On the cramping I am increasingly convinced that it has more to so with lumbar spine/glutes/hamstrings than actual calves. My N=1 data point is each time I had a cortisone injection for my disk I had a week of crazy calf cramps on both legs and they go away after around 1 week which is the approx time for the foreign substance to get absorbed by your body and shrink the inflammation around the nerve roots. Right now, I am a living calf cramp!!!

Not only are those great times.. but not cramping! well played.

I will go for the 50 free and 100 free this am.
Coming off track yesterday and a follow up run with a bike (hard to pass up this weather in boston)

If I can do a 100IM i will.. not sure adductor is gonna let me.

dave

Mike (on our squad) was a 1:06 ish 100IM and he was right around the 5min mark at nationals couple of years back.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Completely agree. That said, the world records (according to wikipedia) (SCM) for 100IM is 50.3 and the 400IM 3:55. 50.3 * 4 = 3:21. So that's only +34s. Of course those guys are complete animals. :)

I think that we should allow breaststroke with dolphin kick, for those of us with gimpy legs and knees. (I was in this category for years, but breast kick doesn't bother my knees anymore. I'm slow at it though, although my 100IM was with proper breast kick.)

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I was going 100IM to 400IM but going with Phelps' 4:03, but that's confusing SCM and LCM. So maybe 45 seconds from 100 SCM to 400 LCM for a pro, so depending on the ability this will stretch to 60 seconds or 75 seconds (slower swimmer will have more delta)?

You see where I am going with this....after everyone posts their 100m IM time, and I brow beat Monty to make you guys suffer it out on the 400IM, we can see who slowed down the most relative to 100 IM. I will post my times next week as I am just getting through some recovery from a recent cortisone shot last week and don't want to overcook myself going too hard yet.

Dev

How much are you paying me to swim the 400IM?

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

LOL...you are talking to the wrong guy about paying people. For 9 months i have not collected a paycheque and been investing into my renewable energy AI startup (http://www.bluwave-ai.com). Amazingly I have 6 people working for me right now on zero pay (they are investing their time to build this company and I think we have a solid shot).

In any case, in every swim, I am adding a 400IM training leg as alternating lengths hard and easy in each stroke. I figure the only way I get through this "event" is to actually get comfortable mentally with the entire thing and gradually improve my technique and ratchet up the intensity. This one comes from an old running workout where we would do 1600m at the end of each workout at the track sprinting 100m and cruising 100m. It's a fun segment at the track so trying that at the pool. I know this is totally non standard swimmer stuff, but hey, Daniel's stole his mile cruise intervals from swimmers doing 400m repeats (my mind would go number doing 400's in the water, but it does not go numb doing 1600m repeats at the track).

OK, maybe I should try a moderately 100m IM today and just post a time and then come back a few days later and go really hard....I suspect there is barely a 2-4 second delta between moderate hard and all out of me. Sadly, this viscous medium called water is unforgiving of all that wasted non streamlined water wall pushing!!!!

Finally, I was eyeing that Bermuda swimming pool at Slowman's swim camp in Bermuda. I have not take a vacation since 2015 70.3 Worlds in Austria (literally, I have taken 3 long weekend vacation days since then....long story about leaving a company, next one going out of biz, and then starting my own). So was toying with a 5 days for a swim camp in Bermuda....flight from Toronto is easy.

Last day of Feb so I was able to sneak in a 100IM and a 50FR this am at practice.

These are Yard times from a push .. and generally within the context of the workout, so as to not disrupt too much.

100IM 1:10.46
50 FR 26.57

And whoa was I on the verge of some serious charlie horses in both calves....

I missed the 50brst and 100fr this month. Sorry guys.

So is it the same for next month?
dave

These are from a masters meet I did on the weekend.
50 fr - 27.05 SCM
50 bk - 33.4
50 fly - don't have exact time (it was relay and i don't have official splits) but team mates said about 30 sec
100 fr -57.4
100 fr - 2.06.x (blew up at 125.. went out in a 59.mid :S)

swimswam converter is
50 fr - 24.36
50 bk - 29.76
50 fly - who knows..
100 fr - 51.36
200 fr - 1.53.5 or so
overall felt ok for the meet, was expecting to be faster for the 200 fr, but didn't have it together. Need to do more broken 200s.. interestingly did a workout on the monday - 100 hard (10sec) 100, 200 ez, 50 (10 sec) 100 (10 sec) 50, 200 ez, and then 50(10) 50(10) 50(10) 50 which totalled 2.06 so thats clearly a reasonable predictor set for me..

I posted a 100IM time today not going all out, but frankly I don't think if I went all out I'd be more than 2 seconds faster.

Final time 100 IM 1:45 SCM from a wall push

At the end of the workout after 1.5 hours of swimming various sets I did a 100 fly from a wall push SCM and only did a 1:41.

As I said, I am holding back a bit since I only had a cortisone injection on 22 Feb. I want to have some time for my body to settle down which in the past was after 14 days.

I think I can take the 100 IM down close to 1:40. My 200 IM this month was 3:40. I think this can get closer to 3:35 next month. The 100 fly was not indicative of what I can do. I logged a 1:32 earlier in the month. I was a bit cooked by end of workout. I'll post 50 fly, back, breast and free times next month from wall push, SCM.

scy, push, m57

50 free 29
50 breast 44
50 back 43
50 fly 45 aargh

400 easy
6x100IM fastest 1:38 slowest 1:42
5x50 on 50
200 easy

probably should try a standalone 100IM, think sub-1:30 might be doable..

Swim pentathalon is about all I train for anymore. About 15 months ago I did this...
All from a dive over the course of two days. I shaved and used a competition suit too. M50.

50 fly: 26.00
50 bk: no time
50 br: 30.10
50 fr: 24.58
100im: 1:00.57
200im: 2:14.50

Monty; you motivated me to replicate your set - less the 2k before.
Results as follows:

27 Fly
31 Back
36 Breast
28 Free (totally gassed after the breast effort, 2nd 25 was ugly)

SCY
From a push
Times off the pace clock
42 y/o male

Great times, Lars!

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

LEGIT!
wow, nice work!

daved

Dev,
You referencing the april 28 itu race thing as the ST swim-cation?
I looked around the site (prob not as thoroughly as I should have) ...

If so, I will be there, as reported to Monty, the week before doing the fair or foul Four Corners Challenges
http://www.bows.bm

daved

So am I reading this correct?

https://www.bows.bm/...7/11/28/four-corners


Back to back 4 mile swim races on 21 and 22 April? Let me ask my wife about this. I actually have not taken a vacation since 70.3 Worlds in Austria in 2015 (only taken 2 long weekends off in 2.5 years first in rehab, then starting my own company etc) so I am due for something fun. My daily swim is 2.5 to 3 miles anyway. Maybe I can add the 200 Fly and 400 IM from the Bermuda 50m pool as part of the ST Spring virtual swim meet if Monty approves those events.

thanks amigo. last year swam endless circles chasing our local pool's 500-mile challenge. put in longer yards than i ever had before but didn't improve much. my motivation this year has been to cut back on the yards and integrate more non-free strokes into workouts. my breaststroke is abysmal but seeing some solid improvements in fly, back and IM as a whole.

really appreciate Dev and Monty adding some fuel to this fire and spurring on this friendly banter!

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Lars Finanger
Odyssey SwimRun

Yeah Dev...
your reading skills have not left you yet! Well done.

Yeah I think there is a group of about 5 of us from boston area that I swim/coach/run/bike/drink/eat with.. that are making the journey down.
No one is doing the log thing.

My wife is preggers and and such, prob wont be able to make the trip so I think ill be a quick in and out. But i guess we will find that out soon enough.

absolutely love to have you come. Grotto bay has a nice rate and I have stayed at Elbow Beach previously for the swim 'round the sound... 18months ago now?

Anyways, keep me posted. Is the slowman thing at a different time?
From boston and Toronto it is an easy flight. 90 min from bean town.

daved

Added a 50 back to my list at lunch today with a low 36 - god I hate that stroke.

So I've done:
50 fly - :30
50 back - :36
50 breast - :36
100 IM - 1:14

All SCM - M43

About 15 months ago I did this... //

But what have you done for me lately?? Anything keeping you out of the pool at the moment where you can't do some impromptu 50's for time?? If I got to use my wavy no lane line club pool with push offs, you can at least give it a go at your cushy, smooth water pool...(-; Nice times though, you were 50 when you did them?? Maybe time for another masters nationals, in Indy this year..

The plan is to go to Indy this year. I have a meet coming up 3/24 if you can wait for those times. =) It's SCY.
I was 50 at that other meet. I was real happy with how I did so I got complacent and out of shape afterwards. Trying to get back at it while fighting some low back stuff. Hopefully I've got the will power to stick to it.

No excuses from me. I mean, I ran 9k at lunch (3x8 min intervals at roughly 10k pace with 2 mins jogging recovery after a 10 min warmup with strides and a few strides at the end. But no excuses.

Final set of practice was 12x50 @:60, every 3rd one fast, so I did the fast ones in IM order.

50 fly - 32
50 back - 38
50 breast - 47
50 free - 32

<for monty - SCM M47>

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Jason, I will go and try to do the same next week and try to do them around 10-13 seconds slower per stroke style. Based on those times you posted, does that ability in earch turn into a sub 2:40 200 IM SCM?