Friday, January 31, 2014

31Jan14

My buddy Sue Frehse joined me today to film me some.  She filmed me while walking the deck and then under the water.

500 WU
2 x 25 fly filmed
50 fly filmed
100 free filmed
100 free filmed under water
50 fly filmed underwater
2 x 25 filmed underwater
I plan on uploading them to Sylle and hopefully he can give me some ideas on why I'm struggling so bad.
100 easy
10 x 50 free on the minute.  I had to get under :40 or it did not count.  I made :37 on each and :34 on last one
500 free
5 x 100 free on the 2:00.  Had to get 1:20 or under or it did not count.  Hit 1:20 for first 4.  Last one I got 1:15
500 free.  I mixed in some hypoxic work of doing 25's underwater.  Swimming 25's free but no breathing allowed.  I also did some 50's with some speed and limited breathing.
450 broken down into 100's and 50's.  I did some 50's keeping pace with Sue during some of her fast 50 sets.
50 free CD

My lungs really felt like they got a good workout today.  My arms are pretty tired too which is nice.  Nice longer day tomorrow.  It is the last day in January and my FLOG says I have done JUST under 39 miles.  Considering I had to take a whole week off and this is my first month back training in a long time, I'm happy with this.
3500 SCY total

Thursday, January 30, 2014

30Jan14

Rest day today
Slept in until 0530 and was at the pool by 0600.  Put my thermometer in and it read 80!  HALLELUJAH!!!  I actually felt a TINY chill when I got in.  Of course this immediately worried me that 80 degree water could cause me to chill at all.  I might be getting soft.  I shower at the gym during the weekdays and the water there is hot.  Only 2 cold showers per week.
3 x 100
200 good pulling
5 x 50 fly on the 1:30
5 x 50 free on the minute
500 free open turns
DONE!
I really wanted to do more but I'm forcing myself to take it easy today.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about my daily routine from Tuesday through Thursday and I'm pretty sure my 15+ hour days are starting to wear me down a tiny bit.
Talked to Sylle yesterday and he recommended I change the cadence of my fly.  I sped it up some but still struggled.  I am starting to wonder if maybe...MAYBE I don't have the right body composition to try such an endeavor.  He is taller and thinner than me so this probably helps.  I wonder...Am I "too fat to fly"?  I'll keep adjusting and trying but if I don't see some serious improvements in Feb, I might ditch the idea of crossing Bear Lake 7 mile doing fly.  I am finding NO joy in swimming fly for now.  I keep at it but when I don't see ANY improvement, it gets me frustrated.

1500 SCY

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

29Jan14

Was a bit sick yesterday and still not feeling that great today so I cut my yards down.
500 WU
500 with snorkel
10 x 50 fly on the 1:30 - got really worn our doing this
300 kick
200 swim
10 x 50 fly on the 1:30 - this set was a little easier
6 x 50
100 hard
100 easy

3000 SCY

I'm getting a bit tired and not recovering as easy this week.  I think I'm going to swim just 1000-1500 tomorrow.  I need to be in the water but I think I may be putting in too many yards too quick.  Mentally I'm ready but my body is still on "build" mode and not getting enough rest with my 15 hour days.  I get up at 0430, swim from 0500 to 0700.  I then work until 1530, drive to Ogden and attend class until 1900.  I get home around 2000 each night then I unpack, clean my stuff then make all 3 meals for the next day.  In bed by 2030 and asleep by 2100.  My body is starting to wear down a bit from this routine.
Any thoughts?

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

28Jan14

500 WU
500 with snorkel
500 kick with snorkel, did limited breathing
500 fly mixing it with 25's and 50's
10 x 50 on the :60  strong pulls
250 mod pace
250 no breathing inside flags
500 fly (25,50,75,100,100,75,50,25)
300 kick
200 easy

Pool was 84.5 degrees.  Starting to get pissed about this.  They keep claiming it's a "boiler" problem but they have been using that same excuse for several weeks now.  I'm starting to consider looking for somewhere else to swim.  As much as I love this pool, my energy gets sapped after a few thousand and I'm no longer struggling with my workout, I'm struggling with my exhaustion.

4000 SCY

Monday, January 27, 2014

27Jan14

Not such a great day today
WU was 5 x 200 - 1,3,5 swim 2 drill 4 kick
5 x 200 on the 3:30
5 x 200 on the 3:15 - started to get REALLY tired during this set and energy started to tank.  I rested a good amount yesterday but I guess I did not sleep well or not 100% recovered from my swim Sat.  Either way,  I stopped caring about my time and just focused on my stroke.
100 easy - 25 of it was fly
7 x 100 pull
200 easy - 25 was fly

During my pull set, I saw something that usually I might get a smile out of but today I was chocking on water due to laughter.  I guy 2 lanes over got lost...and I mean LOST during his flip turn.  He was upside down and started looking everywhere and kicking his legs to find the wall.  It has happened to all of us but I found it hilarious today and couldn't stop laughing for at least 4 minutes.  He never saw me laughing but this is a definite indicator that I was tired.  I get giggly when I'm tired.
Got my distance in today but that is pretty much it.

4000 SCY

Saturday, January 25, 2014

25Jan14

Got a workout from Sue yesterday and made some slight modifications. I arrived at the pool at 0700 and took a temp reading. 84.3.  Still way too hot.  I took a pic of my thermometer and plan on keeping a log of the daily temps.

500 WU
8 x 75 fly free fly by 25
3 x 300
8 x 25 fly
6 x 50 on :55
4 x 200
6 x 50 on :50
7 x 100 smooth and strong  I hit 1:19 on each one - happy about that
6 x 50 fly-free on the :60
100 easy
1000 2x(250 snorkel, 250 normal)
10x50 kick
10 x 50 desc 1-5 then 6-10 I was supposed to do these after my 500 WU but somehow skipped them
300 CD This puts me at 7000.  In terms of miles it puts me right under 4 miles.
50 free to get to 4 miles even.

There was a lady swimming next to me who was doing heads up breast the whole time.  During a quick rest, she asked how far I was going.  She said she was impressed and was only able to do 1000 before she needed to get out.  I told her distances between us don't matter.  We are doing what we like and being active is the only thing that matters.  1000 yards is still extremely impressive and she should be proud of being able to do that distance.  A little while later she stopped me to tell me that I "inspired" her and she is going for 1500!  I shouted, "Hell Yeah!" and gave her a high five.  She was psyched about it and stopped me when she had finished.  No idea who she is but I'm impressed non the less.

7050 SCY

Friday, January 24, 2014

24Jan14

"Rest Day" today.  Alarm went of at 0500 and I laid there for a few seconds trying to motivate myself to get up.  What made it really tough was Patricia rubbed my back and told me to lay back down.  As soon as I considered it, I thought of FLOG and a blank entry for Friday.  NOPE...GET UP!  Need to swim but going to take it down a notch today.
10 x 100 on the 2:00  I was around 1:23 and last 2  I was at 1:19
2 x (300 Fly - broken up by 25's and 50's then 200 kick)
300 with snorkel and only allowed myself to breathe at certain times per 25.  When I really needed air, I would get some but with the snorkel, it was limited.  Made lungs hurt...good.
50 easy
100 strong
50 easy

OK, here is where I am a little pissed.  Where I swim is a BEAUTIFUL facility.  It is extremely clean, the water is clear, and TONS of lanes.  The only and I do mean ONLY problem I have is that the pool is too hot.  They say the maintenance people are trying to "fix" it but so far I've seen nothing.  I took a temp reading today.  It was 85.3.  85!!!  Are you kidding me?  This is supposed to be a competition pool and competition training pool.  That temp is dangerous.  There is another pool where they do water aerobics for seniors and that pool is around 160 degrees.  Fine, they have their own place.  For SWIMMING laps, 85 is not only too hot, it is DANGEROUS!  I could feel warm water being pumped in from my lane.  I will complain daily and start taking pics of my thermometer and show how this is a daily problem.  Do they even realize as massive as that pool is how much it costs to keep it that temp?  They are wasting thousands of dollars per degree that is too high.  PER DEGREE!  Maybe the city would like to know that KEARNS is wasteful with money by keeping the competition pool too hot.  SO pissed at this.  As great as this pool is, you would think they would know better.
Ok, blood pressure decreasing, stepping off soap box, deep breathing....ahhhhhh

Plan on doing a long swim tomorrow

2500 SCY

Thursday, January 23, 2014

23Jan14

I was a bit sore from yesterdays workout but forced myself out of bed anyway.  I'm not in the habit yet of waking up at 0430 to go swimming.  It as almost to the point of becoming routine before I had to take a week off.  Now I'm back to struggling when my alarm goes off.
500 swim
100 kick (Todd Frehse arrived so I did his workout with him. I made some modifications of my own for some sets)
400 swim
6 x 50 drill
6 x 100 on the 1:45 (got under 1:23 for all)
200 kick - I used my snorkel
50 swim
200 kick - snorkel
4 x 25 fly
200 - 100 back then 100 free
200 fly
150 easy
10 x 50  I did about 100 of fly mixed in by the 25 but I was getting TIRED.  I felt like a computer when it gives you a warning "System....shutting down...."  I knew I had enough and finished.
It was a good move to get out.  When I was getting dressed, my shoulders were SORE when I was putting my shirt over my head.  Good thing I didn't try to push it.

3500 SCY

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

22Jan14

Felt good today.  I was eager to go swimming and try a workout I wanted to try. The base of the workout is nothing original but I decided to make it "interesting".
Ladders by 50 up to 500 then back down.  Big deal!  What makes it fun is that every 3rd 25 was fly.  I took my free nice and easy and my main focus was taking my time and working on my technique for the fly.  I would be doing a LOT of it so I might as well do it right.
It took a while to warm up so I was on my first 350 going up before my muscles didn't complain when I did a fly pull.  I got more and more relaxed and started feeling a bit more confident with my stroke.  Made the entire set.  It was great nice to see 100 on my finger counter.  That and I know I did my honest amount of fly.  I never skipped a set and if I was ever unsure of whether I was supposed to do fly or free when I hit the wall, I defaulted to fly.
So, all that being said, when I added it all up, I accumulated over 1 mile of butterfly!  HELL YEAH!  I'm not ready to call the mayor to prep the parade but this is a major step for me.  It was only 25 at a time but the yards to add up and a mile of fly is still a mile of fly.
Mentally I felt stronger and happier as I got closer to #100.  When I hit 100, I felt like I had enough energy to do a few thousand more.  Time was up and I had to get to work.  When I lifted myself out of the pool, it became aware to me that yes, I had indeed swam more fly in one workout than ever before in my life.  Still a FUN swim today and a good mental boost for me.  I got some film done on my fly and if I remember (which I prob won't) I'll put it up here later.  I want Sylle to check it out first.

5000 SCY

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

21Jan14

I was lucky enough to get my kids cold this weekend so I was still a bit congested this morning.  I let myself sleep a bit longer than normal.
Arrived at the pool at 0600.
500 WU
500 with snorkel
500 fly broken up by 10 x 25, 3 x 50, 100
200 free
50 fly
50 free
200 hard
10 x 50 easy

2500 SCY - GRUMPY today

Friday, January 17, 2014

17Jan14

I dropped my kids off with their cousins last night so they could spend the night and get some family time in.  I have to work today and the girls have no school.  Luckily my brother and sister will be able to watch Eva and MJ all of today.  This means I was completely solo last night and most of today.  This also means..I CAN SWIM!!!!
I just wanted to get into the water and feel it again.  Nothing crazy, no body breaking workout, just get in and feel the water.  It felt great!
Nice and easy workout.
10 x 50 on the :60 - SEE  told you it was easy!
5 x 100 on the 2:00 - Got around 1:21 on each.  last one I got 1:17
Here is where it gets fun.  I spend about 45 min talking to Sylle Estadio on Saturday going over how to swim butterfly for distance rather than time.  Completely different stroke and rotation.  I reviewed what he told me and started to practice the technique to try it out.
VERY relaxing rhythm.  I definitely was going very slow (as he recommended) but I felt good.  I started by doing only doing 25's then moving up to 50's.  I did do a 100.  My arms, legs, and core felt fine...hell, even great.  One thing I did notice that will make or break this...LUNGS!!!  Oh my goodness my lungs felt like they were going burst.  I was going slow but I do spend a decent amount of time under water.  My lungs were FREAKING OUT.  I could feel that "flex" spasm thing they do when I swim hypoxic work.  It hurt.  I quickly realized that if I have any chance of doing a distance fly swim, my lungs are going to have to be bigger and be able to hold more air than ever before.  If I can get my lungs in amazing shape, I think I have a good shot at it.  I felt really good physically when swimming.  Time will tell and I only did up to 100 so my body might tell a different story when I try for my first mile but first priority is lungs.  Without a doubt...LUNGS!
Here is where it gets sexy.  I ended up swimming a total of 700 yards of fly.  Not a typo, 700 yards of butterfly!!!
I then did a 250 with the snorkel then a 50 easy free.

2000 SCY...I'll say it again, 700 of it was fly...oh yeah!!!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

11Jan14

1 Hour Postal Swim today.

Picked up Josh and headed to Kearns.  My goal was to do over 3000.  This should be really easy to do but I was aiming low in case I crashed again.
No real warmup.  I just got in and went.  It took about a half hour for me to feel comfortable.  My stroke felt bad the whole time and I was bored for most of it.  Mentally I just was not with it as much as I should have been today. 
Finished it with a distance of 3610.  Not too bad but definitely could have been better.  A few laps I was even going over :50 per lap.  SAD.

I then timed Josh.  He kept a fantastic pace.  He was :41 for the entire swim.  After we got done, we headed to Sonic to get a breakfast burrito.  It was great.

3710 total counting one lap "warmup" and one CD

Friday, January 10, 2014

10Jan14

Video day today.  Met Josh at the Fairmont pool this morning.  The Masters coach brought his GoPro and filmed us.
Once he was set up, I did a few laps while he filmed me.  After the laps, he showed us what we looked like and made suggestions.
My stroke is getting better but I'm still not happy with some of the mechanics I see.  Other things I see I am very happy with.
I was not aiming for a workout today.  I just showed up to get filmed and headed to work.  I'm doing my 1 hour postal swim tomorrow morning.  I'm pretty excited, when I get home tomorrow I get to Skype with Sylle Estadio.

300 swim
200 kick
3 x 50 with film
100

750 SCY

Thursday, January 9, 2014

9Jan14

Did not sleep well last night.  Fell asleep late and when my alarm went off, even though I was out for 6 hours, I felt like I had only been asleep for 20 minutes
I did a workout I really like for today.

700 swim (100 easy 500 NS 100 easy)
10 x 50 pace
600 swim (100 easy 400 NS 100 easy)
8 x 50 pace
500 (same as above) Used Snorkel
6 x 50 same
400 same Used Snorkel
4 x 50 same
300 same
2 x 50

I made the workout distance but CRASHED halfway though the 600 set.  I tried to push myself a bit but my energy was GONE.  I slowed down hoping it would come back but that just made it worse.  My energy was tanked and I decided to just get the distance in and forget about the negative splits and making good pace times on the 50's.  I'm not going to be upset about what happened.  I actually expected my body to do this at one point.  I have not swam daily in a long time.  My body is adjusting slowly to all the recent activity and 2 days a week I have 15+ hour days.  Tough luck Goody! I knew what this season would entail so I just need to keep plugging through.  There will be more days like this but hopefully they are far apart.
I will have a lighter day tomorrow then my 1 hour postal swim on Sat.  Patricia is out of town for work so I won't be able to swim next week until Friday.

4000 SCY

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

8Jan14

Alarm went off at 0430.  I turned it off and said to myself, "Rest Day".  I laid back down and instead of seeing myself falling back asleep, I got a CRYSTAL CLEAR picture of the USMS FLOG page in my head and how there would be a missing spot for this week.  I immediately got out of bed...NOPE!  The thought of an empty spot scared me too much.

5 x 200 (1,3,5 swim 2 kick, 4 drill)
3 x 200 Not hitting the times I want.  Was not happy but not doing to get down on myself considering it is still the first week
50 easy
2 x 200 pull
50 easy
2 x 200 swim with snorkel
50 easy
2 x 200 pull with snorkel
50 easy
200 HARD. I hit 2:43 Decent time
100 hard.  Got 1:12
50 hard. Got :29
Did easy 50's until my lap counter hit the number 70.

I did something today that I felt an IMMEDIATE impact when I did it.  When I did my 200,100, and 50 hard.  When I was done, I was gasping for air.  I did not let myself get full breaths.  I put my snorkel in my mouth and put my face in the water.  I was able to breathe but it was limited.  I could still feel my lungs "flexing" for air even though I was breathing.  I was getting air just in limited amounts.  It was really tough but holy cow I know my lungs were opening up!  Great way to raise your oxygen threshold.

3500 SCY

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

7Jan14

Easy day today.  I wasn't physically ready for the 114 x 50 on New Years Day but I did see a 114 x 25 workout on a board by the pool.  Looked fun.
All of these are by 10 x 25:
Free
Drill
Fly
Back
Breast
Free
Kick
1 Min Rest
Pull -Kept buoy at ankles.
1 Min Rest
Free on :35
Free on :30
Free on :25
Last 4 x 25 was on the :20.  I missed the last one by a second.
I then did 6 x 25 with the snorkel.

Only been a week and I'm at 18,000 yards total for the year.  I'm 2% to my goal of 500 miles for the year.  OH YEAH!!!
3000 SCY

Monday, January 6, 2014

6Jan14

Up at 0430.  As I arrived at the pool and was about to get out of my car, a thought came to me.  I even spoke out loud.  "Am I really doing this?  Am I really starting this AM routine again"?
Yes, yes  I am!
I still am forcing myself to not go nuts on the distance or effort right now.  2 weeks of just stroke work and 80% effort for top effort on sets.  I want to do 5k-6k yards per workout with tons of intense intervals but I'm pretty sure my muscles aren't ready for that and I run too high a risk of getting a stupid injury.  Just swim to swim, work on technique, and in 2 weeks I'll start cranking it up.  You don't wear full pads and take full speed tackles the first day of football season so I'm not going to go all out when I'm at the beginning of my swim season either.

3 x (100 swim, 50 K, 100 pull)
4 x 75 pull  buoy at knees
4 x 75 DPS
8 x 100 on the 1:45 - I actually had to put some effort into a few of these to make 1:30
100 easy
100 kick
2 x 100 pull breathing 3-5-3
750 with snorkel
200 CD

I got out feeling like I had done a workout but not completely physically wasted.  I'm focusing a LOT of my workout on stroke work and feeling good mentally when I'm done more than being physically tired.  There will be PLENTY of kick my butt workouts coming up.  For now I'm happy working on stroke and feeling proud of myself when I'm done.  I also need to get myself back into the routine of waking up at 0430 each day!  As my friend Sue has told me a few times the past week, the first 2 weeks back are the hardest.  Yeah, no S**T!

3500 SCY


Saturday, January 4, 2014

4Jan13

Saturday usually equals longer day.
I decided to do a "longer" day of 5k.  This is usually a normal workout distance but I'm not going to let myself go nuts and injure myself.
 Ladders by 50 up to 500 then back down
I mixed in some kicking and did all snorkel on the first 450, 500, and the 2nd 300.
I felt pretty good.  My right shoulder hurt a bit going back down but I pushed through it.
Got out feeling tired but VERY happy mentally.

5000  SCY

3Jan14

Shoulder was still sore when my alarm went off this morning.  I slept until work then decided to swim after work.  I normally HATE swimming after work but I'm trying to make a point to swim SOMETHING each day.
10 x 50 on the minute.  I hit :39 - :40 on each
500 with snorkel
500 easy

1500 SCY total

Thursday, January 2, 2014

2Jan14

I need to start getting in the habit of waking up early and swimming before work again.  I knew my right shoulder was not 100% yet so I was only going to do 2000.
500 WU
500 swim with snorkel
25 kick then 50 swim repeated 6 times then 50 free
5 x 50 fly
250 free CD
The fly was tougher than expected.  I need to keep in mind that I'm really out of shape and I'm dragging an extra 30 lbs I don't need.  My stroke is bad and inefficient.  I am currently talking with 2 marathon butterfly swimmers and will get workouts and help from them.  I was just doing the fly wondering, which way should I breathe?, pull under or on sides?, how strong should my kick be?, etc.  Holy Hell this is TOUGH!  I have a LONG road ahead of me.  Did I bite off more than I could chew?

2000 SCY

1Jan14 - Humble Pie

I will admit that I have been eating a ton of junk the last few days.  I an use the holidays as an excuse but my diet hasn't been really good the past 2 months.  I have taken Nov and Dec off to let my body and brain rest form swimming and get ready for a new year.
I decided to join Sue with the KEARNS Masters for the New Years Day swim.  114 x 50 workout.  Sounded fun.
It was nice to be back and fun to be swimming with friends again.
I got in and was in the :55 lane.  I was going to start each 50 on the :55.  Not too bad.  I must have been too cocky or thinking I was in shape enough to handle this.....WRONG.
10 x 50 free - easy
10 x 50 fly - starting to struggle
10 x 50 back - falling behind
10 x 50 breast - got lapped ( was too far behind to make the time)
10 x 50 free - was ok
1 min rest
10 x 50 kick - had fins on but legs started to cramp after a few.  Had to skip one
10 x 50 pull - right shoulder started to hurt and my stroke COMPLETELY fell apart.  I only made a few of these when I knew it was time to be done.  I could push it but I might injure myself.  1st day back in 2 months, lets not be dumb.
There was more to the workout but I was DONE.
I figure I did at least 3000 so I'm comfortable saying 3k.  Not bad for my first day back.  I was able to skip breakfast this morning because my stomach was so full from humble pie.
It was fun being back but a reality check that I'm back at the beginning again.

3000 SCY