Gearing up for April Fool's Challenge

Swam 1800 yards before Masters began. Amazed that my shoulders felt so good considering Saturday's long swim.  Hopeful that this April Fool's Swim Challenge is gonna go well.

800 - 8 x 100's - 75 free, 25 drill on 1:30
300 - 4 x 75's kick with fins on 1:15
500 - 10 x 50's odd stroke, even free on :50
600 - 3 x 200's pull on 2:30 right side breathing 25, left side 25
400 - 4 x 50's back on 1:00, 4 x 50's free on :50
300 - 3 x 100's back/free by 50 on 1:40
300 - 4 x 75's 25 underwater dolphin, 50 free easy

300 easy

5,300 yards total in 1:35

Short one cause tomorrow I'm planning to swim 10K yards.

Another big milestone today.  Over the past 6 months I've participated in the online Virtual Open Water race.  A 250 mile course that starts at the very northwest tip of the United States and Canada and swimming south along the Washington/Oregon Coast.  Every year that I've participated I've doubled that goal distance and swam 500 miles in the 6 month time frame starting from October 1st, through the end of March.  Well as of this morning, my total came to 509.54 miles.  Fantastic!

Here's a map of the virtual course (with bonus distance totaling 509 miles).

Putting the "Academy" back into Sports Academy

I arrived at the Sports Academy in Logan and planned to meet with Joelle, but got a text so it was just me this morning.  I was fine with it, since I LOVE the Sports Academy.  The one day fee is a little pricey ($10), but the facility is awesome so it's worth it to me.

The water was 84.4.  A little warm for my liking, but it was fine.  I had the following workout printed out on a piece of paper and followed it to the 'T"!

1000 warmup - 200 free easy, 200 back, 200 IM drill, 200 kick, 200 build
1,650 timed! + 50 easy
800 - 8 x 100’s :15 ri
1&5: 25 stroke, 75 free
2&6: 25 free, 25 stroke, 50 free
3&7: 50 free, 25 stroke, 25 free
4&8: 75 free, 25 stroke
1600 - 4 x 400’s free
1: 100 moderate pace, 100 hard with :30 rest
2: 200 moderate pace, 200 hard with :20 rest
3: 100 moderate pace, 300 hard with :10 rest (hurry to get paddles)
4: 400 hard (pull if you want)

 400 - 4 x 100’s kick with fins on 1:00
(5,500 so far) quick break

 1500 - 15 x 100’s free
1-5 on 1:40, 6-10 on 1:35, 11-15 on 1:30
2000 - 4 x 500’s with :20 rest (odd free, even pull)
1200 - 8 x 150’s
1-4 all free on 2:20
5-8 free/back/free on 2:40
1500 - 5 x 3 x 100’s free 1 - moderate pace on 1:30, 2 - build on 1:25, 3 - fast on 1:20

 6100 monster set -
800 Pull
300 - 3 x 100’s back on 1:50
700 Choice
300 - 3 x 100’s free on 1:30
600 Pull
300 - 3 x 100’s back on 1:50
500 Choice
300 - 3 x 100’s IM on 1:45
400 Pull
300 - 3 x 100’s free on 1:50
300 Choice
300 - 3 x 100’s free on 1:30
200 IM
300 - 3 x 100’s back on 1:30
200 easy

 1100 bonus/warmdown set -
600 kick with fins
200 free + 200 IM
100 cool down
18,900 yards total in 5:20 (10.74 miles)

After swimming that far I was spent and felt great about that distance.  I drove over to the Poco Loco shop on Main and got Oliver a nice new swim suit, and a couple pair of goggles.  

What a great swim!  I ate a total of 3 Clif Bars, and 3 Gatorades, and one Buzz Bite throughout the course of this workout.

Kris' Super Broken 500s

This morning I got in 1700 yards before masters and then Kris coached:

400 warmup: 100 choice, drill, kick, pull
300 - 12 x 25's IM Order by 3 on :30
300 - 6 x 50's kick on :60

Main set: Super Broken 500s.  Three rules:

1. When it says Fast, GO FAST!
2. When it says recover, RECOVER!
3. When it say :10 ri, don't take more than 10 seconds!

4 x (

100 - 2 x 25's fast, :10 ri, 1 x 50 Recover :10ri

100 - 1 x 25 fast, :10 ri, 1 x 75 Recover :10ri

100 - 2 x 50 fast :10 ri

100 - 1 x 75 fast, :10 ri, 1 x 25 Recover :10 ri

100 - 1 x 50 fast, :10 ri, 2 x 25's Recover :10 ri

Take one minute rest then resume)

1 & 2 free, 3 - pull, 4 kick with fins

100 easy

Then I did one more broken 500 with Freestyler paddles, with ankle strap, but no buoy.  Taking it to the extreme!  That was fun!

5,300 yards total in 1:30
 

 

 

 

Band-aid Battlefield

I know I've said this before, but I LOVE Northwest Recreation Center. That entire facility is clean when I get there in the morning.  Especially the pool.  The bottom of the pool doesn't have sand, garbage, or band-aids floating around in it.

Some other pools I swim in are filled with band-aids along the bottom.  Swimming over them it's like a band-aid battlefield.  Sometimes there's plastic bottles at the bottom of the deep end or once I dug up an old combination lock.  But not at Northwest. This morning however I did see one band-aid floating along the bottom and I dove down and fetched it out.  Kind of felt obligated since its so immaculate there.

Little do people know about NWRC.  One of the Band-aid battlefields I sometimes visit just won City Weekly's Best Swimming facility in Salt Lake.  Maybe I'm just too sensitive to dirty, hot pools.

This morning I scripted this workout before leaving the house:

500 free warmup
800 - 400 kick with fins, 100IM, 100 Drill, 100 IM, 100 free
2400 - 12 x 200's :10ri (fast, easy, IM, kick, pull, back)
1500 - 3 x 5 x 100's free on 1:20, 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:50 (since that last one is so slow, no extra rest between sets)
400 - 8 x 50's IM order on :50 - First 4 easy, second 4 fast
1000 pull focus on early hand pull and forearm involvement.
600 - 8 x 75's kick fins alt flutter/dolphin/font/back
100 easy warmdown

7,300 yards total in 2:00

Scratching stuff off my to do list

Been busy with all sorts of stuff:

• GSLOW tasks
• Organized long list of Utah Swimming clubs to contact
• website maintenance
• Utah Masters tasks
• Made final modifications to Kim and Jamie's newsletter and send.
• SDM tasks
• Creating workouts for April
• SLOW tasks
• Got Angela to agree to paddle for us on our Wednesday swims
• Brainstorming premium membership benefits
• among others...
• Creating a draft Buzz Bite cap
• Organize an idea for a promo video.

So I've been very busy, and there is still a lot more to do.  This morning I got in 1800 yards before doing Craig's last workout:

400 warmup

300 - 6 x 50's kick on :55

400 - 8 x 50's drill/free on 1:00

500 - 10 x 50's free fast/easy on :50

1600 - 4 x (4 x 100's FAST (get under 1:10 on all), on 1:20, 1:30, 1:40, then rest a minute before next set)

8 x 50's kick warmdown

Cramped up badly on the third set and stretched it out and resumed with my own thing:

1000 - 2 x 500's pull easy

Then took off to get going on more of the things on my list.  

Total:  6,500 yards in 1:50

Caught up to my goal pace

The past month I fell of my goal pace for the year, but I've finally caught back up.  Now to just stay on target and not get left behind.

Started with masters this morning with no preworkout warmup.  Kirsten was the coach.  Loved the workout:


500 free
200 pull
100 kick

1000 - 4 x 250's descending on 3:30 1st two no equip, 2nd two pull (3:05, 2:55, 2:45, 2:40)
400 - 16 x 25's kick fins on :30
200 pull

500 - 4 x 125's IM (100 IM + 25 Fly, 100 IM + 25 back, 100 IM + 25 breast, 100 IM + 25 free) on 2:00
200 free all out (aiming for under 2:15, got 2:12)
200 warmdown

Moved north and did my own thing:

1000 freestyler paddles, work on form
200 kick
6 x 100's finger paddles, work on form
300 free strong

5,300 yards total in 1:30

Drafting

This morning I met Joelle at Surf N' Swim at 7am where we combined our creativity and each came up with workouts and swam them.  Started with mine:

800 - 4 x 200's free, IM, kick no fins, backstroke :10ri
400 kick with fins
500 free practice drafting rotating position every 100.
1650 drafting rotating position every 100
50 easy
1200 - 3 x 400's IM, Pull, free/drill by 100s
500 free practice drafting rotating position every 100.
1650 drafting rotating position every 100
100 easy

Then did her workout:

1,600 - 100 free, 200 IM, 300 pull, 400 kick no fins, 300 free, 200 IM, 100 free
1200 - 6 x 200's odd IM, even free on 3:15/3:00
800 - 8 x 100's IM odd easy, even fast on 2:00
1000 - 10 x 100's odd free fast, even backstroke on 1:40/2:00
400 free easy
800 - 8 x 100's with fins 2 free/2 back/2 free on 1:30
200 long and stretched out free

12,850 yards in 3:50 (7.3 miles)

I really liked the drafting work.  Every other 100 I got to take advantage of Joelle's wake and she got to get pulled on mine.  Plus it makes it easier to count those long sets.  We were both pretty tired by the end.  

Next Saturday we're swimming up at the Sports Academy in Logan.  That should be fun.

What fuels you? Consider the power of a Buzz Bite!

In the morning on the way to the pool, I fuel up with:

• 1 apple
• 1 Clif Bar 
• 1 Buzz Bite

With my workout being so early in the morning the Buzz Bite provides both energy as well as wakes me up!

  

If I'm doing a long swim, I'll also take another one after a few hours so that I don't constantly wind my energy down, but spawn a second wind.  Here's an example of what Josh observed from my performance during one of my long swims a couple years ago after taking a buzz bite:

"Gordon and I are pretty well matched as far as pace goes (at least over short distances, he kicks my butt over long distances) and we swam side by side for most of my time in the water.

Swimming the length of Bear Lake (19 miles)

At about mile 12 we stopped for a feeding and Gordon had a Buzz Bite.  I don't know what's in those things, but I need to get some because he TOOK OFF!  I was having a hard time keeping up with him and, after another mile, decided I wasn't doing him much good as a pacer and got back on the kayak.  I put in about 6 miles total and felt much faster and stronger that I did at Deer Creek.  I wanted to go further, but didn't want to slow Gordon down." - Utah Open Water, Josh Green

That really is my secret.  Caffeine is proven to be a significant performance enhancer that fortunately is legal in the sport.  And my preferred caffeine source is Buzz Bites.  I can put one in my mouth and suck on it while I swim.

I buy the 150 bulk container (bird feeder) and it lasts me several months.  Go order some here and you'll see an improvement in your training and your races.  If it doesn't work for you, it's probably not your fuel choice that is the problem.

10 x 650s

This morning I swam at NWRC and it was very quiet, just me and maybe one or two other people.

350 warmup
6500 - 2 x 5 x (300, 200, 100, 50) :15-20 rest on 300, :10-:15 rest on 200, :05-:10 rest on 100, :05 rest on 50

1 - Drill free, 2 - Kick with fins, 3 - Pull, 4 - IM, 5 - break into 100's desc (1:30, 1:25, 1:20)

350 cooldown

7,200 yards total in 2:05

My Mom was there in the river and came over and told me about an accident my Grandma had recently that has her in trouble.  She is such a sweet grandmother to me, I hope they have her pain under control and she recovers quickly.  Need to pray for her.

Inspired

This morning I woke up to an email from active that a friend of mine registered for the 8 mile GSL race.  She's new to open water swimming and hasn't swam in the GSL yet, but it is a dream that literally keeps her up at night.  She is a very dedicated swimmer and if she puts as much effort into her open water training over the next few months before the race, as she does in the pool, she'll be well on her way to finishing and making her first step to the Utah Triple Crown.

Way to go Sarah!  You're determination and sense of adventure and faith is inspiring!

This morning I got in 1500 yards before Masters and then swam with Nazari and Jason:

500 - 200 Swim; 100 Kick; 200 Drill
600 - 8 x 75 Drill, Swim, Drill on 1:10
400 - 4x100 Free on 1:25 no equipment
400 - 8x50 Kick (25 EZ / 25 Fast) no fins on 1:00
800 - 4x200 Free pull w/ankle strap on 2:30
400 - 8x50 Kick (25 EZ / 25 Fast) with fins on 1:00
400 - 4x100 Free no equipment on 1:20
100 easy

Then had a lengthy discussion with Kris.  Looks like I'll be coached every Wednesday morning now instead of every other Friday.  It'll mean that I have to be more diligent in swimming M,T,Th,F,S and not letting myself get more days off than Wednesday and Sunday.  It's good because I need to transition in to coach mode.  In four months I'm going to transition into that mode more so than in marathon swimmer mode.

After our talk I did:
200 free, 200 IM
200 free, 300 pull
100 easy

6,100 yards total 
Lifting shoulders and biceps today.

I also noticed this morning that the openwaterpedia entry for Michelle Poole needed to be improved, which I did, and that Sue Frehse didn't have any entry, so I created a bare bones entry for her.

Pace Clock Priorities

This morning I did Kris' workout she has prescribed for SDM tonight, but doubled it:

Advanced

Warm-up: 400 Choice

4 x 50 @.60 Choice Drill

200 Choice

4 x 50 Kick @.60-1:10 (1000)

Warm-up Set: 16 x 50 @.45-.50

#1-4 Free Build to 80%

#5-8 IM Order

#9-12 Free Drill Choice

#13-16 Stroke Choice (800)

Main Set: 8 x 100's desc 1-4 on 1:30

2 x 400 Free Pull

4 x 100 IM @ .15 Rest

8 x 50 Free @.15 Rest Descend #1-4

2 x 300 Free (Pull Opt.) Descend by 100’s 1 to 3.

.30 Rest

2 x 150 (Fly/Free, Back/Free, Breast/Free) @ .20 Rest

4 x 75 Free (EZ-FAST-EZ by 25) @.15 Rest

400 kick with fins

2 x 200 Free (Pull Opt.)  Descend by 100’s 1 to 2.

.30 Rest

2 x 100 IM @.15 Rest

8 x 25 Free @.30

#1 EZ, #2 FAST, #3 FAST, #4 EZ

2 x 100 Free (Pull Opt.) FAST @.30 Rest

2 x 50 Choice Stroke @.20 Rest

4 x 25 Free #1 EZ, #2 FAST @.15 Rest        

Total Yards: 7000 in 2 hours

When I arrived at the pool I noticed the minutes on the pace clock was off by 30 minutes, but not a big deal.  They were both in sync.  After swimming for about 10 minutes the lifeguard informed me the time was wrong on the pace clock and they were gonna fix it.  So at 7am they reset the clock near the end I was based.  Their clock must be fast cause they reset it at 7:03.  Still no biggie.  I could care less about the minute hand.  

Here's my list of characteristics I think are important in two pace clocks in use at a pool in order of importance:

1. Are the two clocks seconds value in sync?
2. Are the two clocks minutes value in sync?
3. Are the two clocks minute value accurate with the hour of the time?

At 8am they reset the other clock.  Except these lifeguards were apparently unaware that the Colorado pace clocks don't start exactly at :01 when you turn it on.  There is an :11 second delay. Had to laugh cause they gave up and the clocks were completely off and didn't have any of the characteristics that are important in having two pace clocks on the deck.

Swimming Strong

This morning was extra productive.  Didn't have any aches or lack of energy to speak of.  This morning's workout from Kirsten was fun:

Swam 2200 yards before masters then:

300 Choice
500 - 4 x (75 drill/kick/swim on 1:10, 50 drill swim on :50)
600 - 8 x 75's kick with fins sprint/easy/sprint by 25 on 1:15
800 - 2 x (4 x 100's pull FAST! on 1:10)

I loved these.  The first 4 I was using massively large hand paddles, then the second 4 used agility paddles. Was able to get 1:05 on all these 

200 - 8 x 25's breast sprint on :30

400 Breast
25 sprint @ :30, 50 drill/swim @ 1:00, 75 swim/kick/drill @ 130, 100 build @ 2:00, 6 x 25's sprint @ :30

250 Back
100 back drill/swim/drill/swim by 25 @ 2:00, 50 sprint back, 50 drill, 50 sprint

250 Fly
50 Fly drill, 8 x 25's fly (odd one arm, even full) on 1:00, last 2 off the blocks and swim 50 instead.  Get time (:28)

100 easy

Then moved to the north side and did:
500 - 200 free easy, 200 IM, 100 back
500 kick with fins
500 freestyler paddles
1000 free strong
200 IM cooldown

8,300 yards total

SDM Spring Intrasquad meet results

This morning I swam in the Spring Intrasquad meet for South Davis Masters.  I swam:

400 warmup

500 free - 5:44.53

I took the first 100 really easy.  Long and relaxed slow and then picked up the effort and the pace each 100.  I probably went out too easy that first hundred, but I was please with 5:44.  Only 12 seconds slower than my big boy PR.  I can cut that by wearing a cap, shaving down, and getting mental.  Looking forward to a new PR next month at the Utah Championships.

Swam the 100 free, 50 free and 50 fly but those times weren't anything to really write home about.  All under 1:00/100 pace though of course.
Did 200 yards in between events to loosen up, but the meet was so tight knit there wasn't a whole lot of time between events.

Everyone seemed to have fun and there were some impressive time improvements by some swimmers.

Then swam my own workout before running home to get the results posted and help with family things:

500 free
1600 - 8 x 200's (Descending on 2:45)
400 kick with fins
2800 - 4 x (4 x 75's drill/free/stroke, 100 back, 200 free strong, 50 kick, 50 easy)

6,500 yards total for the day

One of the afternoon activities was to help Sam make something out of wood for scouts.  We worked together and made a chest.  

Exciting changes

Yesterday evening the SLOW board met online to discuss several things.  The biggest change is that all the Utah open water races will now be completely independent of USMS.  This may have a minimal effect on USMS, but potentially a huge effect on the open water participation in the state, which was limited to Masters swimmers.  In that sense it's very exciting.  We have a lot of work ahead of us to get the young swimmers to catch the vision of swimming outside, but with a little experience and training I think it'll catch on.

As for this morning's swim I did a shorter workout not because I was hurting or lacking motivation.  There is an intra-squad meet tomorrow that I'd like to really perform on.  Today I got in 500 yards before Pat's workout:

350 warmup
450 - 6 x 75's kick/drill/swim on 1:10
1600 - 4 x 400's (4 free, 4 back, 4 breast, 4 IM) on 1:30-1:40
400 - 4 x 100's (2 x 50's free, 2 x 50's back, 2 x 50's breast, 2 x 50 IMs) on :50
200 - 4 x 50's (free, back, breast, IM)
100 - 4 x 25's (free, back, breast, IM)

100 easy

3,700 yards total in 1:10

Not to be negative, but what I like least about swimming

This morning I swam at NWRC and definitely was NOT feeling it.  I did end up doing the following before getting out though:

600 - 6 x 100's free on 1:30
1000 - 5 x 200's 1&2 kick no fins, 3 - IM, 4&5 kick no fins

1,600 yards total in 30 minutes

I looked over and saw my Mom walking in the river and decided to go talk with her for a bit.  Someone posted a topic on marathonswimmers.org that I didn't really like:  "What do you dislike about swimming?"

My Mom and I at the
Guinness World Record
museum in Los Angeles.
Me being a total goof.

I had a hard time coming up with a really good answer, but today I realized what my answer is.  Swimming is something that to do efficiently, you need to put your face in the water, which also means that you can't carry on a conversation with someone next to you at the same time.

So this morning I took 20 minutes and had a conversation with her while we both did her morning routine of walking laps against the flow of the extremely warm pump generated river.  We talked non-stop the whole time on a wide variety of topics.  It was so fun!

I'm not a very talkative person.  But I really enjoy people who are.  I'm not in favor of cloning because I would literally hate myself.  I would be no fun to hang out with.  Get me with someone who is talkative and we both have a good time.  Cathi being the perfect example of that.

My very supportive parents.  They're coming with me to
MIMS.  It's gonna be so fun!

So today's workout wasn't a complete waste of time.  I was glad I didn't just skip it.  Reminded me of the time I took the time to swim heads up breast stroke with Jim out at GSL once.  Got to know so much more about him in 30 minutes than I did in over a year of swimming together.  So the answer to the question: I don't like that the actual act of swimming disallows carrying on a conversation with someone you are with. In that way it makes it a very isolating kind of sport.

However that negative aspect is blanketed with a strong bond that exists between swimming friends.  They may not be talking while swimming, but the friendship seems to continue to grow in and out of the water.

Double Dipping Disorder

This is Kris' favorite workout, which was tough.  I got in 1000 yards prior to starting with Masters, then did her "Crazy 8's workout":

Warm-up:   100 free, 100 kick, 100 drill, 50 easy

                                                Crazy 8's                                                  (1200)
8 x 25's Free                           8 x 50's Free                   8 x 75's Free
2 x 25 @.35                             2 x 50 @.50                     2 x 75 @ 1:10
2 x 25  @.30                            2 x 50 @.45                     2 x 75 @ 1:05
2 x 25  @.25                            2 x 50 @.40                     2 x 75 @ 1:00
2 x 25  @.20                            2 x 50 @.35                     2 x 75 @.55
.30 Rest                                         .45 Rest                               .60 Rest
                                                Crazy 6's                                                    (900)
6 x 25's Free                           6 x 50's Free                   6 x 75's Free
2 x 25  @.30                            2 x 50 @.45                     2 x 75 @ 1:05
2 x 25  @.25                            2 x 50 @.40                     2 x 75 @ 1:00
2 x 25  @.20                            2 x 50 @.35                     2 x 75 @.55
.30 Rest                                        .45 Rest                                        .60 Rest
                                                Crazy 4's                                                    (600)
4 x 25's Free                           4 x 50's Free                   4 x 75's Free
2 x 25  @.25                            2 x 50 @.40                     2 x 75 @ 1:00
2 x 25  @.20                            2 x 50 @.35                     2 x 75 @.55
.30 Rest                                        .45 Rest                                .60 Rest

                                                Crazy 2's                                                    (300)
2 x 25's Free                           2 x 50's Free                   2 x 75's Free
2 x 25  @.20                            2 x 50 @.35                     2 x 75 @.55

Sprint like Crazy
1 x 25  get under :15(:14)              1 x 50 get under :30 (:31)      1 x 75 get under :48 (:49)

Cool Down:                              100 EZ                        

Then moved to the north side and did:

400 kick with fins
300 easy

Total: 5,300 yards in 1:30

I need to start bringing in my own shampoo instead of using the dispensers that are on the shower wall.  Today I noticed that handle was lathered up with bubbles.  Pet Peeve alert:  When you shower, I appreciate your desire to get clean, but please refrain from cleaning out your rectum in a public facility, save that level of thoroughness for home please!  

I have some very graphic visual images that haunt me from my teenage years at Deseret Gym where I was victimized to witness an old dude clean out his chocolate tunnel so vigorously that blood was streaming down the inside of his leg.  No lie!  I'm sorry, but digging in there with a soaped up hand is just plain wrong.  It's gotta be delving into the mental disorder realm.

So when I saw the soapy handle on the dispenser it made me think about where those lathered up hands might have been and made me shutter.  Double dipping the hand dispenser might have been involved there.  Yuck!!!!

Beta waves

Tonight I swam again at NWRC, and this time the locker room wasn't quite in the shambles, which was good to see.  I swam the following workout, which I based on a workout from USMS' Scott Hoftiezer, who puts together the workouts for the High Volume workouts.  I've viewed several different coaches workouts and I like his the best.

Warm Up:

800 - 200 Easy, 200 Kick, 200 Pull, 200 Choice

Set 1:

600 - 8 x 75 with 20 sec. rest Drill, Kick, Swim by 25

Set 2:

20 x 100 with up to 20 sec. as needed

Rotate through 5 times:

100 IM on 2:00

100 Free at 75% effort (get under 1:18) on 1:30

100 Free at 85% effort (get under 1:13) on 1:30

100 Free at 95% effort (get under 1:05) on 1:30

Set 3:

1 x 1000 Free for time (Get under 14:00) - ended up with 13:40

Set 4:

3 x 300's 1 - Bilateral, 2 - left/right side by 25, 3 - Bilateral on 4:30

Set 5:  

8 x 200's 2 x (1 - kick with fins front, 2 - kick with fins back, 3 - large paddles, 4 - finger paddles) :10 ri

100 easy

I cramped up pretty bad on the 6th set of 200's half way through these so I only did 100 on the last set of kicking with fins. So I ended up with 7,000 yards. The entire time was spent thinking about the future of GSLOW and SLOW club in general. My brain couldn't just relax and enjoy the swim, it was constantly in thought about events and possible changes in how we are currently doing things. The SLOW leadership is meeting Thursday evening to discuss. There sure is a lot to plan and figure out.

It appears that the future of our currently held open water events may undergo a shift, focusing more on the youth which is great. Open Water swimming is commonly more recognized and practiced by adults. Very few teenagers get involved with it because the structure and organization of swim teams with USA swimming already exists and well established. Trying to think about how to introduce open water swimming to youth without being in competition with USA Swimming, but rather in a partnership.

Total: 7,000 yards in 2:00

From clean to disgusting

One of my favorite features about NWRC is how clean it is.  I usually get there when it opens at 6am.  It's immaculate.  Today however, Cathi worked so I had to get the kids off to school.  So I swam tonight at 6pm. Wow, the locker room was a mess.  Kids had their wet swimsuits all over the place and there was litter spread around on the locker room floor.  There was a custodian in there cleaning.  That man deserves a raise!  I had no idea it got this bad in the evening.

I swam all three categories of workouts that I have planned for my South Davis Swimmers on March 21st:

500 Warm Up: 200 Easy 100 Kick 200 Pull Set 1: 6 x 100 Kick with 15 sec. rest Build 1-3 & 4-6 Set 2: 6 x 150 Free with 20 sec. rest Descend 1-3 & 4-6 Set 3: 4 x 300 Pull with 20 sec. Desc 1-4 200 Cool Down Total Workout: 3,400

400 Warm Up: 150 Easy 100 Kick 150 Pull Set 1: 4 x 100 Kick with 30 sec. rest 1&3 - easy, 2&4 - strong Set 2: 4 x 150 Free with 30 sec. rest Descend 1-4 Set 3: 4 x 300 Free with 60 sec. Desc 1-4 200 Cool Down Total Workout: 2,800

200 Warm Up: 100 Easy 100 Kick Set 1: 2 x 100 Kick with 15 sec. rest 1st one easy, 2nd one strong! Set 2: 3 x 150 Free with 45 sec. rest Descend 1-3 Set 3: 2 x 300 Free with 60 sec. Desc 1-2 350 Cool Down Total Workout: 1,800 (8,000)

8,000 yards total in 2:07

Swimming with Pole Vaulter

This morning I met Sarah Jones at Layton Surf N' Swim at 7:15am this morning.  It was a little crowded.  While waiting for the front doors to open, I wrote up this workout on a piece of paper:

600 free warmup
400 kick with fins
11,100 - 10 x (200 free fast on 2:30, 8 x 50's IM order on :50, 400 pull, 100 easy)
400 kick with fins
4000 - 5 x (2 x 200's 1-IM, 2- free, 2 x 100's fast on 1:22.5, 100 back recover, 2 x 50's sprint on :37.5)

16,500 yards total in 4:30

A couple things of note:  About halfway through the workout a couple ladies came in and at the far end of the pool put in a long pole and while one would hold the pole at the top, the other would sit on the bottom of the pool holding the pole and then flip up and launch herself towards the surface and up and over the lane line.  Pole vaulting practice apparently.  Pretty cool.  I should have taken a picture with my waterproof camera.

Then near the end I had a female swimmer join me in my lane.  I stopped at one of the intervals and she talked with me and I immediately recognized her.  It was Jayme Jorgensen, Jacob's High School coach.  We talked briefly about the meet in April and she said she's swimming the 1650 free and the 200 fly.  In fact she swam at least 200 fly today and I was tired just watching her.  So glad I'm a freestyler.

This made me thing about an article that I read recently in Swimmer magazine.  They always throw in a subject that is up to debate.  The latest is whether race directors should extend cutoffs for open water swims to allow those who want to swim the race in a special stroke the time to be able to do it.  The guy arguing for extended times invented a new dolphin stroke that involves only dolphin kicking and using fins.  I'm sorry.  I'm open minded about inventing new strokes, as long as it doesn't include equipment.  As soon as you introduce something to propel you through the water faster, that's cheating brother.  You might as well strap on a motor.  And as for extending times to accommodate <1 1="" a="" absurd.="" and="" can="" coach="" faster="" get="" if="" mph="" nbsp="" p="" race="" s="" serious.="" so="" swim="" t="" than="" that="" you="">

Driven

This morning SDRC was closed thanks to JOs, so I went to NWRC, and I finally succumbed and was driven to just buy an annual Gold Access pass which not only gets me into Northwest, but any SL County facility for the year which is great cause I'm really looking forward to that outdoor LCM pool up at Steiner. Can I say again how much I love Northwest Rec Center!  That place is a hidden gem.

300 easy
400 kick
800 - 2 x 400's on 6:00
1650 pull
500 free strong
200 free on 3:00
1000 - 2 x (5 x 100's) :5 ri

1-back, 2 kick, 3-IM, 4-Free, 5-Breast/Scull drill

300 - 4 x 75's drill/free drill by 25 :5 ri

5,300 yards in 1:45

Yesterday, bought the airline tickets to Newark NJ for this summer.  All the hotel accommodations are obtained as well. It's coming into focus now.

Getting a little nervous

This morning I had another realization about how so uneducated I am about New York City.  This morning at the end of my swim I was talking with a fellow swimmer about New York and she gave me a long list of things to go see.  Some of them I already was planning on, but some other things I hadn't heard about.  I'm nervous about getting there and failing to have sufficiently prepared myself geographically.

I have certainly done my swimming homework, but need to do more tourist homework.  Actually I'm going to see if I can delegate most of the itinerary planning to my Dad and Cathi.  I still would like to be educated about certain landmarks around the border of Manhattan especially.  That way when I see them, I recognize them and can understand their significance rather than note another cool looking building without knowing a thing about it.

Last night I had penned together this workout:

500 free
4200 - 4 x (3 x 75's drill,
                  5 x 25's sprint,
                  4 x 100's desc 1-4,
                  6 x 50's pull) rotate stroke IM Order :10 ri on each
2400 - 6 x 400's, kick w/fins/pull/free
1000 - 5 x 200's free on 2:50
400 - 4 x 100's desc 1-4 on 1:20
150 - 3 x 50's easy
100 IM

8,700 yards total in 2:50

Getting excited just thinking about it.

Breaststroke work

Did 1800 yards before joining Masters which Kirsten coached.  Lots of Breast work today:

300 free
200 kick
100 IM

200 free
800 - 2 x (8 x 50's free on :40) second round pull
200 free

200 breast kick
400 - 8 x 50's breast on :50
200 IM

500 - 4 x 125 IM's on 2:00

Went first in my lane on these and had to go up against Matt in the next lane.  First time in a long time that I've swam full fly consistently in a workout, so I must have been feeling good.  I was able to hang with him for the first 25, but after that he smoked me.

200  warmdown

Moved to north side and did:

400 kick easy
100 free
200 IM
300 - 4 x 75's drill free on 1:10
400 - 4 x 100's free on 1:25 moderate effort
500 pull
200 grandpa swimming

7,200 yards total in 2:10

Well March is here and the end of the three month USAT club competition that Rory Duckworth got the SLTC invovled with is over.  Out of 3000 participants nationally, I came in 373rd overall.  Not too bad considering all I did was swim.  4th place overall in the swim.  

Progression

Yesterday I asked Joelle to come up with today's workout or a portion of it.  She provided the first three sets and I immediately saw a pattern and in order to get the 15K yards goal for the day I added two more long sets following the same pattern.

We met up at Layton Surf N' Swim at 0700 and did Joelle's Progression Workout:

Warmup
500 kicking, alternating 50s dolphin/flutter back and front

Main Set:
2100 - 3 X [3 X 100 on pace/push R: 10 sec + 400 free R: 45 sec]
3300 - 3 X [3 X 200 hold pace breathing on R and L each 25 R: 15 sec + 500 free R: 45 sec]
4500 - 3 x [3 x 300’s Pull R: 20 sec + 600 free R: 45 sec)
5700 - 3 x [3 x 400’s first - free, second IM, third Kick with fins R: 25 sec + 700 free R: 45 sec)

16,100 yards total (9.1 miles) in 4.5 hours

After the first set I got out real quick to use the restroom and when I got back Joelle was gone too and some old dude was in our lane.  Our equipment/feeds were still laid out at the end of the lane with the workout posted on the wall. 

I jumped in and waited for Joelle to return.  I said hello to the guy and he kept swimming even though the lane next to us was also empty.  When Joelle got back I asked nicely if he would mind moving over to the next lane so Joelle and I could resume.  It was empty, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to ask him to move.  I explained that we had taken a quick bathroom break and didn't want to move our stuff.  

He rolled his eyes and tightened his lips like I just asked him for a really big favor.  But he didn't fight and moved over.   Whew!  I've been reading lately on the marathon swimmers forum the worldwide drama that so many lap swimmers have to deal with.  I was hoping that this wasn't going to turn into another one of those.  Then again if he put up a fight I would have just moved all our equipment, and nutrition stuff to the next lane.  No problem.  Just glad that the pool wasn't terribly busy or it could have got nasty.

When we to through the last set the lifeguards were just taking the lane lines out for public swim so we rushed through it and it was perfect timing!  We finished just as lap time was over.

Joelle told me this was her longest pool swim to date.  Nice!  A new PR!  She did great!  I was on top of my nutrition throughout the workout and used good form and mental conditioning, so I didn't have any struggles on this workout.  Shoulder held up just fine!  I really lubed up my right shoulder with channel grease and the chops served their purpose.  No chaffing to deal with.