December 2008

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Dec
30

Sharks + No Pools = Take 7 Days Off

Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 1:53am (December 30th, 2008)
Today I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise in Marathon Key in the exact spot I had done some ocean swimming last year. As I was taking some nice ocean pictures I noticed something in the water. Sure enough, it was a shark swimming along the shoreline just 10 yards out.

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Dec
26

Personal Florida Training Trip

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 5:32pm (December 26th, 2008)
I had a fairly unplanned but wonderful vacation in Florida. I had planned on doing much more swimming during my trip but the opportunities didn't present themselves with limited transportation and time over the holiday.
Dec
14

Swimming Hall of Fame Pool

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 10:40pm (December 14th, 2008)
I had a chance to swim in the (Former) International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool, now renamed to: "Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex". I've been part of 4 swim meets here, one each year I was swimming with Eastern Michigan University. We trained in Fort Lauderdale each holiday break to escape the cold weather and have some semi-vacation time while getting our butts kicked in practice.
Dec
13

Kicking Down and Getting Booted

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 6:42am (December 13th, 2008)
I had a brief practice this evening after some weights, I was unaware that they were closing the pool to setup for a meet this weekend. I got the boot 30 minutes into my practice and only accomplished about 2,000 yards. What I did accomplish was my first practice in which I trained underwater "kicking down". For me, I've never had the time or interest to learn how to utilize the 2nd half of my butterfly kick. I know I'm not the only person to widely overlook this hidden kicking style. This explanation will be from the backstroke perspective (facing up).
Dec
11

Animal Kick and Credit Due

Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 9:41pm (December 11th, 2008)
After running to practice I got in 4,500 yards today. I'm well on my way to averaging more than 4,000 yards per day this entire week. I did 3,000 yards of kicking, IM and pulling to start things out followed by an Animal Kick set. This is a set from my college days consisting of 10x100's kick on the 1:30. It's a great benchmarking set for me. In college I used to average about 1:21, I'd always start out pretty quick but could never keep the speed for the entire 15 minute set. Today I did the following set on just less than 2 minutes rest after my main set:

1:12
1:16
Dec
10

4,000 yards and the EMU Masters Meet

Posted by Kevin Doak on Wednesday at: 10:51pm (December 10th, 2008)
They cranked up the heat in the Jones Pool today for some reason, it's always harder to work out when it's warm like that. I managed to get in 4,000 yards before the college team got in. I'm still hurting quite a bit from doing lunges and dry land exercises the other day. I spoke with Skip, one of the meet organizers for the next Masters Meet at EMU in January. It sounds like it will be a good one. I'm going to try to get some new and old swimmers to make it to this meet. Eastern is a great venue and an even better pool.
Dec
10

SLOW MOTION

Posted by Kevin Doak on Wednesday at: 6:58am (December 10th, 2008)
I took Monday off to rest and catch up on some projects. Today I did dry land and weights as well as ran to practice. Once I got in the pool I was in SLOW MOTION big time. I was watching age groupers pass me left and right, it was pretty sad. I managed to get in 4,200+ yards and I'm glad I went but even happier that not many witnessed that practice!
Dec
7

8,100 Yards!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 11:44pm (December 7th, 2008)
After some dryland and bodyweight exercises I picked up an EMU workout and it wasn't until after the warmup that I started counting up the yards... It added up to 8,000! I knew this was more than double my typical yardage but I know I need to work harder to swim faster. I'm going to take all the solid parts of my training that have brought me some lifetime bests lately and work even harder while adding a moderate amount of yardage. I've done some great kicking sets but I'm not focusing enough on lung capacity.
Dec
7

Motivated

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 6:09pm (December 7th, 2008)
14 hours after my 100 Fly lifetime best I'm back in the weight room, doing dryland exercises and in the pool to better myself. This weekend showed me that I'm on the right track but I need to do far more to achieve my goal. I have one month before a SCY masters meet at EMU on January 11th 2009. The next month will present quite a few obstacles to my training between the holidays and family events. I need to make sure I maintain a healthy balance, enjoy family and friends while keeping my goal in mind and continue training. I welcome the challenge.
Dec
7

Reflections and Goal Progress

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 7:18am (December 7th, 2008)
Dec
7

100 Fly Lifetime Best!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 4:53am (December 7th, 2008)
I had a really fast 100 Fly (for me). I swam a 49.93! A full 2 second drop! I never train butterfly at all so being under 50 seconds is really good for me! My 50 fly split was also a lifetime best by 0.06 seconds at 22.58. I feel really great about my swims this weekend! It shows me I'm improving and quickly becoming the fastest swimmer I've ever been in every single event in every course. I'm going to review all three videos tonight and reflect on where I can improve. What a great weekend!
Dec
6

Fantastic 100 Back!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 9:05pm (December 6th, 2008)
I still have a lot of work to do, but I had a great 100 Back at a 49.50! Its still 0.99 seconds away from my lifetime best but I'm VERY pleased with my performance! This is the fastest swim since college and about a 2 second drop from a few months ago. I took it out in a 23.73 which is a solid split. I'm really proud, I'm on the right track to break all my personal bests! I love swimming!
Dec
6

Might Actually Happen

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 7:50pm (December 6th, 2008)
The meet director thinks he can get me in after a 1650 time trial so I have at least another 20 minutes after the events are over but I should have a chance to time trial the 100 Back.
Dec
6

Perhaps a 100 Back this Morning

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 5:41pm (December 6th, 2008)
I'm on my way to the Jones Natatorium to hopefully time trial a 100 Backstroke. Its been over a year since I've done a shaved and tapered 100 Back SCY (Short Course Yards). If the meet director can accomodate me I'll swim immediately after the morning session of the EMU Invite. This pool is by far my favorite short course facility. It was built very well in the 80's (like me). It has great gutters and solid walls (no bulkheads). I hope I can get a good swim in, I feel good.
Dec
6

That 50 Free Felt Great!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 6:53am (December 6th, 2008)
I was really proud of my performance tonight in the 50 Free Time Trial. The meet staff was nice enough to let me do an event after the meet was over. I was all alone in the race due to collegiate regulations. It was a good race overall, the 50 Free is always tough for me because to have a good race, you need to make ZERO errors. One small slip up and it's a very poor time. I did everything quite well tonight, I decided to dolphin kick off the start and turn. I only took one breath at around the 35 yard mark. I could and should have swam it no-breath.
Dec
6

Awesome 50 Free!

Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 3:30am (December 6th, 2008)
I just swam the 2nd fastest 50 free of my life at 20.98!
Dec
5

Long Week but Ready to Race...

Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 8:21pm (December 5th, 2008)
I have to admit I've been a little distracted from swimming. A combination of Cat passing away, life and work has kept me from focusing time and energy on training. This post will be quick due to a shortage of time. I missed the Short Course Nationals meet and got a concerned/mad call from the meet director, I explained the situation and he scratched me from my remaining events. I also couldn't make it to the TYR Grand Prix in Chicago, another meet I had planned on attending.
Dec
1

Catherine Lee Ha

Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 5:35pm (December 1st, 2008)
One of the nicest people, and a dear friend to many fellow swimmers passed away last night. Catherine Lee Ha, a current Eastern Michigan University Senior swimmer from Toronto, Ontario had been hospitalized for the last few months for an unknown illness. As of just a few days ago I heard she was doing satisfactory but had been placed in a drug induced coma to determine her illness.