half the distance = twice the pain (or last night's knickers take a trip)

I sauntered across the car park to the pool this morning
blissfully unaware that last night's knickers were trailing out the bottom of my jeans. I didn't notice till I sat down on one of the sofa's in reception.

Trust me, it's not easy to surreptitiously remove the offending item so that none of your surrounding team mates notice!

Anyway to business, we were graced with the presence of Evil Mutant Swim Coach 3.0 and for a Saturday morning swim this seemed a bit easy only 2.8k. ONLY 2.8k!!!!

There's nothing quite as exquisitely painful as trying to swim fast particularly when you are unfit and overweight but I suppose it's needed.

200 easy
5 x 150's odds 50 kick, 50 pull, 50 swim
               evens 50 fly drill, 50 back, 50 brst
12 x 50's @ 75 as
15m max 35m easy )
35m max 15m easy )  x 3
35m easy 15m max )
15m easy 35m max )
Freestyle
20m push 5 m easy @ 60s
20m push 5 m easy @ 60s
25m push @ 60s
75 easy @ 1.30
35m push 15m easy
50m easy @ 1.30
25m max, 25m strong
100m easy @ 2.30
50m max
100m easy @ 2.30
Breaststroke
20m push 5 m easy @ 60s
20m push 5 m easy @ 60s
25m push @ 60s
75 easy @ 1.30
35m push 15m easy
50m easy @ 1.30
25m max, 25m strong
100m easy @ 2.30
50m max
100m easy @ 2.30
150 swim down
2800 metres

Methane avoidance tactics

I was congratulated by EMSC 3.0 for my tactics in training tonight, (Thursday*) eye balls out and hanging on to the penultimate place in lane 1. (usually I'm hanging on about 10 metres at the back and 30seconds off the pace!)

My ever observant coach had realised that the moving up a space in the lane had nothing to do with a desire to push myself to the limits, but simply to avoid this (thereby ensuring that the Methane Emitter was behind me.)

3 x 50's back @ 65**
4 x 50's brst @ 70
4 x 50's brst kick @ 1.20
200 free @ 3.15
2 x 100 pull @ 1.45
4 x 50 kick @ 1.20
2 x 100 pull @ 1.45
200 free @ 3.15
2 x 100 pull @ 1.45
4 x 50 kick @ 1.20
2 x 100 pull @ 1.45
200 free @ 3.15
150 swim down
2500 metres

* bit late blogging this
** you can tell who was late getting in

The Lobotomising effect of a Meet Entry Form

I know that I've written about this before but where oh where does my capacity for reason disappear to when I fill in the entry form for this event.

I received an e-mail on Friday from Lisa Simpson, Doh! (not that Lisa Simpson,) at the ASA events office asking me to check my entries and let her know if there were any errors or mistakes, or rather let El Presidente AKA Mr Gordon know.

Not sure if it was stupidity or stunning over confidence in my ability or simply just a mean streak which insisted I got value for money from my swims, but I'm sure that none of these excuses will persuade Mr G (a man reknowned in masters circles for his boundless patience and tolerance) that I entered them in error and he should let me withdraw from the 1500, 800 and 400 free. (What was I thinking about?)

I think the explanation is it's because I sort of scan through the sessions select my breaststroke events and then start looking for an event in most of the other sessions which I can swim. I don't give any consideration for the cumulative effect of fatigue and whether or not racing over nearly 2 miles in one weekend, 3350m to be precise (hang on that's more than 2 miles!) is really a clever idea or more fundamental yet; can I really do this?

On the bright side I guess with warm ups I should keep my mile a day challenge more or less up to date but this is truly a very painful way to accomplish it.

On the subject of pain, this afternoon's session left me with a badly bruised hand having clattered Dazz the Wazz during the earlier part of the set. The lane lines on the bottom of the pool are off centre so I was swimming a bit too close to his side...ouch!

But my first green week since February and maybe back on track?

400 warm up
200 @ 3.30  (35s per length)
2 x 100 @ 2.00 (40s per length)
3 x 66 @1.30 (45s per length)
6 x 33  50 s
2 x 100 @ 1.45s pull (35s per length)
3 x 66 @1.20 pull (40s per length)
6 x 33 pull 45 s
3 x 66 @ 1.50 kick
6 x 33  @ 55 kick
6 x 33  @ 50s max
100 swim down
2500 m

Wherefore I know not, I have misplaced my ability to swim! I'm in great company though.

It seems that I'm not the only swimmer struggling for a bit of form at the moment having caught this tweet from Dame Becky yesterday.

Not quite sure that the stakes for me are quite as high as they are for her though. I also think I'm not in any particular phase of training periodisation which is causing my slump in form, I'm just old and past it.

So to Saturday morning training! pretty good turn out, Fairy Snow Baby, Matt the Cash, Synchro Dad, Beckleberry Dad, Park Ranger and Custardly Sgt Mark so when I came up with my suggestion for the main set they all nodded in agreement and thought that's OK.

Hmm it wasn't, I was knackered by the third set and even resorting to that old faithful, pull with paddles didn't help, as Beckleberry Dad said "well done you actually made it harder!" and Fairy Snow Baby whose been struggling with a chest infection for a few weeks gave up and got out. On the bright side probably the  longest session I've done for a while and it looks like I might have a green week.

600 warm up every 4th length not freestyle
3 x 200 progressive @ 3.30
8 x 50's back @ 65
2 x 4 x 25 IM @ 2mins
20 seconds rest
3 x 200 progressive @ 3.30
8 x 50's back @ 65
2 x 4 x 25 IM @ 2mins
20 seconds rest
3 x 200 progressive @ 3.30 *
8 x 50's back @ 65
2 x 4 x 25 IM @ 2mins
4200 metres

*did these pull with paddles cos otherwise I wouldn't have had any rest

EMSC 3.0's 50p mix up challenge and a mystery malodorous methane moment.

To ensure a good turn out at training this evening Evil Mutant Swim Coach 3.0 resorted to desperate measures...emailing us all with a challenge. Can we swim sub 60 for 50 kick? with a 50p mix up (assorted Haribo to you southerners) on offer to anyone who was successful.

Of course I'm a sucker for this and as EMSC 3.0 had thrown down the gauntlet I had to be there to pick it up and run with it. I nailed the first 50 with a 58 second swim (and then spent the rest of the session bitterly regretting my earlier exuberance)

I was struggling with the 400 pace work but as we covered 900 metres in the set (400 how does that work?) and the only other notable thing was seeing a visible methane bubble emanate from a team mate's bottom and burst with a rather nasty pong as it surfaced.

Nice!

5 x 4 x 25 @ 1.45*
3 x 3 x 50's @ 70 alternate kick, pull and swim
100 @ 2.30
50 @ 1.15
100 @ 2.30
50 @ 1.15                   The aim of this set was to swim
100 @ 2.30                 100's at 400 pace.
50 @ 1.15                   The first 4 were 85 and I drifted off
100 @ 2.30                  the pace somewhat.
50 @ 1.15
100 @ 2.30
50 @ 1.15
100 @ 2.30
50 @ 1.15
150 swim down
2000m

*not sure if these were on 1.45  cos I was late and never really tuned into the set

The Return of the Binge (well nearly)

April may have started well from the swimming perspective but the resolve very soon petered out. Easter weekend was a complete swimming wash out, with pool hell being replaced by DIY hell.

Yes I am a complete saddo and ended up in B and Q with the world and his wife on Friday. I finally got around to replacing and re grouting the tiles in the kitchen (they'd fallen off when the place was re wired in 2005!), and having progressed from the kitchen to our bedroom which hadn't been painted for a similar period of time.

To be honest there was no swimming on over the weekend so I wasn't actually proper sciving. But this evening came as a bit of a shock to the system as I've just gone 9 swim free days and I am so stiff after a weekend of DIY efforts. I need to start taking this seriously or I'll be completely demoralised by the British Championships which are less than 4 weeks away.

OK I'm up to date with the blogging now so hopefully normal service will resume....

600 warm up  drill every 4th length
200 breast @ 4.30
200 breast @ 4.30 broken at 100 for 30s
200 breast @ 4.30 broken each 50 for 15s
500 pull with paddles recovery
2 x 100 swim down
1900 metres

April Fools Swim 100's on Sundays

April started off really well despite a dodgy message on Facebook from Sparkie at about 11.30am to ask me if I knew that the session was at 12.30 and not at 1.30pm.

I dutifully tipped up and not recognising any cars in the car park and noting the date, I was certain that this was big wind up, but no, he was just looking out for me and the session had really been brought forward an hour.

The real April Fool was from Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0 who came up with this set. Deja Vu methinks?


400 warm up 66 free 33 back, 66 free 33 breast
2 x 200 66 swim 33 drill @ 3.30
4 x 100 66 swim 33 kick @ 2 mins
1 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
2 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
2 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
2 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
2900 metres

Loughboro Meeting causes major training snafu

I spent yesterday (Friday 30th) and today (Saturday 31st March) in swimming meetings at ASA HQ.

Consequently no Saturday morning session, although by the time The Fairy Snow Baby and I made it back to Tyneside (tea time Saturday) there was just time to drop into the Ryton Tri session.

I've lost a bit of enthusiasm for swimming somewhere along the way and was quite relieved when Teenage Triathlete demanded I collected her early (excuse to scive off)

400 free
8 x 25 prog 1-4 @ 10s RI
6 x 100 @ 20 sRI
400 free
4 x 100
4 x 50's
400 free
2 x 100
2800

Monday 26th March (I'm playing catch up blogging here)

Following the excitement of Darlington Masters yesterday I snuck into Consett over lunch time for a very short session and then although I wrote the set up just haven't been able to finish the blogging off

I have to confess that this was so long ago I can't remember anything about it.


400 warm up 66 free, 33 back, 66 free, 33 breast
5 x 200 @ 3.15 pull with paddles
6 x 33's brst kick @ 50s
200 swim down
1800 metres