May 2010
Poor planning = no swimming
I neglected to check if local pools were open this weekend. Looks like I won't be swimming till Tuesday :(
I'm doing dryland and weights instead. Still working on the site, more updates soon.
Rollerblading and Page Structure
I took a day off swimming to Rollerblade at a local Metropark. My record for 3.1 hilly miles was 12:13 (I think, I have to look it up). Today, I 'bladed a 12:39. I tried to keep my body more upright because last time I almost collapsed from the strain I was putting on my lower back being bent forward for 10+ minutes straight. The theory helped my back a little but killed my time. I'm aiming at breaking the 10 minute mark this summer :)
Working on the blog layout
Hang in there! Almost done!
Getting back to my training roots... of sorts
I've had two great days of training since returning from Atlanta. Tonight I was at a community pool yet I got to bask in the glory of being the only person in the pool... no distractions :)
Back in the pool!
I made the trek back to EMU today to get in a quick 1,500 meter practice. I did a set of 5x100's butterfly kick on my back on the 2:00 minute and held 1:34's for all five. I'm feeling motivated to improve. I had a nice conversation with Coach Peter Linn and touched on my summer training plans. Last summer I trained with the EMU/CW group at Eastern. This group will be training at EMU again and I would be welcome to join. I need to ponder my options and decide on how I'll step up my training moving forward.
Post-Practice Weight: 180.4 lbs
200 Backstroke Video
I look really good for that first 100 Back! Then "Kevin Doak" happens to my swimming endurance!
The 50 Free-Back video with Cullen Jones and Nick Brunelli
I'll get the rest of the videos up soon! I'm in lane 2 down near the bottom of the screen... yea, the guy doing backstroke, Enjoy!
Swims are now fully mapped to meets!
An exciting addition to the site, now all the swims I add to the database will be mapped to their respective meet along with videos, live results and race notes! This addition gives me a great way to categorize my performances and a fantastic reason for you to make fun of me for loving this dorky stuff!
Excited to start training again!
That's all!
Ha! Took 24th in the 50 Free Swimming Backstroke
Honestly, I really find the whole ordeal quite hilarious even if nobody else does! I took 24th place in the 50 Free while swimming backstroke. This means that I was somehow ahead of 18 other guys in my age group. The video will be posted soon :)
2010 USMS Short Course Nationals (Reflections)
In short, the 2010 USMS SCY Nationals was awesome! I'm so glad I attended. I had some reservations about making the trip based on how much preparation and interest I've had in training lately. In the end I felt like it would be a fun road trip and a blast to swim in the 1996 Olympic pool. Everything went great all weekend. I would have liked to swim better during my first day (200 Back and 100 Fly) but I never train for those events therefore I can't expect to excel.
22.80 in the 50 Free against Cullen Jones, and I'm proud of that!
Shortly after my 100 Back I was warming down thinking... I really have no interest in swimming a 50 Freestyle. The pool was very hard to see in due to all the bubbles that are created by moving through the water normally. It was then that it struck me, I should dive in and turn over during my 50 Free! I've ALWAYS wanted to try it. I've seen plenty of guys do butterfly in a 50 free but NEVER backstroke. I've been dying to know what an actual "dive" is worth versus a backstroke start.
50.90 in the 100 Back
I won my age group in the 100 Backstroke with one of the fastest times of the meet. The three men that went faster had full body tech suits on. I was so relieved to hear Mark Gill say over the microphone before the 200 Breaststroke "This is the last event ever for tech suits". I think I was the only person cheering.
The race went pretty well based on the fact that I was unshaved, untapered, and unrested. I wore my Speedo Brief Endurance Suit and no cap. I think my 50.90 represented a best-case-scenario for me this weekend.
23.62 Leading off the 200 Medley
I split a 23.62 leading off the 200 Medley Relay. That time becomes more impressive when I tell you that I was rushing to the pool only having found out about the relay an hour prior to the start! I was weaving through traffic on the way to Georgia Tech, parked and ran into the Rec Center. I never made it to the locker room so I dashed into a bathroom and threw on my suit. I ran down on deck looking for my relay. When I found them they had already blown the first whistle and another teammate was about to dive in the water for me!
1:31.43 National Record in the 200 Medley Relay... will it fall?
Cullen Jones and Friends DEMOLISHED our 200 Free Relay yesterday. Somehow, I don't mind getting beaten by Olympians. Today is the 200 Medley Relay. It's looking VERY close. Without relay starts, I have their relay at 1:32.98 assuming Cullen Jones splits an 18.50. A few relay starts will lower that a second or more assuming each guy is on their game. Our 1:31.43 will definitely be challenged and might get some heat from a few other teams as well. We shall see!
Split 21.31 on the 200 Free Relay
This race was shortly after my 50 Back. I'm not impressed with this split at all at 21.31. To make things worse, this was WITH a relay leadoff, I anchored the relay. This is the first time I noticed it in a race but the bubbles in this pool are horrendous! The relay made the situation even worse. I literally couldn't even see where I was going most of the race. I almost hit the wall it was so bubbly. I don't really know what to attribute it to, I'm guessing water additives or the type of chlorine they use. I've never seen bubbles linger so long in a pool.
23.48 in the 50 Back
I had a very conservative start on those Omega pads, a bad breakout, decent turn and another bad breakout to finish in a 23.48 winning my first SCY National Champion title! Being unshaved, untapered, unrested, and wearing a Speedo brief suit, I'm actually satisfied with that time. It was a decent race overall. I felt like I got the edge on my competition off the start and held my lead through the whole race, I'm about to watch the video.
Satisfied with my 50 Fly!
I swam a 22.72! Got 4th in my age group. Considering I swam a 23 low shaved I'm really happy with a 22 high unshaved!
Rough, yet fun, first day at Short Course Nationals!
My swims are certainly nothing to brag about, but the meet is a blast! Thus far it seems that the entire event has been nearly flawlessly planned and executed. I'm incredibly impressed by the facility, staff, and volunteers. They're running two 10 lane pools concurrently, one is swimming even heats, the other swims odd heats. A friend Mark Gill is doing most of the announcing, which simply translates into fantastic announcing! I notice that almost EVERYBODY is trying to get one last swim in with the tech suits before they're illegal for good (hopefully).
Warmup swim before the big day!
With the help of a friend I found a local pool which I could do a meet warmup in before I compete tomorrow. I did about 2,000 yards and some speed work as well. I'm not feeling fast but I'm still excited to swim. I'm here simply for the experience and I know it will be a great one!
In Atlanta and ready to swim!
Although my preparation isn't what I wish it was... I'm here and ready to swim! The pool apparently closed early after the first session, but I'll get in and swim tonight somewhere. I swim around 12pm tomorrow!
Short Course Nationals planning...
I'm gearing up for Short Course Nationals... sort of.
I've been slammed with work lately and haven't made time to train. I'm really just going down to Atlanta for the experience. I REALLY want to see this pool. It's going to be so exciting to compete in the 1996 Olympic Pool! I've been averaging about 4 mediocre practices a week but I've been consistent with my weight training because I can do it at home.
Someday I'll Learn
I (once again) strained something in my neck. I tend to do this about once a month. I fail to stretch my neck before swimming, whip my head to the side while breathing in sprint freestyle and end up like this. I can barely turn my head to the right and turning to the left is fairly painful as well. Someday I'll learn to ALWAYS stretch before swimming, but lets face it... if I haven't learned by now... it's not lookin' good!
All work no play
My lack of posting can only be attributed to my recent workload. I've been in the pool almost every day with an average of 3,000 yards/meters a day. With Short Course Nationals only a week and a half away I'm feeling quite unprepared.
3k LCM at EMU
I didn't have a chance to swim with the team but I got in a great 1.5 hour practice. Some good benchmarking sets both pulling and kicking. I'm feeling pretty strong in the water, I'm on a good training streak, hoping to keep it up!
Setup for a great practice!
I got a full 8 hours of sleep, a hearty breakfast, 7 hours of work in and a good lunch. I'm going to have 1.5 hours before swimming, an ideal interval before training. I'm excited that a great practice might occur today. So often life gets in the way of a flawless training day like today.
I'm sore from yesterday, I lifted hard in the morning, followed by some stretching, and then got slapped around in a practice with EMU. Today I'll return to EMU for a little more verbal and physical abuse :)
THAT was a bit motivating
I stopped by EMU for a practice and happened to be jumping in the water at the same time as Eastern Michigan's team. I chose the "Sprint" practice and found myself training along with Kevin Kubik and Justin Griggs, arguably two of the fastest sprinters at EMU currently. Both are 20.xx sprinters... and I'm not. After asking Coach Linn's permission to hop in with the team, I found myself a bit out of breath after a 1,200 warmup. The GREAT news is that my shoulders are probably fine. They still feel a little odd but they're not slowing me down a bit.
Site is still a work in progress
Thanks for hangin in there. I'm still adding content and revising pages on the site. It's exciting work for me though :)
Another good training day
My shoulders still hurt but I put in a decent training day. I balanced a 2,000 yard workout with a busy day with family and work. Although I would have liked to swim more, I'm proud of myself by getting everything done that needed to be done. I didn't "HAVE" time to swim, but I carved out time in my day and made it happen. With work and life being busier than ever before, the next few years of training will be increasingly hard to make time for. I'm a little worried about that fact, however I know I'll spend my time doing whatever is important to me.