Uncategorized

I made it an early morning and practiced at the same time as EMU. I did a majority of the written practice and it was a great change of pace from my typical self created 3,000yard workouts. It was a good mix of kicking on all four sides, IM drills, pulling and sprints. Tuesday was the first time since I began training a few years ago that it struck me that I should change what I'm doing. I want to be significantly better than what I am now and I can't make improvements if I keep doing what I've done.

I took Monday off to get caught up on some work and recover from the meet and the long drive. Tuesday I did my typical 3,000 SCY and focused on some arm workouts. I did quite a few 100's pull (no kicking) with no equipment. I was surprised to see a 1:12 after my first 100 yards. I thought that was pretty quick for me. I tried harder during the 2nd one and went a 1:10. I was taking a 1:40 interval. I could tell it was a good set for me, I was breaking myself down and 30 seconds rest was just enough to recover and do it again.

Here are a few pics a friend took:

I had a great 100 IM! I finished in 59.52 which was about 0.20 seconds under my lifetime best time last December. I didn't get much warm down after my IM and it showed. My 100 Free was fairly slow at a 53.43. It was almost 2 seconds slower than my best at 51.75. I'm writing that one off to not enough rest. Overall it was a great meet. I had hoped to be faster in a few races but I learned a valuable lesson about getting up much earlier and being alert and ready to swim. I achieved two lifetime best times. One in the 50 Fly SCM and one in the 100 IM SCM.

I had a mediocre 100 Back SCM. I finished in 56.76. It is a full second slower than my best time last December at a 55.65. I felt like I was still asleep at the blocks, I was yawning and felt lethargic. The race felt decent, nothing I could have improved on other than some faster turns. I have a lot of work to do if I plan on dropping more than a second in the next 11 months. I have the 100 IM up next. Now that I'm warmed up I think I'll swim much better.

After a disapointing 50 Free at 23.8 I was feeling warmed up. I had a good 30 minutes of rest and went a 25.05! I dropped .07 seconds off my best time in the event! I'm slowly achieving my goal of best times in every event. This makes 2 out of 23 events!

I just finished the 50 Back SCM. I felt strong but very sloppy, I had a poor start and a slow turn. I almost missed the wall and just barely got a push off of it. I swam a 25.83. It was almost a full second slower than my target time. I have a chance to time trial it again but I chose not to, I will focus on my overall goal of best times in each event. The 50 Free is next! Goal time is below 23.31. I don't feel polished in the water so I'm not incredibly optimistic but I will give it my all!

I'm here! I got a good nights rest and I'm ready to swim. I'm always afraid of sleeping in some strange position and waking up with a sore limb or joint. I got a light breakfast and got checked in, I'm going to do a short warmup and prepare for the 50 Back. I really wish the 50 back wasn't my first event, because it usually takes me one event to clean out the cobwebs. I'm gonna get after it and try to get that 24.xx. Last year I was very close to the world record. Here we go!

I had a chance to get in 1,000 yards of meet warmup at the Jones Natatorium before leaving for Indianapolis. I feel great! I am still sore from those quick pushups the other day but I doubt it will affect my races. I did some fast kicking off the walls and I feel strong and ready to race. Although I could have gotten more sleep last night I feel mostly rested. I'll get a good nights sleep tonight once I arrive in Indy and wake up early for the meet. As of right now I'm confident I can break all my personal records. I feel stronger and more prepared this year.

I forgot to mention I met Mike Bottom the other night. Mike is the new head coach of the U of M team. He took over after Bob Bowman left to go back to coach the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Mike Bottom has coached a handful of great swimmers, I don't know his exact history but I know he's been at the Race Club coaching Gary Hall Jr. and others. I only got to speak with him for 5 minutes, but overall he seemed like a very nice person. I had just gotten out of the pool and he walked right over to where I was standing after talking to EMU's head coach Peter Linn.