Workout from Mark Gangloff

Got this workout from USMS website.

400 - 400 free
300 - 4 x 75 descend 1-4
300 kick
400 - 8 x 50 free with fins – on 1:00 (first 20 yards underwater dolphin, rest free)
100 - 100 easy

1700 - 6 x (8 x 25) on :40, :40, :35, :30, :25, :20, w/ 100 EZ between sets
350 - 1 x 50 off the blocks FAST!!! 300 Warm Down

3650 Total

Not a big fan of 25s. They're too short and I don't feel like I'm getting a workout, even though I'm going fast. I prefer longer sets (200-400 yards). But good to throw them in when you need some variety.

Day 2 of SDRC Masters Meet 2009

50 Free - Last meet I did 25.12. But for this meet the person who gets the closest to their seed time gets a new swim suit. I guessed 25.50. Well I got 25.51. I won! I guess if I didn't get faster, at least I could win a suit out of it.

100 Free - Last meet I got 55.22. This year I got 55.17 So only 5 hundreths faster. I'll take it

200 Free - Last meet I got 2:03.47. This year I got 2:00.64 Man I'm aching to get back under 2:00. Will have to wait until next spring.

Then was the first leg in a 200 free relay. Got 26.06 on that. Our group did 1:46.44 and took fourth overall. Not bad.

I was really pleased with this meet and that I was able to better my time in three out of the four events. Not by a ton, but still by some and improving is all you can ask. I'm pleased.

I'll be picking it up this winter at the pool. Going for 5 workouts per week.

Day 1 of SDRC Meet - 1650 yd in 20:59

This evening I was registered for the 1650 yd Freestyle. My goal was low 21. My personal record I set earlier this spring at 21:09. I didn't think I was going to be able to beat that because I haven't been doing much distance training. My main sets have been shorter (200-600 yards max). I haven't swam 1000 yards straight or even a mile straight in a long time.

I was nervous all day long. I shaved the sides of my head (which were already short thanks to my halloween costume a couple weeks ago) and my arms and ankles. Don't need to shave my legs because of the legskins I have. Anyway, I was feeling ill prepared for the 1650 this time and wasn't setting my expectations very high. I didn't think a PR was possible.

I ranked 4th in the field in the 3rd heat which was the last one. I was swimming next to James Jonnson. He swam the Deer Creek 10 mile this year and was ahead of me. I've never beat James. When we started the race the guy to my right went all out. I knew that pace wasn't going to last and within 100 yards I passed him. I ended up lapping that guy twice over the 1650. James on my left inched his way ahead the whole time and ended up lapping me at around the 800. My goal was to not let him lap me twice before ending. "Lap me once, shame on you. Lap me twice, shame on me." haha.

I also had a goal to bilateral breathe at least the first 1000 yards. I ended up only going 250 yards before going to just my right side. I just wasn't feeling comfortable going at race pace with bilateral. I'm glad I switched because I was able to feel much more comfortable with my pace and kept it up. I didn't get split times, but I'm hoping that I'll get a copy tomorrow.

My 1650 finish time came in at 20:59.20 I beat my PR by 10 seconds. Not very much considering the distance, but at least its a new PR and I wasn't even thinking I'd come close to it. Plus I was hoping to get under 21 minutes since the last meet. Now I've set a new bar. No more getting 21 something in the 1650. Now it's got to be in the 20 minute range. Wouldn't it be great to get into the 19 minute range some day?

Today's race sure was a confidence booster. Plus I'm thinking with the training I've been doing with Coach JaGal, I'm more prepared for tomorrow's sprinting events anyway, so tomorrow afternoon I should be a happy dude, even more so than today.

Last taper workout before meet

400 k-d-p-s
400 - 2x200 pull with optional strap and pads 3:00
400 - 8x50 1-3hold 2x on :45
300 - {75 25 easy, 25 medium, 25 fast on 1:20, 50 25 medium, 25 fast on :45,
25 fast on :30} x 2
300 - 3x100 ascend 1-3. aka 1=fast, 2=strong, 3=ez. 1:30
200 - 4x50 drill 6-3-6, 8-1-8 on 1:15

2000 yards total

Good thing this was short cause I only had 30 minutes to do it before being late for work. Spent this morning helping Austin clean the basement. Didn't get to leave the house until 8:00am which is almost when I'm done with my workout.

Need to eat good today and tomorrow. I'm mostly nervous about the 1650 being able to stay strong the whole time. I really want to get in the low 22 minute range. I'll be sad if its 23.

First taper workout this week

1000 - 4-4-4
700 - {200 slow, 100 strong, 50 fast, 200 fast, 100 strong, 50 slow) 10 rest between
50 double-arm backstroke easy
800 - 16x50 free (odds- 20 yards fast, rest is easy. evens- floating start w/ 15 yards fast, rest is easy.) on :45
50 double-arm backstroke easy
200 - 8x25 ALL OUT on :40
200 easy warmdown

TOTAL 3000

The 50s were tough. Mostly because I was trying to keep them at :40 so I could get some rest. So the "rest is easy" portion, wasn't really so easy.

I'm confident that my surgery to remove the polyps in my nasal area will help my exhale. I was talking to Brian Dickson yesterday about it and he said I'll be so glad I got them removed. I can't wait. My appointment with Dr. Stoker is on November 19th. I may be able to get a full breath for Christmas!

Gutter ups

500 - 500 free warmup
1000 - 50 one arm, 100 free, 150 IM no fly, 200 free strong (and back down) @ :15 rest
1000 - 10 x 100's build up (first 25 EZ, last 25 sprint) on 1:40
500 - 10 x 50's (even - free, back odd - fly, breast) with 10 gutter ups on every east end of the pool.

3000 yards total

The edge of the deck is 1 meter from the water so getting up to a chin up position is pretty good. In other pools it would have to be a up and out type thing like a push up. At Layton, if you can get up to chin up level, your fine. This meant I did 100 chin ups and at the end I was tired and my sternum was rubbing the tile and getting irritated, my top of my right foot was used to help cushion the downward movement and when I got out of the pool looked down and my toe was bleeding.

Good workout.... not a ton of yards, but getting in the pool is half the battle.

400s

1000 - 4x4x4's
2400 - 6x400 Odd Kick with fins, even pull Strong effort.
500 - 10 x 50's hypoxic breathing 10-1 last 50 only one breath 1-7 on 1:00 8-10 on 1:30
100 Breast

4000 Yards total

Felt really good about this one. My shoulders and upper back are a little sore from lifting biceps a couple days ago. Need to lift chest today as well as run at lunch.

I made a bet with Cathi that this week I could lose a greater percentage of weight than her. If I lose I have to eat her favorite cabbage soup with her for a week. She loves it, but just the smell of it makes me dry heave. Gross! So I've got to step it up on the exercise and diet. Need to get down to low 190's by next Monday.

Descending sets

500 - 2x2x2 Warmup
1200 - 12x100's descend 1-4 on 1:45
50 EZ
600 - 12x50's descend 1-4 on :50
50 EZ
300 - 12 x 25's sprint on :30
100 Breast
500 - 2x2x2 Warmdown

3400 Yards

Fast sets on 100 and 50's were good. Got heartbeat up there.

Review of "On A Clear Day"

I read about a recent viewing of "On A Clear Day" on the 10kswim.blospot.com website. I went to Amazon.com and order a used copy of it and watched it last night. I'm quite a harsh movie critic, so I only gave it 7 out of 10.

It was more of a drama than an inspirational movie to me. This guy gets laid off and is depressed and confused about his future and gets the urge to train to swim the channel with only 6 months of training. His 4 closest friends immediately jump in to help him with his training (which seem to once a week to one of his swim workouts at the pool). The movie has comedic elements to it. The movie is definitely not that great of a film, but if you're a huge English Channel fan, this is a good show to have in your library.  It's got enough real training stuff in it, that it's nice to watch every once in a while to see what it takes to train for a swim.

It's a drama so it's not a nail biter, and there are a few funny spots in it, but not a blockbuster.

Skinhead

Shaved my head last Thursday night because of my planned halloween costume. So today's swim felt nice with the water going around my head so smoothly. I don't like wearing a cap (cause I get too hot with it on). Skipped last Thursday's swim so that I could work on the Chicken nesting box. I kept putting that off and the poor chickens were exposed to near freezing temperatures. So I had to sacrifice only one day of swimming to build it. Not bad I guess.

800 - 4 x 200 k-d-p-s
250 - 5x50 1-3 and hold (aka 3-4 are fast.) :40
1650 - 1x1650. Go strong, but focus on pace. Keeps abs firm. Time = 23:03

When I got to about 1200, the alternating breathing just wasn't cutting it and I was getting fatigued. I felt like I needed more air. So I ended up breathing every stroke, but alternated which side to breath on each each 25 on the last 450 yards. I felt good. I wasn't slacking, or pushing it too hard. It was a strong effort and I was satisfied with the time. Not overly pleased, but satisfied. I got 23:25 two years ago at the Utah Summer Games, and low 22 last year, so I'm confident that in a race I should get pretty close to that or better.

500 - 10x50 odds 6-3-6 evens 8-1-8 on 1:00
400 - 16x25 2 fast :25, 2 easy :30
400 k-d-p-s by 100. Backstroke

TOTAL 4000

I've got to be better about reading the workout closely. I accidentally skipped the 10x50's after the 1650 and the warmdown I did free. So I really only did 3500 today. Need to get at least 3 more workouts in this week. No more doing just 2-3 workouts per week! SDRC meet in two weeks.