Sets of 25 cruise/25m sprint are awesome for triathlon swimming in a pack and staying in the draft. We used to do another version that was around 12m of cruising and 13m of sprinting starting the sprint in the middle of the pool from a slow pace vs from a wall push off. This was always good for the confidence of closing up a gap or opening one up on those annoying drafters constantly hitting your feet in a race.

Late for practice last night, so I missed warmup.

10x50 kick (no board no fins) on 1:15 alternating side flutter kick and back dolphin.

main set

3 x 50
150 moderate recovery (100 swim, 50 drill)

repeat 3x. first set of 50's on :60, second set on :55, third set on :50, and each time through hold a pace 2s faster than the previous time.

held 37, 36, 36
35, 35, 34
33, 34, 33

legs were a bit tired and ankles achy from a 10km tempo run on the t-mill at lunch

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

day trip to Boston yesterday; really fun but got up at 4 am, went to bed at 10:45pm, and slept in this AM.

1.2 mi run
1250 yd swim
15 mi bike

5 x 100 on 1:30
50 kick
2 x [200 fast + 50 elementary backstroke] both 2:28s
100 c/d

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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

The usual...

WU: 3x100 drills and stuff

MS: 30x50 usrpt @ 45s (:20), failed at #22.

CD: 100ez

My suit ballooned on Sunday while filming video in my home pool. Lycra was see-through and floppy. As it turns out, I didn't have a backup suit. However, I do have a set of Roka SimPro shorts. So, I swam in those today. I know they are faster but not by how much, so I wasn't sure what to target for a time. anyway, settled on 45s...maybe should have tried 44s since I made it to #22. I'd planned on 47s per 50...so, maybe the shorts are worth 2-3 seconds per 50 for me?

New suite arrives tonight. Will swim again tomorrow, so maybe I'll have a better idea what they are worth (in time) for me.

I really need to get in the lake or river and do some openwater swims if I want to do the 11K King Wolf Swim from Kingston Ontario to Wolfe Island on 7 July in Lake Ontario. I have not put on a wetsuit literally since July of last year, and I almost never swim more than 200m of freestyle continuously without switching strokes or stopping in training as all my training is IM focused. I think the only two times this year that I swam longer than 200m straight was at the 400m and 1500m free at provincials and nationals masters. My lack of continuous free did not really stop me in those events and I am swimming 20K-25K per week right now, so I THINK I have enough fitness to survive an 11K swim, but I better get used to the wetsuit. Maybe I am being too cocky about wetsuit and open water swimming as I did that for 30+ years before my new "pool" career, and maybe I am under estimating the challenges of open water. On the flip side, I have gone from zero open water to 3.8K in an IM in South Africa in March off barely 5-6K per week of swim training as I THINK I won't forget how to swim open water....but I guess I better get into the Lake...plus I want to do a Canada Day Beach to Beach to Beach (4K + 4K round trip) in Meech Lake near Ottawa on July 1 (which is supposed to be the big training day for the 11K)....but I guess I have to train wetsuit just to get ready for that 8K training swim.

However, I may still go to Toronto this Sunday for the Etobicoke Olympium Masters swim meet. It's cool morning only meet, 50m long course and the way it works is they have 2 rounds of 50m-200m-100m-400m events. So total of 8 events and you pick what format you want and when.

So I am targeting this

Session 1

50m free or breast
200m Fly
100m free or breast
400 IM

short 15 min break

Session 2

50m Fly
200m IM
100 Fly
400 free

All of this is done in the course of a morning, so there may not be much time at all between events depending on how many show up. Worst case you get only 1 heat between events....but I have practiced my full line up several times in practice with only 20 seconds rest in between so I know I can get through

Dev

No workouts for 4 days while on vacation, so felt good to be back in the pool for a moderate return.

5x100s@1;40(1;27 to 1;24) 3x100IM kick@2;10(1;57 to 1;54)
2X500P@7;00 (6;39/6;34) 3x100IM kick@2;10(1;56 to 1;49)
2x100 buoy@1;40(1;19's) 50fly(36)
2350SCY

  
WU: 3x100 drills and stuff

MS: 30x50 usrpt @ 46s (:20), failed at #21, #26

CD: 100ez

Based on the above, I'm guessing the Roka SimPro shorts are worth about 1s/25y for me, maybe a hair less. I'm starting to get ansy about increasing the rep length, but I'd also like to get as close to 1:20/100y pace before I start to lengthen the repetition. My B-race (Oly) is in late September, and my A-race (also Oly) is a month later. So, I'm still 12 weeks out from my B-race and 16 weeks from my A.

I did notice how much the Roka shorts floated my hips yesterday, so I tried to replicate that feeling today. I also tried increasing my turnover on a couple 50s towards the end....that dropped my pace by a second (45s) over my current cadence. It didn't affect my spl, but it did leave me a little more "winded".

ETA: this one kicked my ass today, apparently. Arms are worn out, and I keep going into a daze.

no pool swim yesterday, but goofed around in the lake with my cousin :-) one of the great things about being so comfortable in the water is the ability to enjoy boating and the lake.

8.2 mi run, 1000 yds easy today - straight mix of swim and kick.

---

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

My back decided to hate me again with sciatic pain. Only this time with foot drop and quad weakness. It's quite likely I'll be going in to get L4-L5 fused and maybe the whole lineup of lumbars. I already have L2-L3 fused. My last swim was Saturday, a double loop of Oak Street to Main Beach Buoy in Laguna Beach, Ca. Just over 5000 yards. It really felt great, but I needed help getting up the beach. I'm on Percocet, but the pain is still quite high and I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 hours sleep. My pain management doc said I should see a surgeon ASAP. He said having a weakness is a bad sign and a cortisone epidural won't really help. Getting my MRI today and I'll be ready to consult with my Surgeon.
I might do some more swimming as being in the water is like heaven... I just need help exiting it.

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

I'm sorry you're in pain again and needing surgery :-(

---

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

oh, that sucks. hope you get it resolved and you can be pain free again.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

Yesterday it was hot and the outdoor pool was like a zoo, but I got in a mixed 3200m or so basically just avoiding people. The guy swimming in sunglasses was my personal favourite.

Today it was much cooler and the pool was almost empty. I swam in my wetsuit for the first 30 minutes which was fun. I did a 5x100m arriving in 1:26, usually I would struggle to arrive on 1:36 without a wetsuit!

400m in
3x300m 25m kick / 25m swim
5x100m arriving 1:26
50m swim, got out the pool and ran to the start whilst taking off the wetsuit.
5x100m swim
2x100m pull + paddles - arms/chest were tired
5x100m pull
10x50m drills
200m out
3750m

1000 (14:55)
1000 snorkel
5x200 @ 3:00, first with snorkel and paddles, last four with paddles (2:49's)
1000 (14:50)

4000m long course. Boring, but effective.

OK OK....I have a ton of experience on the L4-S1 zone with foot drop, entire left leg weakness and constant spasms. I have however "graduated" largely to pain free life....just lack of leg control and spasms. I have had 4 cortisone injections from 2016 Sep to this Feb and each time I got a small bump in function and quality of life. My doc is suggesting that I drop $20K and go to Tampa and do the laser spine surgery as they don't do that here in Canada. He thinks I am a candidate for 99%+ success rate.

My fish thread update......for the first time in around 2 months I missed a swim. My productivity at work sucked and I felt like a beached dolphin all afternoon. We had a major proposal due and I did not want to leave the office. On a plus note, I did my first bike commute in 2.5 years....my original plan was to bike commute to work, bike to the pool at lunch, bike back work and bike home....but the lunch time bike commute + swim would be 1:45 minimum, but I felt it was too long. In hindsight if I took the extended break (I can since I am the so called CEO of my tech startup), and stayed at work maybe 45 min later, I would have gotten the same productivity (or more). On a plus side, I left the office at 8 pm and there was plenty of daylight for a 1:20 "longest ride of the year" before going home. I largely had control over my left leg but have a lot of weakness in it while sitting. Standing, I have full power and almost full control. But every ride in the last 2 weeks, I got better with better range of motion.

But I really missed the pool and did 40 minutes of weights when I got home to exercise my upper body. It seems weird doing a 'legs only" workout and the risk of turning back into a legs only pencil neck aerobic weakling!

Dropped the pace again...to 46s per 50scy.

WU: 3x100 drills

MS: 23x50 usrpt @ 46s (20s) failed at #10, #17, and #23

CD: 100ez

I had a couple 45s and a 44s in the mix. Felt like it might take a week or two to get through the complete 46s set. As I started getting close to the failure points, I would try and push a little harder, only to see "nothing" happen.

6.5 mi easy run
1650 yd easy swim (straight, easy swim and kick)

just really tired today.

---

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

Next time, instead of "pushing harder" as you feel the fatigue coming on, try to recognize what parts of your stroke are deteriorating, and concentrate on holding form.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

:(

this sucks.




I am posting more of my stuff on my feed

https://www.instagram.com/...;igshid=82xjbblkpb0p

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Did I miss something? Did you move back east?

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Mini only hit 2/8 PB at Provincials but a 53 second drop in the 200 Breast was his highlight swim... 56 on his last 50 for 3:48.

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___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Will do. Usually when I get fatigued, I can't maintain the turn-over...my SPL doesn't change (stays at 20-22)...I just can't keep the arms moving. Today was different, though. Today, my SPL increased by a full stroke cycle (up to 24) as I couldn't hold the pace. I only could see that after the fact...but, that's a different trend that has been typical. I'll try harder to pay attention in real-time.

I've been focusing on keeping my hips higher, and my feet/legs tighter this week. After swimming in the SimPro shorts on Tuesday that was what stood out to me, as obviously different (how high my hips felt in the SimPro shorts).

I have to say....I went and looked back at my previous posts in this thread:

15 June: 24x50 @ :48 (:20) failed at #15, #21 and #24
22 June: 23x50 @ 46s (20s) failed at #10, #17, and #23

I really can't complain, at all, about that kind of progress in 7 days.

oh, summer in Maine (current locale), skool year in Oklahoma

---

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

15 June: 24x50 @ :48 (:20) failed at #15, #21 and #24
22 June: 23x50 @ 46s (20s) failed at #10, #17, and #23 //


I'm not sure I understand this workout as you have it here. Are you doing 50"s on the 68 seconds? Then on the 66 seconds intervals?? You would have to be Rain Man to be able to figure that time send off while going fairly hard. Or have a coach on deck who plotted out every single send off ahead of time I guess, please explain...

I felt pretty good today, did this in the club pool:
4x(2x200/100IM kick@2;30) 2-swim@3;15(2;56/2;54)2-buoy only@3;15(2;50/2;45)2-paddles only(2;43/2;37)2-full pull(2;29/2;27) kicks(2;10 to 1;52)
8x50's- odds IM order@1;00/evens buoy only@1;30 descend(IM-35/40/42/33) swims(40/39/38/37)
100 dolphin(2;10)
2500 SCY

Its a USRPT set. Excuse me if I explain more than needed. Its an "offering" of 30x50 at a prescribed pace with 20s rest between each 50. When you can't hold the prescribed pace (you fail), you stop and sit one out. Then resume with the next interval scheduled. You repeat this until you fail 3 times, or twice in a row....or you reach the 30th interval. Once you can do 20 reps in a row at the prescribed pace, you drop the pace by a small amount at the next workout....and start the process over.

I may or may not have been accused of being Rain Man in the past. But, no I'm not calculating send-offs in my head in real-time.

I have a Garmin watch which is programmed for a 30x50 with a fixed 20s rest interval. I swim at the intensity needed to hold 46s per 50. When I tag the wall I hit the lap button on my watch and check my "time". If its too long, then I call that a failure and I sit the next one out. If its too fast...I try and slow down a hair on the next one.

So, yes last Friday I did 50s on the 68seconds coming in at 48. Today I did 50s on the 66 seconds coming in at 46.

Thanks for the explanation, so you need to wear a computer pre programmed to do the set, lets me out..(-;

I like the idea of the set though, think I would just pick and even number for the send off though. Probably start at a minute, and once the times come down a few seconds, then move to :55. That is math I could do looking at a pace clock...