Nice easy swim at lunch - 1800m total

400 pull w/up

300 pull w/ snorkel
200 pull
200 pull w/ snorkel
300 pull build

200 pull (mix of free, back, and breast) w/down

Found the snorkel a bit better than the last time I tried it. 1) I wasn't going hard. 2) I have a hard time clearing the snorkel after a flip turn. it takes like 2 or 3 exhales to clear it, and then I'm gasping for breath. The one I have is one with a purge valve, I'm wondering if the non-purge type would be easier. resorted to open turns and it was a lot easier.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

You know what would happen if *I* attempted a flip-turn with a snorkel? I'd just drown.

Mine has a purge valve too, I can sort of clear it but not well enough that I've been doing flip turns with the snorkel. I like using it otherwise but I feel like I'm not doing something right when I'm clearing it.

I am usually on nothing other than drink at the fountain getting into and getting out of the pool. My sessions are 1-2 hours per day (usually around 70-80 min). When I was in Cancun on our swim camp in Jan, I brought a can of coke or sprite from the hotel minibar to the pool deck for the afternoon swim session as I felt the sugar was very useful to keep the intensity up during the second swim. Generally we were swimming 90 min in the am and 90-120 min in the PM. I was fine in the am on nothing.

Anything carbonated would sit horribly in my stomach. I haven’t done it for a couple of years, but the last time I did 100x100 I had a bottle of Powerade. I should’ve had more calories than I took in though, gels would likely have been better.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

Speed day. Usrpt 25s.

WU: 4x100

MS:
30x25 usrpt @18.3, failed at #26
18x50 on 60s (coming in at 46s)

Cd:100ez
------------
2200scy

Ran 3x today. 4m each.

Feb 6/9, 10kscy
R/D/S: 68/57/43

500 mixed warmup
27 x 75 @ 1:15 USRPT mile pace (:53-55), fail @ 24 (:55) and 27 (:55)
25 kick easy
200 something
14 x 25 @ :35 USRPT 200 pace (:15-16), fail at 8 and 14
200 easy

2800 SCM

 
This was my set today

• 1000m warmup assorted strokes
• 500m kick with fins assorted strokes
• 5x200m IM with 20 seconds rest....hard fly, easy back, hard breast, easy free
• 2x400IM + 1x200IM, alternating hard stroke 25m, 25m IM kick
• 500m kick with fins assorted
• 5x200m as 50 fly hard + 50 free easy + 50 free hard + 50 free easy
• 400m cool down assorted strokes easy

Interesting... A mile pace set, followed by a 200 pace set. I haven't tried TWO usrpt sets in a single session. How'd the second set go?

Is it better to do the faster pace set second?

I added the 50s after my 200pace set above... For the first time yesterday. Mostly because I wanted to add some more volume at pace. It took a while to come down to it....the first few 50s were pretty rough.

at next weekend's long course meet, I am doing the 800 free, 200 fly, 200IM, 100 fly, 100 free.

The mile, 800/100, and 400/500 are in order my best events and my training focus, for now. That’s going to change with OWS season and USMS 5000/10,000m postal season, maybe.

I wanted a set to prime the fire, to start my notoriously slow diesel. And to get a great finishing burst to my mile, when I race it on the 24th in yards. I also find that doing 25s really helps me focus on a good breakout, and I don’t get that in the 75 and 100 repeats. Whenever I try to “sprint” anything, it all just gets cocked up and everything falls apart in my stroke. I’ve had better opening and closing splits in my 400/500 than in my 100-200 “races.”

This USRPT effort is in attempt to get some speed back after 19 years of running marathons, IM, 5-10k postal swims, and 3-5 mile OWS. I already started out in my swimming career with little pop, but this stuff has really reinforced my engine as a diesel.

True story: in college, I was at once the slowest guy on the team in the 50 free (and a diver even beat me), and the team record-holder in the 500, 1000, and 1650. I was my conference “swimmer of the year,” but I was on the tram’s “B” 4 x 100 FrR. I wasn’t even among the fastest four swimmers on my team.

Did a nice little ladder today, mostly pulll, but not all of it!

400 pull
2x300 pull w/ paddles
3x200 pull
4 x 100 pull
5 x 50 pull
6 x 25 kick (alt flutter kick / dolphin kick)
5x50 alt pull / swim
4X 100 pull (build to fast final 25)
3x200 pull w paddles

100 ez
3750 m total

Kick was really slow. I didn’t feel too bad, but there was no way I could push it, and I could definitely feel my knee telling me “no harder”. The 25’s kick I was only holding about 30”

Still, it’s progress. Last Wednesday I couldn’t kick at all. So even though it’s slow, it’s getting better.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

13 mi run yesterday

7.3 mi run + 1175 yd swim today

something like

300, 50 kick, 200, 50 kick
3 x [100 swim + 50 kick]
75 goofing off


runs/total days/swims = 55/58/32
4/10 for Feb

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Monday - not a ton of time this AM

3.3 mi easy run (30:52)
875 yd swim


swim was
8 x 100 on 1:30
75 kick c/d


runs/total days/swims = 56/59/33
5/11 for Feb

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Ok, that all makes sense. But, I was more trying to ask about the choosing/ordering of the sets...since you put the fast 25s last. I typically only do a single USRPT set in any session. But, lately I've been wondering about adding a second set (for more volume, and more training effect, etc), and how I might go about doing that effectively.

Since USRPT is all about going at "race-pace" at distances that JUST allow you to hold solid technique....JUUUST long enough that is starts to break down...I wasn't sure about how the fatigue from the first set would affect the second set. And therfore, if there is a recommendation for how to choose two sets (repeat lengths, paces, set length) to pair together, and which set to put second in order to allow for quality practice in both sets.

USRPT 50s day.

WU:
6x25 (30) clock drill
2x100 LA/RA/Sw

MS: 30x50 usrpt @ 43s, failed at #15, #21

CD:
4x50 kick (1:21/17/09/06)
100 ez

I hate doing kick sets. Especially, when I do them WRONG. The first two really sucked---like always they make my thighs (hip flexors) REALLY fatigued. But I learned a little more on the last two, where I really emphasized the knee bend. The thighs felt MUCH better, and the times really came down. Second, my cool down 100ez (after the kick set) felt better than the usrpt-50s I was doing prior. I was able to focus more on, and feel the effectiveness of the kick. Maybe I need to do some kick sets as part of warm-up to get the legs working "right"..since I seem to be all stiff-legged until after the kick set.

Feb 7/11, 12kscy
R/D/S: 69/59/44

I voluntarily swam 1700 last week. And will repeat this week.

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
I ka nana no a 'ike -- by observing, one learns | Kulia i ka nu'u -- strive for excellence
Garmin Glycogen Use App | Garmin Fat Use App

From Saturday, Feb 9
2600 yards

300 easy/drills
8x50 buoy (no paddles)
4x50 kick

MS (approaching threshold pace)
500 (10")
400 (10")
300 (10")
200 (10")
100 (10")

200 easy cool down

nice!

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Threshold today, this morning was a 55 minute zone 2 trainer ride.

WU:
300 Easy
150 Pull + 150 Kick
100 IM

Prep:
20 x 25 (Free/Right arm/Left arm/fly/free) @ 40

MS:
2x{
8x100 @ 1:50
4x50 @1:00 Swim out
}

CD:
8x50 @ 1:00

Total: 3600 SCM

Had to pull the second set of the main set. Legs continue to cramp. What surprised me most was that my times were 1-2 seconds off my full swim pace, despite me just pulling. Going to try to do a technical session this week, to figure out what's going on there.

Tonight was a bit of speed mixed in with steady smooth pace.
All pull again (I did manage to kick the “k” in warmup, but really slow

400 skps
4x50 scull/drill
8x25 sprinters game

500 LOCO *
5x100@ :10 rest (50 fast, 50 smooth)
5x50 d1-5 @ :10 rest
5x25 sprint @:15 rest (fly, free, fly, free, fly)

325 warmdown for 2400 total

I did manage to kick 150 of the 300 warmdown, the last 50 I kicked resulted in some pain in the knee. Swelling is finally going down. More Advil tonight.

*LOCO is a progression of 25 fast, 25smooth, 50 fast, 50!smooth, 75 fast, 75 smooth, 100 fast, 100 smooth. Make sure the paces are distinctly different during the swim.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

6x50
8x100 (evens with buoy)
4x50 kick
3x200 variable pace (EMF)
3x200 variable pace (FEM)
100 CD

I didn’t have much time today, and I only had a few energy bars as “lunch” before my set today:

500y mixed warm up
32 x 50y @ :51s (holding :30-:31s)
Failed on 29 (:32s) and 32 (:32s)
200y cool down

Time was short, but I wanted to get decent 500y work. I was actually pretty pleased, considering that I was hungry, the water was warm, and I’m a notoriously slow starter.

I use an old Timex Marathon watch, and set the timer for the goal-time + :20s for the set. So, a goal of 50 free holding :31s at 500y pace means the timer keeps resetting at :51s. I should see :20 finishing every 50. It works the same for every 100 as well. I just wrap the watchband on my pullbuoy strap. For 25 and 75 repeats, I look at the pace clock.

Good luck this weekend!

There’s a small chance that I might, maybe, be able to make it to nationals. Depends on 1) whether my knee heals in time 2) whether my better half says it’s ok for me to take off for the weekend.

I had a look at the schedule of events, and I really don’t like it. I wanna swim the 1500, but the 2free and 1fly are the same session, and those are (in theory) my “good” events.

On day 3 there’s not much that interests me. The 50 free? Other than that.....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

8.2 mi run easy
725 yd swim (Straight: swim/kick mix)


runs/total days/swims = 58/61/34
6/13 for Feb

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD