February 2014
Well, that was interesting
This is exactly what I needed. I'm a big fan of "benchmarking". I like knowing where I stand in my physical fitness. I did a poor job of scheduling my events, practically swimming 4 back-to-back events in a row, but I got two good swims in. I started things out with a 22.21 second 50y Freestyle, not a horrible time and that's ok. The next 3 events had about 5 minutes inbetween each event. It was more of a general lactate workout than a series of meet performances. I had a solid 30 minutes of rest before my final 100y Freestyle event. My 50.10 was probably the slowest time I've had since my high school days. I really didn't care what I saw up on the clock when I finished, but in hindsight, it is quite slow.
This is the motivation I need to get me in the pool every day. I'm a realist. I can look at these times and understand that I'm incredibly slow right now. To improve, it will require daily workouts. I'm committed to improving because... wow, those are some slow times (for me).
50 Freestyle SCY :22.21
100 Backstroke SCY :55.80
50 Butterfly SCY :24.47
50 Backstroke SCY :25.80
100 Freestyle SCY :50.10
4 out of 5, then 3 out of 5
I've started swimming multiple times a week. I haven't found a good place to swim on the weekends yet. Therefore I'm limited to 5 days a week in the pool. I've got a great start at 4/5 and then 3/5 in back-back-weeks. I'm planning on swimming this sunday in Grand Haven. It's my first meet since last May! Looking forward to it!
Consistency will yield positive results
Lately I've been inconsistently training, this yields a sub-par physique and slow times in the pool. We make time for the things that are important to us. I've prioritized work more than ever lately. I have not made time for my health. I think writing that sentence is a step in the right direction. I feel lucky to have the knowledge I do about swimming and exercising. I know exactly what I need to do to improve my health and feel great in the water. It's worked for me before and it will work for me again:
It starts with:
Plan on swimming 7 days a week - I set this as an unrealistic goal because I know things will come up and this plan will yield 5-6 days in the pool realistically. Although other people might be different, I know this works for me due to my abstract schedule. The key to my success has always been consistency.