August 2008

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Aug
29

Gearing up for a 5k run

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 6:34am (August 29th, 2008)
I've been in the pool a few times lately but with the Jones Pool at EMU being closed for maintenance I never get a very good workout at the outdoor pool at Fuller. I've been running lately to get up for my yearly 5k run. I do the "Kensington Challenge" each year at the end of September. It's a fun race, I've done it the past three years. The first year was decent because I did a few months of running prior to the race. The second year was a little slower due to less running and this past year was borderline horrible.
Aug
25

Sunday Morning at Fuller

Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 1:29am (August 25th, 2008)
I had a great practice at Fuller Pool today, probably one of the last Sunday mornings I'll do. The Sunday morning crew only swims till early September. I've only been in the water a few times in the last two weeks so the 4100 meter practice was a heck of a wake up swim! The people and coaches are always helpful. Although her name slips my mind, the coach this weekend mentioned that I swim with my thumbs out during my stroke. I'm pretty sure I don't swim like this in meets but it was a helpful comment which I'll consciously work on from now on.
Aug
22

I figured it out

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 12:07am (August 22nd, 2008)
Since I'm still seeing Michael Phelps in the news I figured I would make another post about his "I want to change swimming" comment. This is what I think:

He attracted lots of viewers to swimming with the help of NBC
He is the most decorated Olympic Athlete ever
He has shown sponsors that you really can pay a swimmer millions of dollars, in this way, he made swimming more like football, basketball and baseball. I'm not sure if that's a good thing
Aug
19

Oh Yea...

Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 10:06am (August 19th, 2008)
And Michael Phelps won 8 Gold Medals at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games
Aug
18

Sore from water skiing!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 8:47pm (August 18th, 2008)
Todays practice was brutal after an afternoon of water skiing on my cousins boat yesterday. My whole body is sore but not tired, suggesting I didn't stretch enough beforehand (read: none). Today I did dryland with wheels and due to a slightly strained ankle I didn't do any kicking. I did 5x200's paddle pull fast. The last two I swam freestyle to mix it up. By that second freestyle one my left shoulder was sore. This is a chronic problem I dealt with in college as well. I believe it means I either have an actual problem with my shoulder, that I have bad freestyle form, or both.
Aug
16

I smell like chlorine again!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 5:13am (August 16th, 2008)
After a week and a half off I was back in the pool today. IT FELT GREAT! I could only get in the Jones Natatorium for about a half an hour before they shut down the pool but it was worth it. I've enjoyed my time off but I was ready to get back in. I really missed it! I had made it a part of my life and when I wasn't in the pool every day I felt like my day wasn't complete. I dove in tonight and just got a big smile on my face while I took my first lap, I love swimming...
Aug
11

Best Relay Performance Ever!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 5:21am (August 11th, 2008)
It was an amazing feeling even watching the event when they touched that wall! After the public trash talking of the French team being quoted as saying they "will smash the USA, that's what we came here to do". The United States 400 Meter Free Relay anchored by Jason Lezak lead the team to a .08 second victory and smashed the previous world record by 4 seconds! The Team of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak made us all proud! The comeback of Jason Lezak in the last 50 meters splitting 46.06, a world record, was an incredible sight in itself.
Aug
10

Inspirational!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 8:34am (August 10th, 2008)
Ok, so a few world records were broken today at the 2008 Summer Olympics, you can read about it on almost any news site. This next video meant more to me than any of that:

Swimnetwork.com Video

Aug
6

A little break

Posted by Kevin Doak on Wednesday at: 7:34pm (August 6th, 2008)
I decided to take this week off from swimming to catch up on work and life. I've been doing dryland and weights each day along with some rollerblading. I actually hate not swimming, I feel like something is missing from my life! I'm sure it will be good for me in the long run!
Aug
5

Theory on swimming

Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 4:51am (August 5th, 2008)
I had a great trip out to the U.S. Open, it was a great learning experience in many ways. One moment sticks out in my mind, while driving back I was considering what it would take to swim faster. Two conversations I had over the past few months made me look at my swimming in a new light. Both conversations were quick however meaningful. The first was with Coach Michael Jones, the legendary coach of Eastern Michigan University. I caught him at EMU's natatorium, appropriately named after him... I was discussing my difficulty going "all-out" during my entire 100 Meters Backstroke.
Aug
3

Home Safe

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 5:01am (August 3rd, 2008)
It was a great trip overall! I would have liked to swim better, however I am very motivated to train hard and not have another performance like I did this weekend! I posted a few photos from this weekend on the pictures page :)
Aug
2

University of Minnesota Virtual Tour

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 5:45am (August 2nd, 2008)
I do a tour of each pool I visit, here is the Virtual Tour of the University of Minnesota and the site of the 2008 U.S. Open:

University of Minnesota Virtual Tour
Aug
1

100 Back Prelims results

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 5:05pm (August 1st, 2008)
1:00.52

Its performances like this that motivate me to work harder while training. I was out in a 28.33 which is about a second slower than my best first 50 split. I brought it home in a painful 32.19. I literally took dead last in my event. I was 41st out of 41 swimmers. I'm disapointed at my time but somebody had to take last! I feel ok that out of all the meets I've done that this is the one I was last at. It would have been a real downer to have this happen before the trials. I can take comfort in the fact that I saved somebody else the feeling of being last!

Aug
1

Ready for the 100 Back

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 3:28pm (August 1st, 2008)
The event is scheduled to begin at 10:15am central time, I'm in heat 4 lane 2 next to Matt Patton who is a 55.xx. Again, I don't have any expectations for today, I'm just here to swim and have fun.