Hour of Power

Today, 32 people from MIT Masters did the One Hour Swim. Thirty-two! That is pretty amazing. I was one of them, and, as Frank Sinatra so often said "I did it my way". That's right, I went from thinking it was dreadful to thinking it was fun. How, might you ask? Well, I simply did it as a workout, and I had company too. E2 and I got in a leisurely 3500 during the OHS and had a good time with it. But it makes me wonder: why can't we do 3500 every practice, or more? I realize that we chat a bit too much on deck, and between sets is sometimes like a cocktail party. But at least I know we can do it. Here is what we did:

500 WU
200 drill/swim on 3:30
200 swim on 3:00
200 50free/50stroke 3:30
200 free 3:00
200 IM 3:30
5 x 100 on 1:30
Descend 1-3
easy 4
fast 5
10 x 75
3 on 1:15
3 on 1:10
4 on 1:05
500 swim 7:00
6 x 50 FAST on 1:15
DONE!

Little Hour of Doom

Yes, that is what I have named the One Hour Swim. Having done it just once in my entire swim career, I think it is appropriate to call it LHD instead of OHS. And I love distance. I would rather swim 4 miles in cold, choppy ocean water than swim an hour in a 25 yard pool. I'd rather bike an hour in 40 degree weather (okay, people, that is COLD for me) than do this. But I ran into Frank Wuest this week, and he asked me if I was doing it. Frank coordinates the LHD for New England Masters, and right now NEM is going for the top spot nationally. So when I told him no, I wasn't doing it, he simply told me a story about how he is having surgery in 2 weeks for a torn rotator cuff and that he is kicking for an hour. Shame hath no equal. So I'll do it, but I'll do it MY way. And E2 (who I really want to call Y tu?) is doing it with me as a workout. Stay tuned for a fun LHD workout. The moral of the story is that YOU TOO can do this!

Today's workout

200 swim
6 x 50 drill/swim 1-3 stroke, 4-6 free
4 x 100 on 1:45
200 kick
4 x 75 reverse IM :20r
3 x 400 on 6:00 (Hubbard and Joel did IM)
3 x 300 on 4:30 (first one fast, second negative split, third easy)

From flip-flops to puffy coats

The most noticeable difference in returning to Boston from Key West is not the 50 degree temperature differential or the three hour difference in the time I wake up. It's the footwear and outerwear. In Key West, everyone has on flip-flops, even babies wear them. And when people don't wear flip-flops, they go barefoot. Here in Boston, the hallmark of the winter culture is the puffy coat. Everyone has them. Long, short, thick, thin - doesn't matter. As evidence of this, five out of six people in line for coffee today had on a puffy coat. When the temperature dropped to 10 degrees today, out came my puffy coat. But it was flip-flop warm in the pool today, but much more painful than walking down Duval Street.

200 warmup
5 x 100 free
25 br/25 free
free
50 br/50fr
free
choice
4 x 150 pull hypoxic (9,3,7) on 2:40
2 x 400 swim on 6;30
1 x 400 IM or 50stroke/50free
1 x 400 fast