Another day in Paradise

Yigo and Murphy have been having a ball and getting along great. Yigo spends most of the day obsessed with the geckos that scurry around the lanai and up the palms. 

Was a bit late to practice this morning, because I fell asleep after I turned off the alarm. I only missed the 400 warm. Practice was fun and I really like how coach Mike keeps us on our toes and is constantly talking to us throughout the workout. 

Warm
400
Set #1
3 x 200 @ 3:30 north breathing only
3 x 100 @ 1:30 reverse circle swimming
3 x 150 @ 2:30 kick (fins)
3 x 50 @ :50 desc 1-3 choice stroke

Set #2
5 x
3 x 100 @ 1:35/1:30/1:25/1:20/1:20 (by set)
4 x 50 @ :55 (4 right paddle/left fin - breath to opposite side of paddle, or fin side, then switch on next set 4 left paddle/right fin)

cool 200
scy

Happy Laps!

This afternoon Russ and I are going on a boat ride with his friend Ed, who lives in Cape Coral. This will be interesting, since he told Russ that his boat usually dies, and he needs to get a tow back to shore. He said that he had his boat repaired, but I am not confident, so I think I will bring my fins just in case!  LOL!

Spring storms

Storms rolled in around 3am this morning, however, the entire household, (dogs and people) except my mom, slept through all the crashing and loud rumbles.  How did that happen?    Despite the rain, I scooted over to the pool for practice. There were only a handful of people ready to swim outside in the chilly rain.  Coach Mike sent us off for an easy 300 warm followed by 6 x 100 @ 2'(50 drill/50 swim). As soon as we pushed off the wall for the the second 50 of the very first 100, the lights shut down, and the pool was black! Wow, that was a weird sensation to swim in complete darkness. I made a little screech noise. 

We spent the next 10 or so minutes kicking and sculling until Mike could figure out a way to get the lights to come back on.  As we continued to go up and down the lanes, the rain continued to fall, and there were a few girls sitting on the benches waiting to swim, and I kept thinking that they probably thought we were nuts to be swimming in the dark.  Mike hit the breaker a bunch of times, and lights were finally restored.  We carried on with the rest of the workout.  This was a perfect practice to improve stroke work. Too bad we were not able to finish it due to the lightening. 

continuing the Pre Set:
6 x 75 @ 1:30 (kick/drill/swim by 25)  fly,  back,  breast by 75
6 x 50 @ :50 pull (desc 1-4, 5-8)
6 x 25 @ :30 drill/fast IM order 2 of each stroke

Main - 3 times*
200 FRIM @ 3:00
100 IM @ 1:30
6 x 50 @ :50 (drill/swim by 25)
6 x 25 @ :30 odds cruise/even strong
* on the third set - as soon as we finished the 200FRIM, I heard Paul from across the pool, where he was coaching the age groupers yell to us, "That's it - everybody out! " I saw a bright flash directly overhead and did not going hesitate jumping out. 

The remaining workout was suppose to be:
12 x 25 @ ;30 odds drill/evens underwater to 15
6 x 50 @ :50 pull
4 x 100 @ 1:35 kick

200 EZ (SCY)
Happy Laps!

Last night I decided to experiment in the kitchen and cook amaranth for dinner.   Amaranth is a mexican grain, and it kind of looks like grits.   I looked up a recipe for Amaranth on the app, BigOven, and it called for dried Porcini mushrooms.  Trader Joe's did not have it because it was a seasonal item, so I found the last jar of it at Whole Foods for $10.00!!! Geez this stuff better be good.  The recipe instructs you to soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 15 min.  and use the reserve water for some of the liquid to cook the amaranth. When it was done cooking, I added the cooked porcini and button mushrooms on top of the prepared grain, it looked good, however, it had a very pungent smokey smell and flavor.  Needless to say, none of us really enjoyed it very much. However, the main dish, a beef and green curry with peas and red peppers was delicious! 

Making waves at USMS Nationals

The venue for the 2015 USMS Nationals was the North Side Aquatic Center in San Antonio, TX.

This venue offered two warm up and warm down pools. One inside and one in the diving well. The competition pool ran two heats at a time with 10 lanes in each heat. It was amazing, and there was plenty of deck space and seating.

I flew to TX on Wednesday and arrived about 11:30pm.  Given that my hosts, Rodney and Carolyn,
get up very early, they left a key under the mat for me.   Thursday was the first day of competition with two events, the 1650 and the 1000.  I was entered in the 1000, and my heat was scheduled to start at 11:30am, so I had plenty of time to sleep in and warm up.  The last time I swam at SCY Nationals was in 2003, and I swam the 1650 and placed 10th in my age.  I was not sure if I had a qualifying time for the 1650, since I had not raced it since 2003.  The 1000 it is! Before heading to the pool, I spent the morning visiting with Rodney over coffee and fruit.

It was a cool day, as you can see by the cloud cover in the photo above.  I was excited to finally race for the first time in a LZR Pro suit that I purchased on sale from SwimOutlet. I think that by the end of the 4 days of competition it was a bit stretched out, but is still better than wearing a 'regular' training suit. Everyone was racing in a 'fast suit' so I was really glad that I got one!

Since I traveled to the meet solo, I needed to find a counter for the 1000.  It was not too difficult to find a nice girl named Wendy that said she would count for me.  She was counting for others in need as well.   I wanted to pay it forward, so I counted for an 82 year old gentleman name, Jack.  Wendy asked me what pace I wanted to hold, so I said that since I didn't want to blow up, let's shoot for :40 per 50, or 1:20 / 100, since that was the qualifying time pace. She said that she would place the counter towards my right arm if I was going faster than pace, and on the left side if I was swimming slower than goal pace.  Cool, at least I had some sort of idea of how to stay on pace.  The first 50  I was swimming ahead of pace, so I tried to cool it a bit, and was feeling very comfortable the 1st. 300. As the race continued I was feeling stronger, and the counter stayed on my right side.  I felt like the energizer rabbit, and continued to click off the laps.  I had a breathing plan, and that was to bilateral breath every 3 for the first 500, then try to pick it up and breath 3, then single. That seemed to work out pretty well for me, and for the last 75,  I decided to breath every stroke because I was trying to work harder.   Since the heats are mixed male and female, there was a male a few lanes over that finished ahead of me, so he got the bell lap.   I was very pleased with my finish time which was well below the qualification times. (all times are at the bottom)  This was the first time I have swum the 1000, and I like it! I want to work on getting under 6 minutes in the years to come.

That was good to get out of the way - Phew!  Before returning to the homestead in Helotes, I treated myself to a yummy taco or two at Taco Cabana, plus I visited a local chiropractic office to purchase a cervical pillow.  When I arrived home to two happy doggies, I took them for a walk. Man, it was humid!  Carolyn was surprised to arrive home and no one was to be found!  It was great to see Carolyn again, and enjoyed a nice mellow evening with pizza and vino.

Day two, Friday, up next were the 200 Free and 100 Back. Not my absolute best events, but would love to get better at them with more racing experience.  Something really strange happened when I was sitting on deck drinking water which was a very sharp and painful sensation in my throat upon swallowing. It felt like I was swallowing a rock!  Ouch! Did not feel normal, so I was kind of freaking out a bit, because it also hurt to touch my neck.  My plan was to have it checked out after my events, and in order to do that I needed to call my family practice Dr. in NY, so that she can write a referral to the urgent care in TX in order for the visit to be covered by Tri-Care. Geez!  Did all that and then had to concentrate on swimming the events.

I changed into my suit, and as I was heading over to warm up in the indoor pool, I was SO delighted to see Fred, my old swimming pal from when I lived in TX. He now lives in TN, and he came to race as well. He always places in the top 5 or 10 of his AG.  I really needed some good advice on how to strategically attack the 200, because the last time I swam it in March, I over kicked the first 50 and my legs turned into bricks. Luckily I asked Fred what advice he can give me for pacing the 200, and he said to make sure the 1st hundred feels like easy speed, then pick it up the rest of the way and go for it!   That was good advice.  It's been so long since I have raced anything, that it's still taking me a while to learn how to dig deep. Again, fairly happy with my finish time.

My dear friend, Zetta, was going to try and see me swim an event, but what was more important to me was the fact that I got to see her!  She took time out of her work day, to come to the pool and we had a wonderful visit between my two events. I didn't want her to see my 100 Back anyway!!

Another cool thing that happened that morning was seeing and talking to Josh Davis!  I wanted to tell him all about the kids that went to his swim clinic in NY, and how I really talked up his clinic to them, so that they would go, which they did! (see previous post)  I also mentioned to him that in 2008 I took a team to his clinic in HI and the girl on my team, Catherine,  that he presented his swim cap to for having the best stream line in the group was accepted to the Air Force Academy!  I also had to tell him that Fernando says "Hello," All good stuff.  So of course I had to get a picture of him and Ron, who I knew from N.Y. & now resides in TX. Ron is the safety coordinator at Northside. 

Except for the fact that my throat doesn't feel to great, It's been a lovely two days!  Oh - the 100Back, nothing exciting to mention about that, I need to work on everything!  

I drive over to the Complete Urgent Care about 10 minutes away from the pool.  I nice young female doctor sees me and decides that it would be best if I get an Ultrasound of my thyroid.   She thinks they might be able to take tonight, and arranges for me to have an appointment at 7:30pm at the imaging place. Did I mention that it's Fiesta weekend in San Antonio, which is a week long party!   Who wants to be working late during Fiesta?   

I drive back to Helotes and have about 90 minutes to spend before I need to report to the imaging place in the medical center. After the ultrasound is all said and done, I return home at about 9pm. I watch some TV with Rod and Carolyn and call it a day.   Will get the results of the diagnostic tomorrow. 

Day 3, Saturday, up next, the 100 IM. Now this event is fun!  I like individual medley, but I just wish I was a faster stroke swimmers. So needless to say, a 25 of each is doable.  I guess I swam the event okay. It was not my best time from 20 years ago, but I was pleased non the less.  Had another opportunity to spend a leisurely morning with Rod and Carolyn, so we walked the dogs together. 

I was fortunate to have most of the afternoon free after my event,  so I arranged to have lunch plans with Chick and Jenna. It's been 12 years since I have returned to San Antonio, so to see these two was really special. 'Chicka' and I have many memories of training together on the track, running the trails, and many a marathons!  He and Jenna are a beautiful and happy couple - very happy for them!  We had a lovely time catching up on old times, and making future plans to see each other again, while eating at EZ's, a classic San Antonio staple.  

After lunch, I returned to the ranch chill out before going to Leon Springs for the BBQ!  The BBQ was a planned social as part of Nationals. They had a live band, and good food. Rodney and Carolyn enjoyed it, however they did not dance with me!  We met two very nice couples, one was from San Diego California.  'Zeek' and Sharon. Zeek swam for Brown, and is just getting back into the sport again.  I wanted to call it an early night, so we were home by 9pm. 

Results of the ultrasound indicated acute thyroiditis, associated with a 4 mm nodule in the right lobe of my thyroid.  (sarcasm - Great!)  Still hurts to swallow, and will get blood work done in FL.....waiting on those results. 

Thunder, Lighting, Thunder, Rain!!  We had 3 nights of storms out of the 5 I was there.

Day 4, Sunday, the final day of competition, and on deck was the 500 F and the 100 F. After the 1000, I was ready to rock the 500.  I needed some mental sharpening for the 100!  I needed to be up early and to the pool since the 500 started at 8am.  I didn't have to worry about the competition pool being crowded for warm up, since it was not a mixed event. I took advantage of seeing one of the 'on deck' coaches by the blocks and asked him to set me up on properly using the fin. He did, and we adjusted the setting of the fin back a notch. Much better!

I needed to seek out a counter, so I located one of the "on deck coaches" in a bright yellow T-shirt, and asked her to count for me. Her name was Erin, and she was from Baltimore. She was very helpful. I told her what pace I wanted to hold, and she said that if I go slower than that, she would move the counter. She only had to move it on lap 13.  I held mid 37s. I believe I had a personal best for that event, and the next goal will be to knock off 11 seconds.  My 100 was a disaster.  I probably didn't get a good warm up, and needed more confidence in the head. I was late off the block, and totally missed my last turn. Oy Vey!  Ah Caramba!  Live and learn. 

Basically finished about the middle of the pack in all my free events.  I'm in a fairly competitive age group, considering the top 16 times in the 100 F are under 1:00 and only the top 8 in the younger age group are under a minutes. My 100 PR is 1:01, so I have a long way to go. 

 It felt good to be racing, and seeing friends. I look forward to more racing, and even some open water events in FL, as long as there are no alligators!!  Sharks I can handle. LOL!

Times:

1000 F -  12:33.98

200 F   -  2:21.05

100 Ba -  1:22.76

100 IM -  1:18.00

500 F   -  6:11.17

100 F  -   1:04.14

Monday was a good rest/travel day.  Tuesday T2 workout with coach Jenna is the following:

Warm

300 swim/200 pull/ 100 kick

Preset - Drills

8 x 25 (scull on stomach/swim/doggie paddle/swim) 25 of each and repeat

4 x 75 (25 LA/25 RA/ 25 swim)

Main (ladder)

100 Pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

200 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

300 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

400 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

300 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

200 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

100 pull strong

4 x 50 -   5 breaths or 200 pace

200 cool

(4300M)

Happy Laps!

Shave & Taper

Departing for San Anton today late today and arrive past by bedtime.  I can sleep in, since the 1000 doesn't start until 11:30am Thurs.  My Lzr Pro suit arrive this week, and I tried it on. It seems to fit well and is comfortable.  I am very nervous about the competition. I think if I do more mental training of my events it will help. I know my fitness is not at the level that I have been accustomed to in my younger years, but that will only improve with continued training and racing in FL.  Yeah!    I look forward to returning to my roots -  'deep in the heart of TX' (clap-clap-clap-clap)

Tuesday 

Jenna was the on-deck coach. I learned that she swam for Clemson U.

LCM

Warm 

400 choice

Drills:

8 x 25 (odds scull/evens swim)

4 x 100 breath L/breath R by 50

4 x 50 straight arm recovery

400 (breath 3/5/7/3 by 100) pull if want

Set:

4 x 100 descend on 1:50

4 x 50 

# 1 Fast/EZ

#2 EZ/Fast

#3 EZ

#4 Fast

Cool 200

Wednesday 

slept in a bit and came to practice at 6am

SCY

Warm

200

300 (100 free/100 back/100 free)

4 x 50 pull @ :50

8 x 50 - 2 turn drill from middle of pool (suppose to be IM)

Set: 2 xs

2  x 100 snorkel @ 1:30

3 x 50 backstroke @ :50

50 EZ

Cool 200

Happy Laps!!

Doggie Days

Life in paradise has been pretty good. Yigo seems to enjoy his daily swimming activities in pool and at the dog beach. High tide was within the hour, so there is minimal beach left. It's a great place to play, and we will return here again.

His favorite thing to do is laps in the pool though. I hope to some day teach him how to stand on a paddle board. 

Saturday Practice 4/18/15

This practice was a bit unusual - but it went like this in LCM

Warm:

12 minute swim choice

Four time:

8 minute swim (with choosing either 50, 100 or 150 x 1 fast effort)

Fins - twice through

100 back

6 x 50 - odds breast pull, dolphin kick/evens six kick three stroke switch

*coach had his adorable baby strapped to the front of his body, and his wife was swimming. His wife is a breast stroker, and when I was doing the breast with fins, he asked me if I was a breast stroker, and I told him, only my upper half!

8 x 50 (odds - last 15m fast/events - 1st. 15m fast)

Cool

200

Sunday - Rest 

Monday 4/20/15 - LCM

We were privileged to have Paul Yetter coaching us. He is a very talented coach and great person!

His goal was to have the Masters swim the same work out as his age group team.   He believes it can be done and did very well in keeping us together by modifying distance and intervals.  I think he feels that some of the Master's swimmers are just not that motivated to stay on task or effort with the age groupers,  although I am all for it!  Since I was trying to taper a little before this weekend's events in TX, I ended the workout early.  

Warm:

300 swim (5')

6 x 50 Pull @ 1:05

300 swim

Kick

4 x 150 (fins) interval is different each one: 2:40, 2:50, 3:00, 2:40. 

*The age groupers were not using fins and I had to work to keep up with them!

1-200 EZ

Main *I really liked this set!

4 x 150 @ 3'

6 x 50 cruise @ 1:20

*Warm down for me - otherwise.....

3 x 150 @ 2:55

6 x 50 cruise

2 x 150 @ 2:50

6 x 50 cruise

1 x 150

6 x 50 cruise

cool 200

Happy Laps!

(Arm) Recovery

Swimming outside is definitely a luxury!  This is an old photo from the pool on Anderson AFB in Guam.   Today's  T2 Aquatics Master's practice with coach Kevin was very instructional as well as extremely motivational. He clapped his hands for us, and encouraged us through the tough 16 x 100 set. Fun stuff!  Thanks Kevin.  I am excited to report that I am an official member of T2 Aquatics now.

Yesterday I took the day off from practice to spend time with Kim and Joel at the beach. I was on my way to practice at 12pm (rather than 5:30am), when Kim texted me to see if I wanted to meet them at the beach.  I don't get to see Kim very often, so I took her up on that offer, and decided to swim in the ocean, which was fantastic as well.

This morning I cut practice to 3500 so that my body can recover a bit before heading to Nationals next week. We did a nice 1000 yard warm up, followed by a lovely pace set of 16 x 100, then a total of 400 yards of drills.  In my lane to day was Ian, who swam the entire main set with a pull buoy. I was talking to another swimmer (didn't get his name) in the lane next to me and he said that he use to swim against Fernando Canales. (decades ago)

Today we learned that Kevin never asks his swimmers to do the 'zipper' drill or the 'finger tip drag' drill, why? Because, if you ask someone to circle their arms over their head, what does it look like? The arm is loose, relaxed and mostly straight. We don't bring the elbow high, and draw the fingers up to the side of our body to the arm pit. That is exactly what we want to avoid when thinking about the arm recovery during freestyle.  We want to the arm to open up and move with high momentum over the head, with no break in it's path.  He is not proposing to always swim with a straight arm, that is only used for race situations if you are a sprinter.  It's fantastic to learn and know that the sport of swimming is constantly evolving and finding ways to improve techniques and teaching methods for our future Olympians, elite swimmers, and competitive Masters!

Friday 4/17/15

Warm:
400 swim
300 FRIM
200 Pull
100 Kick
Main: 16 x 100 - the fourth one is always fast
4  x 100 @ 1:35
4 x 100 @ 1:30
4 x 100 @  1:25
4 x 100 @ 1:20
Set:
4 x 25 (Left Arm single arm swim, breath to non-swimming side)
4 x 25 (RT - switch arms)
4 x 25 straight arm recovery holding tennis ball or loose fists
4 x 25 superman position - catch up drill
Cool 2-300 snorkel
OR -
4 x 100 @ 1:20 - make it to 15 meter mark under water off walls
more swimming - plus more swimming.................

Stay tuned for Saturday's practice. 

Happy Laps!

Hump Day Swim Practice

This morning's practice at T2 Aquatics was a stroke set and written by coach Mike.  It goes like this:

Wednesday 4/15/15

Warm:
4 x 200 (SKIMP) * Coach 'Sarge's' favorite w/u for Sherburne H.S. team! (Swim/Kick/IM/Pull)
Preset:
12 x 50 (switchers) @ 1' Drill/Swim by 25 - (fly/back, back/br, br/free, free/fly)
Main:
Idea is to descend and increase effort by set
1 x 
400 IM
400 FRIM
400 snorkel (or choice)
100 EZ

2 x 
200 IM
200 FRIM
200 snorkel
100 EZ (or not based on time constraints)

3 x 
100 IM
100 FRIM
100 snorkel

200 cool

Fun stuff - Thanks Mike! Oh and don't be too freaked out by my collar bone sticking up to the sky, it doesn't hurt. LOL!

Happy Laps!!

Warm down with Yigo laps!

Journey to SWF

On that particular Saturday,  the day that I planned to begin the journey to FL, with an overnight in CT to visit Sean and company, there were a few exciting events happening in Hamilton. One was the Break Out Clinic with Josh Davis, Olympic swimmer, and the other was the Habitat for Humanity Half Marathon.  Even though I was not there in person, I received a few photos of kids that did go, who were very thrilled to wear Josh's gold medals!!

I am so glad Molly, Liz, and Gavin had a blast with Josh!!

Yigo would have preferred to be running the half marathon with me, but the road was calling our name. The first pit stop was a pleasant park in the Catskills that had a place for Yigo to roam,  and enjoy the view of the rushing river. 

This train was across the street from the Park. There were deer antlers attached to the top, and a keg on either side.  Very unique. 

We continued our short trek to CT on the lovely crisp and sunning afternoon.  This was our first visit to Christie's home, and the setting was quaint and cozy against the forest along the shores of the Saugatuck reservoir.   We spent the afternoon meandering in the woods down to the water. Yigo had a blast swimming in the chilly waters!  I was so happy to see my bro! 

Paige and Brin were having a happy day too!!

We had a wonderful dinner was able to commandeer the remote from the kids in order to catch a glimpse of the Masters!  Way to go Justin  Rose!

After a good nights sleep, Yigo and awoke at daybreak to take it on the road again and tackle this road trip.   I was not a fan of traversing through the 4 major cities along the I95 corridor, so opted for the Tappan Zee bridge, cross West on 78, then head South on 81.  I think I made the right choice, because the hotel reviews on 95 were pretty bad, and I wanted better scenery.  See Tappan Zee!

The weather was warming up nicely as we continued further south.  I can always tell when Yigo is getting cramped up and anxious to get out, so I saw a sign for Starbucks along 81 and decided to pull off the Hwy, and discovered a little hiking trail, which made for an added bonus for Yigo to stretch his legs. I never found the Starbuck's!  :-(

The next 5 or so hours was pretty tiresome, but I was grateful not to be driving North, as there seemed to be double the amount of cars in the N. bound lane, so I figured they were all the snowbirds returning North. The closer we got to Hwy 77, our turn off, the traffic came to a stand still on the N bound side. Again, very grateful to be heading South!   Yigo gave me the signal that at about 5:00PM he was ready gave me the signal that 11 hours was enough, and let's find a place to stop for the hight. I called the the Hilton Garden in at Rock Hill, NC to see if they accepted dogs, and they did not, however, the nice gentleman said that the Hampton Inn does!

Great - so I called them, and they do, and they don't charge extra, and they had a very nice pet area. If I were to write a review on this Hotel, it would be glowing!  Clean, friendly, good breakfast (Yigo had the eggs), and very quiet.  Even though it's close to the highway, if you get a room away from the Hwy it's no big deal, besides, the AC unit will drown out the Hwy!  

Yigo's gives the Hampton - 4 paws!!



I ordered a salad with grilled chicken from Ruby Tuesday's and we went to pick it up, which was across the street.  Yigo was so cute running down the hallway, because he looked like a little kid, trying to figure out what room we were in.  You know how little kids are in a hotel that they have never been to before, and they have this skip in their step down the hall way with a little grin on their face, well that is what Yigo looked like!!  Then the parents are dragging the heavy bags, and legs that can barely walk due to sitting for over 10 hours!  We turned in at about 8PM, and woke up refreshed at 5am, ready to do it all over again.  We started driving at 5:22am. Dawn broke to cloud cover skies in SC and GA. As the day became sunnier, and the fact that we were making good time, I knew that going to Jekyll Island, GA would be so worth it and nice diversion to the trip and a treat for Yigo to see the beach!

It's only 11 miles East of 95, and he loved it!!

I wish I wore my suit, I would have gone for a swim!  The water was warm. Okay - beach walk was done, and the last leg of the trip was awaiting us.  There are a few different choices you have when going to Naples from the top of FL. One is to take I-10W all the way to Hwy 75, then head South. Or you can take 10W to Route 301 to Gainesville or Ocala then cut over to 75. Or you can go down 95 further, then cut across. (not the preferred route)  I decided to take 301 South and go through Gainesville, then get on 75.  That worked out fine. 301 is a speed trap according to my dad, and since he likes to speed, he prefers all Highway.  Most everyone is going a minimum of 80 mph on I75, so it's fast going, but can be congested between Tampa and Ft. Myers.   We finally arrived at 4:30pm which is pretty good timing considering the stop in GA.  I was feeling a bit dizzy when I got out of the car. I think I was dehydrated.  When I pulled into the neighborhood in Pelican Marsh, mom was standing there with her dog, Murphy.  Murphy LOVES Yigo.  Yigo when for a swim in the pool, and we have to teach Murphy how to swim.   

I was so looking forward to swim practice this morning with the T2 Aquatics at 5:30am that I thought practice was at 5!  There was a new coach running the practice, whom I have never met before. Her name was Jenna.  She gave us a solid LCM work out. Here it is:

Warm:

300 swim/ 100 K/ 100 P

Preset: fins

6 x 25  kick with perfect body position. face down. (I used snorkel)

6 x 50 (25 -  3/4 catch up / 25 - catch up) 

Main - 2 times  (not 3 - as she originally wrote it!)

5 x 200 pull ( 10-15 sec rest) I had 20. @ 3:10

6 x 100 (10 sec. rest , I had 15)  @ 1:45

#1 - easy

#2 75 ez/ 25 hard

#3 50/50 (EZ/Hard)

#4 25 EZ/75 hard

#5-6 - fast

Cool 200-300

Very fun morning!

Happy Laps!

Sayonara lovely Lineberry

 This will be my final week enjoy the waters in Lineberry.  I hope you enjoy this week's practice line up.  Starting next Monday 4/13, I'll be swimming outdoors with T2 Aquatics for about a month or so. I'll post their workouts as well.  I will miss Lineberry in the Summer, but I won't miss Hamilton in the winter!

Monday 4/6 AM

Warm w/ fins

400 swim, 400 k, 400 drill

Kick Set: (4 x 50) x 4

4 x 50  @ 1:10

4 x 50 @ 1:05

4 x 50 @ 1'

4 x 50 @ :55 

Swim Set: (2 x 200) x 3 *

2 x 200 @ 3' or 3:15

2 x 200 @ 2:50 or 3'

2 x 200 @ 2:40 or 2:45

cool 200

(3,4K)

* wasn't feeling it - so pushed back the intervals. getting in shape is a humbling experience!!

Monday PM (lunch)

Warm - 500 choice

4 x 50 @ 1'

5 x 50 @ :55

5 x 50 @ :50

5 x 50 @ :45

250 Pull

4 x 25 @ :40
4 x 25 @ :35

4 x 25 @ :30

250 Pull

Kick 

10 x 25 @ :40 (alternate Ez/Hard)

cool 200

Wednesday 4/8

Warm - 600 choice

12 x 50 @ 1:10 (odds fins K/S , evens K/D by 25)

15 x 100 @ 1:30 (hold best)

6 x 50 @ 1' descend 1<3 div="">

cool 200

Thursday 4/9 

Warm - 500

4 x 100 (25K/50D/25swim)

300 Pull

8 x 25 fly @ 1'

8 x 50 back @ 1:10

8 x 75 (25 breast/50 free) @ 1:20

8 x 100 IM or free or alternate @ 1:50

100 E

4 x 200 odds IM / evens free @ 3:30

cool 100

Friday 4/10 

Warm -  300 swim/ 200 pull / 100 kick

1 x 300 @ 5'

2 x 250 @ 4'

3 x 200 @ 3:00

4 x 150 @ 2:15

8 x 50 @ 1' (fast/float by 25)

100 cool

Happy Laps!!

Happy Easter

Good Friday was a great day -- well not for Jesus.  But today was an especially good day to celebrate the weather, the scenery and the conversation on the roads with friends, especially my faithful cycling friends in N.Y.  Truthfully, you can't beat Central NY scenery with a stick, however, you can get your money for nothing and your chicks for free!  (inside joke, haha)

Who and what do you we have here?  Pete on his shiny good deal of a bike that he couldn't pass up a bargain for less than 1K fully built. Jonathan (Dr. S),  on his single speed, with legs that are powerfully pushing me up the climbs rather than the old days, me pushing him.  This was the first ride since Oct. when I crashed pretty hard in 'Caz.'    During the course of the ride, my one attempt for a city limit sign was futile, and I was beat out by Jonathan and Frank. Darn that Frank!  It's an excruciating feeling of wishing I was 30 again and in IM shape!  But the day was not over, nor was the ride, and there was still two more town and village limit signs of Hamilton to tag. Jonathan easily won points for the town of Hamilton, so the only one left was the sign at the end of a 'fast' decent into our village next to Colgate University. He said to me, "get ready for the second best lead out you have every had!"  I thought, "really?!"  My next thought was,  you may drop me in the process, then I realized he was on a single speed, and as I was drafting and waiting for the opportunity to pounce, he was bouncing (slightly)  in his saddle, oh I got this, and commented, "should I go now?" "Yes," he replies, and into the drops I place my hands, and made the all out sprint effort for the sign. Yippee!  He gave up his soul and his sins to me, and in return I got the city limit sign!  Okay - Jonathan didn't give up his sins for me, but Jesus did, right?  That's what Easter is 'all about'....
Put you right foot in, put your left foot in and shake it all about, do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!  It's a Revelation!

Great Times!   

As beautiful as it was yesterday - it is snowing today! I'm talking, cold blustery, snow! argh. 

Swimming this weekend - what's on the agenda for practice coach?

Since I did not do Thursday's practice, because I treated myself to a massage and didn't want to swim afterwards,  the plan is to swim Thursday's set on Saturday.  I will post an extra Sat. set for those that would like to swim something different.  

Extra Saturday

Warm

600 (50F/50Back)

Preset

8 x 50 @ :55 descend 1>4

Main:

400 pull

4 x 100 swim 

300 pull

3 x 100 swim

200 pull

2 x 100 swim

100 pull

100 swim 

500 snorkel/fins/paddles

200 cool

Easter Sunday - Pool Closed :-(

Practice Yoga 45 - 60 minutes