Snap!

A little trivia question for today: what is the catchy 80s song by the group in the title above? Well, if you can guess it you will be singing it all day whether you want to or not. Just like I did at practice today. I blame Rachel for inserting this into our heads. And what really peeved me was that I couldn't remember the words, so I kept singing the refrain over and over. I am not sure there are any words. Anyway, today was a toughie.

300 warmup on own
10 x 50 free various on 1:05
6 x 50 easy/sprint by 25 on 1:10
800 free pace on :60r
2 x 50 easy on 1:10
400 pull on 7:00
400 swim descend by 100s on 7:00
2 x 50 easy on 1:10
4 x 200 on 3:30
2 x 50 easy

The answer to the trivia question (why make you google it?) is "Ive got the Power". Have a great day. :)

Word of the Day: Golgotha

noun:
1. A place or occasion of great suffering.
2. A burial place.
It's funny how apropos the word of the day is today. BB gets an email and it's usually a fun, informative way to learn something new and keep those brain cells from dying of old age. But today, it was all of us who found ourselves in a place of great suffering, ready to be buried. It's almost not fair giving us this workout on a Monday. All I can say is ouch. Here you go. Special note: bill was there at 6:10am!

500 on own
3 x 100 going 50br/50free :25 r
3 x 100 going 50bk/50 free :25r
3 x 100 going 50fly/50free :25r
3 x 200 going 50 high elbow, 50 build on 3:30
Then:
12 minute swim - as far as you can
100 easy
12 minute swim - as far as you can

I knew when he gave us the first one that there was way too much time to just do this once, so the second 12-er was not a total surprise. First one was ~740 (11:45 as I left :15 behind)and the second one was ~765 (11:55 leaving :05 behind), but I pulled the first 400 so it's not comparable.

Everybody Loves a Parade!

We live in the city of champions. The latest evidence of this is the Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup. Within the last decade the Pats, Sox, Celts, and now Bruins are the best of the best. We are definitely getting spoiled. And with a win the team gets - you guessed it - a duck boat parade through Boston and into the Charles River. That is the same river Dr. Bob and I swam in just 2 weeks ago (how's that for tying a totally unrelated issue to swimming?). So it's a pretty exciting time around here, and we celebrated with a wonderful Friday workout:

400 on own
4(2 x 100)on :25r
1-2 50 fly/50 back
3-4 free
5-6 50 back/50 breast
7-8 free
12 x 50 going:
1-4 fast pull under water on :60
5-8 drill choice on 1:05
9-12 25 ez/25 sprint on :55
400 negative split on 6:30
2 x 200 descend (pull) on 3:20
4 x 100 descend 1-4 on 1:50
8 x 50 going:
Descend 1-4 and 5-8 on 1:05
100 easy

Ladies Day in the Lane

It was ladies day in the lane today with me, E, and Sarah, which frankly is nice to have once in awhile because there is little drama (sorry boys). We jump in early, negotiate our order in the lane peacefully, make our intervals, and finish the set tired by happy. That's us dancing in the photo after practice - that is how happy we were. It's not that we don't have these things when the men are there, it just feels different that's all. I'm not starting a gender war here because I love my male lanemates, just musing on how different it is!

200 on own
16 x 50 on :15r
2 back
1 free
2 breast
1 free
2 fly
1 free
2 drill
1 free
2 choice
1 free
1 choice
300 swim steady on 5:15
300 pull on 5:05
300 descend by 100 on 4:55
300 pull on 5:05
300 negative split on 4:55
300 kick
300 fastest of the day

Flattery will get you everywhere

This is "penalty week" at MIT Masters. It one of the weeks of the year where Bill gets all tough about being on deck early, getting in the pool by 6:18am, and actually swimming the workout as he designed it. The consequences for tardiness or errant bouy use are a penalty of $5 per transgression, which will go to charity. Those of us who already break the rules frequently (think SB and Dr. Bob) have the option to pay a waiver of $15. Seems reasonable, as some have already racked up tens of dollars of fines. And buttering the coach up doesn't work, as evidenced by E telling Bill he looked skinny on Monday. That kind of flagrant brown-nosing really annoys me. Bill is such a great coach and we shouldn't cheapen his role by flattery to get out of a fine. By the way, have you noticed that he has started to look a bit like Ben Affleck? Seriously, I was half expecting Jennifer Garner to stop by the workout this morning.

400 on own
Twice thru:
100 drill on :25r
100 stroke/drill on :25r
100 free/build on :25r
8 x 50 kick going easy/fast
200 free on 3:30
400 free on 7:00
800 free on 13:30
400 free on 7:00
200 free on 3:30
300 swim easy

3700 meters. Hooray!

Success!

BB did it! He swam 12.5 miles AROUND Key West on Saturday. This is a pretty monumental accomplishment in swimming, and he did it in a stunning 5 hours and 10 minutes. All done by training in a pool. You can see the before and after photos - that is 40% zinc oxide (with the oh-so-fashionable blue stripe on the head) to protect him. Apparently all was protected except for a small area around the suit line, making for a painful 4 hours flight home. Congrats, Bob. We are all so proud of you!

Here is our workout today - I post it because it's a good one:

3 x 100 swim :15r
6 x 50 stroke :15r
6 x 50 1-3 free; 4-6 drill/free
2 x 100 swim on :15r
6 x 200 descend by pairs on 3:30
5 x 150
1-2 on 1:40 swim
3-4 on 1:30 pull
150 IM order no free

Love That (not so dirty!) Water

The third annual Charles River One-mile Swim happened on Saturday. Dr. Bob and I represented the lane well, and the conditions were perfect for a swim. Just a decade ago, nobody would even think about swimming in the Charles. High levels of bacteria and phosphorus made it unsafe for people to enjoy. In 1995, the EPA gave the Charles a grade of D, which has slowly improved over the last few years and it is currently a B+. The best part of the swim was rounding the bouy and seeing the city during each breath. It was really something! Over 100 swimmers participated. The water was 72 degrees and felt refreshing. Congrats to the Charles River Swimming Club for their efforts in making this happen, especially our MIT masters teammate Ulla Hester. Hopefully, in a few years we'll be able to enjoy the river all summer.

12 miles is a long way

Today was distance day, and we ended up doing 3700 meters. That felt really long to me. But when I stack it up against what BB will be doing this weekend in Key West, it's a mere sprint. BB will be doing 19,200 yards in his 12 mile swim AROUND Key West. His training is done, his Kayak is ready, his zinc oxide (40%) is fully stocked, and all he has to do is swim. It's pretty unbelievable, and the water temperature is in the low to mid 80's. We'll all be pulling for him this Saturday - make MIT Master's proud, BB!

Today's short workout:

300 on own
200 swim on :20r
100 free on :15r
2 x 50 breast
100 free on :15r
2 x 50 breast
100 free on :15r
2 x 50 breast
2 x 100 descend on 1:45
2 x 200 descend on 3:30
2 x 300 pull on 5:05
2 x 400 swim on 6:25
500 fastest of the day

I'm pooped! Good job everyone.