A Family Favorite

Quality. That was the general concensus today from all lanes. The workout tested us and allowed us to work it with a lot of rest. Here it is:

WU 200
3x thru:
100
4 x 25 kick
3 x 300 pull on 3:10

Main:
3 x (4 x 125) on 2:10 descend within the four
Going: 100 get time, 25 easy
3 x (3 x 75) on 1:20 descend within three
Going: 50 get time, 25 easy

We took the first 4 x 125 to figure out our pace, and settled into descending each by 4-5 seconds, the last being 1:25 down to 1:10, which felt really good. The rest certainly helps. My favorite part was before each fast one when Dr. Bob would remind us that "this is where the rubber meets the road". Indeed, it was.

That's all today, folks - gotta run. I won't be around Friday but will post the workout remotely. Have a great weekend, everyone!

From the Observation Deck

My perch on the treadmill gave me perfect view of today's practice. I saw two themes emerge, both of which seem to be reflected in the workout, provided by BB (thanks)! The first was that it appeared to be "Man Day" in Lane 3. BB, C, KBB, SB, I, and P all present. M from lane 4 started out with the men and either left or got run out, and R arrived a bit late and "didn't get a ticket" to Man Day, as she said in the locker room. I wouldn't be suprised if they are all at some pub now having a beer, or at least emailing about power tools or something. Anyway, it also appeared to be "Equipment Day". I saw pull bouys, paddles, kickboards, and fins all over the place. I waited for Bill to pull out the aqua jogging belts or even the safety hook but it never came to that, thankfully. BB, your left arm still comes out of the water in a big way, E even noticed it today.

Ok, enough observation - here is what the men actually did:

300 wu
8x50 mid pool 15rest
3x100 kick fins 15rest
4x75 fly fins 15
2x100 75 spirnt/25ez
400 pull
3x
500 7:15 (cruise 100,200pick up,100 descend 50's, 100descend 25's)
4x25's 35sec

I will definitely try this on my own, it looks great. Everyone looked strong, as always.

See you tomorrow!

A Vision In Blue

6:13am. Cambridge, MA. The bleary-eyed swimmers slowly made their way onto the deck. The only sound was the soft lapping of the water and the splashes of the rec swimmers who get there way too early. They walked toward the Masters area. Kenny was there, cheerful as always, to welcome them. And then they saw him - sitting solo on the bleachers in front of the viewing window. He had a blue shirt on. He had jeans on. He had his coffee. He had sheets of paper. No, this was not an illusion, it was their coach, Bill, on deck before all of them. They looked at each other, wondering what was happening in the world to cause this event. But let me tell you, by 6:23 nearly all of them were in the water for the warmup set, which started promptly at 6:25!

So here we go! Me, E, and Dr. Bob present and accounted for.

400 WU on own
8 x 25 free count strokes
5 x 100 odds 25 drill, 50 free, 25 drill/evens 50 stroke. 25 kick, 25 build
9 x 75 (1-2 on 1:25, 3-4 on 1:15, 5-9 on 1:05)

Main:
4 x 150 50 stroke, 100 free (2:10, but we changed it to 2:20)
4 x 150 50 free, 100 stroke (2:20 but we changed it to 2:30_
4 x 150 100 free, 50 stroke (2:30)
4 x 50

This was tough, the intervals were tight with so much stroke so we changed them to get a bit of rest or it would have been a straight swim. But this one hurt, which I guess is good! Total yards 3700.

Special shout out to KC and JSM who are loyal blog readers. I am glad you enjoy the workouts - I can take no credit for those, it's all Bill! KC, it's time to stop virtually swimming and get in the water! :)

Happy Fat Tuesday. Don't party too hard!

And the Oscar goes to...

...all those who showed up at swimming this morning, for their performance in the epic film "I got out of bed today". We laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats. There was even a villan, which was a disgusting hair ball that seeemed to float right at the end of the lane. In any case, tons of people at the workout today, so much so that Bill had to split Lane 3 into three lanes! While it's to early to say, I think our plan for taking over the pool is working. :)

I think Bill has been watching too many made for TV movies where the mean swim coach paces the deck and uses a whistle for our sendoffs, because we did that today. I think he was channelling my age group coach Skip so perhaps I was a little edgy from the start. Here is the workout:

WU 200
8 x 25 free
6 x 50 IM order
4 x 75 drill, swim, drill
2 x 100 no breathing off turns
Random 25s on the whistle

Main: 8 x 300
1-3: Steady pace on 4:30
4-6 Descend on 4:00
7 easy
8 hard

Steve B and Bob led the first part, holding 1:20s strong. Bob and I led the second part and we pulled - it was very hard to descend these so we more or less stayed consistent and got 5-8 seconds of rest on each. These were tough. 7 was easy, and ended up being our last. I admit I was a little pissy because we didn't finish the set because it started after 7, but I think many were glad we didn't have to do the hard one!

Happy Monday, everyone!

p.s. I am officially off of the "Problem List" and entered into the meet. Yay!

Identity crisis

As BB and I were leisurely hanging out at the wall after the tough set today we glanced up and saw it, right there in front of us: Lane 8. The flags above us said Lane 8. BB swam out to check if the flags were improperly placed, but after seeing the starting block with an "8" on it, we knew that our swimming identity was in question. At first, we said nothing. It was almost too much. Then, we started to ask the big questions: Who are we? What is our purpose here? Is Lane 2 really Lane 9? What are we eating for breakfast? After just minutes of pondering (it felt like hours) we concluded that we are who we want to be. We are three lanes from the wall. We are two lanes down from what we all know as Lane 1. We don't even know anyone who swims in Lane 8. There.

Good, hard set today. It was BB, E, Me, and our friend M from Lane 4.

WU 200 on own
6 x 75 middle 25 drill
6 x 50 we did free on odds and stroke on evens
6 x 25 build speed
8 x 100 IM on 1:45

Main:
3 times through:
200 free on 3:30
100 on 1:25
100 on 1:20
100 on 1:15
50 on 1:15
50 on :45

If you are doing this set at home don't push the first of the three 100s. Take it a bit easier and work the 1:20 and 1:15. We made the set thanks to BB's lead and it was a solid workout.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

No, I did not have one of those nights!

It all starts with a few sideways glances, then concerned looks, then someone will inevitably say quietly "Are you okay"? This happens more often than I would like. It's called "early morning meeting right after swimming". Yes, my goggle marks are still fresh on my face but I'd like to think I am my usual cheerful self. Apparently I look like I had a rough night with those perfect circles around my eyes. Maybe I will come up with a button or a sign that says: If you did 3600 yards you'd look like this too!

So today was a wee bit sparse in the entire pool, not to mention Lane 3. Just E and me, and it was a nice set. I will admit that I didn't get a ton of sleep so almost fell asleep during the warmup but when I started inhaling water I snapped right out of it.

400 WU on own
300 swim every 3rd 25 kick
200 drill/swim by 50
100 IM
100 swim
4 x 75 count strokes

Main
4 x 50 on :55 descend
500 swim descend w/in each 125 on 8:00
4 x 75 on 1:30 descend
500 steady pace on 8:00
4 x 50 descend on :55
500 fast on 8:00
3600 total

We swam the first one even pace and pulled the second one. Both of us worked the last one and I was happy holding 1:18s. Where is Steve B? Bob S? Carmen? Haven't seen you guys all week.

Special note: Cort said he is so inspired by these workouts that he will be hanging up his bike shoes and joining us. At least that is what I think I heard but I could be wrong because it was really noisy.

A final thank you to Bob B. for filling in yesterday!

Welcome to Guest Blogger: Bob B!

By way of introduction, our guest blogger today is Bob B. Bob is a former age group swimmer and current Ironman triathlete who recently (as of the start of the blog, coincidentally) left his high powered finance job to work in the "fashion" industry. Bob is one of our lane leaders and his kids are also super fast swimmers (almost faster than Bob!). Bob has picked up a few new hobbies as of late, including karaoke and this new thing called "IM-ing". :) Welcome, Bob!

Ok, I am a bit nervous as this is my first guest blog for Lane 3. Actually, it's my first blog ever!

I feel a lot of pressure so I will start with a quote. It kind of sets the tone for what I needed to remind myself of during our workout.

--"The water is your friend. You don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move. " ~Aleksandr Popov Olympic Gold Medalist, Barcelona in the 50 and 100 free.

It was a great group in the lane today; KT, IW, KBB, and myself. There were two other appearances that made it extra special. First, Rachel came back from her honeymoon from Tahiti with a savage tan. She said the pool temp was a bit cold--I don't feel so sorry for her. The long distance award went to Paulo. He's come back for a couple weeks. He mumbled something early on about not feeling in swimming shape. I think it was a set up.

Enough already, with the commentary. Here's the workout.

200 warm up
2 x thru
2x50 drill/free 10 sec rest
100 free 20 sec rest
4x25 kick 10 sec rest

2x50 drill/stroke--this is where KT totally grabbed (not tapped) my feet. Kind of ironic after yesterdays blog. E did you see it from above?
100 stroke 20 sec rest
4x25 kick 10 sec rest

3x150 free 2:10--Paulo looked strong.
3x150 stroke 2:40--I think we lost the Tahitian pseudo newlywed here.
4x50 sprint 1:30--The water is your friend!

150 fast free 2:05--Too much Swiss chocolate for Paulo. He got out to visit with Coach Bill
150 backstroke 2:30
150 pull
150 fast free 2:00---You don 't have to fight with water!
150 backstroke 2:30
150 pull

All in all is was 3150 yards and a pretty good workout. Looking forwad to seeing everybody on Friday.

PS--did you notice KT's new swimsuit. I've read purple is the "in" color of the season.

Nobody touches baby on the feet

Alrighty then, I think it's best that I post the workout first and then get to the drama. (How's that for an intro that screams read on!)

400 warmup on own
6 x 75 odds 25 free/stroke/free, evens 25 stroke/free/stroke on :20 rest
6 x 25 build to sprint on :30
5 x 50 kick
10 x 25 sprint (with a note on the bottom asking if you paid your fees!)

Main:

9 x 225 going:

3 x 225: 200 work, open turn, get time, 25 easy on 3:30 (descend)
3 x 225: 200 work, open turn, get time, 25 easy on 3:20 (hold steady)
3 x 225: 200 work, open turn, get time, 25 easy on 3:10 (descend)

Today was IW, E, me, and a guest whom we shall call Visitor. V apparently did not receive a few important memos, the first is that warmup is just that - warmup. The second, and slightly more critical memo he didn't get was the one that reminds all of us not to touch E's feet. Well, you know where it goes from here and yes, V touched E's feet during the warmup set. It was all downhill from there - I won't go into details but boys, it was not pretty. ;) Bill, who just LOVES to stir the pot, also wrote said Visitor's name on the sheet instead of one of ours. Ouch.

But, we all recovered from this mini drama and picked it up during the main set. We descended the first three, pulled two of the middle three, and then descended the last three. If you are trying this workout on your own a little advice: you can't go too easy on the first of the 225s on 3:10 or you will be touch and go. Nice work, hard work, today!

Hope to see you all tomorrow - we missed you BB, KBB, K, C, BS, SB, and R.

My Little Valentine

I think I am about the only person who has to work on President's Day! So be it - no swim today but major breaking news occurred this weekend when, on Valentines Day, my sister-in-law Katie and brother Bob had a baby girl, Lilah Dawson O'Dair! She is not only smart (it's just my sixth sense), but stunningly gorgeous just like her sister Ruby. Bob was a swimmer growing up so it's highly likely she will inherit the swim genes and join the 2028 Olympic team. You can never start them early enough these days and I believe in high expectations. ;) I'll be back tomorrow after the workout. Or maybe our guest blogger will be? Who knows.

It's Not so Scary

It's Friday the 13th and we were all prepared to be frightened. And, I might add, we were all prepared and in the water by 6:21am - BB, KBB, E, SB, and me. It was almost comical. K has graduated to swim with the fast boys in lane 2, but don't worry: once a lane 3er, always a lane 3er. So here is what the first sheet said:

8 x 50 odds count stroke, evens drill
6 x 75 IM
and then at the bottom..."Time Trial 1650 Coming Up".

Suffice to say, we were all whining a bit about this during the warmup, except for E who liked the prospect. So, one might conclude that we were a bit hesitant. Then Bill put the sheet up:

400 fast on :30 rest
3 x 200 with :30 rest between each one
4 x 100 with :30 rest between each one
5 x 50 with :30 rest between each one

A broken 1650! All was well and happy in the lane. Very creative, too - notice that is 13 swims. We basically crushed this set - BB and I pushed each other side by side and held a 1:15-1:16 pace on the 400 and 200s but closer to 1:18-19s on the 100s. Everyone was strong - a final time (with the rest, which makes a HUGE difference) of 21:04. I don't think I could hold that for a straight 1650 at this point, but it is something to work towards.

Today was really fun - great workout Bill. Everyone, enjoy your weekend whatever you may be doing, whether or not it is traveling to Maine or running a 20 mile road race. :)

The Problem List

Thanks to those who let me know I am on the "problem list" for the SCY Championship meet entries! Nothing like a little public shame to get me to renew my membership! I know, I know - I am often on the problem list. I remember in third grade Ms. Johnson sent me to the principal's office for refusing to wear my coat at recess, marking me as a problem child at Evening Street Elementary School. I like to think of it as the start of my independent streak. Or maybe that is why I am cold all the time. Anyway, I digress...

I am trying to figure out who swam today. E was tread stalking, KBB was on his trainer, BB was at his gym, I was running around H20 town, but an eye reporter saw Steve there, fresh off a plane from Las Vegas. Help! We need today's workout.

Word on the street is that distance day is Friday the 13th!

Mid distance for Mid Week

Let's get right to it!

WU:
8 x 75 backstroke, breastroke, choice, free
3x50 "over the barrel" ???
3x50 count strokes
Main:
5 x 200 on 3:05
2 x 50
4 x 25 fly
4 x 200 pull on 3:00
2 x 50
4 x 25 fly

There was more, but we did not get to it because we started the main set around 7. The Bobs, KBB, CM, IW, and me today. BB led the first 5 and mixed it up a little because we all got bored, but we forgot to tell IW that, oops! I led the pull and we held 2:35s, nice work everyone.

I have to say it was a tiny bit suspicious that Bill "punished us" today by giving us a fly set for being late to practice. None of us were late! I wonder if we are being picked on? Bill, I think it's true that you tease the people you love most, so you must really, really love lane 3. ;) We probably give him the hardest time, true, but what's more fun than a little coach/swimmer dialogue?

I am getting bored with myself on this blog so we need to spice it up a little. Stay tuned for some guest bloggers, one of whom will post in the next few days. Let's just say that while my musings are fueled by caffeine, his will be fueled by red wine (Martinettis is having a sale, 50% off Italian wine - I saw the sign on the way in today) so it should be interesting, if not fashionable.

3 things not to do

I was not at swimming today, because I did three things that I now regret. The first is that I publicly stated on my blog last week that my shoulder was feeling better. The second is that I sent in my meet registration for the 1000, 500, 200IM, and 100free. The third is that I bought a new bathing suit (Nikes are at Marshalls, ladies..). In essence, I may have jinxed myself because I felt a wee little twinge in my shoulder after practice yesterday. No more butterfly for a while. So I thought it best to take a day off, visit Mike (the best PT in Boston if you need a referral) and try again in the morning. I won't make any more statements about this. :)

But of course I did a little viewing from the observation deck (aka treadmill). Honestly, if I didn't know this was a masters team (read: older peeps) then I might have guessed it was a college team. People are swimming very strong right now and it seemed pretty crowded for a Tuesday. Your plea is working, Bill. It looked like a mix of fast 150s free and some IM, but I zoned in and out a bit so someone can fill in for me here.

Oh, and I think there was a full moon last night and this morning, so if people are acting strangely, that is why.

How DO you do it?

I am surely not the only morning swimmer who gets this question, usually posed by a friend/colleague/non-morning person when they hear that we get up at (insert ungodly early hour here) to jump into a cold pool. My first response is usually "coffee". The longer version is that there are multiple motivations. Training, fitness, comraderie, beating the traffic - these are common. My motivation is a combo of fitness and social, and a quick observation of the pool deck this morning might lead one to conclude that many people align with the social aspect. It's much more fun to gab on deck than jump into the pool, and all lanes seemed to be doing quite a bit of that today. I am sure that my friends from other masters teams laugh at our relatively late start time (6:15am or whenever we get in) because some of them are in the pool by 5:15am. In any case, I think we can all agree the two worst parts of the morning swim are the first 300 yards after jumping in and the 10 second walk from the locker room door to the shower. Awful.

Here is what we did:

WU:
4 x 150 (mix of drill, swim, kick)
4 x 100 (25 kick, 25 swim, 25 kick, 25 fast)
Main set 1:
10 x 75 on 1:10 hold pace
Main set 2:
9 125s broken:
1-3: 50 free on :50, 75 fly on 1:20
4-6 50 free on :50, 75 back on 1:25
7-9 50 free on :50, 75 breast on 1:25
Finish it off:
6 x 100 on 1:40

Great set today, lots of people there to enjoy it. Bob B, KBB, Ian, me, and E. But the big news is that Carmen made his triumphant return to the lane. Well, it wasn't really triumphant but it was a return, and we knew that all was well with the world when Carmen got in a few barbs from the back of the lane as he was holding on for dear life. It's good to have you back.

Let's play a little game!

The game is called "Name that Theme". Here is how it works: I give you the set we did today, you tell me the theme. Fun for the whole family!

WU: 3(4x50)reverse IM
WU: 4 x 100 kick
Main 1: 2 x 500 on 7:30
Main 2: 4 x 125 loaded IM (50 fly, 25 back, etc)
Main 3: 4 x 100 pull descending

Present today: Kim, E, me, and Ian. Welcome back, Ian! On the 500s, we paced at 1:25 even for the first one and picked it up to 1:20 (or slightly sub-1:20) for the second one. E bailed after the 500s and I bailed after only 2 125s. Kim and Ian finished the 125s. Apparently Kim and Ian followed our leadership and bailed on the last set. For the record, this was the first time in nearly a year and a half that I was in the pool 3 days in a row. I don't want to jinx my shoulder, but it feels pretty good.

So I have two possible themes to offer: 1) "a little something for everyone!" and 2) "Where's the shower"?

Happy Friday, and have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A wee bit of light

I am not sure if everyone noticed this or not, but the sky had a little more light to it this morning just after 6am. That is the hope that February brings - more light each day, more warmth (questionable) and an eye towards Spring.

Bill has been giving us great sets this week, today no exception.

WU 9 x 75 stroke
Main: 12 x 200 (was supposed to be 14 but we ran out of time)
5 x 200 on 3:00
100 easy
3 x 200 on 3:15
100 easy
4 x 200 on 2:50
100 easy

Dr. Bob and Steve swam together and because of time contraints worked the 3:15s and they were flying - I think they were doing 2:30s to 2:35s. Elaine and I worked the 2:50s with the goal of keeping it under 2:40 pace. I ended up doing a :35 (a bit fast for #1), :39, :38 and :37. I wanted to have the last one my fastest, and tried, but could not do it. But I love 200s so was very happy.

Dr. B said he is signing up for the meet! I told him we would all do a lane intervention to make sure he was successful. I'll let him share his own tragic story from the meet last fall (sometimes talking about things helps, Dr. B) but suffice it to say, we'll get you to the lane on time. :)

Out of the mouths of babes: When my niece Celia (2 yrs, 4 mos) saw her baby brother for the first time yesterday in the arms of her mom, she said "baby go bye-bye now?" Poor sweet thing has no idea what is in store for her. I should know - I have two younger brothers myself (love you guys!)and her life will be changed forever. For the good, of course!

Someone has a case of the Wednesdays!

Where was everyone today? Not just Lane 3 - the whole pool was sparse. I was warming up alone and like a vision sent from heaven, Kim came out of the locker room. If he didn't show up, I would not have lasted.

The set today was a sprint set disguised as a middle distance set. When you see it in writing, you will probably think what we thought - this is easy! But it was not easy, it was really hard. Warm up approx. 1000: 50s, 75s. Main set:

Five times through the following:

150 on 2:25 (we pulled)
100 on 1:15
4 x 25 on :40

Essentially, the whole thing is the 5 x 100 and the rest is recovery. Try it!

I am going to try to post the workouts each day I swim, hopefully 3-4 times per week. (Elaine reminded me that my competition is probably swimming more than that in preparation for the meet in March - nothing like a little nudging to motivate me). When I am not there, post or send me the main set so I can put it up.

Update on WITWICM: I heard his voice yesterday. He is alive, and in NY.

Future Olympian Alert: My sister Carrie is having her baby - hopefully today, it was a long night apparently. The little guy/gal is probably just doing a final hypoxic set before oxygenating.

Treadmill Stalking

I am not sure I invented the term "treadmill stalking" but it seems to be particularly relevant at MIT, where a large bank of treadmills conveniently overlooks the pool. What does that mean? It means that I am watching you swim. It does not mean that I will hide around the corner and watch you on a treadmill, or put a treadmill in your front lawn and wait until you call the police because I am scaring you. Others do this, too - (Elliptical stalking is also popular) but I tend to take a more active approach to it and send feedback to people on the workout, etc. And Kevin, I disagree with you that you can't get faster watching people swim. I was definitely faster today. :)

Today it looked like hard 100s with some pull. Everyone in Lane 3 ate their Wheaties! Steve and Rachel traded leads on the 100s and Elaine led the pull. Nice work on tough intervals. No real feedback, but I said to E in the locker room watch your left arm, it comes up a bit kind of like Bob's. In lane 4, A has almost no kick and M has a huge power kick, but with a buoy each evens their stroke out smoothly. That means more kick for A and a bit less for M (I know, ironic that I am even commenting on a kick, but I have to call it like I see it!).

The big news is that Rachel is leaving for 12 days to the South Pacific for her long overdue honeymoon. Have a great time, Rachel! We'll wait until you return for the next lane outing.

Lastly, update on Where in the World is Carmen Monks: Carmen was spotted at the noon Masters workout yesterday, and reports are that he did somewhere between "1700 and 1900" yards. We hope to see you soon in the a.m., CM.

Happy February!

Or, if we think of the set today...what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger! Present at practice: Bob S., Bob B., Elaine, Kim, Kevin, Steve, and moi. IM set. 150s, some pull, 200s, total main set 2200, plus warmup 3400ish. Not bad. Everyone was hurting so that is a good sign. Everyone is swimming really strong right now! The only problem with today was that we were divided into two lanes - maybe Bill is trying to break up the band because he senses danger?

Was it just me, or did coach Bill react a little on the nervous side when he found out there was a Lane 3 blog? I think I heard things like "I am not afraid of your blog", and "sticks and stones may break my bones, but blogs will never hurt me". The proverbial chickens have come home to roost, Bill. All of the months of picking on me are "ovah". So, Valentines day is coming up and let's just say I love chocolate and roses. 'Nuff said.

We're going to play a little game called "Where in the World is Carmen Monks"? until said person returns to the pool. It was supposed to be today, but I think he had a little too much Superbowl merriment.

On that note, we were all a little tired today from staying up late to watch the game. I would be remiss not to point out that the whole game came down to (surprise, surprise) two Ohioans saving the day. Big Ben (Miami U, my alma mater) to Santonio Holmes (Ohio State) to win the game.