Uncategorized

I went back to University of Denver for another practice. I ran into the Head Coach Brian as I was getting in. I congratulated him on his Sunbelt Conference victory and we talked about the effects of Altitude training for a moment. It was nice to make another swimming connection. I got in while a team was just finishing up. Shortly after my warmup quite a few Recreational swimmers started trickling in and filling the lanes. I had a few swimmers join me in my lane while I was in the middle of my main set. A few of them quickly left. Only one remained.

It was a great training day. I drove down to University of Denver and got a day pass to swim in the competition pool. The facility is definitely newer, probably within the last 6 years or so. The 50 meter x 25 yard facility has a movable bulkhead. It was a good pool overall:

After a very challenging day of training on Tuesday I decided to take a trip out to see some good friends and because of my location, I'll be training at altitude. Although semi-controversial, altitude training has been thought to increase the workload on your body because of the thinner air. Some teams have transported their swimmers to training centers along the rocky mountain range.

I weighed myself on Sunday and hit an all time high of 177.1 Lbs. Just earlier in the week I was 170.5. That seems like quite a spread. Taking an average of the weight spreads I've seen, I now weigh 4-9 lbs more than last year. I've been working out just as much if not more. I feel fast in the pool and I feel physically fit. I don't bring it up because I feel like I have some sort of weight issue, but I think there's something to be said for power to weight ratio. I suppose a portion of this gain could be attributed to my weight training. Adding muscle will add weight of course.

I've missed a few blogging days, but I've been in the pool consistently each day. I had an eventful weekend balancing work, and handling some freelance event photography of the EMU swim meets this past Friday and Saturday. I had a chance to swim either before or during the meets on each day in between taking over 3,000 pictures of the competition! My Saturday was filled with working in the morning, attending an age group meet, swimming 3,000 yards, getting out, taking 2,000 pictures of the meet, doing weights during a diving break and then taking more pictures.

Special thanks to Bill Volckening, Editor of USMS Swimmer Magazine for contacting me for a short article about my training. The mini story in the November - December Issue came out great:

USMS Swimmer Magazine Article (PDF)

Here is the text:

The most exciting swimming related news is that I'M HEALED!

I missed a few days here! I had a chance to swim an "all out" 200 IM on Friday, it was pretty ugly, I went a 2:27... Not exactly an impressive time for me considering I do the 100 IM in 52.6. I have a long way to go if I want to post a similar time in the longer version of the event. I tried again today in practice and went a 2:16, a solid improvement from a push but still a long way from where I want to be.

I had a chance to do the same 100's without equipment like yesterday. My personal best was achieved last week at holding 1:10 at a 1:40 send off. Yesterday in warm club pool I was holding 1:20's and feeling (comparatively) pathetic. Today I tried it in the Jones pool and went a 1:07... I was amazed, I actually saw a "7" and figured it was a 1:17 due to my performances the day before. I questioned my math skills for a moment so I did one more to make sure I was correct and split a confirmed 1:06! I literally dropped 4 seconds off my personal best in just a few days.

Since it was Halloween, the Jones pool closed early, I had to train in the club pool. It was like bath water in there! I meant to check the temp before I left but trust me when I say it felt warm, and its no fun to train in warm water. The Jones pool (or any competition pool for that matter) is kept cool, almost cold. This way your body can dissipate heat while swimming. Since there's nowhere for the heat to go it stays in your body, I could tell I immediately felt lethargic. I did a similar set of 100's pull without a pull bouy and averaged 8 seconds slower in the club pool.