His Majesty EMSC 7.0 and the test set!

Somewhere this morning I am sure I became ensnared in a time anomaly, at one point it was 11:30 and the next time I looked at my watch it was 12:26 and too late to make the Consett session.

No bother there's always the Newcastle session later this afternoon. I was just about to set off for Gosforth when something started to niggle at me. City of Newcastle and Newburn had recently morphed into Newcastle Swim Team and sure enough Sunday training was now at the Outer West Pool!  Original name right!

A bit of googling identified this as the old Newburn pool, I think I last swam there in 1989! Anyway I set off and promptly got lost! I was absolutely sure it was on the other side of the A1.

I eventually located the pool after a tour of such salubrious (sorry still in Swansea mode) suburbs as Cowgate, Westerhope. Kenton Bar and Etal Lane. Amazingly (I was only 12 minutes late)

His Highness the Royal EMSC 7.0 sniggered as I walked onto the poolside and advised me that I had selected a "test set" afternoon. Honest he was actually rubbing his hands in glee! Peter French was leading out our lane and he said that they do this roughly once a month and over the last 12 years he's probably swum around 100 of them. "It just charts my demise" he added. Know the feeling Peter!

As test sets go it didn't seem that bad although not being able to go under 80 for 100m max is a little depressing, maybe next time. Anyway a poor week with only two sessions and only 7000 metres swum, will need to make that up at sometime.


5 x 100 pull with paddles @ 2:00
12 x 33 @ 60
as 1-4 3 steady free 4th max 15 metres
    3-8 3 steady no 1 4th max 15 metres
    9-12 steady free  4th max 15 metres
Test Set
3 x 100 steady @ 1:50  95, 96, 96
166 swim down
3 x 100 threshold @ 2:00  88, 90, 90
166 swim down
3 x 100 (200 pace) @ 2:10 86, 85, 83
166 swim down
200 active rest
100 max  1:20
300 swim down
2,800 total

Binge Training Cheat try training in an old Kneeskin!

Tuesday 17th June 2014  Down to Gateshead this evening, where the heavy turn out for lane 2 continued see here. I therefore dropped into the top lane to mix it with the fasties.

I was late (as usual) and arrived in time for the EMSC 5.0 teckneek set. Which I really enjoyed, but then things became a little testing with this monster set of 200 repeats.

Swimming them all with paddles I succeeded in making the turn around times (much to my amazement as this was like a quantum leap in quality.) I suspect the fact that I couldn't find a training suit and grabbed an old kneeskin may have played a significant part in the improvement.

200 DPS stroke count
8 x 25 shark fin drill
200 shark fin drill 50 catch up 50 swim
200  DPS
4 x 200 @ 3.00 with paddles
4 x 200 @ 3:10
4 x 200 @ 3:20
4 x 200 @ 3:30
200 swim down
4200 total

Road Trip Day 3 British Champs Swansea

Having stayed awake for about 80% of the England match and then been woken up at 1:18am by the Duty Solicitor Service to advise me they had a case in Durham for me I decided that I would run the risk of the car park lottery and sleep in.

It must've been my lucky day as I still managed to snag a parking spot at about 9:30. First up was the 100 breaststroke followed rather quickly by the 800 free. I hadn't really any idea what time I was going to swim for this, so was fairly pleased with the 12:08 and it was a fairly controlled and comfortable swim (I know that it's a pants time really but it's a starting point.)

It was a long weekend with some long sessions, although I've decided Swansea is my favourite 50m pool (after Sheffield).

I  arrived home around 11:15pm feeling better than if I'd driven the whole way, I had some time to reflect on my performances, and it seems pretty clear to me that my recent spate of binge swimming is going to be wholly inadequate to enable me to be competitive in Montreal. The phrase "too little too late" springs to mind. It's fun trying though.

500 warm up
100brst 1:34.17
500 swim down
800 free  12.08.
200 swim down
2100 metres total

Road Trip Day 2 - Swansea Saturday 15th June

Interesting day today as the swimming started for me. Now, although I was in the first session there were an unfeasibly large number of heats of the 400 free to bash through so I reckoned it would be lunchtime before I swam.

My dilemma was whether to get out of bed to make the 8am warm up or to employ the  Binge advanced racing tactics as explained here.

It seemed to me that two factors were in play, firstly a warm up would enable me to add yardage to my swim log and hopefully end up with a green week, but more importantly I was just a bit concerned that car parking facilities at the pool were inadequate for the host of swimmers who were about to descend on it and rather out of character for Binge I chose the early start.

The great thing about nationals is that unlike most Masters meets the 50 m races are seeded, so all of your competition (in theory) is in your heat. I was therefore involved in a head to head with Spencer's star breaststroker Amanda Heath.

Actually I thought it was a three way shoot out with former world champion Pat Reilly, who won the encounter until I discovered that I'd moved out of her age group because I aged up this year.

Not too shabby with a 40.75 which is slightly slower than last year's European time so there's room for improvement in time for Montreal. The 200m wasn't quite as enjoyable (about 150 metres too far).

The evening found me heading into Swansea for dinner, I was with birthday boy Andrew Gristwood who was celebrating his 50th and had chosen as his companions for the evening a rather select band of women. By now I was beginning to navigate around Swansea and was even able to chuckle at the most inappropriately named "Salubrious Place" which appeared to be home to the local Premier Inn (go figure!)

Our restaurant of choice was Pizza Express who were desperate to get away for the footie and confused us all by bringing our starters and pizza out at the same time!

Warm Up
Session 1
650 swim
2 x 25 sprints (+25)
300 swim down
50 breast 40.75
200 swim down
Session 2
200 Breaststroke 3:27.33
500 swim down
2000 metres total

Road Trip British Champs Swansea 2014 Day 1 Friday 13th

A Road Trip to Swansea is no mean undertaking when your starting point is North West Durham (over 350 miles). (Whose idea was it to hold the British Masters Championships in the Welsh outpost?)

The thought of driving home after swimming an 800 free on Sunday night just wasn't appealing so I quickly came to the conclusion that a cheat was called for.

My journey started at Newcastle Airport on Thursday evening and I flew to Bristol. My cunning plan was to rent a car and drive to Swansea which would've been brilliant if I could've remembered which company I'd hired the car from.

I spent a frustrating 30 minutes bouncing between Eurocar and Enterprise car hire booths, (they were approx 800 metres apart) before collecting my car and asking Siri to direct me to Swansea (which he did brilliantly).

I arrived at the hotel around 11pm having left home at 6:30 which was a lot easier than a 6 hour drive.

The meet started as usual with the 1500m, on Friday morning. A record entry and an 8 lane pool (instead of a 10 lane) made for a very long first day. I felt a bit of a fraud as I hadn't actually entered any events, but I did have a legitimate reason for being there as I had a meeting with Geoff Stokes and our new Masters Swimming Officer.

To make sure I had something to blog about dropped in the warm up pool for a quick 1500 metres. Actually it was a pretty slow and lethargic 1500 metres (a Tesco set) interspersed with lengthy periods of chat as I caught up with mates.

There was a pretty late finish to the day and I found myself in the company of Eindhoven bungalow dwellers Janet (McLean the pain) and Lara  and 18 other Scots heading out into the Swansea nightlife (think Bigg Market but not quite as classy!) at 9:30pm to find something to eat.

So much for an early night and top class preparation for Saturdays efforts!

800 warm up
700 mixed drills
1500

Wednesday 11th June: High Quality Tapering Set .... Not on your nelly

Now in a perfect swimming world with the British Championships coming up at the weekend this session should have been a focused high quality fine tuning work out.....

Of course readers of this blog will realise that the Binge swimmer's world is anything but perfect and therefore Wednesdays session was a bit more of the usual slog, my concession to the weekend was sciving off early and not completing the final 200 and 2 x 66's.

533 warm up
as 66 free
2 x 66  pull
133 swim
4 x 33 kick
66 swim
6 x 100 @ 2.00 70%
3 x 200 @ 3:45 80%
6 x 66 @ 90
4 x 100 @ 2:00 70%
2 x 200 @ 3:45 80%
4 x 66 @ 90
2 x 100 @ 2:00 70%
3200 ish

Just about caught up so coming up next a Binge Road Trip special at the British Championships in Swansea.... Friday's adventures once I've finished the 50  Breast

Tuesday 10th June Thank goodness for Swimming Paddles

For some reason at Gateshead Masters the middle lane (mine) are always the best attenders.

So for the last couple of weeks about 10 lane 2 swimmers have turned up forcing the brave (or stupid) amongst us to move up into the top lane with the speedsters and the big guys.

Not that I am in anyway accomplished enough to take the water behind the likes of Fairy Snow Baby and Proudy but they rather graciously put up with having to pass me every 8 lengths or so.

The only way I could come close to hanging on to tonight's turn around times was to wear paddles!

100 swim
8 x 25's fly @ 35 secs
8 x 50's @ 45 secs
4 x 50's @ 40s
200 steady
8 x 50's @ 45 secs
4 x 50's @ 40s
200 steady
8 x 50's @ 45 secs
4 x 50's @ 40s
200 steady
8 x 50's @ 45 secs
4 x 50's @ 40s
200 steady
3200*

* I know there's more in this set but I was late getting in and then missed a few of the repeats in need of rest.