January 2011
Tired... but on track towards my goals
I'm finishing up a 2 week stint of being in the water 6 days each week. I've hit the gym at least once per week as well. Both accomplishments, although pedestrian, represent large increases over the past few months of training. I can't really say I'm tearing it up in the pool but I'm certainly feeling a little stronger. I think 3-4 weeks is when I start to feel better practicing.I received a nice complement from Pennsylvania today, a former coach of mine indicated that some of his swimmers (and their parents) were watching a "Kevin Doak guy" on youtube to better their backstroke starts and swimming. They inquired upon this coach (whom they knew went to EMU) if he knew me. Kind of funny and in a way... flattering. It makes me want to create new videos since I've gotten such positive feedback on my first video.Off to they gym!
On track for a great training week!
I've been in the pool 4 days already this week. I took Friday off due to scheduling issues but I'll hit both Saturday and Sunday to finish off a great 6 days in the pool! I'm feeling great in the water, consistency is key for me.
Back on Track!
It's been a rough few weeks but I'm back on track with training and feeling great! I hit the weight room for the first time in perhaps 5 months. I've been doing weights at home fairly regularly but it's not ever as good as a real gym. I also hit the elliptical machine for 10 minutes at the end of my workout. That thing is brutal when you push yourself! I kinda like it... and I'm finally over how stupid I look actually doing it.
Looking forward to a workout!
After a tough work week I'm looking forward to getting some exercise today. I don't even know how many hours I worked this week. I just got up from a solid 9 hours of sleep after working for a full 3 days straight. I think it was 70 hours of work in about 4 days, plus the other 3 days of 18 hour days. The point in mentioning this is that it directly affects my health. This week, among other weeks, I've realized that even though I exercise fairly regularly, I live an unhealthy life.Unfortunately there's not a whole lot I can do about it in the immediate future. It's a tough ecomony and we all do what it takes to get by.I think I swam 3 times this week, quite a ways off from my target of 7 days a week. I make my target each day of the week because something always comes up and I'll miss a day. Therefore (at least in the past) I actually achieve 5-6 days a week which is my goal.I have a new workout buddy who will be swimming with me at least a few days a week. Another alumni from EMU by the name of Scott. The plan is to create some workouts and track our progress, we both have quite a way to go before we're ready for some of the long course meets this summer. Looking forward to it!
Lake Orion Recap
It was an ugly meet. I just keep getting slower. I'm not wondering why either. The quality of my training has taken a nose dive. I've gone from swimming a solid 6 days a week at a world class facility with great pool availability and balancing a 50 hour work week to 4 days a week in community pools and 100+ hour work weeks.At this point I'm confident my work schedule is causing my pathetic workouts. Certainly a nice facility and good hours helps but I doubt that's the main issue here. I used to MAKE time to swim. I haven't made it a priority recently. 50 Fly - 23.87
50 Back - 24.23
50 Free - 22.36
100 Back - 54.92Other than being a little run down, I felt fine at the meet. Sadly, I was actually trying on those swims. Each 50 was about a full second off my pace and the 100 back was just ugly. 54 high?! I haven't swam that slow since high school.I had some nice conversations with PSauce prior to and afterward about the importance of racing to maintain the edge in your training. I believe in benchmarking my progress. This benchmark just happened to be quite bad.
"Oh I know who you are, I've told every swimmer I know about your accomplishments" - Tom
3k a Day as Usual
Been very busy with work lately. The typical working around the clock lifestyle. I've been pretty consistent with my 3,000 yards a day. Today I made it over to EMU for a practice with another alumni. Feeling good in the water. Split a few 1:05's pulling 100 yard backstroke without equipment
Post-Practice Weight: 169.3 lbs