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An exciting new product was released today from Finis. The "Aqua Pulse" is a heart rate monitor designed specifically for swimmers. Heart rate monitors have existed for years for all sports, typically a wrist or chest attached device which transmits the signal to a digital readout watch. The problem with swimmer usage is that we can only check this device when we're stopped.

I had a great 4500 meter practice today! I did a workout left over from the EMU practice, written by Assistant Coach Sarah Volpe who is in charge of the afternoon practices. I did the entire workout alone. During my practice, my friend Summer Allman began diving after I helped her move the lane lines over. Afterward, an Alumni Ryan Fulkerson started doing dryland training on the deck. I had to reflect for a moment at the self motivation we all shared. Not one of us was required to be there.

I passed through Chicago Midway airport the other day and was overwhelmed with 2016 Summer Olympics marketing efforts! There were photos, banners and intercom ads everywhere! I knew Chicago was a candidate city along with Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo (which held the 1964 Olympics). As of right now, the evaluations stand at:

Tokyo: 8.3
Madrid: 8.1
Chicago: 7.0
Rio de Janeiro: 6.4

Due to a busy schedule, I've only been getting in about 2-3k a day long course. I finished up my practice with three 50's descending (time) butterfly. My first was a :35, second was a :32 and third was a :29. Not too shabby for me from a push in a drag suit. It makes me want to try a 100 Fly at the USAS meet at EMU in May. I followed that with two fast 50's backstroke. The first was a :32, which was promptly followed by some confusion... :32?! That's it? I was disappointed. I pushed off again and hit a :29 low, perhaps a :28... that's better.

I've enjoyed a fairly relaxed 2 weeks of training. I had been working hard to prepare for the Michigan Masters State Meet in late March so I was due for a little breather. The holiday resulted in some pool closures at EMU which forced me to take 3 days off. I've learned this really makes me miss it as part of my daily routine. The exercise makes a great day feel even better!

This one caught me by surprise... I was adding a few of my backstroke start videos to YouTube to help aspiring backstrokers learn a decent start. Afterward I did a search for my name to determine if they would show up. They did not, oh well. But I was intrigued that a "Morning Swim Show" video was displayed...

Sadly, most of the SCY (Short Course Yards) meets are done till the fall. I didn't achieve my target times but I'll continue to train and have a better taper meet this fall! Sometime soon the Jones Pool will be converted to Long Course Meters and I'll begin training for some LCM meets I have planned for the summer:

I took it easy this week to catch up on life and work. I had three days of training in 7 days.

Thursday (3,200 yards)
Friday (2,100 yards)
Saturday (3,100 yards)

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.

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!