FAST (Ford Athletic Swim & Triathlon Club) Masters Swimming, State Meet Team, April 15-17, 2011.
Short course swim season ended April 15-17 with our team taking 2nd place at the Michigan Masters State Meet at East Kentwood HS near Grand Rapids. Friday night, April 15, I swam a decent 1650 and dropped over a minute and a half from a 1650 in March. The pace felt easy but the pool temperature was much too warm. At any rate, it felt like my training was paying off. Saturday and Sunday we spent almost 12 hours on the pool deck, for two pool sessions each day. I think by 7:40pm Saturday night, going on the 12th hour of being on the pool deck, I just wanted the 500 free to be over with so we could get to the team dinner. Thank you, FAST swimmers, for making the trip to the west side and for your spirit and dedication. I backed the yardaged down a bit for a few days heading into the 3-day meet. I recovered pretty quick from the meet thanks to a lot of stretching, the heavy duty foam roller and a great massage at Tri-Covery Massage & Fitness.
This past Sunday I got right back into the longer swims with a set of 30 x 300m on 5:00 (SCM), every 6th backstroke with fins. Yesterday I did what I call a "parking lot workout." I arrived at the pool and scribbled down the main set on paper, while sitting in my car. I knew if it was written on paper, I had to finish it. There was no backing down and I had no excuse to get out early. Accountability. I knew I wanted to do between six and seven thousand meters, so I did a 1100, 1000, 900, 800, etc. ladder down to 100 (6,600m). I've always done 1000-down so I added a bit more distance.
There's also cyber accountability. When in doubt, a brief Facebook posting of your intentions (status) to plunge into a freezing lake in April to acclimate always seems to do the trick. Knowing that your teammates will ask about the water will trigger follow through. So I played for over 20 minutes in the 41 degree lake on Saturday afternoon while Noah took video clips of me screaming and the dog having a fantastic time.
The 2011 USMS 25k Solo National Championship is only 7 weeks from this Saturday. This weekend I ordered two tubs of Maxim, the nutrition of choice for marathon swimmers. Feeding during the 25k won't be too difficult, with a kayak closer to my level. Salt water, gigantic swells and fishing vessels will make the Channel feeding more interesting. Right now I can only control my training, nutrition on land and sleep. G'night.
This past Sunday I got right back into the longer swims with a set of 30 x 300m on 5:00 (SCM), every 6th backstroke with fins. Yesterday I did what I call a "parking lot workout." I arrived at the pool and scribbled down the main set on paper, while sitting in my car. I knew if it was written on paper, I had to finish it. There was no backing down and I had no excuse to get out early. Accountability. I knew I wanted to do between six and seven thousand meters, so I did a 1100, 1000, 900, 800, etc. ladder down to 100 (6,600m). I've always done 1000-down so I added a bit more distance.
There's also cyber accountability. When in doubt, a brief Facebook posting of your intentions (status) to plunge into a freezing lake in April to acclimate always seems to do the trick. Knowing that your teammates will ask about the water will trigger follow through. So I played for over 20 minutes in the 41 degree lake on Saturday afternoon while Noah took video clips of me screaming and the dog having a fantastic time.
The 2011 USMS 25k Solo National Championship is only 7 weeks from this Saturday. This weekend I ordered two tubs of Maxim, the nutrition of choice for marathon swimmers. Feeding during the 25k won't be too difficult, with a kayak closer to my level. Salt water, gigantic swells and fishing vessels will make the Channel feeding more interesting. Right now I can only control my training, nutrition on land and sleep. G'night.
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