February Fitness Finished (with more of a whimper than a bang)

Finally finished the 2013 February Fitness Challenge or about 97% of it, having missed last Thursday's dip.

I also had a bit of a fail on the distance covered managing a mere 76,733 metres.

So what's next for Binge? well there's a training trip to Lanzarote next week, in company with Noolz and Judo.

I know that I'm going to be seriously outclassed but it might make for some interesting blogs as we enter a new chapter of Binge's Adventures abroad. See here for last years.

It all starts next Thursday so tune in then. Girls week here we come.

In the meantime those nice people from Speedo invited me to take the Keep Going Swim after Swim challenge, the idea being that I swim 20 times in the next 30 days. They are (allegedly) sending me a free endurance + costume which I have to road test during the challenge. How hard can that be?

For the end of the February Fitness challenge it was another lack of imagination set driven by Proudie

400 warm up 100, swim 100 pull, 100 swim, 100 drill
6 x 100 @ 2 mins
100 steady
6 x 100 odd @ 2 mins hard, even @ 1:45 easy
100 steady
6 x 100 1 & 4 @ 2 mins, rest steady @ 1:45
2400m total

Penultimate February Swim brings Binge back on track

I'm just about back on track for my 2013 mile a day challenge and Mr David Kinson (whose somewhat delayed arrival in this world caused a significantly hectic weekend for his dad and his mum to miss our wedding (the following day)) feigned interest in how I was getting on .

So David as promised (ok a day late) here's my Slog because trying to work out a counting widget thing is way beyond my technical ability.

133 free, 66 kick
66 swim 66 pull 66 kick
8 x 100 hard @ 2:00
200 steady @ 4 mins
8 x 100 alternate odd hard @ 2 mins, even steady @ 1: 45
66 swim, 66 kick, 66 swim
8 x 100 1 & 4 @ 2:00 hard, the rest steady @ 1:45
200 stretch
100 breast @ 2:00
66 breast @ 1:30
33 breast
233 swim down
3833 metres

Notes from a far flung Newcastle Outpost

Unusually for me I had an early morning swim today. I had a meeting in Newcastle at 9am and agreed to drive Teenage Triathlete to school.

I dropped her off around 7:40 and then thought about making my way to Gosforth (where my meeting was) to swim in the local pool there.

Now I've never swum at Gosforth Pool and had only the haziest idea of where it was located. I noticed en route to school that I'd driven past Fenham Pool and fearing a Tom Tom trauma, I thought it would be easier to go for a splash there.

What a great choice, a lovely old pool, with 2 lanes roped off and about 5 other people swimming laps. The water temperature was a great 27.6 and I was helpfully warned by the receptionist that I only had 65 minutes  of swimming left before the schools programme. I assured him that would be more than ample time.

I took things fairly easy and realised pretty early on that this was a yard pool which made a nice change.

I did plan to swim twice today to try and boost my yardage but a poorly teenage triathlete made  me feel really guilty as I was leaving the house this evening.

500 warm up swim 100, pull 100, kick 100 pull 100, swim 100
12 x 100 @ 1:45
8 x 50's
200 swim down
2300 yds
2000 metres

Random Acts of Kindness (or is Evil Mutant Swim Coach Losing his Touch?)

Is there no end to the selfless dedication exhibited by Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0 in catering to every whim of his swimmers?

Tonight this included digging out my kick board from under a pile of swimming aids on the pool side and handing it to me just in time for me to leave the wall for my next repeat.

Not only was there this random act of kindness but on realising that everyone's kick boards were at the wrong end of the pool he quickly gathered up about 14 of them and fair legged it to the other end of the pool to hand them out.

Careful Martin or I might have to think of a new name.

200 free
133 pull
66 kick
133 free
66 pull
66 swim
400 @ 6:30
3 x 133 @ 2:40
300 @ 5:15
3 x 100 @ 2:00
200 @ 3:30
3 x 66 @ 1:20
100 @ 1:45
 3 x 33 @ 40s
200 loosen
200 mixed swim down 33 swim 33 kick
3000 metres

The Suffering of Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0

Simply the best comment from Evil Mutant Swim Coach this afternoon; 

His pearls of wisdom came after his opening "It's 200's today Binge" I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing, but he then goes on to explain how when we swim sets of 100's he has to walk 33 metres with each repeat to shout out our times and to make sure we started each repeat on the right time.

I was hanging on a lane rope talking to Queenie Reid and upon hearing this I couldn't resist asking her "did I just hear him say during sets of 100's he suffers as much as us?"

Good grief the sacrifices this man makes for his squad! We are not worthy! 

Anyway we worked our way through this little session and fortunately for EMSC 1.0 he only had to walk a mere 200 metres to keep up!

Warm up 

66 free, 66 pull, 66 kick 

66 free, 66 pull 

66 free 

6 x 33 @ 35 

3 x 66 @ 70 

2 x 100 @ 1.45 

1 x 200 

1 mins rest 

3 x 66 @ 70 

2 x 100 @ 1.45 

1 x 200 

1 mins rest 

2 x 100 @ 1.45 

1 x 200 

1 mins rest 

1 x 200 

200 stretch swim down 

200 as 33 free, 33 own choice, 33 free x 2 

200 

3000

  

Lightning doesn't strike twice or does it?

Now about three weeks ago, I cleverly dropped my iPad, and rather foolishly stuck my foot out to break its fall before it crashed onto the floor.

Very bad move, the corner of the device caught the top of my foot and the result was an excruciatingly painful and expressive expletive dance around the office.

The acute pain eventually subsided into a nasty red mark and an exquisite bruise on the top of my foot.

The healing process was not assisted by managing to bash my feet in the drainage trough which runs around the pool in a mistimed turn.

Then in the Saturday session using exactly the same injured area of my foot, I kicked Beckleberry dad in the head, and god does he have a hard skull! It interfered with the 50's breast as I had to stop and introduce the drama queen in me to my lane mates!

900 warm up as 200 free, 100 kick, 200 free 100 pull, 200 free 100 drill
6 x 100 Back @ 2:20
6 x 50 Breast @ 70 secs
4 x 25 Fly @ 40 secs
8 x 125's 50 pull 25 kick, 50 swim @ 2:40
300 swim down
3200 metres

It's Friday so it must be a Tesco Set

The fall out from yesterday's marathon at the Police Station was a trip to Peterlee Magistrates Court to deal with my client who had the misfortune to appear in front of sour-faced Harrison the local District Judge.

With a reputation as someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly and takes no prisoners; I just knew any chance of bail had simply evaporated. The prosecutor who seemed to me to be about 7 years old was quaking in his shoes at the prospect of appearing in front of her.

She does on occasions display a superbly honed sardonic sense of humour which even when directed at me is highly amusing.

That completely bu**ered up my day but I did manage to snag a short splash on my way back to the office, and considering it was half term the pool was fairly quiet. I covered a very slow and steady 1000 metres.

There is no Day 21, (FFC crashes and burns)

HERE 

Day 21 of the challenge and a postponed court hearing and my business partner spending the day babysitting his grandson meant I was in the office and available to take one of his Duty Solicitor calls all of which ultimately conspired to derail this year's February Fitness Challenge.

It started out with a routine duty solicitor call at around 10:30 am, the police weren't ready to interview the hapless detainee, and I was eventually summoned to Durham Nick for 3pm. How was that possibly going to interfere with my daily dip?

Well when I finally escaped from the Custody Suite it was Friday and I'd missed the window of opportunity for a swim and hell I'd missed best part of bloody Thursday, there's eight hours of my life I'll never get back.

On the bright side I shouldn't grumble because the client's looking at at least 4 years of his life he won't get back! It sort of puts a missed swim into perspective.

Grinding it Out but the Computer (eventually) says yes!

Sometimes there's nothing else you can do but simply get in and grind it out; well today was one of those days. The Masters session at Consett was really busy and I started in the bottom lane but migrated into the top lane and just hung on for grim death.

The first length of each repeat felt pretty god and I could stretch out nicely and control my breathing pattern, but as the swim went on I could feel my stroke shortening and getting more and more feeble.

The good thing was that my Slog (see here and here for further explanation) finally accepted that my 590,000 metre target for the year was a sensible one! Although I know for a certainty that I will not be able to keep this amount of swimming up after next week.

But only 8 days left of this years February Frenzy.

5 x 200 66 swim 66 (alternate pull & kick)
6 x 100 @ 2:00
4 x 100 @ 1:50
2 x 100 @ 1:40
200 66 swim, 66 pull, 66 swim
2 x 66 @ 70
4 x 66 @ 80
6 x 66 @ 90
200 66 swim, 66 pull, 66 swim
6 x 33 @ 45
4 x 33 @ 40
2 x 33 @ 35
300 pull swim down
4100 metres

Environmentally Friendly Swim Squad?

There was a distinct air of Deja Vu about this evening as I turned up for training to discover that first of all Sumo Pearson was gracing us with his presence and guesting in our session. 

Just as well we were organised then! because without any warning Proudie turned up with a work out actually written down on paper! 

Shock horror there I was marvelling at his organisational skills when I was struck by the realisation that this was last night's session.

He'd only nicked the main set from EMSC 1.0, but this time he assured me that we'd finish the full set!

Actually it was interesting repeating the session in a decent pool. Now I'm not saying that Consett doesn't have a quaint eccentric character all of its own, but the new pool at Blaydon is 25 metres, deck level and has wave eraser lane ropes and the result was a significantly faster effort than last night.

There were only 4 guys in the fast lane so I thought I'd spend the session trying to hang on to them. By the time we finished the warm up there were 7 of us, and with 5 seconds between each swimmer leaving the wall, the fastest was back before I even pushed off. I spent a few minutes persuading the guys that a 2 second interval would be good and take the pressure off me as I was being lapped every 6 lengths.

Thereafter the game became to hunt down Binge Swimmer and by the time we got to the last set of 200's I was being seriously whopped. Interestingly it became evident to me that the guys at the front of the lane were swimming a radically different session to me.

Only 9 days of this madness left.

500 warm up
4 x 200 @ 3.30
3 x 100 @ 2.00
2 x 50 @ 1:30
3 x 200 @ 3.30
3 x 100 @ 2.00
3 x 50 @ 1:30
2 x 200 @ 3.30
3 x 100 @ 2.00
4 x 50 @ 1:30
3650 total

Introducing the Elephant Playing the Piano!

Clarkie and I were the only survivors from yesterday's session and my worst fears were confirmed when  EMSC 1.0 came out with "well if you and Clarkie hadn't turned up I could've recycled Sunday's session"

Thanks coach you really know how to make a girl feel welcome!

As if that put down wasn't enough, Proudie commented towards the end of the 2nd set "I'm not one to criticise but I think your first length on the 200's is faster than your first length on the 66's."

Despite all of these negative vibes I was leading the slow lane albeit not very convincingly and if yesterday's creeping fatigue felt like I had an elephant on my back, well today he started playing a piano at the same time.

266 free warm up
4 x 200 free @ 3:30
3 x 133 free @ 2:30
2 x 66 @ 1:30
3 x 200 free @ 3:30
3 x 133 free @ 2:30
3 x 66 @ 1:30

1 x 200 free @ 3:30
1 x 133 free @ 2:30
1 x 66 @ 1:30

300 swim down

3500 metres total

Catch Up Sunday (or Elephant lands on unsuspecting swimmer)

17 days into the February Fitness Challenge and I'm beginning to suffer a bit of wear and tear from all of this effort.

I turned up for the Sunday afternoon session to find that EMSC 1.0 had been temporarily replaced by EMSC 2.0.

Despite the change in personnel the session on the white board had all the characteristics of an EMSC 1.0 session, particularly when we got to the 400m fly swim down.

The coach wasn't the only thing that was different; for some reason the other swimmers decided it would be ok to swap lanes and I ended up swimming at the back of the fast lane. Not good and things got even worse when that creature of swimming mythology the elephant of knackeredness landed pretty firmly on my back......aargh.  

Fortunately we had neither the time nor the inclination to complete 400m fly at the end of the session and we all simply thought that EMSC 1.0\2.0 was "having a laff". With a rare showing of solidarity (or survival instinct/self preservation) we all set off on a swim down without a stroke of fly in sight.

Warm Up
200 up free down back
133 up free down breast
66 free
7 x 333 swam as
3 x 33 odd sets on 35, even sets on 40
2 x 66 odd sets on 70, even sets on 80
1 x 100 odd sets on 1:45 even sets on 2:00
266 swim down
3000 metres total

Fairy Snow Baby has it all mapped out

The Fairy Snow Baby was in fine form yesterday and had obviously put a great deal of forethought into Saturday morning's session.

No negotiation, or debate allowed he simply called out each set as we finished each piece of work.

I was pleased I didn't have to think too carefully about what I was doing as the strain of swimming every day (even if the last two days have been fairly derisory and barely worthy of being called Tesco sets) was beginning to wreak havoc on my body.

The 200's; where we were supposed to change pace swimming half fast and half easy/steady were pathetic.  My lane was not assisted by Custardly Sgt Mark deciding he would take things easy and moved down from the big boys lane, to lead our lane. He really needs to learn to read the clock!

I couldn't get into them at all so I plodded through the session simply pleased to complete it and move my mile a day challenge on a further 4K


600 warm up 100, back, brst, free x 2
8 x 50's prog 1-4 5-8
7 x 200 @ 3:40 (100 easy, 100 hard, 100 hard 100 easy)
8 x 50's back
8 x 100 kick, drill swim
8 x 25 IM order
200 swim down
4000 Total

The Twilight Zone, February Fitness Challenge Hanging by a Thread and TGIF

If things were bad yesterday they became simply surreal today. It was obviously my week to deal with the more vulnerable members of society.

My day had started with a 4 page faxed letter of instructions to represent a persecuted individual in the local magistrates court.

The instructions were incomprehensible to a mere mortal like me and included amongst other serious allegations a "Durham Constabulary conspiracy to arrest" the writer of the fax "by the Veckies and Radio Drones of Stealth"

The day ended with my puzzling over how do you explain the consequences of court proceedings and a 46 page psychiatrist's report to the subject of the report who doesn't have the capacity to give you instructions and isn't fit to plead?

I gave up in the end and tried to explain what would happen at next weeks court hearing, (not very easy when the Crown Prosecution Service haven't yet had the opportunity of telling me what they want to do about it either.) Anyway we ended up talking about Computer games and Grand Theft Auto and I was advised that the Orange Car was best, the most sensible thing anyone had said to me all day.

Trying to fit any meaningful water time into my day proved to be impossible and I was resigned to a very short swim en route to the local hospital to see my last client. This fleeting dip at least meant that the challenge of swimming every day in February is still alive. I was so pleased when 5pm rolled around

400 pull
200
600 Total

Valentine's Day Taxi, Unshaven Pegs & Teenage Retribution

You might've guessed by now that I'm in the process of catching up with this blog having suffered a fairly horrendous week at work.

Thursday's swim turned out to be interesting only so far as I was running late and at 7:28pm I was left with the choice of where to go for my daily dip.

The dilemma was complicated by the fact that I had been asked to collect Teenage Triathlete from Newcastle where she and current boyfriend (Teenage Rugby Player) were going for a romantic Valentines Day dinner (Wagamama go figure?)

The estimated time they were to be picked up was around 9pm so I had a choice, do I go down to Gateshead and miss the first half of the session because I was late (now there's a surprise) or go to the adult session at Consett for 30 mins. Well the latter venue won out and I arrived surprisingly early and walked onto the pool side to find an aquarobics session in full flow.

No one had mentioned to me that I wasn't allowed onto the pool side until 8pm! I sat down on the edge of the pool and dangled my legs in the water, making a mental note that I needed to shave them, when horror of horrors the instructor who had been taking the session from the side walked to the bottom of the pool and stood behind me to finish off the session. (An introduction to the woggle!)

About 25 pairs of eyes all seemed to turn and focus on me as the class turned to face me as they followed the instructor. I felt as if I was voyeur. It was an excruciatingly uncomfortable 5 mins as I imagined each one of the participants noticing my hairy legs! They did eventually finish enabling me to plough through 1200 metres before getting out.

Perfect timing; out of the shower and I receive a call from TT to come and rescue her, as they'd finished their meal and were freezing to death in the Central Station. Well they'd have to wait in the cold for 25 minutes. (Perhaps there is a God?)

6 x 200 @ 15s rest

Wednesday 13th February A Breakthrough?

Wednesday evening and I was met with another mega set of 100's.  Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0's fixation with mega sets of 100's continues maybe he thinks if he doesn't give them to us on a Sunday it doesn't count?

Actually I was beginning to swim quite smoothly and consistently and the first few were under 1:30 which I was quite chuffed about.

Things pretty much deteriorated for the last bits were the rest was a bit more sparse well ok none existent

200 warm up
400 free @ 7:15
8 x 100 @ 2:00
300 free @ 5:30
6 x 100 @ 1.50
200 free @ 4:00
4 x 100 @ 1:40
100 free @ 2:30
2 x 100 free @ 1:30
300 swim down
3500 Total

Success Polar Chest Strap Retrieved

A bit of a disaster on the swimming front today as my evening session clashed with a meeting, I dashed back from Durham and made it to the pool in time to catch 12 x 100's.

I might have managed about 2k but I made the mistake of enquiring with the reception if they happened to have a chest strap handed in to their lost and found. Ah success; but the bureaucracy involved!!!

Which included finding the form relating to the chest strap in the "valuable items folder" but not before first going through a gazillion forms each one detailing a lost pair of goggles (you wouldn't believe how many pairs of goggles were handed in at Blaydon last week); before ultimately locating the strap (locked in the safe) and finally having the item returned to me, all nibbled into my swimming time.

The result: although I was able to reunite Toosmartwatch with the missing link and start recording my swims again, I was really really late for the swim. Rather than disturb my normal lane, I dropped in with the guys and hung on to Matt the Cash's feet.

12 x 100 @ 1:50
1200 metres

Bingo Wing's Friction Burns predictably begin to appear.

Replaced Laptop and I'm all at sixes and sevens with a new version of Snag it software. Please bear with me as the pictures in this blog may be a little substandard while I work out how to use it.

Building on yesterday's revelation that I thought the training lark was beginning to pay off I can confirm now that I definitely have at least two different speeds, slow and not quite so slow.

This constant pounding is also beginning to take its toll on my body, and I'm beginning to end up with dry skin and friction burns on the inside of my arms.

Delightful.

I was late for the session and missed out the first 200 metres.


Warm Up
66 swim*
200 pull
133 kick
66 swim
6 x 33 @ 40secs progressive 1-3 & 4-6
5 x 466 as follows
133 odd sets hard @ 2:40 even easy @ 2:20
100 odd sets hard @ 2:00 even easy @ 1:45
66   odd sets hard @ 1:20 even easy @ 1:10
33   odd sets hard @ 40 secs even easy @ 35
133 stretch at end of each set 30s rest
700 pull swim down
3,700 metres

* this should have been 266 metres but my tardiness

Training Millarky Paying Off?

Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0 still couldn't quite resist the odd one hundred in this afternoons session cunningly hidden in what was essentially a mega set of 200's.

I'll forgive him this insecurity as the session  passed by without too much bother and I was even getting a reasonable amount of rest after the steady 200's.

I think this training millarky might just be paying off and I'm also not far enough into the February Fitness Challenge to be completely wiped out, I expect that's coming sometime this week.

Warm up
200 free (10s rest @100, 5 secs @ 166)
100 free (10s rest @ 66)
66 free   (5s rest @ 33)
33 free
12 x 200's as
200 steady @ 3:30   200 hard @ 4 mins
200 steady @ 3.30   2 x 100 hard @ 2 mins
200 steady @ 3.30   1 x 100 hard @ 2 mins, 66 @ 80, 1 x 33 @ 40
200 steady @ 3.30   1 x 100 hard @ 2 mins  6 x 33 @ 40
200 steady @ 3.30   3 x 66 @ 80s
200 steady @ 3.30   6 x 33 @ 40s
300 swim down
3100 metres

Binge and Quality do not mix (otherwise known as The Lost Post)

Saturday morning session saw 9 brave souls standing on the poolside, Matt the cash was obviously keen as he had set off on the warm up without waiting for anybody else or telling anyone what we were doing.

We eventually all assembled at the same time and there was an animated discussion about the direction of the session. I chipped in with the 75's and then we had a bit of divergence of opinion.

Synchro Dad and I were up for something fairly steady, but there was no stopping M the C (he'd obviously had his extra Weetabix) he was pretty insistent that we try and up the speed, and we all duly obliged not that there was much speed but there was a fair bit of effort.

The 6 x 50's at the end threw me a bit, as I obviously hadn't been paying attention and after the 4th one where I got down to around 40 seconds, I was mortified to discover we still had 2 left.

I didn't manage to blog yesterday as life just got in the way, oh and a half price offer for Haagen Dazs ice cream has meant that Winter Berry Brownie has been supplanted by Chocolate, Pralines and Caramel......

800 warm up alternate swim & catch up
12 x 75 @ 95s back, brst & free
4 x 100 @ 2 mins hard
4 x 75 @ 2 mins hard
6 x 50 @ 90s
8 x 50 kick with fins @ 80s
500 swim down
3600 metres

followed by half a tub of heaven....

It's Friday so it must be a Tesco set

The usual Friday madness descended on Binge today, not helped by Teenage Triathlete being smitten by a migraine.

I did manage to catch a quick 25 minutes at Consett over lunchtime and I was joined in the lane by a baby who giggled and splashed and generally was a great distraction.

Almost sufficiently distracted not to wonder, why when there's only 1 lane roped off and the rest of the pool free, does your mum choose to put you and your floating seat in the serious swimmers lane?

They weren't a problem really and resigned to a predictable every little helps I cruised through the following.

4 x 100 @ 2 mins
4 x 100 @ 1.50 drill
4 x 100 @ 2 mins pull
200 swim down
1400 metres

Disaster Averted (evidence of creeping senility?)

Oh no! escape from work, check in at home, negotiate some swim time with teenage triathlete (it cost me an M&S chinese), make it in and out of M&S's food department at the Metrocentre inside 7 mins, arrive at Gateshead Leisure Centre, miraculously find a parking spot within a light year of the entrance! so far so good!

Turn to pick up my Speedo Rucksack and disaster strikes, I've picked up the bloody wrong one! Whilst a note book, ipad and some post it notes may be extremely interesting, they are unfortunately not much cop if you're trying to go for a swim.

Deflated defeated and desolate at the prospect of missing my first day, I had no option but to turn around and go home. The endless pool has been out of commission since our flood so things looked pretty bleak. I had just reconciled myself to the prospect that I wasn't going to complete the February Fitness Challenge this year when that little light bulb clicked on and I googled the pool timetable for Consett.......

Woohoo an adult only session between 8pm and 9pm it was 8:06 pm saved; after the effort of this week I thought I'd just schlep up and down for a bit so pretty relaxed paddle.

1000 metres 100 swim 100 catch up
200 free pull 10s RI
2 x 100 pull 10s RI
1200 metres

How to win friends and influence people (swear at the coach)

Day 6 of the February Fitness Challenge and a Consett session took me over 20k for the week. There was a bit of deja vu to Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0's offering this evening, with the imposition of a monster set of 100's.

On walking onto the pool side he grinned in a sort of sinister way and casually mentioned the main set was 100's; looking pointedly at me. I enquired if he knew it was Wednesday and not Sunday but that fell on deaf ears.

Fortunately he did listen when I pointed out the fatal flaw in his proposed set of 24 x 100's 8 @ 2mins, 8 @ 1.50 3 hard 1 easy, and 8 @ 1.40 alternate 1 hard 1 easy. "If I swim that last set and every alternate one is easy where's the effing rest?"

Bit selfish really because most of my compatriots could manage this standing on their heads. He did however demonstrate a rare glimpse of compassion and gave us more rest on the recovery swims.

As you can imagine this made me very popular with the rest of the squad and at least meant that I could survive the session.

133 free
66 kick
133 free
66 pull
133 free
66 free
66 kick
66 free
66 pull
2 x 3 x 66 @ 90s progressive 1-3 & 4-6
8 x 100 @ 2 mins 7 hard 1 easy
3 x 100 @ 1.50 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
3 x 100 @ 1.50 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 1.40 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 1.40 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 1.40 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
1 x 100 @ 1.40 hard
1 x 100 @ 2 mins easy
66 free
133 kick
433 pull swim down
4233 metres

Approaching Deadline = Short Post

A comparatively short post today as I've got to turn in 1000 words for the Comic first thing tomorrow morning, it's a bit like having to hand in a piece of homework.

Haven't quite worked out what I'm going to talk about but doubtless I'll think of something.

A bit more relaxed session this evening, Proudy and I were clearly on the same wavelength as I was thinking 5 x 400's with some mixed drills, and breath and stroke counting and he devised this little main set. Toosmartwatch tells me it was "steady state work"

The problem with these print outs is they don't lie and I can see where I missed 50m I suspected that I hadn't finished the full 200 and I added an extra 50 onto the swim down to compensate, conscientious or what?

Warm Up
600 up free down alt back/brst
4 x 100 @ 1:50
2 x 200 pull @ 3:40
1 x 400 pull with paddles @ 7.50
2 x 200 pull @ 3:40
4 x 100 @ 1:50
8 x 50 kick @ 80s
6 x 4 x 1 IM @ 2:00
450 swim down
4000m total

Unfortunate Post & Winter Berry Brownie

Bob and I both arrived in from our different sessions this evening around 9:45pm. As a peace offering to the abandoned Teenage Triathlete, Bob brought Ice Cream. Now tell me how can raspberries, and blackberries which I usually think of as "summer fruits"  suddenly become "winter berry brownie"?

I expect Ben and Jerry might know the answer, now I'm normally a chocolate ice cream type of girl, but despite its somewhat perplexing etymology I can confirm that "Winter Berry Brownie" tasted great and might just become my recovery food throughout this month.

The other thing that cheered me up this evening was that one of Bob's swimmers posted a status on Facebook "First slash in the pool tonight" which as you can imagine invited a number of responses and made me quite relieved I hadn't been swimming in his session. (relief is probably the wrong word in this context as is any reference to missing a P)

Consett was really busy this evening and I was hanging off the back of lane 2 in a sort of no man's land and suffering from a severe lack of rest as this print out shows. (Having finally remembered to put toosmartwatch in my kit bag)

133 free
66 pull
133 free
66 kick
66 free
200 free @ 3.30
4 x 100 free @ 2 mins
200 free @ 3.30
6 x 66 @ 80 secs
200 free @ 3.30
2 x 100 @ 2 mins
3 x 66 @ 80s
200 free @ 3.30
3 x 66 @ 80s
6 x 33 @ 40s
200 free
66 free
133 kick
66 free
133 pull
66 free
100 swim down
3700 metres

Day 3 of Fitness Challenge and wot not many 100's

I was shamed into buying a new training cossie yesterday and took it for a road test at Consett this afternoon. So I faced an Evil Mutant Swim Coach 1.0 session without the benefit of a bodysuit. I was hanging on for grim death and more than happy to let the guys behind go past me as I died.

As you can see from the session EMSC 1.0 has obviously entered an imaginative phase with his programming, although given the impossible turn around times (the 1 and 2 lengths were continuous swims) he was obviously keen to live up to his name.

Warm Up
200 free @ 3.30
1 x 33 @ 40
133 free @ 2.20
2 x 33 @ 40
66 free @ 1.10
3 x 33 @ 40
4 x 200 @ 3.30
3 x 2 x 100 @ 1.40
2 x 3 x 66 @ 65 s
6 x 33 @ 30 s
400 swim down
3000m

Fitness Frog Fiesta Flounders with Fly

First Saturday session since last June struggled out of bed at 7:30 and chauferred Bob to the session in my new car (a bit of an impulse purchase last week when I managed to jam the door key in the lock of my old one.)

I guess I am a bit of a car salesman's dream as my tactics are simply to wander into my closest Ford garage and say I need a new car, The whole transaction took about 19 minutes which included my accepting I could have any colour provided it was ....Hot Magenta! Not sure what Henry Ford would make of that but a dark pink car is sort of growing on me.

Back to the session though we had the whole pool to ourselves as the kids were off swimming somewhere. Fairy Snow Baby had obviously given the session some thought and I wasn't complaining when he announced his plan was pull with paddles.

I had the luxury of a lane all to myself and spent the session trying to keep up with Beckleberry dad in the next lane, who was ably demonstrating the benefits of swimming consistently.

It all went pretty swimmingly until the 8 x 50's fly. Memories of the debacle of the 100 fly at the Nationals at October came flooding back here. I was left musing how swimming 3 strokes I could just about get to halfway, but by the time I'd struggled through 12 strokes I found myself in a sort of no man's land of about a metre off the wall and having completely lost all momentum and floundering trying to make the turn. Not fun I can tell you!

800 Warm up 400 free, 200 IM*, 200 choice (alt free, back, free, breast)
7 x 150 pull with paddles @ 2.45
8 x 75 @ 1:30 technique?
8 x 50's kick @ 1.30 (unplugged no kickboards)
8 x 50's @ 70 secs increasing fly 3 strokes, 6 strokes, 9 strokes, 12 strokes and repeat
450 swim down
3700 metres

*wimped out the fly

Flu Fettles Fledgling Binge Comeback, but February Fitness Challenge (here we go again)

Everything was going so beautifully at the beginning of January; I was just beginning to settle into a swimming routine and hitting the mile a day target when I was absolutely knocked for six by a proper dose of flu which confined me to bed for three days.

I've been pretty ropey and wobbly ever since, but on waking up this morning I realised it's now February, bringing the February Fitness Challenge and my attempt to swim for 28 consecutive days. I nearly missed it because I left my swimming gear at home and I became embroiled in a protracted, pathetic but ultimately blood pressure elevating hearing over lunchtime.

Featuring a numpty judge who hadn't read the papers (to be fair the latest welfare report hadn't made it onto the court file) and clearly had a lunch date planned as he kept studiously looking at the clock as I was addressing him. He finally wanted to know why the case was being heard in Newcastle and not Durham "well Judge because it was incorrectly issued by my esteemed colleague last August, and the learned Judge at the time (oh that would be you!) decided to hang onto it rather than transfer it out."

On returning to the office fizzing and foaming I decided that a swim ( under the guise of a late lunch) was needed to calm down. I wasn't really up for it and therefore was thinking about settling for a Tesco set and wondering if I could get away with 500 metres. However an empty pool, well ok one other swimmer for company to start with, and then a big bloke appeared next to me so I had to keep beating him didn't I? This meant that before I knew it I had worked my way through a fairly gentle 2k which was a pretty good Friday distance.

Ah well 1 down only 27 to go.

Warm up 600 alternate up free, down ba, brst and free
2 x 200 pull @ 4 mins
3 x 133 pull @ 2.45
4 x 100 pull @ 2 mins
200 swim down
2000m