Thursday 07/14-Swim

Thursday's Workout:

OYO Swim

Swim 1000m easy focus on form.  Keep pace consistent and effort level easy.

Run 2 miles out of the pool at Long Run Pace.

Notice that the title has no mention of the run... It's not "OYO Swim/Run"and it's the same swim as completing the crossing of Lucky's Lake and back! Some recovery! I headed to the pool after breakfast on Thursday morning to meet with T who had called to let me know he was already there. We warmed up with a few laps after which I commented that T made swimming "look so easy", he replied "Dude, you make it look so hard!". That set the stage for the remainder of our workout. I soon discovered that T was a member of one of the best public school swim teams in the state of Florida, (he's from the Florida Keys) and had the benefit of 2 olympic coaches on staff... I had known him for a year and never knew this. While I swam T alternated laps with me and watched me in the water, occasionally giving me pointers along the way. While it was not a continuous 1000m swim, I did pick up a few pointers.

I worked a little more on breathing to the left side, which again helps me regulate my breathing, taking more time in general before breaths and slowing down. We also worked on keeping my elbows high and as Coach Ryan always says, "using [your] whole arm as a paddle". T ALSO came to the conclusion that I just DO NOT float...We ran a barrage of tests/exercises to determine my best "floating position" based on the theory that once I had established that, I should have an easier time gliding through the water and slowing down to rest. With each exercise the result was the same... my legs just SINK, like jointed anchors. "No wonder more black people don't swim..." T remarked jokingly, "You have this big ass and legs and they just sink!" What he noticed happening was one of two things... I either had to kick my legs continuously to keep them up in the water, making me tire quickly or worse:cramp; or, if I didn't kick my legs enough they would pull my whole body below the water line while I swam. The result of which is me arching my neck up and THEN to the side whenever I come up for a breath because simply turning to the side won't suffice. This in turn forces my legs to sink even more and the cycle then continues. Now we've identified a problem.. how do I fix it? Oy Vay.

I practiced the breast stroke a bit as a way to allow myself to stop and rest if I get tired in the water... my legs still sink then however and so it's more like a way to regulate my breathing than anything... problem is, I have to kick like hell to get my legs back up when I'm ready to start moving forward again. I need leg floaties!

after we finished our workout, T drove me to my place and I went inside, refueled and prepared to relax when it dawned on m that I had forgotten my 2 mile run... So back outside I went, tired as I was to do my two laps around the complex... my legs were a bit tired but that just made it easier to stay closer to my 10 minute mile pace (9 minutes).

07/11- Group Swim aka Recovery Week Torture Day 1

Well... we all thought we were in for a light workout at today's practice... After all, the calendar says "Recovery Week". I suppose we all forgot to consider that our wonderful Coach Beth has a penchant for pain.

Our workout? 200m warmup, consisting of 25m alternating kickboard drills and kickboard "fin" pulls (we place the board between our legs like you would a pull buoy and swim... it ensures you don't twist your lower body in the water by forcing you to lift the weight of the water if the board twists too far.)

Main Set: 800m continuous swim. That's right... 800m! That's 300m more that our swim test, and for those of you quick with the math... 1/2 a mile!

Now, I have quite a bit of difficulty with the kicking thing; partially because I am dense as a stone and partially because I have a hard time keeping my toes pointed in the water. Still, that was the easy part.

After a minute of rest, we began our main set. I was doing OK for the first 200m or so, and then I began slowing down. Coach Beth and Coach Ryan noticed this and began "cheering" me on. I pushed through. 250... 300... I'm pausing at the sides of the pool, doing the breast stroke, gasping for air and bouncing on the bottom of the pool. Coach Beth reminds me that I can't bounce on the bottom of the lake and urges me to keep pushing. "No stopping Jordan!" she shouts, "200 meters! You're in the middle of Lucky's [Lake] now, you can't stop, you've gotta get across, c'mon!". Coach Ryan tells me I just have 4 more laps. "JUST" four more... I take off again. Fighting the water (which apparently is my biggest problem).

Every time I hit the edge my coaches egg me on, "You can do it! No Stopping". So I keep going. I hear Coach Ryan tell me that I have one more lap and I put my head down into the water and SCREAM; I come up for air, take a breath and it feels pretty good, so I do it again, and again for the entire lap... It helped... Noticeably so because Coach Ryan asked me what I did on that last lap... my best lap.

One minute of rest and I'm back in the water; 300m to go. I'm OK on the first lap, but by the second I'm gasping for air again, by the third lap my legs are cramping. Coach Ryan tells me I shouldn't be using my legs that much anyway and that my arms should be doing most of the work, pulling me through the water. Coach Beth tells me to work through it and reiterates to me that I can't stop in the middle of the lake or race. I take of again... Gasp::Breast Stroke (my version of it anyhow, the one where my head goes under each time)::Bounce::Swim. I'm trying so hard to fight the cramp and to not stop.

My teammates are all done with their swims now and chime in to motivate me to keep going. Coach Ryan tells me to "Bring out the rage!". I put my head down and scream in the water again, willing my legs to stay afloat and my body to keep swimming despite the pain in my legs and the desire for more air.  I tell myself that I'm in the middle of the lake and that I just have to get to shore and it will all be over. I finish strong, and Coach Ryan once more tells me that that was my best lap of the set. I'm just glad it's over and that I can stretch my cramping calves and have something to drink.

Coach Ryan gives me a few pointers on being more efficient through proper use of my arms as "paddles" in the water and tells me he will no longer be "nice Coach Ryan" because I have three choices; 1. Be Ready, 2. Be pulled from the race, or 3. Be MedEvaced (sic) from the water at the race. Coach Beth wraps up practice and we discuss nutrition, techniques I need to work on, and other methods of torture to get me swimming right. Bring it on I say. I made a promise to myself and my Coaches that I would do this and I WILL do what it takes.

So much for recovery week...