D-Day return

It was my first distance day in awhile - probably two months, but I am glad I did it. I have been slacking on this blog (for very good reasons!) but today's workout is worth posting. As H said when asked what we came in on for our fast 500: "pain". Well put.

200 warmup
Twice thru:
100 s/d/k/s on :20r
2 x 50 breast on :60
100 s/d/k/s on :20
2 x 50 free on :45
2 x 50 back on :55
10 x 50 free
1-3 on :55
4-6 on :45
7-9 on :40
10 easy
500 steady pace on 7:30
500 pull on 7:20
500 fast on 7:05
5 x 100 50s/50f on 1:50
500 (300 because of time) fastest of the day

Thanks to E2 for sharing this awesome pic. I love it!

Leisure Time

If you didn't know better, you'd think that everyone at MIT Master's was on vacation this week. As I leisurely strolled onto deck at 6:20 only Sarah was lined up and ready to jump in. So I did what any respectable teammate would do: I tried to stall her from getting in the pool by trying to engage her in discourse about the weather, our health, and general wonderment about how empty the pool was. Unsuccessful, I continued my quest of procrastination by chatting up with my friend Chris, who also seemed antsy to get in the pool (come on people! Master's is for socializing)! Undeterred, I sat at the edge watching Bill write the workout and staring at an empty lane. As I got up the nerve to jump in, out sauntered E2, so of course I felt obliged to say hello. But then I got in. And she continued to talk with Bill for 10 minutes on deck. As each 100 went by I felt better about my own dilly-dallying as E2 delayed her own swim. But instead of giving out a slacker award, we get a champion award because Bill mixed up the sheets and gave us Lane 1's times for the main set. We made it but I wondered why they got so much rest and we were working our butts off.

100 warmup
4 x 50 25 drill/25 kick
4 x 75 reverse IM order :20r
4 x 100 on 1:45
50 fly/50 free
50 back/ 50 free
50 breast/ 50 free
50 choice/ 50 free
4 x 25 cruise/sprint on :30
4 x 25 alternate underwater/easy swim on :35
4 x 25 sprint on :40
300 long on 4:15
50 fast on :50
250 pull on 3:35
50 fast on :50
200 swim on 2:50
50 fast on :50
150 swim on 2:15
50 fast on :50
100 swim on 1:30
50 fast on :50
2 x 75 cruise on 1:25
2 x 72 descend on 1:10
2 x 75 cruise on 1:30
2 x 72 descend on 1:05
2 x 75 cruise on 1:35
2 x 72 descend on :60
50 esay

Ladies Day

Short post today! All of the ladies showed up today as lanes 2 and 3 were filled with the gals. And wouldn't you know it, we all had on different colored swim caps and different suits. That is fashion at 6am! It was a great workout to boot, thank you coach Bill. I wanted to capture it because it's worth it if you want to do this on your own.

100 IM on 1:45
100 free on 1:30
2 x 100 IM on 1:45
2 x 100 free on 1:30
12 x 125 going
1-3 swim on 2:00
4-6 50 fast on :35/75 easy on 1:20
7-9 75 fast on :60/50 easy on :60
10-12 swim on 1:55
1650 swim
(we did it 500 swim, 500 pull, 650 swim)

Not too bad at all!!

Thanks, Swim Dad

Sometimes you have to do things you don't like because it's good for you, like working extra hours or eating lima beans. Today's workout was like that for me - I didn't like it, but I did it because I know it's good for me. But unlike the horrid coach on Dance Moms (who Bill referred to several times during the workout today), Bill doesn't scream at us or tell us we are worthless or make us swim when we are sick. And that's why we swim with him.

200 warmup
100 back
3 x 50 free on :50
100 breast
3 x 50 free on :50
100 fly
3 x 50 free on :50
3 x 100 on 1:30
3 x 100 on 1:20
50 easy
4 x 200 going third 50 sprint on 3:10
75 easy
100 sprint off of blocks
4 x 150 descend on 2:30
75 easy
100 sprint off of blocks (or wall)

Ten cents a yard

KBB is our guest blogger - we have wondered where he has been, and this post makes it clear - far from MIT!!

It's early morning and dark and cold outside my hotel in a suburb North of Salt Lake City. Not able to bear the though of another slog on the hotel treadmill, I pull up Google maps on my laptop to plot a course for an outdoor run. (Did I mention it was cold and dark?) Suddenly my eye is drawn to a marker on the map labeled Layton City Surf and Swim!!! A quick web search and phone confirmation reveals that it is open for lap swimming and the fee is $3!!! I rush out the door with a bit of dread, because all of the pictures showed the pool outside. I was quite relieved to see an enormous bubble over the pool when I arrived (ala old school Hanscom). So in I went for 10 cents a yard. Sorry, no workout details are provided. The pool is at elevation, and it was YMCA temp water. But it was a workout that was not expected, and those are often the best ones.

KBB

Swim Like a Girl

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

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