ultrasound and said that the end of the clivical bone was a little enlarged and explained that its like a callous.  That it isn't necessarily a bad thing unless it's causing damage and based on the tissues around it, didn't appear to be the cause of the pain.  The pain was simply a buildup of inflammation around it that is likely due to overuse.  (This time I'm blaming the heavy lifting to failure sets my trainer has me doing.  Which involves drop sets to failure on particularly shrugs and lateral raises)

He said that if the swelling is due to the enlarged end of the clavical, that it can be shaved off and that it was a relatively simple procedure without a lengthy recovery.  But he wasn't suggesting that for me.  He said that since this was our first time on this particular shoulder in this area, that it might not be a bad idea to go with a cortisone shot and keep working with the inflammation with ice and ibuprofen.  If it is repeated then we can try more intensive options.  I decided to go with that, especially considering MIMS is less than 4 months away.  After that I won't be doing tons of yards.  (Not that I'm really doing all that much right now anyway)

This morning I woke up and my shoulder was feeling amazing so I put in a decent workout at Northwest which I wrote up last night.  This workout is dedicated to the miracle worker Dr. Spencer Richards:

R - 18 x 50's free/stroke on :40/50
I - 9 x 100's free on 1:30 (desc 1-3) 1- bilateral 2 - left side X 2, right side x 1, 3 - right side only
C - 3 x 200's STRONG free on 2:45
H - 8 x 75's kick with fins on 1:15
A - 1 x 1000 free moderate tempo
R - 18 x 50's free/stroke on :40/50
D - 4 x 400's odd - free, even IM :5 rest
S - 19 x 50's (3 x 6 x 50's - first round pull, second round finger paddles, third round no equip) on :40

50 warmdown

7,500 yards total in 2:15

Ouch!

This morning I coached Masters and it was all about busting up those latissimus dorsi muscles.  I noticed Matt Chamberlain has some very well developed lats.  No duh why he is so fast.

Here's the workout I had them do.

But as for my own swim?  Afterwards I got in and started my own workout, when after only 300 yards my shoulder was really bothering me.  It's almost like its right on the bone at the top where my AC Joint is, on the Clavical bone.  Very painful.  I decided against pushing through it.   I called and got an appointment with Dr. Richards.  I'm crossing my fingers I don't have a tear or anything.  I already have invested so much in MIMS that I cannot back out now.  So I got out.  I'll do 45 minutes on the treadmill today to get my cardio instead.  Kinda bummed today.  Spending the day at work with a bag of ice on my shoulder.

Staying engaged

Yet again I heard another swimmer state how boring doing long swims is for them.  For me it's about staying engaged.  Physically and most importantly mentally.  Thinking about my stroke, the way the water feels on my forearms and hands, the way my ankles are relaxed and flexible as I kick and thinking about the rotation from my core during freestyle.  

Staying engaged mentally should also help you stay strong physically throughout a tough workout.  If you get lazy mentally, you'll probably feel like crap and want to quit.

This morning I got in the SDRC Pool at 0520 and did this workout which I wrote up on a piece of scratch paper last night:

500 free warmup

My upper lats were really sore on these.  I was worried that this morning's workout was gonna be extra painful, but by the end of the 500 they loosened up and I was fine.

1000 - 8 x (100 free strong + 25 back easy) :05 ri
3600 - 6 x (6 x 25's stroke/free, 6 x 75's drill/free/kick) only rest after all the 25's/75's of each subset are complete.  Then only about :15
1600 - 4 x ( 4 x 100's) first set pull, second set IM, third free, fourth kick with fins.  No rest, moderate effort
1000 - 2 x 500's free agility paddles + ankle band / freestyler paddles (no band)
500 - 400 IM + 100 grandpa swimming

8,200 yards total in 2:34

My right shoulder needs some TLC so I'm back to wearing my equmen compression shirt which really helps, along with an ice pack I wear throughout the day and my normal ibuprofen regiment of 800 mg twice a day.

I've been doing really well this week on the fuel.  Thanks to Julie Keyes for the awesome chocolate milk which I've been sharing, but I've also been partaking too much and gained 5 pounds this past week!  So I have done better this week and lost that gain.  Hoping I can trim up another 10 more pounds, and then I'll be right at my target.   

Coming Out

Workout first, then explanation:

Swam 2500 yards prior to Masters which Craig coached:

400 warmup
400 - 8 x 50's swim/drill on :50
1000 - 8 x 125's pull :10ri
400 - 8 x 50's kick with fins :5 ri
1000 - 8 x 125's IM (rotate additional 25 of each stroke) on 2:10
400 - 8 x 50's kick fins :5 ri
1000 - 8 x 125's odd free, even finger paddles on 2:00
100 grandpa swimming

7,200 yards total in 2:10

Man I was beat today.  Lifted serious chest and shoulders yesterday with Jacob and I was in trouble from the start.  Today was NOT fast, but just powered through.

Sam is a real hoot.

Last Saturday near the end of the meet, my son Sam who is 8 was anxious to go.   He was bored and wanted to get on with his day.  Jacob had a basketball game he was playing in so we had to rush.  They chased me in to the locker room to get going getting showered and dressed so they could leave.   I quickly 
showered and as I was getting dressed, Sam comes up to me and puts his hand up to his mouth and whispers in his cute little Sammy voice, "Dad, don't let anyone see your birthmark."  With a huge grin on his face.

My mother told me a story when I was a young kid about how my Great Grandmother first discovered my birthmark.  After being babysat by her one afternoon, when my Mother arrived back, Grandma Gladys exclaimed to her, "I scrubbed as hard as I could but that boy has a dry poop stain that just ain't coming out!" In retrospect, I'm so glad she didn't get out the steel wool to work on it. In my youth my Mom encouraged me to also be very discreet in Junior high in the showers.

Most birthmarks are purple or red.  Mine is brown, about the size of a baseball and on my right butt check.  So it's been something I've been very aware of in the locker room throughout my life.  For the same reason that my Great Grandmother feared at her first impression.  When you see a big brown spot on someone's bum, you don't immediately say, "Oh that's not what it appears, it's got to be a birthmark".  So to avoid any possible confusion by quick observing strangers, I keep it concealed. 

Now my kids associate that level of discretion as shame, or possibly anxiety about it.  They like to laugh about it and threaten to reveal it as a form of blackmail. Whatever.  For me it's a very unique and personal tattoo that God placed upon me.   Whenever we are taking a picture of one of the kids, or as a family and the kids are straining to smile and they don't look natural, instead of making them say "Cheese!",  I get them to say "Birthmark!"  After which every single kid's face is beaming with delight and laughter and we get a really great picture. 

"Four Score and Seven" President's day workout

Got today off work so I got the thumbs up from my lover to put in a long swim as long as I started early.  My plan was to do this workout which I planed a few days before and requested friends to join me.  Goody was the only taker:

President’s day “Four Score and Seven Year’s ago workout”

Northwest Recreation Center starting @ 6am

2000 - 10 x 200’s warmup (2 x (free, IM, kick, drill, pull)) no rest interval, just warmup

2000 - 10 x 200’s Odd Stroke, even free on 3:30/3:00

2000 - 100, 200, 300, 400, 400, 300, 200, 100  on 1:30 base

2000 - 2 x (900 free + 100 backstroke) no rest interval moderate effort

7 x 200’s Ladder (9800):

1 x 200 free

2 x 200’s back on 3:30

3 x 200’s free on 2:50

4 x 200’s kicking with fins no rest, alternate kicking front/back/flutter/dolphin

5 x 200’s descending 1-5 on 3:00

6 x 200’s odd drill, even strong on 3:15/3:00

7 x 200’s pull on 2:45 (decreasing paddle size with ankle strap)

6 x 200’s odd kick, even IM :15 ri

5 x 200’s free strong on 2:50

4 x 200’s back/free on 3:30/3:15

3 x 200’s touch and pull with paddles on 3:00

2 x 200’s PT Paddles

1 x 200 grandpa swimming

Total: 17,800 yards total = 10 miles

Fuels that I used throughout the workout: 32 oz Orange Gatorade, 28 oz Cocoa Metro, 2 Chocolate Brownie Clif Bars, one Buzz Bite prior to the swim.

Thanks Goody for the joint swim!  It was nice to do this long
swim with a friend nearby.

The 5 x 200's on the coming down portion where I swam free I was holding 2:35 on the 200s and was feeling really good.

In many 10 mile pool swims in the past I would often struggle either with energy, or pain. Had no issues at all today which was awesome! Felt great the whole time!

Glad I had Goody to swim with. Today's swim seemed to go by really fast and I never got bored mentally. What a fun workout!!!!

Now to take the kids to see a matinee movie. Happy President's day!

Results from the 2014 QUAC Ski-N-Swim event

This morning I scratched the 200 free because it was the first event of the day, and only would have left me about 15 minutes to recover before swimming the 500 free which is what I really wanted to nail.
So I swam a 500 warmup, and then got ready mentally for the 500 free.  I had Sam as my 50 split notifier and placed him on the side of the pool with instructions.  I had Jacob as my counter.  I noticed that the Fremont Aquatic center got a new screen which showed the 50 splits nice and big so I really didn't need Sam with this setup.  Every time I pushed off the wall on my 50s and took my first breath off to the side I could easily see my 50 split time.

I love how the meet director uses Swim Phone.  Good stuff.  Here's my splits:

500 Y Free   Heat 1   Lane 2 Finals

Distance	Cum	50s	100s	200s
50	29.50	29.50
100	1:02.97	33.47	1:02.97
150	1:36.30	33.33
200	2:09.61	33.31	1:06.64	2:09.61
250	2:43.11	33.50
300	3:16.62	33.51	1:07.01
350	3:50.32	33.70
400	4:24.48	34.16	1:07.86	2:14.87
450	4:58.75	34.27
500	5:32.02	33.27	1:07.54
	Avg	33.20	1:06.40	2:12.81

I was very happy with this!  I wanted to get under 5:33:32 which is what I got at the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center Pentathlon.  I was happy to get 5:32.02.  Now if I can just get under 5:30!

The rest of the events that I registered for were just frosting at this point.  I could care less what my time was on those.  But I still wanted to swim hard.  Here's what I did:

Gordon Gridley (SLOW) Age Group 40-44

Event				Seed Time	HT/LN	Time	Place	Points	Check-In	Check-In Timeline
1	Mixed	200 Y	Free	2:04.00	1/2	NS	NP	0	N/A	Seeded
5	Mixed	500 Y	Free	5:40.00	1/2	5:32.02	1	20	N/A	Seeded
8	Mixed	50 Y	Free	27.00	2/4	26.74	3	16	N/A	Seeded
12	Mixed	50 Y	Fly	28.50	1/2	29.74	2	17	N/A	Seeded
14	Mixed	100 Y	Free	58.00	1/2	58.73	1	20	N/A	Seeded
Total		900 Y		9:37.50		7:27.23		73

Thing that really sucked was that Event 11 was a 200 medley relay and the SLOW team was in Heat 2.  I swam free so I was last.  I got out, and then they called up the swimmers for Heat 1 of the 50 Fly.  I literally got like 30 seconds rest before sprinting a 50 fly.  I was glad I at least got under 30 seconds.  

All in all I was pleased with the meet except the ordering of the swimmers in the heats made no sense to me.  I was swimming with slow people in the 500 and might have done better had I swam right next Russell Brusch, who got a 5:29 in the 500 a couple heats later.  

Busy Busy

Man I've been busy with so much Utah Masters stuff.  For instance, here is a spreadsheet where we are going back in the historical data for USMS Postal events as well as Go The Distance to report on Utah swimmers.

Last night I was up until 10pm cause I had a late lifting session with Jacob which was awesome.  Worked Chest and shoulders hard.  So I barely made it to the pool by 0600 for masters which Craig coached:

400 warmup
600 - 10 x 75's drill, swim, kick
1500 - 15 x 100's - 5 x (2 x 100's free pull on 1:30 but get under 1:10, 100 easy on 1:30 no equip)
300 - 8 x 75's stroke (no free) on 1:10
200 cool down

3,000 yards total in :50

"Waiting until I'm a super star"

There are many reasons why swimmers who workout regularly don't compete.  One of them is this attitude of "I'm gonna wait until my times are REALLY good before I compete".   OK so you used to be a real bad-ass in the pool at one time.  So you're gonna wait until your at that same level to compete?   Hogwash!

Sometimes you take a few steps backwards in life and you take a couple forward as well.  Just because you knowingly are behind your PR pace doesn't mean you shouldn't measure where you are at.  You go in knowing that you very will might be slower, but if you don't measure, you won't know how far back you are.

If everyone swam at their peak we'd only have a fraction of participation in Masters Swimming.  There should also be an element of fun and social enjoyment in these competitions, not just getting PR's and beating our peers.

This morning I got in 2200 yards before swimming Kirsten's workout (which I absolutely loved!!!)

400 warmup - 100 drill, kick, pull, IM
3000 - 3 x (10 x 100's)

First 10 on 1:30 (got 1:15 on all), Second 10 on 1:25 (got 1:12-13 on all), Third set pull on 1:20 (Got 1:08-1:09 on all)

100 easy

Then moved northside and did my own frosting set:

400 kick with fins
1000 - 5 x 200's descending pull on 2:40
50 grandpa swimming

7,150 yards total in 2:00

 

Long swim with Joelle

This morning I took Jacob and his friend, Few, with me to Layton Surf N' Swim where I met up with Joelle for a long swim. I came up with the following workout which we followed:

100 free easy

200 IM warmup

300 - 4 x 75’s (600)

400 - kick with fins alternate dolphin/flutter/front/back (1000)

500 pull finger paddles (1500)

600 - 3 x 200’s free on 2:45 (2100)

700 - 2 x (250 free + 100 backstroke easy) no rest (2800)

800 - 4 x 200’s free on 2:50 (3600 = 2.04 miles)

900 - 9 x 100’s free strong on 1:30 (4500 = 2.56 miles)

1000 pull (5500 = 3.125 miles)

1100 - 400 free @ 80% :30 ri, 300 free @ 85% :25 ri, 200 free @ 90% :15 ri, 100 free @ 95% :10 ri, 50 free @ 100% :05 ri, 50 easy  (6600 = 3.75 miles)

1200 - 12 x 100’s odds only breathe left side, evens only breathe right side on 1:40 (7800 = 4.43 miles)

1300 - 2 x (600 free + 50 back) (9,100 = 5.17 miles)

1400 - 4 x (50 drill, 100 stroke, 200 free) :15 ri on all (10,500 = 5.96 miles)

1500 pull (12,000 = 6.8 miles)

400 kick warmdown

12,400 Yards total in 4:00

Joelle got some CCSF Patches made up and she gave me one. So cool! When I got home I attached it to my swim parka.

Coaching then swimming

This morning I coached Masters and then afterwards swam the same workout I prescribed:

Warmup:

300 free, 200 kick, 100 drill

Main Set:

2000 - 400 pull, 4 x 100's free fast on 1:30, 300 pull, 3 x 100's fast on 1:25, 200 pull, 2 x 100's easy/fast on 1:30, 100 fast under 1:10 on 1:20, 100 easy

 Kicking Set:

400 - 8 x 50's kicking alternate flutter kick/dolphin kick and on back

 Warm down:

200 IM

Total: 3200 yards in 50 minutes

Looking forward to a long swim tomorrow with Joelle.  

 

 

Backstroke Drill is out of style

In all my adult life, I think I've pulled on the lane line during backstroke maybe twice.  I see it as a bad habit and a way to keep up.  I shouldn't judge though, I almost always do one arm fly drill when the workout calls for fly.

But I see too many people pulling on the lane line during back stroke almost every time the workout calls for it.  Don't know why it bugs me.  Should just mind my own biz.

This morning I got in 1700 yards before masters and did Craig's workout:

400 free easy

300 - 6 x 50's kick on 1:00

500 - 10 x 50's free on :50 odd easy, even fast

1600 - 4 x (4 x 100's on 1:10, :15, :20, :25)

I was second behind Matt Chamberlain and he was doing them at an interval 5 seconds faster.  So needless to say, I was half a length behind by the end of the 4th 100.  Plus I ended up flip turning into the next 100.  So these were practically just a 400 straight.

12 x 50's IM Order on :50

Then moved to the north side and did:

450 kick and backstroke drills

Total: 5,550 yards in 1:30

Crystal blue at NWRC

Slept in a little this morning which was awesome.  Got to Northwest Rec at 0615 and swam this workout that I came up with:

100 easy
400 kick with fins
500 finger paddles focus on correct form on pull
200 IM
300 - 4 x 75's drill
800 - 8 x 100's free desc 1-4 on 1:30 (1:20, 1:16, 1:13, 1:08)
1000 free large paddles try hit 1:15 per 100
600 - 6 x 100's odd IM on 1:40, even stroke (no free) on 2:00
900 - 9 x 100's free strong on 1:20 (banked :05 by the end)
700 - 400 kick, 300 hypoxic training ( 4 x (25 underwater, 50 recover) on 2:00)

5,500 yards total in 1:30

My latest submission to NYCSwim for the ice mile and for this month's one hour postal was approved.

This morning I was thinking about if I should just get a yearly membership here at Northwest Recreation Center, and the water temp is rarely too warm.  I really like this pool.  The clarity of the water is truly exceptional.

Kirsten's Speed workout

Swam 1200 yards before masters:

400 warmup: 100 free, drill, kick, pull
800 - 2 x 25's kick, 2 x 50's drill, 2 x 75's free/stroke/free, 2 x 100's free, 2 x 75's free/stroke/free, 2 x 50's drill, 2 x 25's kick

250 - 10 x 25's odd off block fast, even recover on :30
500 - 10 x 50's odd fast, even recover on 1:00 (:31)
1000 - 10 x 100's odd fast, even recover on 2:00 (< 1:04)
50 easy

Then moved to the north side and did:

500 - 5 x 100's pull strong on 1:30 (get under 1:05 on all)
400 kick with fins
50 easy
100 free spring (1:03)
50 easy

5,300 yards total

Results of the 2014 OACM Ground Hog Classic Meet

This morning I swam at Granite High School's old pool at the OACM club's Ground Hog Classic meet.  I hadn't been to this pool since I was a sophomore in High School in 1988.

Reenactment of Sam doing his job as my split reporter.
Isaac did great as my counter. 

I started out with swimming the 1650.  I got Sam to time my 50 splits and hold up a piece of paper that I preprinted with certain numbers that I knew would be needed.  I started out getting 34s (the lowest number I printed), then started getting 35's.  By halfway into it I was spent.  I slowed up and started getting 36's, 37's and even some 38's.  I knew my PR was just not going to be reached.  I was running out of steam.  Finish time on the 1650 free: 20:21.11.  First place, but still about 25 seconds short of where I wanted.

I was up within 15 minutes swimming the 50 free: 26.80

Within another 15 minutes I was swimming the 100 free: 57.22.  On this one I intentionally held back on the first 50 just a touch and then poured it on on the second 50.  Passed Mark Belnap which was a surprise.  He's the sprinter in my age group.  I dropped nearly a full second on this, than the St. George meet.  So that's good.

Next up was the 500 free.  I simply was not going to get a PR on this one.  So the goal shifted to just getting under 6 minutes.  There was a young guy just to my right and I tried to stay on his feet, which made me do better.  Considering how spent I was I was only 8 seconds slower overall than my 500 time set a few weeks ago in St. George.  500 free: 5:41:16

I got out and after the others had finished I heard, "Gordon Gridley Lane 3!"  I looked over and they skipped event 16!  The entire field for the 100 fly had scratched so I had to get out after the 500, get like maybe 2 minutes rest, and then swim the 200 free!
200 Free: 2:07.57

Glad that I went, but man that was tough!  The water was just a degree or too warmer than I would have liked, but it was a fun meet.  I got to talk with Donald Barrus for quite a while and get to know him.  He got new PR's in his 50 and 100 free.  It's always neat to talk to and meet new people.  

I met Nathan Toll and his wife, he's the founder of the Master Pirahna Club in Ogden, and also met Michael Nappi, a guy who swims in Orem.  I tried talking him into swimming the one mile in GSL in June.  I gave out several cards to swimmers encouraging them to swim the open water events.