Too tired

This morning I am just too tired to weave any kind of inspirational message into my musings. I was tired before I got to swim and the workout made me even more tired. It didn't help that I woke up after dreaming that I got an F in my advanced qualitative research class. If you think that school anxiety dreams stop when you are in high school, think again. At least I wasn't in gym class with no clothes on or anything.
Okay, here is what we did:

200 warmup
2 x (6 x 50)
fly
count strokes
back
count strokes
breast
count strokes
free
2 x (3x200)
1-3 on 3:05 descend
4-6 on 2:55 descend
six times thru:
100 fast on 1:15
50 easy on 1:15
10 x 25 fly (only BB did this)

Happy to report, we made it! Have a great weekend everyone.

Peer Pressure

KBB has some 'splainin' to do when he sits down with his pre-teen daughter to have the little "peer pressure" chat. We all know that sometimes peer pressure makes people do things they would not normally do to conform to group norms. I am sure the talk will focus on bad behaviors like smoking or boys or school cliques. But when little C sees daddy in a small speedo with his name on it, she might just wonder what happened. You see, dad has never worn anything but a drag suit. I wonder if the constant haranguing from L3ers finally wore him down, or if he just couldn't walk out on Vassar Street anymore and have E peddling her Splish suits like a dealer. Whatever the reason, KBB will likely admit that the new suit made him swim faster. At least it looked like it to me!

400 warmup
4 x 150 75 free/75 stroke on :30r
100 on 1:25
100 on 1:35
100 on 1:25
100 on 1:35
100 on 1:25
500 pull on 7:30
4 x 25 on :35
500 fast on 6:45
4 x 25 on :35
500 pull on 7:30
4 x 25 on :35
500 fast on 6:45
4 x 25 on :35

That is 3900 yards, folks! We are freaking tired! Never again will I complain that I don't get as good of a workout swimming as I do running or biking. Great job today by J, Dr.B, KBB, IW, BB, and R. The moral of today's story is that peer pressure can be positive if it makes you do something good for you.

S.O.S.

Today this meant "Save Our Steve." It was kind of a low energy morning at the pool today. SB started by saying he was sleepy, starving, and another S that I forgot, but I don't think it was "super excited to swim". Usually we would joke around and take away his bouy but I could tell he really was sleep and calorie deprived, plus the rest of us were not exactly chomping at the bit to win swimmer of the day. So SB had his trusty pull bouy and by fate, got to lead the lane as we all split into two lanes. I would say the S stood for success, because SB staying for almost the entire workout! Salutations, Steve. Here it is:

200 on own
300 drill/swim by 25
8 x 50 count strokes choice
10 x 125
1-5 on 2:00
6-10 on 1:50
3 x 200 pull hypoxic
10 x 75 going:
1-5 on 1:10
6-10 on :60

Upon reflection, we all did a pretty darn good job because this was not as easy as it looks, particularly the 75s on :60 in the end. Thank you to Joe for the draft.

Working up an appetite

After swim practice I am usually content with a cup of coffee and a muffin on my way to work. But for whatever reason, today I would have preferred something like the Old Country Buffet. The workout was that hard. I've never actually been to one of these but I have seen the lines so there must be something to it. What I don't understand is how swimming can make me ravenous while I barely want to eat after a long run. I know there is some research out there about cold water and metabolism, but I am living proof of the swimming/eating connection.

Today was interesting - on the surface it looks easy, but it was hard. Credit to Bill, the whole week has been tough but good. Lanes 2 and 3 were on the same interval.

200 swim
150 drill/swim by 25
100 faster each 25
50 fly
4 x 50 stroke
6 x 50 free
4 x 50 fly
Main: for times thru:
50 cruise on 1:10
3 x 75 descend on 1:05
2 x 50 stroke on :60
100 fast on 1:15

Great job everyone!

Tardy

There aren't really any consequences for being late to swim practice. Since we're all adults, the ramifications of being late are purely personal. For me, the first 10 minutes of practice are usually spent talking on the deck, looking at the early birds who jumped in at 6:20, and preparing for the plunge myself. When you're late, you miss all of that, particularly the zen moments where you prepare to get into the cold pool. Instead, I got on deck and everyone was already swimming. So I had to jump right in and I'll admit it was harsh. Perhaps I should take the Joel approach and still spend 10-15 minutes on deck no matter what time I arrive. For the record, he was in before me today. And by the way, late as I was, I still beat coach Bill. :)

100 drill/swim
2 x 50 back
100 drill/swim
2 x 50 breast
100 drill/swim
2 x 50 fly
2 x 150 on :30 think about stroke
2 x 100 on :25r extend and reach
2 x 150 on :30r think about pull
2 x 100 on :25 think about finish
3 x 200 IM on 3:30
6 x 25 fast choice
50 easy
3 x 200 free on 3:00
4 x 25 fast choice
50 easy

This was a hard workout, but fun and interesting. We had a protest today in the lane! E jumped in the pool with a kickboard, fins, paddles, and two pull bouys. She sure showed coach Bill! Of course he immediately made her put them all away when he arrived. But sometimes you just gotta make a point. Only one more day, people, then we are back to using whatever crutch we need to make it through.

Swimming purists

Coach Bill has declared this week an "equipment free zone." What this means is no pull bouys, kick boards, paddles, fins, or snorkels. Thankfully, he is allowing us to wear our swimsuits and goggles. Apparently a few of us have become a little too attached to our toys in the pool, and Bill wants to remind us all how to swim again. Poor SB, we all walked on deck and there he was - no pull bouy. He looked so sad. The rest of us seemed equally disoriented and the set we did today was rough. I missed my paddles. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, so we have three days left with no crutch. We can do it!

200 warmup
4 x 50 free
4 x 50 kick no board
4 x 50 IM
3 x 100 backstroke
6 x 150
1-4 on 2:20
5,6 on 1:10 descend
6 x 125
1-4 on 1:55
5, 6, on 1:45 descend

BB was on fire today, must have had his wheaties. The rest of us slugged it out but I must say, it was a tough workout. Good job E, SB, KBB, and BB.

Getting the shot...

I have never been backstage at a photo shoot, but I imagine it's pretty hectic with the models primping, sniping a bit at each other, all while the photographer tries to keep it all together. That was kind of the scene today on deck. It was lane 3 swimsuit day, so one of us had the bright idea to get a picture. If you've ever had to convene people for a photo (such as your family during the holidays) then you know how hard it is. Then imagine that you're not working with models at all, nobody is awake, the people you are trying to photograph are practically naked, the camera is a BlackBerry, and the photographer is coach Bill. I think you are getting the picture, so to speak. It was so laborious we actually all decided to get into the pool after only one take and before some latecomers arrived. Imagine that! The ironic thing is that we even had a wardrobe malfunction ala Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl. Don't worry, Rachel, we did not get that on film. Sadly, today was our last day of long course until May. Au Revoir.

200 stroke/swim
4 x 100 50 free, 25 stroke, 25 free
4 x 50 free descend
50 free on 1:10
50 fly on 1:10
3 x 100 fast on 1:35
50 free on 1:10
50 fly on 1:10
4 x 100 fast on 1:40
50 free on 1:10
50 fly on 1:10
5 x 100 fast on 1:45 (I pulled)
50 free on 1:10
50 fly on 1:10
6 x 100 fast on 1:50

To mix it up, Dr. Bob, KBB, and I did a pattern on the last 6. 50 hard, 50 easy; 50 easy, 50 hard, all cruise, all fast, then hold sub-1:30. Just makes it go faster. BB and E pulled the last set.

Happy long weekend everyone!

It doesn't just apply to Vegas...

Warning: this blog entry may be upsetting to small children and clean freaks.

While we love to joke "what happens in the pool stays in the pool", we are mostly talking about the conversations we have on deck or between sets. Yet today the phrase took on a whole new (and disturbing) meaning. I don't know how this happened, but there was a giant hairball at the bottom of the pool, in our lane, just before the diving well. I mean GIANT. Was there some kind of cat swimming party at the pool last weekend? Did people clean out their brushes or something? And how did all of the hair get together? It's gross, really, and I feel kind of bad writing about it. But making it worse was BB who dove down to really find out if it was a hairball. In doing so, it broke into two. Awesome. Maybe the vaccum is broken or the net thing that catches those things wasn't long enough. Unfortunately this wasn't the only ugly thing at the pool today. My new suit (courtesy of Mo, who didn't want it) was unanimously voted the ugliest suit on deck. I even said to E in the locker room "I'm going to hear it today with this on" and sure enough, I did. My lanemates are nothing if not predictably honest. But we had great mojo in the lane today. Everyone but C was present and accounted for. Nice!

3 x 100 kick,drill, stroke, swim
4 x 100 gallop, swim
1 x 100 on 1:55
2 x 100 on 1:50
3 x 100 on 1:45
2 x 100 on 1:50
1 x 100 on 1:55
THEN:
27 minute swim straight!

The gold stars go to KBB and IW, who finished the whole thing. Silver star to Dr. Bob who kind of did, bronze to Jason and Rachel who were at least in the pool at the end, and a variety of colored ribbons to the rest of us who stayed between 15 (SB) and 20 (BB) minutes. It's just like a kid swim meet - we are all winners.

Resolutions

If you want proof that new years resolutions exist, stop by the Z Center or, more specifically, try to shower or dry your hair in the ladies locker room. We needed a traffic cop in there today. And I actually signed up for a treadmill at 6am, and even though E thought I was nuts, the whole bank filled up during the morning. And the pool was crazy crowded, though no L3 regulars were present today. So the good news is that everyone has set goals for the year. My own personal goals took a little hit yesterday, just one day after officially setting them. I did NOT win the lottery for the Chesapeake Bay 4.4 mile swim. BB, however, did win the lottery so he will be training and racing in June. I will be the good lanemate and swallow my sorrow and disappointment while helping him train. Plus, who wants to do a silly little race in cold water, across the Chesapeake, with tons of open water swimmers, and potential to get bitten by fish or run into the bridge? Ok, I do. Bummer.

I did not swim today, but E and I swam on Saturday and love this workout:

500 warmup
10 x 200 going:
200 free on 3:00
200 IM on 3:30
200 pull on 3:00
repeat 3 times then
200 choice
cool down

It's amazing how a simple set of 200s can go so fast, but they do. It's fun to mix it up within the set, prevents boredom.

The little black line...

I must admit that I take for granted the little black line at the bottom of the pool. In fact, I don't even realize it's there and usually shrug off non-swimmers who say "don't you get bored just staring at that little black line all the time?" Today, I had an awakening, and a newly found appreciation for the LBL. MIT was "experimenting" (in the words of lifeguard Kenny) with having 9 lanes in the space where we normally have 8. In concept, it seems like a good idea. More people can fit into the pool, and even though the lanes are skinnier they are less crowded. However, this setup moves the LBL so that it is NOT in the middle of the lane. Why does this matter? Because I realized how much I use that as my guide. Case in point, starting my swim I was annoyed that I kept scraping the lane line (ouch, btw). On the way back, I nearly crashed into Pat (our visitor) three times. It wasn't just me. I saw carnage everywhere. I wondered afterward if it was a trick to see if the lifeguards are on their toes. Kenny asked my opinion of the experiement and I had only two words to say: Bad Idea.

Here is the workout:

400 on own
12 x 50
4 free on 1:05, 1 stroke on 1:05
3 free on :60, 1 stroke on :60
2 free on :55, 1 stroke on 1:05
then 12 x 50, switching the stroke and free
600 broken by 150 going:
150 pull :10r
150 swim :10r
150 pull :10r
150 swim :10r
5 x 300 on 5:00

I only did two of the 300s, still finding my arms! Tomorrow I suggest we all wear helmets with our swim caps. Safety first!!

Back in the speedo again

Happy New Year! I must admit, it hurt a bit to return to swim after nearly two weeks away. But the good part was that misery loved company. I was not the only one struggling with rubber arms or a newly created floation device from holiday overindulgence (maybe that was just me - I am projecting my own gluttony here.) But thank you to the three J's for keeping me in the pool as long as you did. Joe, Joel, and Jason. Yes, Jason, our old friend who pops in once in awhile. Today he had on a fancy suit with #1 all over it, courtesy of the grab bag. Good to see you, J3 and come back! Here is what we did:

8 x 50
2 x 250 pull #1, swim #2
20 x 100 going:
1-5 25 fast, 75 easy on 1:50
6-10 fast on 1:40
11-15 100 fast, 100 easy on 1:50
16-20 fast on 1:40

I didn't make it past the third set of 100s. But that is okay, there is always tommorow!