March 2009
Mar
31Meet Reflection
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 4:31pm (March 31st, 2009)
The 2009 Michigan Masters State Meet was a blast! I'm really glad I participated, the relays were amazing and the individual events were very competitive! I took Monday off to reflect on my swims, watch the videos and analyze what I did right and what I could improve on.
Mar
30Thank You's and State Meet Videos Posted!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 3:36pm (March 30th, 2009)
Thank you to everybody who supported me this weekend! Special thanks to Adrienne, Barb and Sarah! Without them I would have been foodless, unloved, and meet videoless! Another big thanks to my team from Lansing and Grand Rapids, the "Stray Cats". It was an honor to be associated with you all during the meet!
All the event videos are posted in the video section!
All the event videos are posted in the video section!
Mar
30Michigan Masters State Meet (Day 2)
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 2:26am (March 30th, 2009)
100 Fly SCY: (50.88)
Mar
28Michigan Masters State Meet (Day 1)
Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 11:17pm (March 28th, 2009)
Overall I had a good first day of the Michigan Masters State Meet.
200 Backstroke SCY: (1:55.05)
200 Backstroke SCY: (1:55.05)
Mar
27Like Clockwork
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 11:11pm (March 27th, 2009)
Each time before a big meet I choose to help somebody with a mechanical project of some sort. Like clockwork, I sustain some sort of bodily harm. This time it was fixing a computer, a sharp edge sliced my finger open. It might need a stitch but its one of those injuries that if you actually went to the emergency room the doctor would give you a look like "you're kidding me, right? I have a patient in the next room whose arm just fell off."
I'm sure I'll survive, hope my finger stays attached while racing tomorrow!
Mar
24Those early mornings hurt!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 3:17pm (March 24th, 2009)
Following some great advice from a valued parent, I've modified my sleep schedule to match what I'll need to be used to for this weekend's meet. This weekend the warmup starts at 8am and the meet begins at 9am with the second session beginning at 1-2pm (estimated). Since I normally swim in the middle of the day, this is very different from swimming at 8am. Add a 1.25 hour drive to Lake Orion and that puts me at a 6:30am wake up time. This morning I was in the water at 7:40am and got in a relaxed 3,800 yards before they shut the pool down at 9am.
Mar
24Last full day of practice before taper
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 3:40am (March 24th, 2009)
I did 4,500 yards today after taking Sunday off to rest. I still felt pretty worn down in the water during practice. I also did a brief dryland and weight set this evening, the last one before the meet. I'm confident most swimmers don't do weights this close to a big meet. I just feel like trying out a very short taper. I descended some 100's backstroke today down to a :56. Nothing spectacular but it felt pretty smooth. I also did some test freestyle and butterfly starts.
Mar
22Almost ready to taper!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 1:58am (March 22nd, 2009)
I was in the pool both yesterday and today. I did 3,300 both days which is 900 yards less than I normally do. I'm feeling run down in the pool. I'm going to take Sunday off to recover before a week of taper to prepare for the Masters State Meet starting Saturday morning.
I feel prepared to swim fast, but in the back of my mind I know there is SO much more I can do to improve. This will be a great benchmarking meet. I believe I'll have some good time drops which approach or exceed my college times!
Mar
21Washtenaw Community College Recreation Center
Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 2:56am (March 21st, 2009)
Mar
20The Health & Fitness Center at Washtenaw Community College
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 4:56am (March 20th, 2009)
I was short on time on time during the day, missed the pool hours at EMU so my options were either take a day off training, or try out a new facility. I chose to give The Health & Fitness Center at Washtenaw Community College a try. For a 1-Day pass, it's fairly steep at $10.00, but it was worth a shot.
Mar
19Training well every day
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 9:49pm (March 19th, 2009)
Short on time lately, I'll catch up on some blogging tomorrow, I've been training well each day and feeling great!
Mar
17Day off and new videos posted!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 9:08pm (March 17th, 2009)
After 7 straight days of training or meets I'm taking today off to rest. I posted videos from the Milford Masters Meet (mmm!) on the video page.
The weather is perfect for some rollerblading later today!
The weather is perfect for some rollerblading later today!
Mar
17Goal Progress
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 5:46am (March 17th, 2009)
I'm excited to have achieved a Lifetime Best in my 100 Backstroke SCM. It gets me even closer to my October 5th 2009 Goal of a Lifetime Best time in all 23 events. This latest swim makes the count: 10 out of 23!
SCM
I only have two more swims within the SCM course. I need to break 25.15 in the 50 Backstroke and break 51.75 in the 100 Freestyle. Both, very achieveable goals before October.
LCM
SCM
I only have two more swims within the SCM course. I need to break 25.15 in the 50 Backstroke and break 51.75 in the 100 Freestyle. Both, very achieveable goals before October.
LCM
Mar
16Last Minute Sign Up
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 8:24pm (March 16th, 2009)
I got my Michigan Masters State meet registration in just under the wire. I'm swimming all the expected events:
Saturday Morning:
200 Back (Seed 1:53.44) (Lifetime Best 1:50.01)
50 Fly(Seed :22.58) (Lifetime Best :22.58)
Saturday Afternoon:
50 Back (Seed :23.01) (Lifetime Best :22.22)
Sunday Morning:
100 Fly (Seed :49.93) (Lifetime Best :49.93)
Sunday Afternoon:
Saturday Morning:
200 Back (Seed 1:53.44) (Lifetime Best 1:50.01)
50 Fly(Seed :22.58) (Lifetime Best :22.58)
Saturday Afternoon:
50 Back (Seed :23.01) (Lifetime Best :22.22)
Sunday Morning:
100 Fly (Seed :49.93) (Lifetime Best :49.93)
Sunday Afternoon:
Mar
16Great Weekend
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 5:07am (March 16th, 2009)
I feel proud of my performances in the pool this weekend. After watching the videos, I had some solid technique on both my 100 back and my 50 back. From what I can see I held my stroke together more than I ever have on a 100 Back SCM. My underwaters still need a lot of work but I believe I've made progress with my kicking drills. My 5x100's pull (no equipment) per day seems to be helping my arm stroke, I feel like I'm catching more water and taking less strokes, all while going faster overall.
Mar
15Lifetime best and National Record!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 8:09pm (March 15th, 2009)
For an unplanned meet on 5 hours of sleep, I had a few solid performances!
Mar
15Well that wasn't smart
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 1:38pm (March 15th, 2009)
I'm up early Sunday morning for the Milford Short Course Meters meet. My commitment for this meet was so short notice that I didn't even have time to return to the pool to get my race goggles or cap. Historically, if I don't have certain goggles, they end up shifting on my head during my dive and subsequently fill with water. Meaning I do the entire event blind. This should be interesting.
I'm not sure which events I'll do. I might sign up for 5 events and just swim the ones I feel like I'm rested for at the time.
Mar
15100% better and a meet in the morning
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 3:02am (March 15th, 2009)
I knew I would probably heal quickly from that silly overstretching. I was 100% better within 2 days. I didn't take any time off. I did 4,300 on Wednesday, 4,200 on Thursday, 4,000 and some water polo (I'm sore!) on Friday. I got in at EMU today after the Division 1 High School State meet and busted out a quick 3,300 till they shut down the pool on me.
Mar
12Too much stretching
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 1:34am (March 12th, 2009)
Due to work commitments I was forced to take Tuesday off from the pool. I tried making up for it by doing dryland, stretching and weights at home. I made the mistake of stretching too hard in the evening. I didn't notice till I woke up today and could barely walk. Seems like I damaged the muscles on the backside of my leg, opposite my kneecap. I'm positive it isn't the joint and therefore not serious. I just need to take it easy while walking and training for a little bit.
Mar
10WOW!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 12:39am (March 10th, 2009)
I had a solid 4,300+ yard practice which overlapped with EMU's practice by about half an hour. At the end of my practice I decided to do 3x100's descend. Meaning, #1 was moderate, #2 was fast, and #3 was ALL OUT. I got done with the first and second one and noticed Head Coach Peter Linn was timing a swimmer a few lanes down from me. I asked him if he could get a time for a 100 back. He politely agreed
Mar
8Great Weather for Rollerblading!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 4:28am (March 8th, 2009)
It was awesome weather on Friday! I thought it was only appropriate that I dust off the rollerblades and go for a spin. I think I did about 6 miles at a moderate pace. It felt so good to enjoy the outdoors again after a long winter. Looks like it will be getting cold again so I'm glad I got it out of my system until it warms up again. I did weights and researched the P90X workout system again today. I have yet to try it out, but it certainly seems interesting. I might try it out after the Masters State Meet and see how I like it.
Mar
6A Great Practice and New Recruits!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 10:52pm (March 6th, 2009)
I had a great 4,300 yard practice, my typical 5x100's pull no equipment turned into 10x100's today. I held 1:09's on all of them which is the fastest average ever. I feel a little run down but I'd like to go rollerblading and do weights if I have time later.
Mar
552.2 from a push!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 1:10am (March 5th, 2009)
Not too shabby,
Mar
1New Benchmarking Record!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 12:58am (March 1st, 2009)
As I've written many times, I enjoy benchmarking myself within practice frequently. It fuels the pride I have in my training and sometimes shows me where I'm slipping.
I do 5x100's pull Backstroke no equipment almost every day. Typical days I complete the 100's on the 1:12. Good days I'm 1:08. Today I bested my fastest 100 pull (no kicking at all) of 1:04 with an incredible 1:01!
I do 5x100's pull Backstroke no equipment almost every day. Typical days I complete the 100's on the 1:12. Good days I'm 1:08. Today I bested my fastest 100 pull (no kicking at all) of 1:04 with an incredible 1:01!