December 2009
Dec
31I knew it would be tough!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 10:14am (December 31st, 2009)
It's been a REALLY useless week for training. Between pool closings and personal things, I haven't been the water in 6 days. Today I made a change and began training again. I won't be in nearly the shape I had hoped to be for Lake Orion on the 10th. Oh well, life happens.
Dec
26Holiday Training
Posted by Kevin Doak on Saturday at: 8:22pm (December 26th, 2009)
Happy Holidays everyone!
Its always tough to make time to train during this time of year. I've taken a few days off of physical activity to enjoy friends and family. I'll be back in the pool on Monday to gear up for the Lake Orion masters meet in early January.
Dec
21More VHS video treasures
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 10:39pm (December 21st, 2009)
I was thrilled to stumble across another VHS video of Club Wolverine swim camp back in the early 90's. I'm unsure of the date but I was still in the cute phase of life so it must have been before middle school! If I ever get around to it, I'll transfer those videos to digital and throw them on the site. I was quite disappointed with my stroke in the video. I'm not joking at all. If I was a coach at that time, and had seen a child with that type of stroke, I wouldn't even hesitate with a... "That kid is goin NOWHERE!"
Dec
21Behind on updates
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 7:52am (December 21st, 2009)
Unfortunately I took 3 days off swimming due to a busy work schedule. I completed my 2nd (out of 90) day of P90X tonight. The workout was "plyometrics" which is also called Jump Training. I didn't warm up my hamstrings enough before the 1 hour workout and I fear I probably did some temporary damage somewhere down there. This time of year is usually difficult to maintain a consistent swim schedule due to holiday pool closings. I have a feeling the next two weeks will be more dryland training than pool time simply due to availability.
Dec
17Feeling Better Each Day
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 9:32am (December 17th, 2009)
Nothing much to report. Training is going great... Swam this morning and decided to kick 1/2 of the practice. I did my 2nd session of P90X tonight. At this rate I should finish the 90 Day program sometime in 2012. I feel more relaxed about it this time. When I tried the program this summer I was swimming 1 to 2 times a day as well as doing a 1.5 hour P90X workout each day. It was really quite draining. This time around I'm combining the P90X workouts with my own dryland workouts and taking it a little slower. I think it's a better balance for me.
Dec
151:03 Paddle Pull
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 4:30am (December 15th, 2009)
I had a single impressive moment during tonights practice when I paddle pulled a 1:03 backstroke. I'll have to consult the judges, but that's gotta be near a personal best. I spent a few hours on my times database last night. I loaded even more time an rebuilt some tables to accommodate even more details of each swim! I'm excited to finish it up... Someday.
After a few days off P90X I'm ready for more.
Dec
14Recovering all weekend and Swimming Research
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 3:44am (December 14th, 2009)
After a brutal first day back on the P90X workout program combined with catching a cold, I decided to take both Saturday and Sunday entirely off. That upper body workout really tore me up, I probably overdid it with the pushups and pullups entirely. My arms have been mostly useless all weekend. They sort of just flop around, it's pretty sad looking really. I've been typing with my nose and ears. It's taken me about 45 minutes to get this much written.
Dec
11Yea, that was a tad painful
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 9:16am (December 11th, 2009)
Tonight was the first day back on the P90X workout regiment. I wasn't exactly 100% rested going into it which certainly didn't help the situation. I used light hand weights and low reps however it still tore me up. By the end of the 1 hour "Arms and Back" workout I actually failed on the last exercise. I literally couldn't lift my body off the ground a single time. I'm proud that I completed all but one exercise on my first day back. I'll be in the pool again very soon!
Dec
11Tonight: My Return to P90X
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 4:55am (December 11th, 2009)
Time to get all ripped up with P90X! Poor planning on my part and unfortunate open swim times meant I couldn't train in the water today. Therefore my best option is a 1+ hour P90X workout in my humble abode. I'm moderately excited to try another one of these workouts. I'm not really looking forward to the moderately corny host and his silly quips so the MUTE button might be my best friend this evening. Here we go!
Dec
9Feeling Stronger!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Wednesday at: 6:17am (December 9th, 2009)
I've found that day to day consistency plays a large part in my training. By maintaining a "feel for the water" helps both my strokes as well as my personal confidence. The last few weeks I've been swimming 3,000-4,000 yards a day 5-6 days a week by myself. Today was the first day where I really thought I was getting that "feel" back. I did some paddle pulling today and hit a 1:04 for 100 yards (swimming them on the 1:30). The rest of the set were 1:10's to 1:05's. My arms are feeling strong, which is a huge change compared to the last few months.
Dec
8World Record is official!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Tuesday at: 5:57am (December 8th, 2009)
Today I checked the FINA Masters World Records for the first time since USMS Long Course Nationals in August. I was excited to see this:
Dec
7December Invite Pics
Posted by Kevin Doak on Monday at: 2:29am (December 7th, 2009)
Dec
6100 Back and 100 Free Time Trial
Posted by Kevin Doak on Sunday at: 6:37am (December 6th, 2009)
A friendly challenge from Tim led me to time trial a 100 Back on Friday night. I was really sore from overlifting on Thursday so I knew it wouldn't be very glorious. I swam a short warmup and jumped in at the end of the night session for the time trial. As soon as I began underwater kicking I could tell that it wasn't going to be pretty... I just felt lethargic, just not moving as fast as I should have been. I touched the wall in a very disappointing 52.64. I literally laughed out loud when I saw the clock. A 52.xx swim is on par with my Junior year of HIGH SCHOOL...
Dec
4Sore!
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 6:36pm (December 4th, 2009)
After a few days of training, and a full body weight workout, I imagine this is how it feels to get hit by a truck.
I'm probably swimming either a 100 Free or a 100 Back later today at the EMU December Invite. This marks the 2nd annual time I swim in this meet when I have no right being there. I can't imagine I'll be very fast today. I'm out of shape and very tired. I'll give it everything I've got though!
Dec
4Undecided...
Posted by Kevin Doak on Friday at: 2:58am (December 4th, 2009)
Just when I thought I had my weekend figured out, a friend Tim gave me a friendly challenge to time trial at the EMU December Invitational tomorrow. It will be either a 100 Free or 100 Back. If my schedule will allow it, I'd love to bust out a good race in my alltime favorite pool! I may still swim the meet in Lansing on Saturday.
Dec
3Considering a meet this weekend
Posted by Kevin Doak on Thursday at: 8:20pm (December 3rd, 2009)
I love masters swimming because you can deck enter almost any meet! Since Chicago didn't work out, I'm considering a meet near Lansing. Its going to be a crazy weekend so I'm not sure what will actually happen.
I dug up a swimming video last night from when I was 12 years old! I'll have to post it on the site sometime