Remember Remember....

Katy Perry where are you?

A solo trip to Dunston this morning, and entering uncharted and potentially very troubling waters. In the past few years it has been a highly unusual occurrence for me to continue swimming after the nationals.

In fact I've generally only entered the water once or twice between the end of October and January, and that has usually been for the inter-county event in November and a couple of years ago desperate for some Decathlon points I entered the South Yorkshire Masters in the run up to Christmas.

Now I am rapidly being outsmarted by my spreadsheet which is telling me that we are 84.7% through the year and I have only completed 81.2% of my challenge. With a forecast of 479,330 metres for the year, I think it's subtly trying to tell me to get my finger out!

With 8 weeks left I need to swim 11,778 metres per week to hit the half a million mark. I really have to think about fitting in at least one and possibly two more sessions per week in, because the run up to Christmas will be manic and I'm likely to falter at that point and I'm reluctant to spend my Christmas holiday trawling up and down a pool during the limited public opening times.

Anyway, astonishingly Matt the Cash came up with this morning's little session, or at least the 3 x 400's free his excuse is that he's chasing Decathlon points at Sheffield and is anxious to swim a good quarter mile! Sadly my newly energized toosmartwatch has bitten the dust so no graphs until I can have it repaired.

Warm Up
800 free, IM drill every 4th length
5 x 50's free @ 60
5 x 50's free @ 55
5 x 50's free @ 50
1 x 50 free
3 x 400's @ 7 mins progressive*
200 swim down
+ an odd 50 because I made everyone swim to the other end of the pool for the 400's so that I could read the clock!
3650 total**

*
No 1  6.30
No 2  6.20
No 3  6.10

** this might also have been 3,700 because both Beckleberry boy and myself reckon the top lane miscounted the 50's

Unremarkable 400 and encouraging 50 breast (Road Trip day 3)

So the final day of racing at Sheffield and a more relaxed schedule, no relays and 400m free followed by a quick 50 breast.

The extra hour in bed helped my recovery from the 200 free I'd swam the evening before where I managed, (albeit only just and by the minutest of margins,) to hold off a very fast finishing Maggie Smith. Who had generously given me over two and a half seconds start at the 100 mark.

For a Sunday morning swim the 400m  time was OK although  I was hoping to go under 5.20. Next time maybe.

By the afternoon session I'd lost the will to warm up and despite this my 50 breast was probably the best swim of the weekend as sneaking under 39 was encouraging. One other landmark I achieved over the weekend, was I finally broke through the 400,000 metres mark for my half a million metres. I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the prospect of swimming 50k per month in November and December.

600 warm up
400 free  5.21.49
200 swim down
50 breast   38.94
350 swim down
1600 metres

Proof Positive 800m Free and 200m Breast shouldn't be swum in the same session

So swapping the 800 for the 1500 seemed like a good idea yesterday, but the reality of this decision produced a bit of a scheduling snafu, as I ended up  swimming the 800 free, a team race followed by the 200 breast.

The 800 was pretty good, fairly even paced and a respectable 11.03. Funny how 3 and a bit seconds can make such a difference I would have been thrilled with 10 minutes something.....

I nearly stopped after the first 100 of the breaststroke. Producing a rather unremarkable time especially for the pain and effort which went into it. I was so close to stopping after 4 lengths..come to think of it why didn't I?

The Saturday session at Sheffield was probably the longest day of my life, I know that when the programme was set, the idea was to make Sunday afternoon deliberately short so we could all leave in a decent time. We certainly paid the price in enduring Saturday. An experiment that probably won't be repeated (stuffing more events into Saturday).

700 warm up
100 free 1.12.32
200 swim down
700 warm up
800 free  11.03.50
200 swim down
200 breast  3.18.84 bleargh
200 swim down
600 warm up
200 free
200 swim down
4,200 metres

Binge and the ASA Masters (Another (shorter) Road Trip)

In theory it was easy, leave the house at 9.45 and I should be in Sheffield in time for the start of the warm up; practice however turned out to be slightly different.

It was fatal to call into the office to tidy up some odds and ends and to expect teenage triathlete to be ready to go when I returned. Unfortunately....relying on a teenager to leave its bed before midday during a school holiday was always going to be a struggle. We eventually leave at around 10.45, not to worry can always telephone my confirmation for the 1500m.

Just passed Durham I hand the phone to teenage triathlete and ask her if she can ring in to confirm my swim, which astonishingly she complied with. The conversation did seem a bit bizarre when she was told that I had already been entered, but I thought nothing of it until I arrive at Sheffield to discover I've been missed off the start list........ and there were no more empty lanes.

I was fortunate because I managed to produce my phone showing the call recorded at 11.05am and ended up negotiating an entry into the 800 the following day. I was a little disappointed as I wanted to compare my 1500 from Leeds in June....but there's always next year.

So I had a pretty low key start to the event, and found myself swimming a reasonable 100 breast, without having 1500m in my arms.

600 Warm Up
700 Warm Up
100 Breast 1.27.25
200 swim down
1600 m total

Binge and the Taper

It's been a good few years (about 15 actually) since I've considered doing a Taper for a big event, that's because it's a good few years since I've done any training to taper from.

My normal National's build up is to swim sporadically in September have three weeks off and then die horribly in all of my events.

This year however, although I wouldn't quite go so far as to say that I've had a decent chunk of training leading up to the event, I have swum most weeks this year and today in the midst of a typical Consett Sunday afternoon session all of my 100's were 1.25 or under with a couple of 1.22's thrown in. Now I know that's pretty mediocre but it does represent a bit of a leap forward.

So it'll be interesting to see how I go, I'll try and keep the blogs going through the event. Now ideally I would like to get one more session in before Friday but that's looking unlikely and I'm not too worried about it if I don't.

266 warm up 

4 x 100 @ 2 min 

100 easy @ 2 mins 

4 x 66 @ 1.30 

100 easy 

4 x 33 @ 45s 

3 x 100 @ 1.50 

100 easy 

3 x 66 @ 1.20 

100 easy 

3 x 33 @ 40s

2 x 100 @ 1.40 

100 easy 

2 x 66 @ 1.10 

100 easy 

2 x 33 @ 35s 

166 swim down 

2833 metres total

Binge in IT Meltdown

Aargh new IT systems, they are supposed to make you more efficient aren't they?

The infuriating thing is even when they are creating absolute mayhem as they are being installed you can see ultimately they might just make things a little easier and it encourages you to believe (just a bit) that the carnage in the meantime is worthwhile.

At one point last week there wasn't a single piece of equipment in our office functioning...  so a valid excuse to dodge training all week.

Now with the count down to Sheffield* at the end of this week, I'm not too worried about this lack of swimming as it creates a kind of mini taper and I've been able to hit the weekend sessions to keep ticking over.

I'm really looking forward to the break, (although not the 1500m free or the 200 breast) (come to think about it after those two swims I don't think anything will be very pleasant). There's a record entry so it should be a great meet.

So Saturdays session was pretty sedentary really, although the 75's were meant to be fast and I swam the 1st and 3rd set breaststroke. Not very enjoyable.

6 x 200 warm up @ 4 mins
even numbers free
odd numbers alt 50 back 50 brst
8 x 50's @ 60 prog 1-4 & 5-8
12 x 75's swum as 3 sets of
75  25 hard, 50 steady @ 2mins
75 50 hard, 25 steady @ 2 mins
75  all hard @ 2 mins
75 steady
4 x 150's 50 kick 50 pull 50 swim @ 20 s RI
8 x 25 @ 40 s IM order 25 easy 25 hard
200 swim down
3,500 metres total

* ASA (not to mention British Gas) National Masters Championships at Ponds Forge

Where's Clarkie? (See what you're missing)

This is exactly what the last set felt like!

It's Sunday again and I'm faced with an Ian Frame session and I just know it's going to hurt. Having seen a status post on FB for Clarkie that he was sunning himself somewhere exotic and was "gutted" he wouldn't be joining us, I ended up chasing Sparkie with very little success in getting anywhere near his feet.

We completed the warm up and stopped to look at the white board which contained the sole phrase "4 x 100 @ 2 mins last one max."

Now it didn't take an IQ of genius levels to work out that there was more to follow and the reason it wasn't on the board was that it would contain a fair amount of pain. This left Sparkie and I to speculate on further sets on a decreasing time intervals and an increasing number of "max" efforts.

Unfortunately and somewhat uncharacteristically we were right, and I think our coach for the afternoon was having a laugh when he got down to 4 x 100 @ 90 all 4 max!  They were certainly max as my pulse rate shows in the now mended toosmartwatch printout.

400 every 3rd length drill 20s RI
266 every 2nd length drill 20s RI
133 every 2nd length drill
66 swim
4 x 100 @ 2 mins no 4 max  *
66 active rest
4 x 100 @ 1.50 no 3 & 4 max **
66 active rest
4 x 100 @ 1.40 no 2, 3 & 4 max ***
66 active rest
4 x 100 @ 1.30 all max ****
233 swim down
2900 metres total

* 1.24
** 1.24 & 1.22
*** all under 30
*** 1.25 for the first 1.30 ish for 2nd and we'll just not go there for the rest.