Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 27)

croixfan - 2011-05-14 6:42 PM

Woke up this AM feeling totally zapped and really under the weather -- which sucks by the way after a beautiful start to the week.  A three hour pre-lunch nap helped immensely and I felt great afterwards.  Headed to the pool with a promise -- again -- to do 1000 yards non-stop.  This time I actually made it.  Time was 26:07 (2:25, 2:39, 2:41, 2:42, 2:42, 2:34, 2:35, 2:40, 2:36, 2:29).  Just checked my previous PR and found it was 27:43 back on 21 April!!!  While I feel like I have tons of room for improvement, seeing the numbers drop is definitely encouraging.  After the 1000, did 4 x 100 with first 50 being kicking, second being breast stroke.  Closed with a 100 at a moderate pace / pulled it off at 2:18.  First tri is two weeks from today and I'm feeling very well prepared. 

May try and fit in a run today and/or tomorrow + a swim session tomorrow as well.

Hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend.

suzielea - 2011-05-14 8:56 PM

I've also decided that I'm going to try this workout next time I hit the pool (hopefully next week if I have any money left, lol) http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=528 The 400m endurance one - not sure what to do with the "pull" drill though as I don't have access to a buoy - could I do it with just a kickboard instead? or swap it for some other sort of drill like kicking or catch-up?

 

kgore - 2011-05-15 12:35 AM

Oh well, thankfully, I heal quickly--I still plan on getting an easy swim in tomorrow night--and that exhibit's done--it'll be a nice easy day at work tomorrow!

suzielea - 2011-05-15 2:00 AM

Me - I'm trying to find a bike training schedule I can actually follow - want to be more consistent when it's actually been looked at - and I'm thinking of stealing the bike portion of Micheal Pate's 22wk sprint program - I'll see how I go with week 1 and then decide though - it'll either be that or something based on the Galloway conditioning plan run build up. I've also decided to add a day of running in to my current walking program (probably use the galloway program for now) but if that goes well I may swap one of the walk days to a short run or a walk - walk/run - walk tempo style thing. I'll see how everything goes next week and then decide. This week has basically been a cutback/recovery week and I don't really have anything that I'm knowingly training for (BFF and her Mum have some ideas on races they want to do but haven't informed of dates, etc) until October with a possible mini-tri in November if I can ever find any decent details about it, lol.  

kgore - 2011-05-15 11:34 AM

Good news--My foot feels much better today--a little achy, but only because I had been compensating for the sore spot--my back is also much improved--I am still following through with doing as little strenuous stuff at work today, and I am planning on hitting the pool tonight, just for a little bit of drill work and some laps--Not at race pace, but more just to really get a 'feeling' of how I can keep a decent rhythm going....

One week til Auburn!!! (can you tell I'm a looking forward to it???) 

Mike_D - 2011-05-15 5:13 PM

OK, who raced this weekend?!?!! Reports, please!

I had a swim lesson today and had a couple of "a-HA!!!" moments. My coach/instructor said things were looking quite good, and he had a few nit picks, but thats about it. Then he completely kicked my butt by having me swim all kinds of intervals, short & long, and left we a pathetic lump on the wall of the pool. He later confessed this was his intention all along to see how my stroke holds up as I get tired swimming. Turns out it was a mixed bag, but very promising. Worked on extending my stroke much of the time, and getting into a rhythm. He also had me bilaterally breathe every time I swam, and that was a challenge as I have never really done this much in the past. Speed wise, I shocked myself a few times by pulling off what I consider crazy times (for me) on 50 yd sets. Several times I was able to maintain a 1:16/100 pace on these. Funny part was, it didn't seem to be any more effort, just concentrating on a smooth stroke, and extending the glide of each. Had I been doing a "golf" score, I would have come in around 70 on just about all of them.

Still haven't fixed my flat, but likely will later. No pain today from yesterday's incident. Tomorrow AM will be some running, bike & run on Tuesday, and Wednesday back in the pool.

croixfan - 2011-05-15 8:57 PM

Headed to the pool after lunch for an easy work out.  Did a bunch of drills, worked on kicking, and just took it easy.  Followed the swim up with a nice, easy 4.7mile run 44:01 (check points were 10:49, 9:45, 5:57, 9:42, 7:46).  Wind was brutal, but the run went very well as I just relaxed and took my time.  9:22 pace was nothing to write home about, but it was comfortable and let me put in some miles.  Shin splints continue to improve as they only bothered me for about 30 seconds during the run and are not bad this PM.

Decided to try out a Mexican restaurant that a co-worker had recommended -- great choice as it was the best place we've been to since we left Denver. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

suzielea - 2011-05-16 3:47 AM 16 min run/walk session. Warm up 5 min ( definitely longer than I normally go as I was starting to wonder when it would end around 4 mins (normal walk warm up is approx .34 miles)) followed by 4 run intervals of 05:55,05:55 (stuffed up the first one so started the interval thing on my phone again),10:50,15:45 (leg started hurting and this one kick my butt) then a 7 min walk to make up the intended time (10 min because I forgot about the stuffed up first interval.) Got .94 miles which equates to a 17:01 pace. I'm thinking I'll stick to the 05:55 and 10:50 second intervals next time but I may throw 1 15:45 in there to see if I can do it - I'm thinking some sort of ladder type thing.

Now off to finish my assignment - got bored just copying info so went out for my run to improve concentration, lol. 

Mike_D - 2011-05-16 8:54 AM

Sara -- question for you regarding swim workout structure. I'm looking to put together some swim workouts which will focus on my continued emphasis on form and build endurance. I've read up on a few things, and have come up with the following and wanted your $0.02.

wu: 2x100 or 1x200

Drill set: 8x50 or 10x50, each emphasizing an aspect of stroke I need to work on: bilateral breathing, relaxed head & shoulders, catch & pull, kick.  Last 2 50's in set are "put it all together" swims

Main Set: Focus on form & stroke: 4x25 on @ :10; 1X100; 6X25 @ :10; 1X150; 8X25 @ :10; 1X200; 6X25 @ :10; 1X150; 4X25 @ :10; 100

CD: 1x100 easy 

The main set is intenede to let me focus on shorter lengths, then follow by a longer distance. over time, I'd up the distances as I get more endurance. Total distance is 2200 yards

This is something like I went through at my lesson yesterday, and the main sets are not something I've seen before. If you have other ideas, that would be great, too!

Overall, I think I had a big breakthrough on swimming the past few days. I feel *FAR* more smooth/streamlined in the water, and am hopeful I can work this in to muscle memory and build on it. Managed to average under 1:30 today for my (short) workout. 1:20 is in my sights

50andgettingfit - 2011-05-16 1:27 PM

Hi everyone!

I'm back from a long but very fun 10 days in Arizona. My trip started with my first Oly of the season and ended with my daughters graduation from ASU! I'm very proud of her and we had a great time with all the family together.

I'm going to try to attach a picture of my first finish of my first tri of the season!

Mike_D - 2011-05-16 1:44 PM Most of the lesson was spent doing either 25 or 50 yard swims on specific time intervals. For example, I did 5x25 on :30, followed by 5x25 on :25 as part of my torture/swim lesson. There were a few longer swims done as well, and they followed on the heels of one of the short sessions such as the '5x...' mentioned above. Longest I did was a 200.

suzielea - 2011-05-16 6:51 PM

Mike - I'm sure you'll rock that race. Have you done any OWS swimming yet?

 

jayhawkrichie - 2011-05-16 10:10 PM

I think i have turned a corner.  A swim and run today.  

I spent some time with a friend from church that is a multiple Ironman finisher, who is willing to "coach" me.  We spent about 30 minutes talking about my plans for the Oly this year, HIM next year, and IMFL in 2013.

That lit a spark under her and she started talking about how we would need to plan it, so I am going to just make it through the sprint in June and start hard core training for the Oly with a training Sprint in July or August.

Anyway, I think the fire has been re-lit, so ya'll should be seeing more entries in my training log.

 

Tim

Mike_D - 2011-05-17 4:10 AM

Too $**# cold here to do any OWS yet. i live near the ocean and I think the water temp is low 50's right now. Even w/ a wetsuit that is ridiculously cold

Mike_D - 2011-05-16 8:54 AM

Sara -- question for you regarding swim workout structure. I'm looking to put together some swim workouts which will focus on my continued emphasis on form and build endurance. I've read up on a few things, and have come up with the following and wanted your $0.02.

I love stuff like this, so I'm more than happy to take a look!

wu: 2x100 or 1x200

What/how do you swim when you warm up?

I generally aim for 400-500 yards for a warm up and exaggerate everything about the stroke since I don't pay attention as much when I'm swimming for speed.  Streeeetching out the arms, pointing the toes, rolling the hips.  The w.u. is your time to develop your feel for the water for the day.  200 yards straight is a great distance for your total workout volume, if you go by workout "recipes", but I find that athletes feel better when they put in a longer warm up.

Drill set: 8x50 or 10x50, each emphasizing an aspect of stroke I need to work on: bilateral breathing, relaxed head & shoulders, catch & pull, kick.  Last 2 50's in set are "put it all together" swims

Sounds like a plan to me.  You can even alternate 50 drill/50 swim.  Don't forget to swim your drills faster as you get closer to your race day.  Some people swim drills the same speed throughout the whole training plan, but it works better when you swim those faster, too.

Main Set: Focus on form & stroke: 4x25 on @ :10; 1X100; 6X25 @ :10; 1X150; 8X25 @ :10; 1X200; 6X25 @ :10; 1X150; 4X25 @ :10; 100

I like this set.  It looks like a great one to do on a day when you don't feel like swimming and need something very specific to focus on.  Since you're working on your form in the drills above, this is where I think you can put on your big boy bathing suit (inside out or not) and add some distance.  I'd keep your plan as is early in the training season, but since you've got just over a month to your race you can actually swap in 75 yard swims for those 25s!

So: 4 x 75, rest 10 s. 1 x 100 on 1:30, rest if you want.  4 x 75, rest 10s each. 1 x 150 on 2:15, rest if you want. 4 x 75, rest 10s.  1 x 200 on 3:00.  And then work your way back down the ladder if you have gas in your tank.  Don't be afraid to "rest" longer in order to do a quick 5 second stretch of things that feel tight.  I usually give myself a 10 s rest between intervals so I have enough time to quickly stretch my arms, back, or quads.

CD: 1x100 easy 

Ah, the quick and dirty cool down.  If 100 yards allows you to leave the pool feeling like you got in a good workout then that's good.  I think if you're working on form and distance, you may want to stay in the water up to 200+ yards for a cool down to keep the blood ciculating through your chest/shoulders/arms.  Otherwise, if you get out too soon the blood may pool in your legs when you're taking a shower and you won't feel too good. 

Total distance is 2200 yards

I didn't add up the yardage of my suggestions, but 2200 yards is a nice distance, esp for sprint/Oly training. Nice job!

Managed to average under 1:30 today for my (short) workout. 1:20 is in my sights

Keep up the great work!  It takes work to drop 10 seconds/100 and be able to hold it.  I think you'll be very proud of yourself when you hit 1:20.  Another helpful tip would be 100 or 125 or 150 yard repeats where your average pace is 1:30-1:35.  So, 10x100 with 10 seconds rest.  That sort of set does WONDERS for building endurance.  You could throw that in after your drill work. Then do a cool down or a kick set then a cool down.