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I had a great practice at EMU today, we did 6,700 long course meters. Quite a few U of M swimmers came today which noticeably upgraded my competition! They were a welcomed addition and pushed me more than usual. I give some major credit to the U of M womens team! There were more than a few women kicking butterfly during the kick set that were RIGHT there with me. I had to go ALL out to beat them.

Since my summer plans drastically changed I need to fill some time, and what better way than competing? I looked up some USA meets that were available and noticed that the ConocoPhillips World Champ Trials are in Indianapolis this year! I'm available for the meet so I figure what the heck.

Taken in Florida by a skilled photographer, this race was for eternal bragging rights. I was in lane 4, he was in lane 5. As you can see, he's not too happy that he's losing. The rest speaks for itself.

Thank you for 7,000 website visits in a year and a half! I love sharing my swimming experiences with my friends and family. I find writing daily keeps me on track with my training and serves as a great reference point when I choose to look back on my progress. I look forward to more exciting years training and competing. I love improving my health and achieving personal best times.

I have an amazing support system that consists of my family, loved ones and friends. I appreciate YOU for taking an interest in ME!

Since there was no swim practice today, I tried to enjoy the beautiful weather. Last night I did a "Legs and Back" workout which consisted of lots of squats, lunges and pullups. Tonight I'll do a "Kempo" workout which is a combination of kickboxing and karate!

Out of necessity, I swam with the CW workout group from 11am-1pm at Canham Natatorium at the University of Michigan. I was surprised to see the pool setup as short course yards. There were 40 or so swimmers who eventually showed up. I was the oldest by over 10 years. There were 3 high school swimmers there, the rest were elementary or middle school age. Come to think of it... I was older than all but one coach on deck! We did a small amount of yardage. A 2,100 yard warmup and went immediatley into the main set of:

3x100 @ 8:00
2x75 @ 6:00
3x50 @ 4:00

Just found a few swimming pictures my friend Alex Schulz took last year:

We did 6,400 Long Course Meters on Thursday with a main set of 20x100's with an decreasing interval every four 100's. Its tough to explain but a great set, and very challenging. I was the only person to do a stroke other than freestyle. The intervals began at 1:45, decreasing each time through. It looks like this:

Round 1 (1:45, 1:40, 1:35, 1:30)
Round 2 (1:40, 1:35, 1:30, 1:25)
Round 3 (1:35, 1:30, 1:25, 1:20)
Round 4 (1:30, 1:25, 1:20, 1:15)
Round 5 (1:25, 1:20, 1:15, 1:10)

Yesterday I took a full day off to recover. I feel like swimming today after that much needed break. I noticed that I drank almost no water on my day off although I had it with me at all times. Days on which I swim and workout make me feel dehydrated all day. The massive difference surprised me.

A few recent conversations with fellow swimmers yesterday have gotten me thinking about my summer meet schedule. As of right now I'm not registered for a single meet. Once work slows down I'd love to get a few confirmed.

Thanks to Sarah for linking me to this video. Ryosuke Irie broke Ryan Lochte's World Record by over a second! I can't believe how smooth and slow this guy's stroke is!


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a0hplQjahI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]