February Swims

Back in the water! FINALLY. It was a little crowded and my body was a bit tired/sore from all that snow shoveling, but I managed to grind out 2,300 yards. Took a little while to get into my rhythm. Tomorrow is my long swim, so I cut it off when an older gent wanted to circle swim w/me and my lane partner. Figured it was best to reserve something, since I'll be going to the early bird swim (6am).

The pool didn't open until 11:30, so I couldn't do my usual early bird today. One bad thing about missing early bird and having to swim later is the Kid factor. They aren't allowed in the lap lanes (thank goodness), but it kind of freaks me out seeing 7 or 8 year old boys in the ladies locker room.... Our pool has "family changing rooms" that have showers, toilets, etc., which makes it tougher for me to understand why these moms don't opt for those facilities instead. Oh well. I guess they see worse on TV!!

New workout for Saturdays. 100 m kick board, lateral kick, one direction, otherside coming back, 100 m arms only, kickboard between legs. 10 blocks of those, makes 2000m.

I haven't been in the pool much in the last 4 months. Life has been CRAAAAAAAAY-ZEEEEEEEEE. Since swimming is my lowest priority workout, it's fallen to the wayside. I've tried in the last couple of months to get up for masters swimming but I have to be up at 5:20 to make it to the workouts and I just haven't been able to do it. Every morning I'd wake up, assess how I felt and promptly go back to sleep. That is until yesterday when I woke up and actually thought, "Hey, I think I'll go swimming!":D:D

So what was my re-introduction like...
1200 warm-up
Main set:
5 x 50 with second half at a sprint
4 x 100 second half sprint
3 x 150 second half sprint
2 x 200 you get the idea
Then the cool down.

What a way to come back. Ouch.:eek::eek:

Yesterday, I discovered the relationship between kick and streamlining in the water. What a difference! Had a really good swim--85 minutes, 3,250 yards (got kicked out of the water because of a kids swim meet was taking over the pool). I think I've recovered from all that snow shoveling because I felt very strong. :):):):):)

I had no swim mojo yesterday. :(

I started with my half hour lesson. I was the only one who showed up, so I got a private one. We did a bunch of kick drills and other drills to 'speed up' my stroke (which I tried to argue against seeing as how I'm going for distance here, not speed, but whatever...). I also got some much needed instruction on flip turns which I finally got down. I'll definitely need more practice to get the timing/rythm right, but at least I now know how they are supposed to feel when I do it right.

Then I swam on my own, or tried to. The place was deserted (even the gym was empty - are the resolutionists done already??), so I had a lane to myself and as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I couldn't. I could NOT get into a rhythm at all. Every lap was a struggle so I quit after 20 minutes. I did manage about 1000 m all said (including class).

After I pulled the times off my watch, I found something interesting. I always average out all the laps where I am just swimming (as opposed to kicking or whatever) just to see my overall time for 50m. I am getting progressively faster even though I'm not really trying to....I am a full 20 seconds per 50m faster than I was when I first got my watch! Of course, part of that improvement is not resting at the walls between lengths anymore, but still, I'll take it! :)

Our pool is finally opening up again during the week, the swim season is over for the high school and I get a wicked sore throat...figures! No pool for me for a few days at least.:mad:

The main set yesterday, after a warm up and drills, was 7x50 yds, leaving on the minute followed by 100yd slow, then repeat the 7x50. I was supposed to try to get in the 50s in 47-48 seconds. I know that's slow for a lot of you, but it's a stretch for me. I managed to do it for all but the last rep in each set. I'm jazzed.

today's workout was all about doing a timed 100 at the end, seems every month the coach is timing something... first a 1500, then a 400 now a 100. I think this was in prep for the fun swim meet on the weekend. unfortunately we are going away so I can't participate in the meet.
my time for the 100 was 1:22 I was happy with that :)
now off to do a little run before work:)

Damn flip turns. I'm in hell today. My sinuses are freaking out - have been for about 24 hours now and because of it, I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night. My nose is running, clogged and my head hurts. I also have a burning in the back of my throat (I assume from post-nasal-drip) and I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. Oh the joys of learning to swim! :p

Last night was my last regular swim class. We worked with the paddles and they helped me correct a few things with my stroke, which was nice. Afterward I did some laps on my own - I haven't pulled the info off my watch, so I have no idea how far I went yet.

I discovered that my goggles no longer keep water out and I think I figured out why...I've finally learned to breathe out my nose underwater and when I do, it breaks the goggle seal and they leak. For the first few months, I was breathing out both my nose and mouth and it was less of an issue. I tried my instructors goggles for a few laps and they worked well, but they hurt my eyes. I'm going to try my husband's next before I buy a new pair.

Today is my first lesson at the tri pool with a real triathlon coach. The class is specifically to help triathletes improve our stroke, so I'm totally looking forward to it. It's a long drive for me, but hopefully it'll be worth it. The coach told me that if I'm not getting enough out of the class to justify the drive, he'll refund my money. Nice! I just wish I wasn't so congested and sleepy today...

Hi Everyone,

I read the swimming, running and triathlons but never posted here. But want to let you know that you all are great inspirations to me.

I swim 3x a week and generally just going back and forth free style. Sometimes (when I feel like it), I do intervals. I know - there is not much structure in my trainings. With the break times, I do about 1500 yards (30 lengths of a 25y pool) in 45 min. I can do about 500 y comfortably without stopping. If I try to swim longer without a break, my form breaks down. I swim 100y in about 1:40min.

First of all, do any of you have some sort of (maybe old and outdated for you) set of routines I can swim? I am not looking for one or two training sessions but maybe for (an example) a 4 weeks regiment you have done/used which will have about 3 swim sessions a week (one maybe distance, one intervals, one drill? I dont know) and weekly advances to more distance, more drills etc. Would you be willing to share your swim plans with me?

Secondly, for a while I am really curious about how would I do without the constant turning at the pool - so I scheduled 30 min swim session in endless pool. I have never even seen endless pool. Do you have any advice, suggestions, warnings?

Thank you a lot,

Martina (pavlicov at 'gee-male' dot com)

What kind of goggles were you using, GLC?

I like the Speedo Vanquisher 2.0 plus---excellent seal and give you different size nose pieces (a must for me). Great anti-fogging, too, so long as you take good care of them.

Like like most things, goggle preference is a personal thing.

mickchick - the vanquishers are what my instructor had and they sealed really well, but they hurt. What is the difference between all the different versions? Just shape? I might give a pair of them a try on my own and see if maybe she just had the strap too tight for my huge head. ;)

I tried my husbands' last night (Tyr Nest Pro) and they didn't work even a little bit...instant leakage.

Mine are Barracuda Ultimate's - comfy, but they do leak (slowly - so it's not a show stopper...just annoying that after 3 laps I have to empty them).

So last night was my first tri-specific class. I didn't learn anything new really, but I did find out that I'm 'good' in the water. All the bobbing and floating drills that we did were super easy for me the first time (not so for other members of the class). That gives me confidence that at least I'm starting in the right place. We'll see how it goes from here. I did swim 3 50's in a row in less than 1 min each, so I still have hope that I can meet my goal time for the tri.

My sinuses are still super angry and painful - I think my next purchase will be a Neti pot. :)

Reading all your postings is great inspiration for a complete beginner....

I've been going to a master's swim class once a week. By far the slowest one of the group, but I'm doing my best to keep up and it's great motivation. Add in a couple of extra swims Thursday and Friday mornings and I actually managed to put in over 3km in the pool this week! And today I felt like I was actually getting a little better, particularly with the bilateral breathing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

mickchick - the vanquishers are what my instructor had and they sealed really well, but they hurt. What is the difference between all the different versions? Just shape? I might give a pair of them a try on my own and see if maybe she just had the strap too tight for my huge head. ;)

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I have the vanquisher 2.0 and 2.0 plus. Speedo seems to have re-designed the latter a smidge because I recently bought a new pair and found the eye pieces slightly smaller than my old pair of 2.0 plus goggles. The "plus" means they are mirrored and polarized. They take a little more attention to seat right on my eyes due to the smaller eye piece but the seal is water tight (even during my Saturday long swims--90+ minutes). I don't have to make the strap very tight, either, so they usually don't get too painful. A good tip is to test the seal before you get in the water and if it isn't tight, press lightly on the goggle to make it "suck" more onto your face. It takes some adjusting when you first get them but once you're dialed in, you're good to go. Excellent peripheral vision, too.

Swimoutlet.com has both 2.0 and 2.0 plus for a decent price. I really like the 2.0s in the blue and the plus in the lighter blue (isn't as dark when swimming in an indoor pool).

By the way, I have a large head, too, and cannot wear ladies hats, googles, etc.

MILESTONES:
**I passed 50 miles for the year (52.07 actually) and earned a free swim cap in the US Master's GTD challenge.
**I also logged my longest swim yet---4,000 yards in about 108 minutes. Was tempted to go longer but my shoulders were starting to burn a little. ;););):):):)

I'm getting ready to take a nice, long nap!

I've been feeling under the weather recently and skipped 3 of my 5-6 workouts this week. Bleh. I did swim today, though - 600 yards or so, and my freestyle breathing is improving a little bit. Also did some barefoot running in my five fingers afterward, so my calves are screaming at me for that. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mickchick

MILESTONES:
**I passed 50 miles for the year (52.07 actually) and earned a free swim cap in the US Master's GTD challenge.
**I also logged my longest swim yet---4,000 yards in about 108 minutes. Was tempted to go longer but my shoulders were starting to burn a little. ;););):):):)

I'm getting ready to take a nice, long nap!

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Wow, that's a lot of swimming! Congrats!

I got my swim mojo back!! I'd lost it and was afraid I wouldn't find it again, but it's back! :)

I swam 500 warmup, then
4 x 200 0:30 RI
4 x 100 0:20 RI
4 x 50 0:15 RI
200 cooldown.
2100 total.

I managed to do 11 of the 12 intervals in my main set under 2:00/100yd with two of them at 1:46 & 1:48/100 yd. This is slow for alot of you, I know, but for ME? Those times are awesome for me. :)

I'm a happy girl today!

Nice swim Susan. I'm happy you got your mojo back. I love seeing others sets. I hired a coach one day a week and am so tired after an hour that I don't remember my sets and then one day a week she swims with us so same thing only free and one day a week my friend and I swim and we are always trying to wing it which amounts to a warm-up (1500 yards) maybe a 200 and then a cool down. My always warm up:
300 swim
300 kick with or with out fins or board
300 pull with pull buoy, paddles optional
300 backward body dolphin with fins
6x50 drill swim stroke choice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jones

Nice swim Susan. I'm happy you got your mojo back. I love seeing others sets.

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Thanks! It must be my week for swimming. This morning I did TWO 500s within 2 seconds of my race times last year. And I wasn't working all that hard. I'm stoked. Next week I'll probably go back to my normal sloth-like swim times, but this week I'm a happy camper.

Mickchick
- WOW!! That's alot of distance. And 4000 yards in one set sounds soooooo amazing. Way to stick with it!

Thanks but I'm really a slower swimmer without the best technique. I really love being in the water, and challenging myself to go farther and get stronger. Don't really care too much about speed because I'm not training for an event or anything. Just want to enjoy myself. This year's goal is to swim two hours.

The rest of you are motivating!

1000yds in the pool this morning, it's been a few wks. Overall felt really good, but my right arm started to get tired 500yds in. I noticed I was crossing over too much & that's what was causing it so that was fixable. Took a while for legs to get on board, but I ran 13mi yesterday so to be expected. Love love love, how swimming loosens me up! :D

Have a great weekend ladies!

1000 yards today. I'm recovering from doing a number on my calves by running in my Five Fingers last week, so I'm trying to get in the water instead of running. Still figuring out my technique though.

My first tri is a week away - it's a dinky little indoor tri, 2 mile run, 6 mile bike, 250 yd swim, and I hope I don't feel the need to take too many breaks during the swim!

Another 600ish yds today. The pool was full of little humans making tons of waves and the two lanes were occupied. I'm still a newbie and therefore afraid of kicking someone in the face while lane sharing, so once there got to be 3 people in my lane I hopped out to give them more room.

Maybe tomorrow will be less crowded. It would help if the Y would at least add the new lessons to the lap pool schedule..