Holy Coaches Choice, Batman!

It was really super sweet of Bill to give us our own set today, rather than the 10 x 200IM the other lanes were doing. He must have taken one look at us (me, E, Carmen, Dr. Bob, Matt) and said "they need to pay for all the fun they had this weekend - no silly IM set for them." So I was going to entitle the blog "Just do it" but I worried that Nike would come after me for all the advertising revenue I get for the site. Anyway, here is what we did:

(Reminder for those of you at home: times and distances are long course)

WU
4 x 50 count strokes
3 x 100 gallop/choice
200 pull
Main
400 free on 6:40
2 x 50 free on 1:10
2 x 300 on 5:00
2 x 50 free
200 on 3:30
200 on 3:20
200 on 3:10
8 x 100
1-4 on 1:40
5-8 on 1:30

Good distance day. The 100s at the end of the workout were a little agressive - I only made 2 of them and just hung on for the remainder. And now that we are almost 2 weeks into long course, it's time for a nice reminder about some lane etiquette:

1.Send Intervals. When swimming long course, leave 10 seconds between yourself and the swimmer in front of you.

2.Keep your pace and pace yourself. Do not blow out the first part of the set and die on the last part. It is your responsibility to follow the coach’s instructions and set a reasonable pace for the lane.

3.The Role of the "Passer". If you have left an appropriate interval between you and the swimmer in front of you and have caught up, gently tap his toes to signal that you would like to pass at the wall. This is common practice, though some find it annoying. Too bad.

4.If you DO pass someone, you had better keep the pace! Remember on long sets the person ahead of you may be pacing herself (and the lane) to have enough energy to finish the set.(Remember: "descending" means you start out moderate and increase your speed!)

5.The Role of the "Passee".Don't be annoyed when someone wants to pass you. I know,I know - it's an ego thing, but in the grand scheme of things, it is better to let him pass and hope he holds the pace. Allow the swimmer to pass at the wall.Give the person a few seconds before shoving off of the wall in hot pursuit. It's not pretty when someone is 'swimming mad.’ Been there, done that. Not good.