Lane 3

Swim Like a Girl

2012-02-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

So here is how it all went down. BG moves over to swim with the ladies in lane 3. Coach Bill makes a funny comment about swimming with the girls. In lane 2, an unnamed person, who is a dear friend and supporter of lady power, says (under his breath) "I hope I don't swim like a girl today". Of course he was joking, but it's way too easy for me to pick up on. I mean, tell that to Janet Evans, Dara Torres, and Diana Nyad for heaven's sake! But it got me to thinking. When people say to a guy "you throw like a girl" it insults all of us who throw a mean spiral (I am from Ohio for heaven's sake) or those who say "you run like a girl" have never seen my friend Karen run, or "you bike like a girl" have never seen E do cyclecross. So, instead of taking insult, I say "yes! I hope we can all swim like a girl today!"

450 warmup
150 on 1:55
3 x 50 on :55
150 on 1:50
3 x 50 on :60
150 on 1:50
3 x 50 on 1:05
4 (3 x 50)
1-3 count strokes :55
4-6 drill/swim :55
7-9 stroke on :60
10-12 swim on :50
Main set:
25 on :25
50 on :60
75 on 1:10
100 on 1:20
75 on 1:10
50 on :60
25 on :30
25 on :25
50 on 1:05
75 on 1:10
100 on 1:20
75 on 1:10
50 on 1:05
25 on :35
25 on :30
50 on :60
75 on 1:10
100 on 1:20
75 on 1:10
50 on 1:10
25 on :30
400 swim "power"
6 x 50 on 1:05 (underwater to wall, no breath until flags)

Better than swimming alone

2012-02-02T15:55:00.000-05:00

There are many reasons why I swim at MIT Masters, and those reasons are well documented: great pool, nice coach, amazing lanemates, blah, blah, blah. But one major reason that I don't often articulate is that I hate swimming alone. I don't think I am alone on this one, pardon the pun. And so it was today, when SB was all alone (well, not totally alone, his trusty pull bouy was with him), that Coach Bill quickly realized that he needed the comraderie and over he came. It was a good workout, especially considering I don't like short distance.

4 x 125 going:
100 stroke/25 free
75 stroke/50 free
50 stroke/75 free
25 stroke/100 free
200 count strokes on :20r
200 descend by 50 on :20r
200 drill/swim by 25 on :20r
6 x 150 going:
125 fast on 1:55; 25 easy on :35
6 x 100 on 1:25
4 times thru:
25 fly on :45
25 back on :45
25 breast on :45
25 fly on :50
25 back on :50
25 breast on :50
25 fly on :55
25 back on :55
25 breast on :55
25 fly off of blocks
25 back off of blocks
25 breast off of blocks

Hour of Power

2012-01-29T15:21:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-04T08:57:00.000-05:00

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

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!

2011-12-21T10:18:00.000-05:00

I feel very lucky to swim at MIT Masters with wonderful people. We have fun, we work hard, and get to swim in the best pool in town with coach Bill. So l'chaim to my teammates celebrating Hannukah and Feliz Navidad to those who celebrate Christmas! Today's pool temp a bit up from Monday but still cool. Hopefully in ten days it will be up to a balmy 79 degrees.

800 warmup (600 in warm pool, 200 in cold pool)
200 free on :20r
200 stroke on :20r
200 kick on :20r
2 x 100 free on :15r
2 x 50 back :10r
2 x 100 free :15r
2 x 50 breast on :15r
12 x 150 going:
1-4 on 2:50
5-8 on 2:40
9-12 on 2:30

Wetsuits Optional

2011-12-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

It started before practice, with a sign on the door of the locker room. "WARNING" the sign said, "POOL TEMPERATURE IS 75 DEGREES. IT COULD TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO WARM UP". It's ironic how this coincides with the coldest night of the year. Undaunted, we all plunged into the crisp, clear cold water. It was almost like swimming outside except we weren't outside, we were inside, where the water is supposed to be warm. Some of us (me) even went to the warm pool first. But a funny thing happened. We never really warmed up. Usually after a 500 even the 79 degree pool feels good. Several people got out and nobody really seemed to enjoy it. So please - next time you swim, bring a cup of hot, steaming water and pour it in the pool. That should do it. Coach Bill wasn't there today so we made up our own workout. Hope all is ok, CB!

500-700 "warmup"
10 x 50 drill/swim by 25 on :60
10 x 200 going:
1-2 free on 3:30
3-4 IM on 4:00
5-6 pull on 3:15
7-10 odds free on 3:30, evens IM on 4:00
"cool down": 4 x 50 stroke

Rehashing a Favorite

2011-12-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

So the good thing about swimming on your own is that you get to pick the workout, which I gladly did this morning when a bunch of us went to Alumni pool because the Z center was closed. When I said that I wanted to do one of my favorites, BB already knew what was coming. E probably did too. And everyone else knows I love 200s and I love variety, so this workout was a combination of everything. Today's workout was a little like those Russian Matryoshka dolls, you keep opening it up and you get something you love, but just smaller (or shorter, in this case). But never fear, if you didn't like this I have other favorites that I am happy to share! Special shout out to E and Grace who were there with me at 6am sharp!

400 warmup
5 x 200 (you were right, BB!)on :20r
200 drill/swim by 50
200 swim
200 pull
200 IM or stroke
200 choice
Main set: 4 x 500 broken
500 swim on 7:30
2 x 250 pull on 3:45
5 x 100 free odds free on 1:30, evens IM on 1:45
50 easy
10 x 50 odds sprint on :45, evens easy on :60
2 x 75 on :60
2 x 75 on 1:05
2 x 75 on 1:10

Santa's watching?

2011-12-09T08:41:00.001-05:00

I really thought that the only person who saw me cut out part of the kick set today was Ian. And when I chose to pull one of the 200s to break it up a bit, again, I only thought Ian noticed. But as we finished the set, all I heard was "Santa is watching". Of course this harkened me back to my earliest memory of my mom picking up the phone to call Santa when we were misbehaving (no, she was not on the phone with Santa ALL the time). And to this day, I still think the big guy was on the other line, because instead of getting the pretty pink ballet tutu like my sister did, I got the black one, and then my family filmed me dancing gracefully into the Christmas tree. True story. Black swan had a totally different meaning back in 1970. Anyway, I'll try to atone for my kick set, SC. Plus, I think he was a little busy with the 800 age group swimmers who descended on deck at 7:15am.

400 on own
6 x 50 drill/swim on :60
6 x 75 - 2 on 1:30, 2 on 1:10, 2 on :60
4 x 75 kick (or in my case, 3 x 75 and one by 50)
Eight times thru:
200 on 2:55
25 on :45
6 x 50 going underwater 25, swim 25

Wha happen?

2011-12-07T09:18:00.000-05:00

There are some things in life that are to be expected. For instance, when you go to the tropics, you expect sun and surf, when you eat ice cream every day, you expect to gain weight, and when you go to Whole Foods, you expect fresh vegetables and impatient people. Most importantly, when you swim at MIT masters on Wednesdays, you expect distance. So you can only imagine our surprise when we got to the pool and the workout was short/sprint/stroke. Due to the swim meet (is anyone actually swimming in the meet besides E?) coach Bill mixed it up for us this week. Surprise! I usually love surprises, but in this case it was just tolerable. But sprints are good for us, so is stroke, so here we go:
400 warmup
twice thru:
4 x 25 drill :30
2 x 50 sroke :60
2 x 50 free :60
100 on 1:35
4 x 75 on 1:20
12 x 100 going:
1-3 and 7-9 fly/back, back/breast, breast free on 1:55
4-6 and 10-12 free on 1:35
2 x 25 sprint fly on :25
1 easy on :40
2 x 25 sprint back on :25
1 easy on :40
2 x 25 sprint breast on :25
1 easy on :40
2 x 25 sprint free on :25
1 easy on :40
3 x 25 sprint fly on :30
1 easy on :40
3 x 25 sprint back on :30
1 easy on :40
3 x 25 sprint breast on :30
1 easy on :40
3 x 25 sprint free on :30
1 easy on :40

Colder than Walden in May

2011-11-22T09:51:00.000-05:00

The pool has been pretty cold lately, but today it seemed a bit colder than normal. Sure, there were the usual screams of "zoinks!" and "wowza!" coming from the swimmers as they jumped in, but there was a bit more of an edge today. But how, you ask, did I know it was colder than Walden in May? Because R, after finishing one 50, came to the wall and (reflecting the general sentiment of all swimmers) said "holy (bleep)(bleep)! This (bleep) is so (bleep)(bleep)!" Now I have swam with R at Walden in May, but I have never heard any of that come out of her mouth so I know it's cold. Henry David Thoreau might have awakened from his resting spot if so. But it's funny, once you warm up, the sentiment for all swimmers changes to "what a delightful workout in this refreshing pool!"

350 warmup
12 x 50 odds free :50, evens stroke :50
5 x 200 going:
odd free hypoxic 5,7,3,5 on 3:00
events stroke/stroke on 3:40
50 easy
Four times thru:
50 fast on :40
75 cruise on 1:2
50 stroke fast on :45
75 cruise on 1:35
2 x 100 on 1:20
2 x 100 on 1:30
2 x 100 on 1:40

Great bleeping job, everyone!

A Day Without Precious?

2011-11-17T12:57:00.000-05:00

This is a story about addiction, and I warn you it isn't pretty. This morning, somewhere near Harvard Square on my way into swimming, I realized that I forgot my phone. This is the same phone that someone who will remain nameless nicknamed "precious". Upon first hearing this nickname I was offended, especially after this unnamed person said I "got the shakes" and "freaked out" when I couldn't find my phone. But maybe he is right, because upon realizing I was without precious, I began to think "what if my car breaks down? Where is my first meeting of the day? What if my sister wants to play Words? What if BB texts me after practice?" Clearly not trivial matters. Then I met for coffee with two colleagues from MIT who, upon learning of my phone fate, said they could not IMAGINE going through their day without their phone. So what did I do? I went home before going to work to retrieve precious, and sure enough, there was a message on my phone that it was my move in Words. Phew. I'd hate to make her wait.

300 warmup
12 x 50 IM order on :60
6 x 75 on 1:15 descend 1-3, 4-6
2 x 50 elbow pop on 1:05
6 x 75 on 1:10 descend 1-3, 4-6
2 x 50 extend on 1:05
6 x 100 on 1:40 going odds 50 cruise/50 fast; event 50 fast/50 cruise
6 x 100 IM on 1:55 going odds 50 cruise/50 fast; event 50 fast/50 cruise
50 easy

Small but hearty group there today. Oh, feel free to text or call me if you'd like, little P is right here with me. Sorry BLGIK!

Nobody wants to be Jan

2011-11-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

Six people in the lane today, a bit of a brady bunch split with three boys and three gals. Not sure about what role each of the ladies fulfills, but I am going to go out on a limb and say Dr. Bob is Greg, Joel is Peter, and Joe is Bobby. None of the gals want to be Jan, so for today we're all Marcia or Mrs. Brady. Props go out to Bill for some excellent workouts lately, today was a great example:

200 on own
Four times thru:
7 drill/swim/drill on :20r
50 fly (then IM order) on :15r
25 free build :10r
6 x 50 from middle pool working turns on :60
400 swim on 6:00 third 100 fast
2 x 200 on 3:05, third 50 fast
400 IM
4 x 100 on 1:35 set goal pace and keep it
8 x 50 IM order on :60

And there is another E in town - what to do? There will always be only one E, so new Elaine will be E2 henceforth and forevermore. Welcome E2.

Back in Operation

2011-11-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

After three weeks of being defunct, the suit spinner in the ladies locker room is working again! You don't really appreciate the suit spinner until it breaks, but boy do you miss it. I've had to go old school, wringing out my suit and hanging it from my locker like in high school. Others who aren't as fortunate have dealt with putting on damp suits and pools of water in their bags. Ok, so I admit this is a first world problem, and in the grand scheme of things it feels kind of silly to even express happiness that the spinner is back. But I am happy about it, and am not afraid to admit it.

250 on own
3 x(3 x75) on :20r
2 drill, 25 swim, 25 drill
50 stroke, 25 free
50 free, 25 stroke
4 x 250 on 3:45 - sprint the third 50 of each
Three times thru:
100 free (75% effort) on 1:30
75 free (85%) on 1:10
50 free (90%) on :50
25 free (100%) on :40
100 going 50 stroke/50 free (75%) on 1:40
75 going 25 stroke, 25 free, 2 stroke (85%) on 1:20
50 going 2 stroke, 25 free (90%) on :60
25 stroke (100%) on :45
50 easy

3600

A Swim Buffet

2011-09-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

I used to love buffets. So much variety! Eggs, fruit, bacon, pancakes AND french toast! It's too good to be true! As I got older I realized it was too good to be true, that these places were making a ton of money off of me because I just can't down that much food anymore and you fill up too quickly. Today's workout was like a buffet. If you started off going too hard on the first set, then your eyes were bigger than your stomach, so to speak, and you wouldn't have enough in the tank (or room in the tummy) for the last set. Paced correctly, it was fun. And it has something for everyone - sprint, stroke, mid-distance.

300 swim (75 stroke, 75 swim, repeat)
200 drill/swim by 50
100 drill/swim by 25
6 x 50 count strokes :50
4 x 50 stroke :60
100 fly
4 x 75 on 1:05
4 x 75 going 1:20, 1:15, 1:10, 1:05
4 x 75 on :60
2 x 75 on 1:25
2 x 75 on :55 (ouch)
50 easy
100 fly
5 x 200 on 3:00
100 fly

I picked the wrong day to stop drinking coffee

2011-09-06T12:14:00.000-04:00

As I was leaving the pool today Joel asked "did you feel spunky today Katie?" and I really didn't have a good answer. I was more worried about what would happen when I got a half-caff coffee instead of my full strength caffeine fix after swimming. You see, I am trying to give up caffeine, just for awhile, and it all started by me NOT having coffee before I swam, leading me to feel out-of-sorts and sluggish during the warmup and first set. Then I got to work and found out that my hard drive crashed. Cause and effect? I think so, but I am not one to give up easily. Except for that time when I crashed on my mountain bike and sold it the next day, or wiped out on my rollerblades and immediately gave them to a friend, or took off my skis and walked down the mountain rather than do moguls my first time out. But caffeine, I can do. Really.

600 warm up
4 x 75 50 free, 25 drill choice
4 x 75 50 stroke, 25 drill choice
50 fly on :60
50 free on :50
4 x 50 stroke on :60
6 x 50 free on :45
4 x 50 stroke on :60
50 free on :50
50 fly on :60
200 on 2:45, 25 easy on :40
200 on 2:45, 25 easy on :40
200 on 2:45, 25 easy on :40
30 seconds rest between sets then:
200 on 2:40, 25 easy on :40
200 on 2:40, 25 easy on :40
200 on 2:40, 25 easy on :40
9 x 50 going:
1-3 on :50
4-6 on :60
7-9 on 1:05

Piece of Cake

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

How many 45-year olds celebrate their birthday by getting up at the crack of dawn and swimming 4500 yards? This one did, with the help of her loyal friends E and BB. This has become a bit of a tradition in the lane, last year we celebrated SB's 50th by doing 50 x 100 meters. The best birthday present of all was having BB and E come early to do a long warmup, then stay until we all did the distance. And the icing on the cake was BB, with his broken toe, finishing it off with a 50 fly. For the record, even in my advanced age I still bring the average age of the lane down. :) Missed all the other regulars, though. Where is everyone?

WORKOUT:

1200 warmup on own
All on :15r:
25 fingertip drag
50 8 kick gallop
75 count strokes
100 IM or stroke
25 8 kick gallop
50 count strokes
75 1 arm/1arm, front quad
2 x 100 IM or stroke
25 fingertip drag
50 8 kick gallop
75 count strokes
100 IM or stroke
Fins on:
3 x 50 fly kick :60
3 x 50 back kick :60
3 x 50 free kick :60
3 x 50 fly swim :60
Twice thru:
150 fast on 2:00
2 x 50 choice on 1:05
100 fast on 1:20
50 choice on 1:05
100 fast stroke on 1:35
50 choice on 1:05
50 fast free on :45
50 choice 1:05
50 fast stroke :50
50 choice on 1:05
4 x 25 fast on :25
50 easy
100 cool down

Au Revoir, long course

2011-08-17T09:50:00.000-04:00

It was a great final day for long course this summer, but it's hard to see it go. No more 10 second intervals (those went out the window today anyway!), no more uncrowded lanes, no more feeling like open water. It's back to flip turns (ugh) and shorter distances. Long course, we hardly knew ye. Great workout, coach Bill. I'll add to my favorites

Three times thru:
100 swim 25 drill/25 swim on :20r
100 stroke 25 drill/25 swim on :20r
18 x 50 going:
6 count strokes on :60
6 IM no free on 1:10
6 kick on 1:20
Three times thru:
300 fast on 4:40
300 pace on 5:20

3300 total

Really fun workout. Thanks to Bill G for the draft today for the first two fast 300s.

Thanks for the Draught

2011-08-16T08:58:00.000-04:00

Today was extra sparse in lane 3, so thankfully Hubbard and Joel came over to swim with me and Dr. Bob. And after today, I now truly appreciate drafting, and want to get me some more of that! Hubbard led the 10 x 200 set and held a nice pace the whole time. It was really fun.

50 back on :15r
50 free on :15r
50 back on :15r
50 free on :15r
200 front quad on :20r
100 think entry :20r
100 think catch :20r
100 think pull :20r
100 think power :20r
10 x 200 going:
1-4 on 3:10
5-8 on 3:20
9-10 on 3:30
6 x 50 sprint on 1:20

We Love You, Pete

2011-08-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

I write this entry with a heavy heart, because Peter Cadwell, a dear friend to many of us, died suddenly and unexpectedly last week. He was 40 years old. Those who knew Pete would describe a man with a heart of gold, a sense of humor who could make the most stoic person smile, and a person who loved life and his family beyond words. He leaves his amazing wife MB and his two twin 3 year-old boys, Hayden and Ethan. We had lots of nicknames for Pete but one was Fast Pete - he was FAST. He was a true sprinter, and swam age group and high school in Nashua, NH before swimming NCAA at the University of South Carolina. We had a lot of fun watching Pete in a 200 (he thought that was distance)- he would blow out the competition in the first 100 and then cling to victory during the last 100.

Our friend is gone and we are all very sad. Pete did a lot of living in his short life, and we are thankful to have been a part of it.

You Cannot Be Serious

2011-08-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

I'm going to start a new occasional series on the blog which highlights things that really annoy me. Today's topic involves a running shower. Yes, for the last two weeks I have arrived at the locker room to find one of the showers running. Not dripping like what annoyed Bert and Ernie in Sesame Street, but running hot water. You cannot be serious! Would you do this at home? I doubt it. I know it's a 6am rec swimmer, because none of the master's swimmers take the required State of Massachusetts Health Department shower before jumping in the pool (sorry!). It's irked me so much that I may actually arrive early and stalk the person who is doing this, make them explain to the people of Texas who have no water why she is leaving the shower running. The next topic in this series: running the suit spinner until the motor nearly burns out.

400 warmup on own
4 x (3 x 50)
1-3 count strokes on 1:05
4-6 descend on :60
7-9 drill/swim on 1:05
10-12 descend on :60
500 pull hypoxic 9,3,7,5 on 8:00
2 x 50 on 1:15
500 fast on 7:30
2 x 50 on 1:15
5 x 100 on 1:45
2 x 50 on 1:15
500 fast on 7:15 (right!!!!)

Writer's Block

2011-08-08T09:27:00.000-04:00

I have writer's block. Which wouldn't be so bad if my writer's block only impacted the lane three blog. But unfortunately it has affected my academic work too. My research proposal was due at the end of June, and I missed the deadline. My new deadline is the end of August, so I hope that writing it here, in public, I will hold myself accountable. I wish there was some magic shot I could take to jolt me back into writing mode. Caffeine does not do it, so maybe public shame will. The good news is that I have a lot of time to think about how much I slack off on my writing during swim practice, and today's workout gave us ample time to think.

300 on own
4 x 50 on 1:05
100 IM/Stroke on 2:00
4 x 50 drill/swim on :60
100 IM/stroke on 2:00
4 x 50 kick on 1:20
8 x 100 keep pace on 1:55
2 x 50 easy
8 x 100 on 1:50 (we pulled odds)
2 x 50 easy
8 x 100 on 1:45 going:
descend 1-4, 5-8 (I only had time for 6: descend 1-3, 4-6)

Not-so-shameless Plug

2011-08-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

This weekend is the Pan-Mass Challenge, a 190 mile bike ride from Sturbridge, MA to Provincetown which benefits the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This organization is near and dear to my heart, and many MIT masters peeps are involved: I work at the Sturbridge site and have been a rider, Bill is at the Provincetown site, and Jimmy (morning lifeguard) is a rider. Many more of us have ridden in the past. This is not your usual athletic fundraising event - this is the gold standard by which other events are compared. 100% of every dollar you contribute goes directly to to Dana Farber. 100%. That is unheard of in the fundraising business. The goal this year is to raise 34 million dollars for cancer research. So if someone you know has asked you to support them in the PMC, I urge you to give what you can. WCVB (Channel 5 in Boston) will be covering the opening ceremonies live at 7pm, and this year Lance Armstrong will be riding the PMC and participating in the opening ceremony.

Just me and Sarah today - thank goodness she was there or I would NOT have finished the workout!

600 on own
200 going 75 free, 50 stroke, 75 free on :25r
150 (25 drill/25 swim) on :20r
150 (25 drill/25 stroke)
3 x 100 descend on 1:50
400 pull hypoxic 9,3,7,9
4 x 50 stroke on :60
100 free on 1:50
200 IM on 3:40
4 x 50 free on :50
100 stroke on 2:10
200 free on 3:20
2 x 50 easy
4 x 50 stroke on :60
100 free on 1:50
200 IM on 3:40

Growing old together

2011-08-01T09:31:00.000-04:00

The kids weren't here today, so it was old school, literally, in the lane. With the exception of Sarah, all of us are in our 40s and three are in their 50s (they all have a "B" in their initials, btw). I've been swimming with some of these people for almost 15 years! It got me to thinking what we would all be like if we were all still together in a retirement community, sitting by the pool. C and I would still be arguing about that workout back in 2006 and KBB would still be shaking his head in disgust. BB would be playing scrabble and shuffleboard in a very loud speedo with an umbrella drink. E would be sunning herself with no more than 15spf while SB would be clinging to one of those swim noodles, his bouy long gone and still complaining about his injured calf. Coach Bill would stroll in 10-15 minutes late to happy hour. Dr. Bob would be the most popular guy at the pool because he still had prescription privileges. Oh, and Sarah would have to visit because she's too young to live there.

400 warmup on own
Three times thru:
2 x 50 front quad on :15r
100 drill/build by 25 on :20r
4 x 100 on 1:40
50 on 1:20
100 on 1:25
50 on 1:20
5 x 100 on 1:45
50 on 1:20
100 on 1:25
50 on 1:20
6 x 100 on 1:50
50 on 1:20
100 on 1:25
50 on 1:20

To break this up, we pulled some of the ones in the final sets. I made the first two 1:25 touch and go, and missed the last one at 1:27.

Too Hot in the Hot Tub

2011-07-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SB!

The water temperature in our beloved pool has been pretty darn high over the past 2 weeks, and today was no exception. On Wednesday, SB and I swam a 50 and looked at each other and both thought: we should be drinking a margarita and leisurely looking out into the ocean with the water this warm. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, so we persist. The heat does a number on my memory, though, so I will rely on KBB to correct the workout.

300 on own
3 x (4 x 50)on :15
50 side kick
50 front quad
50 drill/drill
50 build
400 kick
400 descend by 100
6 x 50 going 25 sprint/25 easy
1-2 on :60
3-4 on 1:10
5-6 on 1:20
8 x 100 descend by pairs going:
1-2 50 stroke/50 free on 2:05
3-4 free on 1:40
5-6 50 stroke/50 free on 2:00
7-8 free on 1:30
6 x 50 sprint going:
1-2 on 1:20
3-4 on 1:30
5-6 on 1:40

Our friend from Stanford masters said there was "attitude" in our lane, or strong personalities, or something of the like. We keep it real here at MIT, keeps us coming back.

Rules of the Road

2011-07-25T09:41:00.000-04:00

I imagine coming to Massachusetts can make people crazy, especially if you are an international visitor. Like figuring out how to navigate a rotary here (yes, it's different), or that a yellow light means floor it, or that a left turn on green in front of oncoming traffic just means you are a more astute driver than the guy going straight. But I have a hard time imagining that the rules of the pool are SO different around the world. But apparently, they are. Today we had a guest from Brazil who was very nice, but then did things that we consider exceptionally rude, like push off in front of us as we are trying to make an interval, leaving 1 second behind on the sendoff, or not doing the workout. And after all of that, we were still very nice. Just trying to do our part for international relations. Just make sure he's in another lane tomorrow, coach Bill.

400 on own
6 x 50 count strokes :15 r (1-3 free, 4-6 stroke)
4 x 100 drill/swim by 24 on :20r
200 front quad
50 easy on 1:20
50 fly on 1:15
3 x 100 on 1:30
50 easy on 1:20
50 fly on 1:15
4 x 100 on 1:40
50 easy on 1:20
50 fly on 1:15
5 x 100 on 1:45
50 easy on 1:20
50 fly on 1:15
6 x 100 on 1:30

To make the last interval we pulled and it was essentially a straight swim.

Check that off the bucket list

2011-07-14T08:59:00.000-04:00

Rarely do you get a chance to go back in time for a do-over. But recently, I've had this feeling that I am experiencing something that I wanted to do but never did. What is that? Swimming in college. Yep, I did not have the chance to swim in college because I was far too studious and spent nearly all my time in the library, except for that time I flew to the moon on the space shuttle. Anyway, when you swim with college swimmers, as we are doing now, you have a choice: feel old compared to them or feel really awesome that you can actually swim with them. Some days it's the former, today was the latter. And I think they are often surprised that we are still hanging in at the end of the workout.

200 on own
4 x 150 pull hypoxic 7,3,5 on :20r
12 x 50 on :20r going:
2 x 50 drill/swim
4 x 50 7 breaths max
4 x 50 reverse IM order
2 x 50 drill/swim
10 x 100 fast going:
2 on 1:45
3 on 1:40
3 on 1:35
2 on 1:50 FAST
4 x 50 sprint on 1:30
4 x 50 on :45

The Beauty of the Warmup

2011-07-13T09:59:00.000-04:00

Back when I was young, warming up seemed silly. I used to think it was a waste of time and just stood in the way of my workout. Now, I can't even think of starting the workout without a solid warmup. The recent age gap in our lane (we are talking a 20-plus year difference) has exposed the stark differences between the young and the not-young (that sounds better than old) with regard to the pace of our warmup. Think: speed racer versus Sunday stroll. I think it is a bad sign when I am gasping for air during the warmup set, which happened today. Thankfully we settled into a decent distance set afterwards.

300 on own
14 x 50 going:
1-2 swim on :60
3 faster on :55
4-5 stroke on 1:05
6-7 faster on :50
8-9 stroke on 1:05
10-12 faster on :45
13-14 stroke
800 going:
400 pace
200 pick it up
200 faster
4 x 100
50 fly/50 back on 2:00
50 back/50 br on 2:10
50 br/50 free on 2:00
50 fly/50 choice
800 free going:
200 swim descend each 50 :20r
200 pull :20r
200 even pace swim :20r
200 pull hypoxic (11,3,9,5):20r
400 negative split

Memory

2011-07-11T16:43:00.000-04:00

The challenge today, my friends, is to see how good my memory is. As I write this it's 4:30 and I have not had a free moment to post the workout from today. But I have a temporary lull and will try it now. I trust my lanemates will correct me if I get this wrong.

500 on own (that is what getting in at 6:18 can do for you!)
200 pull :20r
2 x 100 swim :20r
2 x 50 br on :20r
2 x 50 brick on :20r
5 x 100 drill/swim by 50 on :20r
Three times thru:
200 on 3:30
50 on :50
50 stroke on :60
2 x 100 free on 1:35
50 free on :55
50 stroke on 1:05

Looks easy, doesn't it? Well it wasn't! The only time we had decent rest in the entire set was the 200 free. So you got to rest 20 seconds each of the set. We were originally supposed to do this four times but ran out of time, thankfully.

Distance and Speed Don't Mix

2011-07-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

Some things don't go together, like oil and water, pancakes and ketchup, or a polar bear on a hot beach. And on distance day, things that don't go together are the words "speed" and "distance". There is a mindset on distance day, one that says "I am here to swim long, and I intend on going hard but not that hard." Bill had other things in mind.

200 on own
4 x 50 descend 1-4 on :60
4 x 100 kick 50, drill 50 on :30r
4 x 50 descend 1-4 on :50
800 free pace, get time. Then:
400 free faster than your 800 time halved. Then:
200 free even faster than your 400 time halved. Then:
100 free even faster than your 200 time.
4 x 100 IM on :20r

I didn't stay for the IM's - too much speed on distance day!

Magic Number

2011-07-05T09:47:00.000-04:00

We usually spend a few minutes after each set adding up the workout. Not only does it give us a little brain activity early in the morning it gives us an extra minute of rest. Yet the suspense at the end of the workout is the most fun. How many meters? 3500? More? Well today, we hit the biggie - 4000. Some went over that, but there is something about 4000 that just feels good. Not good as in how you feel swimming, but in an accomplishment. Well done E, G, and T. Special shout out to G who keeps reminding us that we are more than twice T's age and can still make it happen.

300 on own
2 x 50 5 breaths max on :20
200 drill/swim by 25 on :30r
2 x 50 stroke on :20r
200 pace
3 x 50 on :45
50 on 1:10
4 x 50 on :45
50 on 1:10
5 x 50 on :50
50 on 1:10
6 x 50 on :50
50 easy
5 x 400 going:
Odds broken:
200 fast on 3:20
100 technique on 2:10
100 fast on 1:30
Evens: Pull

4000!

Baby You're a Firework!

2011-07-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Fireworks were going off in the lanes today, per BB's request of coach Bill to give us a celebratory and patriotic workout. You the reader can figure out which is which. All I know is that our lane was not the only one surprised at the last set.

200 on own
Twice thru:
50 6 breaths max :15r
50 drill/swim :15r
2 x 100 stroke/free on :25r
Next set theme: Red, White, and Blue
Red: 400 free pull hypoxic 9,3,7,3 :40r
White: 2 x 200 IM :30r
Blue: 400 free each 100 fastah
4 x 150 on
2:30
2:25
2:15
2:15
100 easy
Surprise! Nobody noticed that we were doing this TWICE THRU. We changed the interval slightly:
4 x 150 on
2:40
2:35
2:25
2:25

When I say nobody noticed, I mean lanes 2, 3, and 4 all worked the first set and were leisurely hanging out at the wall chatting and laughing when someone noticed those two words "twice thru". Not sure what is better - to know or not to know. I'm glad I didn't know.

Snap!

2011-06-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-20T10:28:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-06-17T08:56:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-15T09:19:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-08T12:13:00.001-04:00

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!

2011-06-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-05T17:08:00.001-04:00

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

2011-06-01T08:56:00.001-04:00

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.

Going legit

2011-05-25T09:26:00.001-04:00

The time has come to pay the piper. And by the piper, I mean the MIT parking and transportation office. After years of taking our chances that the police would not be up at 6am to ticket our cars, not only have we received lots of tickets of late but BB had his car towed. Yep, towed, as in off-to-Somerville towed, with a hefty price tag of $200. He seemed to take it all in stride (as many repentent law breakers do upon getting caught) and has agreed to join me in paying for parking. How does this relate to a swim blog? Well, no car = no swimming. How's that?

Distance day today

200 warmup on own
2 x (4 x 50) on :55
Ascend
Descend
Easy
Fast
2 x (4 x 50) on :60
1-4 IM order
5-8 stroke
800 free on 1:30r
100 easy on 2:45
800 free on 1:30r
100 easy
6 x 50

Tough, but fun.

Mixin' it Up

2011-05-24T09:08:00.000-04:00

I am not sure why Coach Bill feels the need to apologize to us freestyle swimmers every time he gives a stroke set. Really, it's not so bad. I am often asked by non-swimming friends why any distance swimmer or triathlete would ever do a stroke workout. My initial reaction is that anyone who calls themself a swimmer should be doing all of the strokes. But truth be told, mixing it up with different strokes makes you a stronger swimmer overall. And our lanemates who love stroke put up with us and our distance freestyle sets, so all is fair.

300 warmup
200 free pace on :20r
2 x 100 IM on :15r
6 x 50 count strokes on :10r
200 kick on :20r
2 x 100 free
5 x 100 fly/back on 2:10
4 x 100 free on 1:50
5 x 100 back/breast on 2:15
4 x 100 free on 1:50

It was especially nice to swim with people who swam the whole set, thank you BB, KBB, and S (plus our other friend). Dr. Bob we hardly knew ye!

Seemed like more than it was...

2011-05-13T13:15:00.004-04:00

I'm having one of those days. As I write this blog entry it's 1:15pm, but it feels like 5pm. I've done so much since I got in this morning that I feel that the time of day should reflect the amount of work I have accomplished. The same could be said for today's workout. When we finished, I thought, "wow, we just did 4000 meters!" But then we added it up, and without including our 300 warmup, it was only 2900 meters. I wasn't the only one surprised, KBB added it up twice. Maybe it was the number of sheets Bill put up in front of us, but it felt longer.

300 on own
Three times thru:
2 x 50 front quad :15r
100 going 25 drill/25 build :20r
4 x 50 on :45
4 x 50 on 1:05
4 x 50 on :50
4 x 50 on 1:05
4 x 100 on 1:45
2 x 50 easy on 1:20
4 x 100 on 1:40
2 x 50 easy on 1:20
4 x 100 on 1:45
2 x 50 easy on 1:20

That's 3200 meters total. E said "only the strong survived today." True, except SB who tore his calf (not swimming) which really stinks. But my favorite saying still holds true: it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Long Course is Back!

2011-05-09T09:10:00.004-04:00

To the delight of some, and to the dismay of others, the pool was converted to long course meters today for the entire summer. It's like a gift that keeps on giving for 4 months. But even to those of us who love distance, the end of the pool can seem very, very far away. But we did it - of the six who started in our lane, only three survived.

300 warmup on own
5 x 100 drill/swim by 25 on :25r
Three times thru:
50 swim 7 breaths max on 1:10
50 build on 1:05
50 stroke on :60
50 fast on 1:05
3 x 300 steady pace on 5:20
4 x 200 DESCEND on 3:30

Great job E DESCENDING the last set! Descending (for those who need a refresher) means that you go SLOW on the first one, a little bit faster on the second, even faster on the third and the last one is FAST. Believe me, it is not easy to do as you are pretty darn tired at the end.

Seis de Mayo

2011-05-06T08:51:00.002-04:00

The day after Cinco de Mayo is always a bit tough if you've had one of the items pictured to the right the night before. And it was only fitting that Bill gave us five 400s to remind us of the venerable holiday, which contrary to popular belief is NOT to celebrate Mexico's Independence Day. It's to celebrate Mexico's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. There you go.

Good to swim with E, C, and Dr. Bob today.

400 swim (only E did this)
5 x 100 IM odds break at 50 for 10 sec on :20r
5 x 100 free, odds break at 50 for 5 sec on :15r
5 x 400*
400 swim steady pace on 6:20
4 x 100 descend on 1:40
400 faster than the first on 6:00
6 x 75 odds on :60, evens on 1:15 (*450)
400 fastest of the day
100 cool down

Happy Friday and weekend, everyone! Nice job today by all.

Splitsville

2011-04-27T08:55:00.004-04:00

It was my first distance day in over 7 months today, and it was so painful that I had to go to my happy place. This particular happy place is where I get a good night's sleep, I don't ever get parking tickets, and I can eat banana splits anytime I want. Banana splits are a perfect food, in my opinion, and I don't eat them nearly enough. Anyway, splits describes the workout today. I saw my splits increase as the workout went on, I saw everyone elses splits decrease, as they should. And SB split before the end of the set, just when I needed him most.

200 on own
8 x 75 on :15r
1-2 25 drill, 25 swim, 25 stroke
3-4 25 drill stroke, stroke, drill stroke
5-6 I forget but it's drill/stroke something
7-8 Free, descend by 25 within the 75
6 x 50 middle of the pool working on flip turns (E!!)
4 x 500 (here is where the pain starts)
Odds swim on 7:40
Evens pull on 7:30
10 x 25 sprint odds, swim even on :25, :35
10 x 25 swim cool down

A harsh welcome back, plus I got a parking ticket! The nerve of me parking where I shouldn't!

Snap? More like crackle and pop

2011-04-25T08:55:00.002-04:00

Today we were supposed to "snap our hips" during one of the sets. I had a lot less snap and a whole lot more crackle and pop. The reality of returning to the pool hit today, even though I remain delighted that I am there. And I got to swim with my favorite peeps too! I hope I remember the set:

200 on own
2 x 75 first 50 fly, 25 free on 1:30
4 x 50 on :55
2 x 75 50 breast/25 free on 1:35
4 x 50 on :55
2 x 75 50 back/25 free on 1:35
3 x 200 hypoxic going 3, 7, 3, 5 on 3:20
3 x 100 counting strokes on :30r
100 fast on 1:15 (this is where it starts to hurt)
50 stroke on 1;05
2 x 25 easy on :35
100 fast on 1:20
50 stroke on 1:05
2 x 25 easy on :35
100 fast on 1:15
50 stroke on 1:05
2 x 25 easy on :35
100 fast on 1:20
50 stroke on 1:05
2 x 25 easy on :35
Then I think they did 4 x 50 underwater swim?

Happy Monday. Great job making the intervals Joel, E, and KBB.

Dr. Bob and His Little Gray Paddles

2011-04-21T08:42:00.004-04:00

That is a nice title for a children's book, and given that Dr. Bob works with kids, I began to think about how fun it would be to write a kids book series. Dr. Bob could read the books to the kids at the hospital and they could learn about swimming, and the gray paddles could have lots of adventures and do open water swims, surf in Hawaii, or save someone from drowning. But right when I was scripting out the plot, Dr. Bob said "yeah, I found these in the bottom of my locker. Who KNOWS what else is in there". I then realized that the follow up book "Dr. Bob cleans out his locker" isn't nearly as compelling as the tale of the paddles, so I went on to focus on the workout.

6 x 50 count strokes free :60
4 x 50 count strokes stroke :60
8 x 75 on 1:30
0dds 50 free build, 25 stroke
Evens 50 stroke, 25 free
6 x 200 on 3:15
6 x 150 broken going:
100 free on :05r
50 stroke on :60

3200 total. I couldn't have done this without Dr. Bob and his little gray paddles.

New appreciation

2011-04-19T08:59:00.002-04:00

When you are injured and can't do what you love to do, you often find yourself appreciating the little things you took for granted before. Being out of a healthy routine was the biggest, but there were a few other things that I realized during my 6-month sabbatical. First, I appreciate the elliptical machine. I used to make fun of people who used the elliptical, but truth be told, it got me through the winter when I couldn't do much else. So now I don't mock the people bouncing around reading magazines nearly as much as I used to. Second, I have a new appreciation for dry, chlorinated skin. Moisturized skin is overrated. It means you probably slept in, had a liesurely shower, and put lotion on at the perfect time for maximum benefit. Finally (for now), I appreciate accountability. When you don't show up for practice for a few days, you get ribbed by your lanemates. When you don't show up to the gym, nobody cares. In fact, they are happy because one prime location machine is open.

Today's workout:

200 on own
100 counting strokes free on 1:40
2 x 25 fly (choice)
50 drill
50 fly
100 counting strokes free on 1:40
2 x 25 back
50 drill
50 back
100 counting strokes free on 1:40
2 x 25 breast
50 drill
50 breast
2 times thru:
75 free on 1:15
75 free faster on 1:10
75 IM order no free 1:30
75 stroke on 1:30
75 stroke faster on 1;25
75 free fast pon 1:10
8 x 150 (descend in pairs of two)
1-2 on 2:25
3-4 on 2:10
5-6 on 2:20
7-8 on 2:10

Great job KBB, and great to swim with you! Of course what I really appreciate most is my MIT masters lanemates.

Back in the saddle?

2011-04-15T08:29:00.003-04:00

The old saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" is one that I take to heart. Particularly this week, when I began my slow return to swimming with my friends at MIT masters. And even when the chickens do hatch, as I witnessed last week when I was at the Museum of Science, the little guys stumble around and run into the walls and generally seem bewildered at what just happened. That kind of describes me at the pool today, but hey, we all have to start somewhere!

Warmup:
12 x 25 on :30
4 x 150 odds free on :20r, evens all stroke on :20r

Main set:
(Three times thru)
3 x 100 on 1:30 descend
50 easy
2 x 75 stroke on 1:25
50 easy
then...
4 x 25 fly
4 x 25 back
4 x 25 breast
4 x 25 free

It was fun to be back, to see coach Bill (and hubba, hubba, does he look great!) and all my friends. Wonderful to swim with E, and there was an extra special treat in seeing BB and his friend Pat. I am cautiously optimistic.

Coach for the day

2010-10-14T08:53:00.003-04:00

Coach Bill is in Austin today and asked me to coach. He took full advantage of the fact that I am injured and have nothing better to do at 6:15am than sleep. The truth is, I'm pretty sure all of his reputable backups were busy, so he while he wasn't to the point of begging me to do it, I could sense his urgency. I said yes. But let me tell you, I have a newfound respect for Coach Bill and his management of the workouts. It's a lot harder than it seems! You have to create the workout, make copies, figure out times for the lanes, and then manage the workout. Not to mention the complaints. I mean, really, who in their right mind would complain to a COACH about an interval? Let's just say, I may be a reformed swimmer after this experience. But I got the chance to do one of my favorite workouts and I think people liked it. They certainly got a LOT of yards in! Here it is:

Warmup
5 x 200 (Yes, this is warmup set)
All on :30 rest
1.200 swim easy
2.200 drill/swim by 50
3.200 pull hypoxic (7,3,5,3)
4.200 IM/stroke choice
5.200 kick (tee-hee)
(1000 total)

8 x 75’s
Going:
1-4 stroke choice
5-8 free
1,2: 1:20
3,4: 1:15
5,6: :60
7,8: 1:05
(1600 total)

Main set:

2 x thru:
300 swim (or pull) on 4:30
2 x 150 IM order no free on 3:45
4 x 75 descend choice on 1:05
50 easy on :60
Rinse and repeat
(3500 total)

4(4 x 25’s)
In this order:
1st one is sprint on :35
2nd one is stroke on :45
3rd one is no breath under h20 on :45
4th one is ez on :35

(3900 total)

200 kick
(4100 total)

My intervals were a bit aggressive for all lanes, particularly with the IM and stroke, so we worked it out by the main set. Not all lanes could do the entire set, but most got through all of the main set. With regard to intervals, I guess my philosophy is to let people adjust for more time rather than give them a free pass with too much rest. I had a lot of fun, but would really prefer to be swimming rather than on deck. Maybe soon.

Add to favorites

2010-09-13T08:50:00.002-04:00

I mark the dates of my favorite workouts in the off chance that I'll need a workout to swim alone. With one or two exceptions, none of those workouts are stroke workouts. It's not that I hate stroke, it's just not usually my thing. But today was an exception, and I now have a fun stroke workout to add to my fave's repetoire. Coach Mariah was on deck so we knew it would be a tough day.

250 on own
200 swim on :15r
4 x 100 drill/swim by 50 :15r
300 pull
16 x 100 going:
100 free
75 free, 25 fly
50 free, 25 fly, 25 back
25 free, 25 fly, 25 back, 25 breast
100 back
75 back, 25 fly
50 back, 25 fly, 25 breast
25 back, 25 fly, 25 breast, 25 free
100 breast
75 breast, 25 fly
50 breast, 25 fly, 25 back, 25 free
25 breast, 25 fly, 25 back, 25 free
100 fly
75 fly, 25 back
50 fly, 25 back, 25 breast
25 fly, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free
2 x 100 on 1:30
2 x 100 on 1:25
2 x 100 on 1:20
20 seconds rest
100 all out!
50 easy

Good job today, and we had nearly all original members of L3! BB, KBB, E, R, C, IW. K was in other lane. Missing were SB and Dr. Bob

Note to self: when the contact lens solution container says "do not put solution directly into eye" don't put it directly into your eye. Your eye will burn as if you threw acid into it and will be red and puffy all day. Next time, read the label and get the right stuff idiot.

Babies? What babies?

2010-09-08T08:32:00.003-04:00

Our friend Rachel returned to swimming today, fresh off of having TWINS! If you didn't know any better, you would have a hard time believing that she did this just a few months ago as she looks great. It was so good to see you, Rach, and hope you can come to swim more regularly! Here is our workout - great job all, especially BB who cut his travel time to the airport to finish the 500s strong.

200 on own
4 x 100 work on various aspects on :20r
2 x 50 fly on :55
2 x 50 back on :60
2 x 50 breast on 1:05
2 x 50 free on 1:00
8 x 25 kick (it was 12, but we saw Rachel so stopped to talk!)
3 x 500 on 7:30 going:
1st one pace
2nd one pull
3rd one fast get time
Two times thru:
75 (50 fly, 25 back)
75 (50 back, 25 breast)
75 (50 breast, 25 free)
5 x 100 on 1:40 BUT total time of all has to be faster than your fastest 500!

I need a vacation

2010-09-07T16:17:00.003-04:00

It's true. The first official day back to work and school and I officially need a vacation. I am not the only one. BB apparently also needs one; E too. You see, we just happened to have the best summer weather in recent memory here in Boston, and today is another gorgeous day and we are all locked in our offices. It isn't fair, coming back to work for four days straight (and it is only day 1). So, I propose to the president and congress that we have a phase-in of fall. I mean really, they voted to change daylight savings time, so why not this? Week 1 should be a two day workweek, week 2 a three day workweek, etc. so that we gradually build up to five days. I think this idea is a good one. I've just convinced myself.

400 warmup
6x50 count strokes on 1:00
4x50 stroke on 1:00
4x75 going underwater, easy, free on 1:20
5x250 on 4:00 keep pace
2x50 easy on 1:00
4x200 keep pace on 2:55
2x50 easy

So this is going in my file of favorite workouts. I love 200s, and 250s are pretty darn cool too.

Dropping like flies

2010-09-02T09:08:00.002-04:00

As the intervals dropped during our main set today, so too did most of the swimmers of lane 3. We started out six strong, and ended up with just 2. And it would have been one as E nearly bailed when she saw the main set. Short post today, students and parents have descended on campus!

400 warmup
4 x 50 free on :55
4 x 50 stroke on :60
4 x 50 free on 1:05
6 x 150 hold pace on 2:20
15 x 125 going:
1-3 descend on 2:00
4-6 hold steady at 1:55
7-9 descend at 1:50
10-12 hold steady at 1:45
(13-15 descend on 1:40)
we did 300 pull hold 1:20s instead

Zen workout

2010-09-01T15:01:00.002-04:00

Apparently nobody from Lane 3 showed up today. And apparently, according to the coach and a swimmer who will remain nameless who swam in Lane 3, the practice was "zen", "surreal", and "balanced". Really? Come on, folks. If you want surreal and balanced, go to a yoga class. That just doesn't sound like fun to me. Coach Bill might like serene, quiet, obedient swimmers now and then but truthfully, he would get bored without the electricity of L3 swimmers. But to show that we are truly team players, I think we all should try our best to be quiet, docile people for awhile. And by awhile I mean at least through the warmup, SB. :) Here is what they did today, looks like fun!

400 warmup
6x75 dr/sw/dr 20R;
6x50 IM order no free 15R
600 think technique
2x300 pull breathe 3/7/5 @4:45, 2nd faster;
600 fast
4x150 as 75 cruise 10R + 75 @1:10
300 fast
150 cooldown
4000 yds total

Back to everything

2010-08-31T08:31:00.004-04:00

This week marks the beginning of the return to work, school, routine. The pool will start to be more crowded and traffic will again be ridiculous. Just a word of warning: today and tomorrow will be the worst possible time for you to drive in Boston. Like the swallows of Capistrano, students will return in the tens of thousands to the Boston area, clogging roads, hitting parked cars in their rented U-Hauls, and taking their MIT swim test. For those of you who don't know, to graduate MIT you must pass a swim test, which frankly I think is an awesome requirement. I noticed the other day that the students who take the test early in their first year are the confident ones - they zip back and forth and get the thing over with. It's the seniors who have delayed it four years who make it interesting. Come to the pool in late May to witness what some MIT students say is their hardest exam. Go figure!

Another doozey to remember today. Here we go:

200 on own
4 x 100 drill/stroke odds, drill/free evens on :20r
2 times thru:
50 free
50 back
50 breast
50 fly
2 x 50 on :45
50 easy on 1:05
4 x 50 on :40
50 easy on 1:05
6 x 50 on :45
50 easy on 1:05
400 IM on :30r
3 x 200 on 3:15
50 stroke fast on :50
50 easy on 1:05
2 x 50 stroke on :55 (first one fast)
50 easy on 1:05
3 x 50 stroke on :60 (first one fast)
50 easy on 1:05

Welcome back, BB and SB (even though SB returned 10 days ago).

Brain game

2010-08-30T08:59:00.003-04:00

I am beginning to think that coach Bill has been reading up on books that help people keep their brains stimulated such as "brain teasers for the 40+ crowd" or the like, because the workouts over the last week or so make my head hurt from thinking too much. It's the combination of many different sets, various intervals within said sets, and sets that end in a 25. Not sure about the rest of you, but I realize lately how much that little sheet of paper with the workout and itervals on it is a crutch, and when it's not there it's kind of stressful. While I am somewhat used to forgetting the whole workout after I get out of the water, it's quite another thing to do so while you are still swimming. Ginko biloba in our water bottles might help.

Warmup
6 x 50 various work on stroke on :60
3 (4x25) on :35
1-4 breast, 5-8 back, 9-12 fly
300 going 100 extension, 100 drill, 100 power
6 x 75 going:
1-2 on 1:15
3-4 on 1:10
5-6 on 1:05
3 (3 x 225s): These are 200 work, 25 easy
1-3 descend on 3:30
4-6 descend on 3:25
7-9 descend on 3:20

First of all, 200s are my fave so this was my cup of tea. The key is to really go nice an easy on the first of each set, swim pace the second, and go hard the last one. It was harder to go real easy on the final set if you wanted some decent rest, but a great set overall. Thanks for the company KBB.

Buckle up

2010-08-27T15:28:00.005-04:00

Today was one of those workouts where you really never knew where the road was leading you. Usually halfway through you get a sense of what you are up to for the day. It's like driving to get on the highway - lots of short roads with turns and stoplights (the warmup), then you get on the highway and you know your destination (main set). Yet by 7am, we weren't sure if we were still approaching the onramp or taking a secondary road not usually on googlemaps. Then it became clear, and we did what any self-respecting masters swimmers would do: we changed the workout. Now, now, before you get all uppity about us defying authority, we did so with the coach's blessing. Here is what we did. What we were supposed to do is in parenthesis. The late adjustments were for time; the earlier adjustments were because we could not bring ourselves to swim 6 more 100s.

200 on own
200 free on 3:20
8 x 50 various drills/stroke work on:60
3 x 100 drill/swim on :20r
3 x 100 kick on 2:20
4 x 25 free, fly back, fly
8 x 100 on 1:30
4 x 25 on :35
3 x 200 pull on 3:00 (6 x 100 0n 1:40)
4 x 25 on :35
2 x 100 on 1:20 (4 x 100 on 1:35)
2 x 25 on :40
2 x 100 stroke/swim by 25 on 1:45 (2 x 100 on 1:20)

Guest Blogger KBB: All he wants to do is have some fun...

2010-08-26T11:22:00.002-04:00

Our guest blogger is lane 3 superstar KBB, who is out in Santa Monica. Note the beautiful, long course, outdoor pool. Sigh.

Can't get that Sheryl Crow song out of my head. Today's workout was 50 meter long course with the Southern California Aquatics Club (SCAC) at the Santa Monica College outdoor pool. Plenty of company, must have been 12 people in my lane. Yes, swimming outdoors as the sun comes up. Barely up. It gets light much later out here, and practice was from 5:30 to 6:30. Which wouldn't be bad as my body is still on East Coast time. Unfortunately, my flight into LAX was late, so bedtime was not until 11 PM. Ouch!!

Today's set (long course meters)
300 on your own
4 x (2 x 50 kick, 100 swim)
3 x 100 @ 1:40
1 x 50 fast
1 x 150
3 x 100 @ 1:40
1 x 100 fast
1 x 150
3 x 100 @ 1:40
1 x 150 fast
1 x 50
3 x 100 @ 1:40
1 x 200 fast

Sorry, I can't recall the times on the entire set, be there was never more than 5 sec rest. At least not for me.

The grass will be greener...

2010-08-25T09:28:00.003-04:00

on the other side of this rain! I'm going to try not to complain about the last 3 days of rain, mostly because I can't remember the last time it rained here. We have been so lucky! Or unlucky, if you are not a fan of droughts. But I did notice that the grass seemed a lot less brown this morning. And how pretty is that picture? Must admit, though, that it is harder to get out of bed when the rain is pounding on the roof and it never seems to get light. Ok, enough. We did swim today, and here is our workout:

200 on own
3 x (4 x 50) on :20r going:
50 stroke drill
50 free fast
50 stroke fast
50 free dill
6 x 50 middle of the pool, work on turns on :60
2 x 25 fly on :30
2 x 25 fly on :35
2 x 25 fly on :40
200 IM on 3:15 (ouch)
500 free pace on 8:05
100 easy on 2:00
500 free faster on 7:30
200 IM, break at 100, last 100 2:15
500 free on 7:05

Congrats to all finishers. I finished by swimming to the car mechanic.

Summah is ovah

2010-08-20T08:46:00.003-04:00

Not literally, we know that officially happens in mid-September, or for many after Labor Day. But for all intents and purposes, for us distance swimmers, it is over. The pool changed to short course yards from long course meters. While there was glee in the locker room for most, it was a sense of gloom and doom for some of us who love the smooth, not-interrupted-by-walls water. But it's interesting that all of a sudden I realized how dark it was this morning, or how much colder the pool felt, or how much I stink at flip turns. But Bill snapped some of us out of our short course funk by this workout. KBB, I missed the last set so please fill us in.

5 x 100 on :20r going
swim
drill/swim
stroke/swim
kick/swim
swim
6 x 25 back on :30
50 easy on 1:10
6 x 25 breast on :35
50 easy on 1:10
6 x 25 fly on :30
50 easy on 1:10
6 x 75 on :60
100 easy on 2:30
6 x 75 on 1:05
100 easy on 2:30
6 x 75 on 1:10
100 easy
one more set I didn't catch

Good luck to all racers this weekend - big triathlon in NH and open water swims in Gloucester and Salem!

How many degrees does it take...

2010-08-18T09:07:00.003-04:00

I added up how many college and graduate degrees were swimming in lane 3 today. No, the degrees themselves were not wrapped in a ziploc and floating on a kickboard board or splashing and playing around on the blocks. It was the people swimming - 5 that I know of - who have 11.5 undergraduate, graduate, and terminal degrees combined. The half is because one is still in progress. In any case, it's a crazy group of smarty pants. So when we finished the set today, it was comical that none of us could add up how much we did. I don't even know what new math is, but we could have used some old math at that point. After a grueling 5 minutes of back and forth we figured it out. Phew. Now people can go back to saving lives and changing the world.

6 x 50 alternate drill/swim on :15r
200 free stretch out
6 x 50 going breast drill, breast, back drill, fly drill, back, fly
5 x 100 count strokes/free descend on 1:55
400 going breath weak side, bilateral, strong side, every 9 by 50 and repeat
1000 for time
100 easy

That is 2700 for the record. Good job BB leading the 1000. All that pizza, bratwurst, and beer from last night fueled you well.

Sprint day

2010-08-17T08:43:00.004-04:00

We didn't do very many meters today, but it felt like we did. Today was sprint day, and unlike distance day one never knows what day of the week sprint day will be. Sometimes we don't have sprint day at all for weeks, then BAM! there it is. The comedy of today was watching Bill (see image above) trying to send 4-5 heats off on one end, then sprint himself on the deck down to try and send off the first group on the other end at :45. After about two he gave up, likely realizing that this workout scheme where he blows the the whistle and gets our time on his stopwatch only works in yards. Here it is:

12 x 50 going twice thru:
1-2 free
3 drill
4-5 stroke
6 drill
4 x 100 free/back on 2:00
Main set 4 times thru:
50 sprint off blocks on :45
50 pace on :55
50 easy on 1:10
50 sprint stroke on :50
50 pace stroke on :60
50 easy stroke on 1:20
5 x 100 pull hypoxic:
100 breathe every 9 on 1:50
100 breathe every 5 on 1:45
100 breathe every 7 on 1:50
100 breathe every 5 on 1:45
100 breathe every 7 on 1:50

2700 meters total, but quality. Nice job all.

Wednesday is always distance day

2010-08-11T10:56:00.003-04:00

Wednesday is distance day at MIT Masters, so it should be no surprise that we did distance. We always do distance on Wednesdays, even our resident stroke person S diligently does distance without complaining. But apparently it was a surprise to one person who swims infrequently in lane 3, who said "are you doing a separate lane for IM?" Coach Bill seemed taken aback by the request because, after all, Wednesday is distance day. But being the accommodating coach that he is, he moved her to lane 1 while the rest of us did distance. Because it's Wednesday. That is why we did distance.

300 on own
4 x 50 free build down, build up, easy, fast
4 x 50 stroke build down, build up, easy, fast
8 x 50 kick odds on :60, evens on :55 (right!)

1000 going:
400 pace (get time)
200 IM
400 pace

800 going:
300 pace
200 stroke
300 pace

400 going: faster than the first 400

Great job everyone. You get a gold "D". :)

Going bananas

2010-08-09T08:54:00.002-04:00

So I am on Storrow Drive this morning and the woman driving the fancy German SUV in front of me rolls down the window and throws a banana peel out onto the road. Now if you know me, you already know that littering in general riles me up. But what really gets me is when people think that throwing things like banana peels, apple cores, etc. is not littering. "It's organic", they say. Okay, so imagine if everyone just decided to throw their biodegradable food waste on the road, in your front lawn, or while strolling down the street. It would be a dump, wouldn't it? So please don't do it, in this state it is considered littering and there is a fine. It take a banana peel 3-4 weeks to decompose. And you wouldn't want to be swimming through that at Walden either (see, I tied this into my swim blog somehow!). And, E was going bananas at the workout this morning. :)

300 on own
9 x 50 going 50 drill, stroke, backstroke, repeat
200 kick
300 swim hard on 5:15
6 x 50 IM order on 1:10
300 pull on 5:00
3 x 100 back/free on 2:10
300 swim hard on 5:15
3 x 50 backstroke descend on 1:05
3 x 50 free descend on :60
300 pull hypoxic 7,3,5 by 100

Happy Monday, everyone!

Happy Birthday, SB! (and we did it!!)

2010-07-29T09:53:00.004-04:00

A hearty group of MIT Masters swimmers showed up to help SB celebrate his 50th birthday (that's him on the right). What is so crazy about this is that if you ever saw SB, you might think he is 40, but even that would be a stretch. One of our lanemates who will remain nameless was shocked, shocked! to find out he was 50. In any case, we did our 50 x 100 (actually 51 for good luck) and dare say, we had fun doing it. Even Ian "the hammer" and BB "I'm next" finished with a 50 fly. The anticipation of it was worse than the actual set, which given the intervals was very manageable. Here it is:

10 x 100
drill/swim on 2:00
10 x 100
descend 1-3,4-6,7-9 easy 10 on 1:50
10 x 100
1-2 pull, 3-4 swim on 1:45
5-6 pull, 7-8 swim on 1:50
9-10 pull on 1:45
10 x 100
odds IM, evens free
10 x 100
ascend 1-5, 6-10

AND

And a final 100 for good luck in the next year! 5100 total, awesome.

Great job all finishers: SB, BB, E, KBB, IW, BG, JK, KY, S, M,and moi. :) And a special thanks to coach Bill for coordinating it and getting us the extra time in the pool.

Variety pack

2010-07-27T09:31:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid I used to love the variety pack of little cereals like cracker jack and lucky charms, all full of sugar and goodness. We were never allowed to get them, but the lure of the multiple flavors/types in one purchase is something I'll never forget. That's why today, when given a choice, I often go with the "sampler" of teas, variety pack of instant oatmeal, or even neapolitan ice cream which has variety built right in. There is something very appealing about variety, and that is why I liked today's workout. There was something for everyone!

300 on own
200 swim pace on :25r
150 going kick/choice/kick on :25
100 going drill/swim
100 stroke
50 easy
5 x 200 going:
odds free on 3:20
evens IM or pull on 3:40
3 x 50 free descend on :50
3 x 50 stroke descend on 1:10
3 x 50 free descend on :55
3 x 50 stroke descend on 1:05
2 x 50 free descend on :50
2 x 50 breast on 1:05
2 x 50 back on 1:05
2 x 50 fly on 1:05
50 free on :45
50 breast on :60
50 back on :60
50 fly on :60

My arms hurt today. Kevin and I were wondering aloud how we are going to do 50 x 100 on Thursday. Yes we can!

Premonition

2010-07-26T09:10:00.003-04:00

As we all know, a premonition is a situation where future events are forecast. Like our friend Nostradamus who predicted everything from fires to famines to pasteurized milk. I am sure somewhere in one of his quatrains he predicted that we have a BIG DAY on Thursday as SB turns 50. We are doing 50 x 100 as a workout, but I can't say that I was thrilled to see 21 100s on the sheet today. At least we know that we won't repeat today's workout as it was all I could do to stay in the pool. I kept saying to myself "self, it will be different on Thursday because it's SB's birthday and we'll all be together, and 100s aren't that bad, and when we finish we'll be happy, and don't be so mad Bill gave us this workout today." So I thought this the whole time, which oddly prevented me from going into a negativity spiral. Here it is:

200 on own
5 x (2x50)
1-2 work on extension
3-4 work on catch
5-6 work on pull
7-8 work on finish
9-10 I forget but I worked on kicking
250 IM first and last 50 fly
4 x 100 on 2:00
6 x 100 on 1:50
8 x 100 on 1:40 going 1-4 first 50 fast, 5-8 second 50 fast
4 x 100 on 1:55
300 hypoxic

Trying to figure out my swim schedule this week to build up to Thursday. Maybe I'll just taper until then. :)

Disgruntled

2010-07-20T08:45:00.004-04:00

I challenge anyone to come up with a "dis" word that is positive. I'm not sure you can, because as a prefix it means "lack of" or "not". I could only come up with "dis" words for the swim today. First, there was discomfort in getting out of bed, as I was deep in sleep. Then I displaced my keys, which woke me up running around my house at 5:40am. Then of course the workout was (in my opinion) discouraging and dissapointing. In other words, it was hard and I disliked it. I discarded the sheets, so this is all memory:

300 on own (or for Elaine, 700!)
200 swim on :20r
4 x 50 count strokes on :15r
200 drill/stroke on :20r
4 x 50 choice
50 free on :55
50 fly on :60
2 x 50 back on 1:05
50 free
2x 50 breast on 1:10
50 free
Main set is four times thru:
200 fast-ish on 3:05
50 easy on 1:20
50 sprint off blocks on :60
50 easy on 1:10
6 x 50 on 1:10

While I was typing this I came up with two words that were somewhat positive - discreet and Disney. The second might not count.

Distance with a twist

2010-07-14T08:36:00.003-04:00

As someone who likes distance, I might have slept in if I knew that the main set was 2 x 1000. Mostly because that just sounds so boring! But it wasn't really boring at all the way we did it. Here's today's workout:

300 on own
4 x 50
25 free/25 free
25 breast/25 free
25 back/25 free
25 fly/25 free
3 x 100 kick
1000 going:
200 fast
200 hypoxic (7,3,5,3)
200 fast
200 hypoxic
200 fast
2 x 50 on 1:15
1000 going:
build within each 300
then don't forget the final 100
2 x 50 easy

What this did, especially on the third one, was break it up into 3 small sets of 100s. If you think about it that way, going easy, medium, fast then it is much more manageable. Great job all.

Open Water

2010-07-08T10:52:00.006-04:00

There are some big open water races this weekend, most notably the Nubble Light swim in York, Maine. E and Bill G. are doing this, which is a 2.4 mile swim around Nubble light. There is some debate as to the water temperature, with Bill claiming it is 59 degrees and E saying 68. Let's hope they meet in the middle for a pleasant 64 degree swim. On the other end is the Charles River Swim, which is a one-mile swim in 80 plus degree water right downtown off of the Esplanade. BB and I are signed up, though high bacteria count may cancel it. Here's hoping it goes off - I have done this before and it really is incredible to see both Cambridge and Boston during a swim! No need to worry about the green fungus which gets in our suits - I believe it's all natural. :) Kudos to those who have worked so hard to clean up our river so it is swimmable.

Distance (kind-of) day. Conspicuously missing was Ian, who has been hammering, hammering, hammering in the pool every day.

6 x 50 swim on 1:05
2 x 100 kick
3 x 100 stroke/drill/fast :20r
2 x 100 kick
500 on 8:30 going:
200 fast
100 pace
100 build
100 fast
500 on 8:20 going:
100 fast
100 pace
300 fast, descending each 100
500 steady pace

Good job all. To the person who requested kicking: phooey on you.

Not gonna lie

2010-07-06T09:02:00.004-04:00

Today we have a heat advisory - 100 degrees and humid. While everyone is all atwitter about the triple-H conditions, I am secretly delighted. You see, I love this weather because I don't get cold in this weather. Or at least I thought so until I got to my office to find the Snow Miser setting up shop RIGHT IN MY OFFICE. The nerve. I called dining services and let them know they could store meat in here today or at the least just pick the little guy up so my office warms up. So while all of you are sweaty and uncomfortable, think of me here (you may want to call me to see if I have hypothermia) in my summer dress with my space heater on, fighting with the Snow Miser. But the water was truly refreshing today, but again, not gonna lie and say the workout was refreshing, because it was hard.

Two times thru:
3 x 50 breast
1 x 50 free
100 choice
8 x 100 on 1:40
2 x 50 easy on 1;15
400 50 stroke/50 free
6 x 100 on 1:35
2 x 50 easy
4 x 100 on 1:35
2 x 50 easy

The last set of 4 was supposed to be on 1:30 but we changed the interval - while we may have made one or two of them, the rest would have been junk. Good job, all.

Misery loves company

2010-06-30T08:37:00.002-04:00

Nobody likes being miserable. But let's face it, when you are miserable, there is something very comforting about sharing the experience. Like when you are stuck in traffic, or the after affects of eating the macaroni salad that was left out all afternoon in 90 degrees, or when your neighbor's daughter is belting out Lady Gaga songs at midnight in preparation for her failed attempt at American Idol (all hypothetical, of course). So today when Bill slapped up the first sheet and said this workout was a request from an anonymous swimmer, nearly all of us groaned. Suspiciously, E was not groaning. Being the super-smarties that we are, we put two and two together and realized it was she who did this to us. So I guess that misery didn't have all the company today.

3 x 50 free
100 IM
3 x 50 count strokes
100 back
800 swim on 1:30 rest
4 x 50 back on 1;10
2 x 400 descend on 7:30 (we pulled #2)
4 x 50 back
800 swim AGAIN (we pulled 400, then did a 50 fast/50 easy for the last 400)

Wasn't pretty, but we did it. Good job BB, E, SB, S, and L.

Climb every mountain

2010-06-28T21:24:00.006-04:00

Our lanemate KBB is off to Austria tomorrow, where I imagine he will frolick merrily through the hills and perhaps stop by the Abbey to see frauline Maria. And don't think we didn't hear you belting out "the hills are alive" in the men's locker room lately, KBB. Other than that, he'll probably do a little Ironman race. I know all of his hard work will pay off! First on deck, first in the pool, last out - you are ready Kim!!! He tapered today; smart, too, as this was a dreadful workout.

200 warmup
150 drill/stroke
2 x 50 count strokes
50 stroke
2 x 50 on :60
4 x 50 on :55
6 x 50 on :50
21 x 100 on 1:50

Ugh. We broke it up by going 5 x 100 swim, 5 x 100 pull, repeat. Not fun, but we did it. Good job all!

No inspiration

2010-06-14T08:51:00.004-04:00

Kevin asked me last week how I come up with my blog ideas. As I have mentioned before, I count on being inspired between the time when I leave my house and when I arrive at work, at which point I take 5 minutes - no longer - to post the blog. I've got nothing today - nothing. The workout was fine, the drive in was fine, my coffee is fine - all fine, but nothing too exciting. So I can report that BB had an awesome swim at Chesapeake Bay - 2:02:20 - fantastic BB! And I can offer one more friendly masters tip to our new lanemate: Negative split means that you take the distance (let's say 300 for fun) and go faster on the last 150 than the first one. Doing the opposite is called ascending. Don't worry, we have patience and will get you up (or down) to speed. Either that, or one of our more mild mannered lanemates think (KBB or IW)may lose it and who knows what will happen.

2 x 100 drill/swim :20r
2 x 100 stroke/swim :20r
200 50 stroke/50 swim on 5:25 (ha!)
200 pace on 3:15 (ha!)
200 negative split
3 x 100 kick
300 50 stroke, 50 free on 5:30
300 pace on 5:15
300 negative split on 5:00
6 x 50 on :60
400 pull on 6:40
400 negative split

Nice job everyone.

Good luck, BB!

2010-06-11T09:22:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, BB is going to swim 4.4 miles across the Chesapeake Bay under the Chesapeake Bay bridge. Coach Bill has done this before and today gave BB some well-needed advice, like don't run into the bridge, watch out for crabs (the kind that inhabit those waters, of course), and don't let the big boats hit you. Sound advice, I'd say. BB is definitely ready to go, as evidenced by his ability to do multiple 50s on 45 seconds today. Good workout by all:

warmup on own
50 drill
50 breast
100 IM
50 drill
50 back
100 IM
50 drill
50 fly
100 IM
8 x 100 on 1:55
2 x 250 pull hypoxic 9,3,7,3,5
2 x 50 stroke on 1:05
8 x 50 free on :50
2 x 50 stroke on 1:05
6 x 50 freee on :50
2 x 50 stroke on 1:05
4 x 50 free on :50 (:45 for BB and Sarah)

Friendly masters tip of the day: if you plan on leaving in the middle of a set, go to the back of the line so you don't mess up your lanemates' intervals.

The porpoise and the hare

2010-06-10T08:58:00.003-04:00

With apologies to Aesop, I have slightly altered the title of this famous fable because this is, of course, a swim blog. But the story of the tortoise and the hare has meaning even today, and by today I really mean today at swimming. In summary, the fable is about a young, speedy hare who mocks the older, slower tortoise, who challenges the hare to the race. I saw this play out right in our own lane today! Let's just pretend that SB was the papa tortoise and our young water polo friend was the hare. Here's how it goes: the hare jumps out and races the warmup and beginning set. The tortoise sits back and slowly picks his way through the lane to take the lead. Mama tortoise (me) finally has a word with the hare and reminds him that he needs to leave 10 seconds, not 3 seconds, behind the tortoise (I mean it's only fair, right? Tortoises are supposedly slow). The end of this story is much like the end of the fable: the tortoise reigned supreme and then got out to go to the gym.

400 warmup on own
8 x 100 free working on catch, pull, finish, streamline on :20r
200 kick
8 x 150 going:
1-3 pace on 2:55
4-6 descend on 2:50
7 easy on 3:30
8 fastest of the day!
4 X 100 free on 1:50
6 x 50 stroke on 1:05

Well done, everyone.

Now I know

2010-06-02T09:22:00.003-04:00

I'll admit it. I used to laugh when a distance set was posted and my sprinter-type lanemates would groan. I'd happily lope along with not a care in the world, not too slow, not too fast, with nary a kick to my name. Today, I was not so glib. When Bill posted the workout I groaned too, along with the small but hearty group who showed up today. The photo says it all: 800s. Here we go:

2 x 50 breast on :20
100 drill/swim on :20
2 x 50 back
100 drill/stroke
2 x 50 fly
100 drill/choice
800 swim steady pace
800 pull 400, :20r, negative split 400 swim
800 holding each 200 same pace
a bunch of kicking

Great job S and IW! I have no update today on the lane shenanigans, stay tuned until tomorrow.

Back to reality

2010-06-01T09:38:00.002-04:00

I would much rather be where I was in the photo to the right than at the pool today - just being honest here. I awakened (at 4am, mind you, when the birds started to sing) to rain and thunder, which was rather harsh compared to 85 and sunny. But I am glad I got up because there were tons of poeple in L3 today, and we had a great workout!

200 on own (or whatever)
100 drill variety - (all on :20r)
50 stroke choice
50 fly
100 free
100 side kick/drill/choice
6 x 50 kick
4 x (4x100)
1-4 on 1:45 even pace
5-8 on 1:40 descend
9-12 on 1:50 hold pace
13-16 on 1:45 descend
400 pull going:
50 breath weak side
50 bilateral
50 strong side
50 every 5 strokes, repeat
9 x 50 swim

Quick "talking to" update from last week: Bill tried to restore order in the lane but this little project may take awhile. When SB gets riled up during the warmup ("are we doing a WARMUP set right now?" said at top of lungs) you know we are all in trouble. No worries, everyone. I will only let this go on so long before it gets out of control. :)

Pooped

2010-05-25T08:55:00.005-04:00

I have a favorite iPhone icon that I used when I describe how tired I am. BB uses it too, but I can't find it so I will use a substitute. But that is how I felt today during my first full practice back. And it was kind of an interesting one. It's amazing how much you take in from the back of the train. We had a random visitor leading the warmup set, but he bailed for faster waters quickly. Then young water polo guy (who annoyed SB during the warmup, uh-oh) blasts out only to completely die in the middle of the last set. Someone mentioned that he "needed a talking to" (the assumption was from me, of course) but I need to get my swim legs back before lecturing the young lad. In any case, everyone is swimming strong, well done.

4 x 100 odds drill/stroke, evens drill/free :25r
2 x (4x50)on :20r
free
back
breast
fly
2 x 50 on :55
50 on 1:10
4 x 50 on :50
50 on 1:10
2 x 50 on :55
50 on 1;10
6 x 50 on :50
50 on 1:10
4 x 150 on 2:35 (head up middle 50 2x sighting)
2 x 50 easy
3 x 200 on 3:35 cruise/fast by 100
2 x 50

Off to Key West tomorrow!! I'll try to post something from the beach if I can muster enough energy to get out of the beach chair.

MENSA membership required

2010-05-20T08:56:00.004-04:00

I swim with a lot of smart people. A LOT. Doctors, lawyers, aviation experts, finance peeps, nuclear scientists. But smarts really go out the window when a complicated set appears, like it did this morning. Because we are in long course, 150s and 50s throw us for a loop, so trying to remember distance and interval can be a challenge. But the smartest one in the lane today was Kevin, who simply asked Bill to put the workout at both ends. Brilliant! It's kind of like asking directions when you are lost: nobody wants to do it, but when someone does, we are all relieved.

Here is the workout:

200-400 on own
Twice thru:
2 x 50 free front quad on :15r
100 free focus on extension on :20r
100 going 25 drill/25 free on :25r
6 x 50 backstroke on :15r
100 on 1:45
150 fast on 2:25
200 on 3:35
50 cruise on :55
100 cruise on 1:45
150 cruise on 2:30
200 cruise on 3:35
50 on :55
100 fast on 1:35
150 on 2:45
200 fast on 3:00
50 cruise on :55
100 cruise on 1:45
150 cruise on 2:30
200 cruise on 3:35
A kick set followed - maybe 6 x 50?

Nice job today everyone. Small blip when BB was daydreaming of swimming around Alcatraz, but he recovered nicely!

Happy Birthday, Coach Bill!

2010-05-19T08:53:00.003-04:00

Today is a big day in MIT Masters history. It's a BIG BIRTHDAY for our beloved coach Bill. So happy birthday, Bill. We love you!

Ahhh, normalcy

2010-05-18T08:51:00.002-04:00

When the alarm went off this morning there was not the usual sense of dread. Rather, I bounded out of bed and practically skipped to my car, delighted that I was heading to the pool. After nearly a month out of the pool, it felt great to feel somewhat normal. I use the term somewhat because my lanemates would never use the word "normal" and "me" in the same sentence. But anyway, I chatted on deck with the lifeguards, caught up with coach Bill, and then dove in. It was at about 75 yards that I realized that this pathway to normal was going to be paved with weeks of hard work and some pain. But that is okay! Carpe Diem! Just a small crowd today, and I will post the whole workout though I didn't stay for the entire set.

Warmup on own
5 x 100 variety of drill/swim
10 x 50 on 1:05
2 focus on arm extension
2 focus on catch
2 focus on pull
2 focus on finish
2 focus on rolling
Or, if you are me: 10 x 50 survival swim
100 fast on 1:35
100 easy on 1:50
100 fast on 1:35
100 easy on 1:50
100 fast on 1:35
200 easy on 3:45
100 fast on 1:35
200 easy on 3:45
100 easy on 1:55
100 fast on 1:35
100 easy on 1:50
100 fast on 1:35
200 easy on 3:45
100 fast on 1:35
200 easy on 3:40
100 fast on 1:35

If there was more, I missed it. See you tomorrow, I hope!

Terrible Twos

2010-04-22T09:20:00.003-04:00

The workout wasn't terrible at all, in fact we all really liked it. But "terrific 2's" sounded too corny and the graphic for terrible was much more fun than the graphic for terrific. And let's face it, negativity sells sometimes. In a macabre way, more people will want to read that we had an awful workout than we had a great workout. Especially those who chose not to come to practice today. Well guess what? We had an awesome swim and nobody had a tantrum!

warmup on own
200 swim descend
150 drill/swim/drill
100 kick/stroke
50 fast
100 stroke
2 x 25 fly :25
2 x 25 back :30
2 x 25 breast :35
2 x 50 fly :55
2 x 50 back :60
2 x 50 breast 1:05
2 x 25 fly :25
2 x 25 back :30
2 x 25 breast :35
3 x 200 swim (second 50 fast) on 2:50
3 x 200 descend by 50, :5r at each 50; last 50 on 1:05
3 x 200 pull on 3:00
3 x 200 descend by 50, :10r at each 50 (we only did 2 of these)

I'd say that was a pretty sneaky way to get in 11 200s today, and we all really liked it. We laughed, we cried, it was better than Cats. Good job IW, E, Dr. Bob, and M.

Writer's block

2010-04-20T08:38:00.003-04:00

I have to apologize to my lanemates and readers worldwide for slacking on the blog lately. I think I have some post-traumatic stress from all of the academic writing I have been doing and it seems too much just to post the workout. But I will be better, though I don't know if my creativity is 100% back. No matter, I will pledge to diligently post the workouts even if they don't come with some innane daily reflection on my part. Okay? Today's workout was one that I will definitely add to my "favorites" list - nice intervals and good mix of short and long. Here it is:

Warmup on own
6 x 75 odds kick/drill/swim, evens stroke, swim, drill
2 x 100 easy
10 x 25 build
3 x 100 on 1:30
2 x 300 pull on 4:45
3 x 100 on 1:25
2 x 300 on 4:30
3 x 100 on 1:40
2 x 300 on 4:15

I had to bolt before the last 300 so I am not sure what else they did. Good job pace setting by E,and well done by KBB, M, and kind of by SB would left too early. :)

Favorite workout

2010-04-14T09:15:00.004-04:00

I have lots of favorites in my life - my favorite pair of jeans (old), my favorite food (ice cream), my favorite running trail (Lincoln Woods), and my favorite font (Calibri). I also have a small list of favorite workouts, and today was one of those. Unfortunately, I did not get to swim with all of my favorite people because the lanes were getting crowded. But my favorite pool setup (long course) is coming in one month, so all will return to normal then.

Warmup 150 on own
2 x 100 drill swim
50 underwater/swim
2 x 100 stroke/swim
50 underwater/swim
Main set: 5 x 500 going:
500 swim steady on 8:00
500 pull hypoxic by 100 3,5,7,3,choice on :60r
500 negative split on 7:45
5 x 100 IM or stroke on 2:00
500 fastest of the day

The generous rest helped a lot. Pacing was important on this set so you could really fly on the last one. Great job by all - BB did something like a 6:05 on the last one!

Carpe Diem?

2010-04-09T09:16:00.003-04:00

We all get up very early for swimming. Some of us, like SB, around 4:30am. So when we get to the pool we're all pretty tired and logey. It is at that point that our day can take one of two paths: The good path or the bad path. The good path is when you jump in and the refreshing water wakes you up, you begin to sieze the day, looking forward to the challenges ahead. Your lanemates are funny, have good lane etiquette, and coach Bill's workout is just what you needed to get going. Then there is the bad path. That's when you jump in and realize that your body is exhausted, that the water isn't refreshing at all but feels more like swimming in oil, and the workout is a chore. Worse, you get out and are more tired/sleepy than when you got in. On the spectrum of good and bad, today was a little more on the side of bad path than good path for me. Or, to repeat a phrase I heard recently, I was more of the statue than the pigeon.

Here is our workout! I may have missed a part of the warmup.

150 swim
8 x 25 scull/swim
8 x 25 drill/stroke
6 x 50 count strokes
400 going 25 fly/75free, 25 back/75 free, etc. on :60
400 negative split pull on :60
400 going 50fly/50free, 50 back/50 free, etc. on :60
4 x 100 on 1:40 fast
4 x 100 going 25fly/25free/25fly/25free, back, breast, etc. on :60
16 x 25 fast down, easy back

Happy weekend, everyone!

Down by the river...

2010-04-07T08:55:00.004-04:00

I recevied a sign today that I need to return to blogging. I was driving into practice and the Standells' "Love that Dirty Water" was on the radio just as the sun was coming up along the Charles. Days before, we got word that the Charles River swim is on for July. So if that weren't enough to motivate me to get to practice and post our workouts, my friends have become confused. I get emails like "how many yards did we do today?" and "what was the workout on Monday?" and "how did Sputnik motivate research and technology in American higher education?". Wait. Maybe I am the one who is confused. So to help me return to normal I am back after taking a few weeks off to focus on schoolwork. A little worse for the wear, but excited to start getting back in shape!

300 swim on own
200 drill/swim by 50
200 stroke/free by 5-
2 x 150 drill/swim
2 x 200 pull on 3:10
Main set: 22 100's!!
1-5 fast on 1:20
6-9 fly/back by 50 on 2:00
10-14 free going fast 3rd 50 on 1:25
15-18 breast/free on 2:05
19-22 hold pace on 1:30

Tiring!!! But a good job by all. Enjoy the 85 degree day ahead.

"If you fail to prepare...

2010-03-12T08:52:00.003-05:00

...you're prepared to fail." Mark Spitz

Truer words were never spoken. Mark Spitz was the Michael Phelps of swimming even before Michael Phelps was born, and only in 2008 was his record of 7 gold medals broken. I remember being a tiny age group swimmer, maybe 8 or 10, and going to this big fancy swim meet in Indianapolis. The highlight of the meet was meeting and getting an autograph from Mark Spitz. I had a Mark Spitz poster and of course we ALL had the Mark Spitz American flag speedo. It was only after my age group coach began to look like Mark Spitz that I took everything down and lost my crush. My age group coach made me kick, so you can probably figure out where that relationship went. In our lane, KBB is taking this seriously as he is in the pool at 6:15 and swimming very strong! Ironman Germany here he comes!

As for the quote today, it's strangely appropriate as I am going to take a couple of weeks off from the blog. My doctoral comprehensive exam is two weeks from today and I don't want to fail, so I will spend the time preparing. Thank you, Mark, for your inspiration! Guest bloggers welcome - no experience needed!

200 on own
4 x 100 drill/swim :20r
2 x 200 stroke/swim :30r
2 x 50 easy on 1:05
4 x 150 fast on 2"05
2 x 50 easy
4 x 100, rest 5 sec, easy 50 on :60
2 x 50
4 x 150 pull on 2:10
2 x 50
6 x 75 IM order perfect turns

Lane King

2010-03-10T10:04:00.003-05:00

Today was a special day in the lane, BB (and Carmen's) birthday! Since only BB was able to make it, we crowned him Lane King for the day. This comes with extra special benefits like leading the lane, eating a lion cupcake, and getting to boss everyone around. (It was tough for me, SB, but I was happy to do it for the day) :) I don't dare say how old either one is, but with technology these days you just have to look at race results to know someone's age. And if you're perceptive, you might just wonder why we all wanted to do 4700 yards today. But I'll never tell.

Here is the regular workout:

300-500 on own
5x100 swim/drill
8x50 kick-what a waste
500 swim 60sec rest
2x50 1:00 ez
500 swim stroke/free/stroke/free/stroke
2x50 ez 1;00
500 pull
2x50 ez 1;00
300 fr/stroke/fre
2x50 1;00
500 fast
2x50 ez 1:00

That's 3900-4100 for most of us. But BB got in at 6am and so he did an additional 725, which not only achieved his goal of 4700 but exceeded it. Carmen, we missed you, but we're ready to swim your 4500 when you come back. ;)

Children of the pool

2010-03-05T09:47:00.004-05:00

There is a big age group meet at the Z Center today, it was all roped off and officials are scurrying around with clipboards and worried looks on their faces. Even coach Bill, usually calm and mild mannered, started in on us early. "The kids are coming in at 7:30, so if you want to consolidate your bags on one bench, do it now." We looked at him, bemused, and kept swimming. He then apparently bumped up the time and told us they were coming at 7:15. After each set, he would intently remind us to move our bags, his anxiety increasing with each minute that passed. We didn't really know what he was so concerned about, so none of us moved our bags. They're just kids, we thought, what's the big deal? Then they arrived. All 1000 of them. All at 7:15, just like Bill said. All with bags. They came from Boston, they came from the North Shore, they came from Western Mass. Sure, we kept swimming, but it was a little scary. I got really worried when Bill G, in a frantic state, said to coach Bill "where's my bag??" and he wasn't joking. BB and I looked at each other and acknowledged that coach Bill was right. We should have moved our bags.

4 x 150 going:
odds 50 drill/50 swim/ 50 drill
events 50 stroke/ 50 drill/ 50 stroke
10 x 25 stroke on :30
6 x 100 on 1:25
6 x 100 stroke on 1:50
4 times thru:
50 stroke on :60
75 free on 1:05
25 easy on :30
3 times thru:
50 free on :60
75 stroke on 1:20
25 easy

Happy weekend to all!

Two spa towel day

2010-03-02T09:12:00.003-05:00

Among the great things about swimming at the Z Center (in addition to the best pool in town) is the fact that we have a towel service. Yet it's a little like playing the lottery every time you walk up to the desk. Some days you might get a normal towel, other days you'll get the kind of towel that you would clean you car with (because it looks like it cleaned a car), but then there are days like today. Today I got not one, but two of what we like to call "spa" towels. Those are the big, fluffy, new towels that are the envy of everyone in the locker room. Sometimes I feel so guilty if I get two of these that I will give BB one and take his normal or car towel so I don't come across as too greedy. It's like winning $20 on a $1 scratch ticket. E had two car towels today but it was too late to switch. Anyway, the problem with this is that I expect the facial, manicure, and pedicure afterward but that never happens.

200 on own
4 x (4x25)
25 build up
25 build down
25 easy
25 hard
8 x 50 middle of the pool working turns
5 x 100 descend on 1:40
5 x 300 on 5:45 going:
1: 1st 100 fast
2: 2nd 100 fast
3: 3rd 100 fast
4: cruise
5: all fast
12 x 25 going easy/fast

E, SBB, M, and I swam with new guy Joe who set a good pace. Great job, everyone.

The beavers are watching you, Dr. Bob

2010-02-26T08:45:00.002-05:00

During the warmup today Dr. Bob mentioned that he felt paranoid that all these "teddy bears" were watching him. I was confused, but quickly put on my best counselor hat and began to assess if he was alright. He then pointed up to the wall where dozens of cute little cut-outs of animals were pasted up. But they weren't teddy bears, they were beavers, "nature's engineers", also konwn as the MIT mascot. That didn't really make Dr. Bob feel any less paranoid because they had sharp teeth and menacing looks on their faces. I am sure the swim team did it to psyche out the competition during swim meets. If so, it works because Bob had the shakes all morning long. We did a positive mental imagery exercise at the end of practice where he was alongside the beavers building a dam to save a small town. Nice job, Dr. Bob.

200 on own
100 swim
2 x 25 drill
100 swim
2 x 25 drill
100 swim
2 x 25 drill
100 swim
2 x 25 drill
4 x (3x50)
1-3 kick on 1:10
4-6 descend stroke on :55
7-9 kick on 1:10
10-12 free on :45
2 x 100 working turns
50 stroke on :60
2 x 100 on 1:20
150 stroke on :20r
2 x 200 fast on 2:45
2 x 200 IM on 3:30
2 x 200 fast on 2:45
150 stroke
2 x 100 on 1:20
50 stroke

Great group today, and we swam a lot of yards! BB, IW, KBB, SB, Dr. B, and me. KBB gets prize for most yards and in earliest.

The sun will come out...

2010-02-24T08:31:00.004-05:00

tomorrow? Maybe Friday? It was such a harsh change this morning from our beautiful Monday, where we could practically feel spring coming as we saw the sun rise at 6am. Not today. Not only did the sun not make an appearance, it was so dark after practice that I wanted to climb back into bed. But just stare at the photo to the left for 30 seconds and you'll get all the vitamin D you need today. That's a bright pic. We had a hearty group today - IW and KBB in their suits and me and E just trying to keep it together.

200-250 on own
2 x 150 #1 free, #2 stroke
8 x 25 Odds drill, evens build
1 x 300 75 stroke 75 free
8 x 25 all kick
2 x 50 on :55
4 x 50 on :50
6 x 50 on :45
6 x 50 middle of the pool fast into turns and off wall
Twice thru:
3 x 225 descend going 200 swim, get time, 25 easy on 3:30
1 x 25 on :30

We pulled the second set. First set descended by 3-4 seconds per 200, second set by 7 and 8 seconds. Well done, everyone! Stay dry today.

Where everybody knows your name

2010-02-22T09:35:00.004-05:00

Masters practice is a little like the sitcom Cheers. For those of you under 30, you might want to look it up so you can follow me here. We meet up to swim, chat, drink gatorade, and have fun. We've got our regulars (us), our Sam (Bill, who "serves" us workouts) and are comfortable enough with each other that we no longer bother with common pleasantries before launching into the workout. And, just like on Cheers, there is always an issue/drama of the day, enought to build an episode around. Sometimes it is between two people (usually me and Carmen), sometimes we all make fun of Steve and his pull bouy, or we razz Bill, or we collectively get perplexed when a new person shows up. It was the latter today, and it made me wonder: are we a friendly bunch that welcomes newbies or are we a hard group to break into? The truth is I'm not sure, really. Sometimes I think we are friendly, other times I know we just get lazy and would rather deal with the devil we know (ourselves) than one we don't (newcomers.) There is definitely a mojo to each lane, a sense of just "getting" each other like an old married couple. I guess it all comes down to how the newcomer swims, understands our etiquette, is aware of their own actions, and fits in. You swim well, you pace yourself, you meet the interval, you avoid E's feet? You're good.

200 going 100 free/100 stroke
150 drill/swim
100 stroke
50 fast
200 kick
6 x 25 free
6 x 25 breast
6 x 25 back
6 x 25 fly
6 x 150 free going:
1 on 2:25
2-3 on 2:15
4-6 on 2:05
6 x 200 going
1 on 3:00
2-3 on 2:55
4-6 on 2:50

Good day, everyone!

Ally ally in come free

2010-02-10T09:17:00.002-05:00

If you are a lane 3-er and have been avoiding practice this week because of the threat of an imposed penalty (you know who you are), worry not. C has offered to contribute up to $100 for any late/early leaving peeps in our lane. Thanks C! But may I please remind everyone that this is for the Dana Farber Cancer Center? Ian, to his credit, was intentionally 15 minutes late today because he was spending time "thinking and praying for the children." Now that's what I am talking about, IW. E, BB, M, and I were all in wicked early along with Bill and Ali.

400 swim
200 swim on :25r
2 x 100 drill/swim by 25 on :25r
200 stroke on :25r
2 x 100 breast/free on :15
4 x 50 breast on :60
4 x 50 count strokes on :55
4 x 50 build on :50
4 x 150 on 2:10 going
1=1st 50 fast
2=2nd 50 fast
3=3rd 50 fast
4=all fast
4 x 150 all same stroke on 2:30
4 x 150 pull hypoxic 5,3,7 on 2:20
2 x 150 stroke on 2:30
2 x 150 fast on 2:15
100 easy

4300 yards! Good luck today with the impending storm. Keep an eye out for possible pool closures on the Z Center website.

The early bird gets...

2010-02-08T13:42:00.003-05:00

lots of yards in, as it turns out. It was day one of Bill's "tough love" penalty-for-charity program and by accident (really) I was on deck by 6:12:40. That gave me my 3-4 minutes of social time but the only people to socialize with were E, Bill, Ali, coach Bill (who was there at 6:14!) and me. So we hopped in by 6:17 and by the time we got through 1000 yards, it was still only 6:40am. I am not sure if people were absent from practice today because they were up too late watching the Saints win (a good thing) or because they don't want to give money to support a worthy cause (a not so good thing.) I am sure it is the former. Here is what we did:

200 on own
4 x 125 on :25r going
75 free, 50 fly
75 free, 50 back
75 free, 50 breast
75 free, 50 choice
2 times thru:
3 x 25 fly on :35
1 x 25 easy on :40
2 x 25 fly on :35
2 x 25 easy on :40
500 going: 2 x 250 descend, :20r in between each
500 pull hypopxic 3,5,7,3 on 8:00
500 negative split on 7:45
400 going 100 free, 200 stroke, 100 free on 6:30
400 going 200 free, 200IM
400 negative split
400 fast

Lots of yardage - if you did the whole thing, it was 4200. I had an early meeting (cost me $5 but it's for a good cause, people!) so I didn't do the last 400. Good job E, Marla, and Ian.

The rules

2010-02-05T08:47:00.003-05:00

Bill is all excited about next week because he gets to behave like our old age group swim coaches and punish us when we digress from his plan. I just hope that he doesn't get the hose out because that is not a fond memory of mine. The plan next week is to raise money for Swim Across America/Dana Farber Cancer Center. Here are the rules: From Monday through Friday, if you come late to practice, it will cost you $5. Leave early, $5. And on Friday, each lane gets to buy themselves out of any set they don't like. The biggest question is what exactly constitutes being late? If we are on deck before Bill, are we on time? Or do we have to get there at 6:15? My take is that being there before Bill is on time. That makes it pretty easy. Here is what we did today.

200 warmup
2 x 50 drill/swim
3 x 50 fly, back, breast
2 x 50 one arm/build
4 x 50 work on stroke
more 50s - I could not follow this
2 x 25 kick with fins
50 kick easy
4 x 25 kick with fins
50 kick easy
6 x 25 kick with fins
50 kick easy
400 pull hypoxic 3,5,7,3 by 50
Twice thru:
200 fast on 2:45
100 easy
150 fast on 2:00
50 easy
150 stroke fast
50 easy
100 stroke fast
2 x 25 easy

I didn't remember the stroke sendoff, but we got about 10-15 seconds rest if I recall. I bailed before the last stroke set. Have a good weekend everyone!

Finding motivation

2010-02-04T09:38:00.002-05:00

Winter is by far the toughest time of the year to get to the pool. And even when you get to the pool, it's not a given that you actually get in. Case in point, Monday I show up on deck, suit and googles at the ready, and proceed to turn around and walk out. Now I know that is an extreme case, but it got me to thinking on my drive in this morning: why exactly do we do this? I asked my teammates this, and got a variety of answers. The lane 2-ers cited missing rush hour traffic as a motivator, along with prepping for competition and general fitness. For me, the social aspect is important, though guilt and a sense of obligation are a close second. If I didn't show up to swim, it is likely that BB would still be sleeping in his car long after practice is over. Others said that if they don't swim in the morning they won't swim at all, or that swimming let's them have a big breakfast. The thing is, even on the days that I don't want to jump in I always feel better when I do. That is really the best motivator of all. Just me and E today. I told her I would swim and I did!

200 free
2 x 50 drill
100 free
2 x 50 drill
100 breast
2 x 50 drill
100 back
6 x 50 breast drill
300 pull
6 x 125
1-3 descend on 2:00
4-6 descend on 1:50
2 x 50 dr/swim
4 x 100 fast on 1:25
2 x 50 dr/swim
6 x 125
1-3 descend on 2:05
4-6 descend on 1:55

One thing that we are not motivated by is fear, thankfully. But that all may change next week because Bill is going to use fear as a motivator for a fundraiser for Swim Across America. Stay tuned for details. Hint: Don't be late to practice!