Master's Choice

There are certain benefits that come with master's swimming, among them comaraderie with fellow swimmers, good health, and a sense of accomplishment by 7:30am. Another benefit is one that is not often talked about but equally as important: the "master's option". The master's option is a little thing that master's swimmers utilize, albeit infrequently, to alter the workout to suit their particular needs. Take this morning, when we looked at the first set and together decided that we would pull a master's option and do whatever it was we wanted rather than what was on the paper. We were happy, and the coach didn't know any different. Of course posting this now outs us, but this should not be a surprise to Coach Bill. Master's option usually makes a workout easier, not harder, but Joe again pulled a master's option and substituted fly for other strokes when he was not required to do so. In doing so, he negated the previous master's option and therefore we are in the clear with coach.

8 x 50 swim on :55
6 x 75 stroke going twice thru:
25 fly, 50 back
50 back, 25 breast
50 breast, 25 free
6 x 400 going:
200 hard/200 easy on 6:00
400 hypoxic pull 7,3,5,3 on 6:20
400 swim steady on 6:10
400 descend by 100 on 6:00
200 easy/200 hard on 6:00
400 fast
75 on :60
25 on :40
2 x 75 on 1:05
25 on :40
3 x 75 on 1:10

Congrats and Good Luck, Fritzi!

If you are a morning swimmer, and if you regularly use the South entrance to the Z Center, there is big news to report.  Our friend Fritzi, who greets us every day with a smile, a hug (I get a hug!), and a surprisingly positive vibe for 6am is leaving us because he got PROMOTED! He is going to be the new equipment manager for a number of the MIT varsity sports. This is excellent news, and well deserved for someone who works hard at his job and who makes our lives a bit sunnier in the early morning hours. BB, I am so sorry that you are not here during his last week.  He wanted to tell us together. That's Fritz with coach Bill this morning.  For you noontime and evening swimmers, you'll still see Fritzi between 11am-7pm.  Best of luck friend!

Big crowd at today's workout:

200 free 3:10
6 x 25 breast 1-3 on:35, 4-6 on :30
150 free on 2:25
6 x 25 back 1-3 on :30, 4-6 on :25
100 free on 1:45
6 x 25 fly 1-3 on :35, 4-6 on :40
8 x 100 descend in pairs:
1-2 on 1:35
3-4 on 1:30
5-6 on 1:25
7-8 on 1:20
6 x 125 broken stroke going:
50 cruise on :60
75 build on 1:25
Three times thru:
75 free on 1:15
75 free on 1:10
3 x 25 sprint on :25
2 x 25 stroke fast on :30
25 easy

Crickets in the Locker Room

No, not real crickets (as if the Z Center staff needed another locker room crisis!). I mean the crickets that you can hear when there is nobody around, because that is what the locker room was like this morning. Zero ladies. I thoroughly enjoyed my swim with the boys, but seriously missed my post-workout social time with the gals. My usually busy row? Empty. No Nancy, Linda, or Grace. The next row? Same. No Rachel, Maggie, Sarah, Mo, Dawn. Further down the row? No E or E2. Even Callie, our MIT swimmer was absent. Of course the upside to all of this is that there was no line for the shower and that the rest of the people in the locker room didn't have to hear us yelling or laughing over the shower stalls or lockers to each other. But I didn't like it one bit, especially because the benefit of my locker location at Grand Central Station (i.e. row one) is that I get to see my friends.

Great workout today, a bit complicated but fun. Nice to see Steve U. and friends join us from Cambridge Masters.

200 warmup
50 stroke :15r
30 drill/scull
50 free
50 one-arm
50 breast drill/swim
50 back drill/swim
100 free
4 x 100 count strokes odds free, evens stroke :25r
100 going 50 free/50stroke on 1:50
3 x 50 descend on :55
50 fly
3 x 100 free on 1;40
100 choice
2 x 300 IM on 3:40
6 x 150 free going:
1-3 middle 50 fast on 2:40
4-6 descend on 1:35
2 x 50 warm down