Mad Manatee Mentors 2013: CLOSED (exc/ Pop Tart bribes) (Page 425)

Congratulations!!

Congratulations!

You've been a Manatee long enough to that you should DOOO EEET!

Yay!  Congratulations!  It was really fun, and certainly a cool thing to experience.  I bet we'll have a sizable Manatee/BT contingent there and it would be very cool to meet you :) 

I know it's a schlepp from FL, but... coughyoushouldtotallydoitcough

Definitely hoping to do it again.  Will probably just be the Sprint again next year.  Hopefully it's less chaotic for me than this year with the weird late start and rain.

I made it to the gym today and it didn't hurt!!  Granted, I could only bike like 20 minutes (trading off with DH for the munchkin), but that got me kind of winded.

T'was a nice day, overall.     Fall has finally struck.  Struck may not be the best word as I think fall is the perfect season.    Awoke and got on the trainer for a hour sojourn.   Cranked the resistance up and pretended I was climbing one long gigantic hill.    Need that change about once a week.   Had breakfast and got cleaned up.  The little town I live in had it fall festival today.    The main attraction was a vintage car show.    Weather was nigh perfect and good for general gad-about.  Was on my beach cruiser.     I love my beach cruiser.    Don't tell my tri bike as she is the jealous type.     Dug up most of my banana plants and potted them up and moved them into the sun room.   Had a beer whilst performing this not too laborious act.  Maybe the beer made it more pleasant.  No matter.    All the while the weather is  devil-liciously  so  pleasant.  Sunshine and low humidity.  Fall is the only time  that we are not afflicted by this beast called humidity.    Sun goes down and I get on the treadmill for a 30 minute run.     It felt good.   It does wonders for my blood pressure and my attitude.  So afterward, under the full moon, the harvest moon, I reckon, I lit a fire in the the fire pit with store bought logs and am relaxing with cold pizza and a beer, or two.    Might howl at the moon, if the dogs will join me.   Just to stir up the neighbourhood.    Listening to the wind rustle through the leaves is intoxicating in of it self.   Queue up Neil Young's Harvest Moon and Van Morrison's Moon Dance.   

Hmm,    Seems a beer or two make me loquacious.   Excuse me whilst I turn to the Ph.d chemistry squeeze and ask if she is amenable to making out under the stars.   Skyclad, of course...  

Originally posted by StaceyK

Originally posted by MadMathemagician

T'was a nice day, overall.     Fall has finally struck.  Struck may not be the best word as I think fall is the perfect season.    Awoke and got on the trainer for a hour sojourn.   Cranked the resistance up and pretended I was climbing one long gigantic hill.    Need that change about once a week.   Had breakfast and got cleaned up.  The little town I live in had it fall festival today.    The main attraction was a vintage car show.    Weather was nigh perfect and good for general gad-about.  Was on my beach cruiser.     I love my beach cruiser.    Don't tell my tri bike as she is the jealous type.     Dug up most of my banana plants and potted them up and moved them into the sun room.   Had a beer whilst performing this not too laborious act.  Maybe the beer made it more pleasant.  No matter.    All the while the weather is  devil-liciously  so  pleasant.  Sunshine and low humidity.  Fall is the only time  that we are not afflicted by this beast called humidity.    Sun goes down and I get on the treadmill for a 30 minute run.     It felt good.   It does wonders for my blood pressure and my attitude.  So afterward, under the full moon, the harvest moon, I reckon, I lit a fire in the the fire pit with store bought logs and am relaxing with cold pizza and a beer, or two.    Might howl at the moon, if the dogs will join me.   Just to stir up the neighbourhood.    Listening to the wind rustle through the leaves is intoxicating in of it self.   Queue up Neil Young's Harvest Moon and Van Morrison's Moon Dance.   

Hmm,    Seems a beer or two make me loquacious.   Excuse me whilst I turn to the Ph.d chemistry squeeze and ask if she is amenable to making out under the stars.   Skyclad, of course...  

 

 

It sounds like you had a perfect day Is your niece still living with you?

She prefers living in Huntsville so I have got her an apartment there.

Fishy people--question:

I have finished reading the most helpful swimming book every (Yanti, tell Sheila she has a stalker), but now I'm confused about my stroke rate.  I don't know if It is as simple as this, but my 910 tells me I take between 10 and 12 (and it's more often 10 than 12) full arm cycle strokes per 25yds.  If it takes me 1:30 to swim 100 yds, then it takes me 22.5s to swim 25y, which means my stroke rate is 2.25 or if I take 12 strokes/length it is ~1.88.  According to Sheila, I should be shooting for <1.6 (really women distance swimmers are more in the 1.3-1.4 or below range).

Uhhhhhhh...help?

Is this something that just comes with speed, or should I be actively trying to make is lower.  When I do my 25s all out I'm getting 17.5/length but still 10 strokes/ length so a 1.75.

So, is this something I should be worried about or actively trying to change, and if so, how in the fach do I do that?

Don't worry about stroke rate at this point. In the SSW, it's mostly worked on through observation--I'm pretty sure you'll find it dropping naturally as you develop your stroke and swim-specific endurance (and volume).

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY (right on time for an Indonesian! ) TOM!!!

GO SALTY!!!

Mutti had a wonderful birthday--very busy and packed time, family day on her birthday, the big party the next. So much fun and Kingsley didn't die of my family or kill any of them either.

I am finally the last member of my immediate family (and one of the last of my brother's family, too!) to appear in the Jakarta Post.

Big butt bulge, pink and polka dots, red tri-top and all! Kingsley (who has been featured in the Jakarta Post) looked at it and said, "Well, it's definitely you!"

Linkie to article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/20/pushing-their-limits.html

The pic:

This is the 2 cents of a former D1 collegiate swimmer.     Don't worry about stroke length.   It will come with working on proper technique AND strength training.   One cannot get to the top level with technique alone.     The best way to improve speed, after gaining endurance, is to  push yourself outside of your comfort zone.   Most think that when you push yourself beyond your comfort zone your technique becomes sloppy.   That is only during the first week or so.    As you get more used to pushing yourself this way your technique will come back up to the level before.     When it does you will be more efficient and faster.    It's analogous to doing sprint work in running.   

For me, time is my only metric when I swim.      And at 55 I can still swim 100 meters in well under 60 seconds.    Granted, I can only hold this for maybe 400 meters.   But by doing this I can hold a slightly lower pace for   1.2 miles and beyond.   

To reiterate, YMMV.   

Thanks for the birthday wishes folks!  If 40 is the new 30, that makes 30 the new 20, right?  Anyhow, I'm running with it.

Yanti, that was an awesome article.  Way to go!

Originally posted by switch Thanks MM and Yanti MM, I honestly can't even fathom a sub 1:00/100, y or m. It makes my head hurt. Holding it for 400m? I bow to your greatness. If I quit my job and trained full time with a pro coach I don't think I could go sub 1:00. You all are freaks, and I say that with nothing but respect (and jealousy).

We may be freaks, we may be mutants, but even mutants and freaks can become slovenly and gluttonous.    It has taken me three years of time, effect and money to get back to this level.     One day I hope to finally out swim Ambrose Gaines.    Yes, that it.   That's why I do it.    

That's my story....   

Originally posted by switch Thanks MM and Yanti MM, I honestly can't even fathom a sub 1:00/100, y or m. It makes my head hurt. Holding it for 400m? I bow to your greatness. If I quit my job and trained full time with a pro coach I don't think I could go sub 1:00. You all are freaks, and I say that with nothing but respect (and jealousy).

Are you taking off the time spent streamlining? That would mean your rate is faster than you figured, but as already stated, down't worry about it for now.

And don't count out being able to do that. Swimming can by kind of funny. I train faster than people near or who have done 1:00/100 scy in a meet, but can't figure out how they do it. Even 1:10 seemed way out of reach until very recently. Then I pull out a :32 off the wall 50 in the middle of practice and I wasn't actually tiring yet. I have no idea how to set goals in this sport. Just keep training smart and see what happens!