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

Hour of Power

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

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

Little Hour of Doom

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

Today's workout

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

From flip-flops to puffy coats

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

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