Last Night's Swim Practice

Warm up:

• 200 m free on 4:00
• 200 m kick on 4:30
• 200 m IM on 4:30
• 200 m free on 4:00

Main set:

• 4 x 50 m free on 1:00
• 4 x 25 m fly / 25 m back on 1:05
• 4 x 50 m free on 1:00
• 4 x 25 m back / 25 m breast on 1:05
• 4 x 50 m free on 1:00
• 4 x 25 m breast / 25 m free on 1:00

Cool down:

• 4 x 25 m free on :30
• 4 x 25 m free on :25
• 4 x 25 m free on :30

Total distance: 2300 m

This was only my second swim practice since Christmas. Yes, I've been missing a lot of practices but for (mostly) legitimate reasons, which I'll discuss more in future posts. As a teaser, I'll tell you that I have been receiving some very unorthodox treatment for IT band syndrome. I'll know pretty soon whether it's working or not, at which time I'll elaborate.

Thankfully, this practice was ultra easy.

Swim No, Run Yes

For various reasons (some might say excuses but I say reasons) I haven't been to the pool much since Christmas. However, I am definitely back on the running bandwagon. The mileage isn't there yet but I am getting out there two or three times a week for a quality 5K.

Perhaps I shouldn't say that I'm getting out there. Truth be told, all of my recent runs have been on the treadmill. And what's wrong with that? The weather has been horrible in Vancouver this year, as you can tell from my recent rants. We've had more than our usual share of snow, ice and cold. Running in the dark is never fun either.

Just after Christmas I took the treadmill apart and thoroughly cleaned it. It's running like a charm now. I also upgraded the stereo system in the garage. There are no excuses.

I have a dream that I might be able to get back into half-marathon shape this spring. Of course, I'm worried about my IT band rearing its ugly head again. This time around, however, I may have a secret weapon, maybe even a silver bullet. I don't want to say to much about it right now, in case it doesn't work. I'll post more details in a few weeks if I'm seeing good results from the new therapy.

The Weather Event

Where have I been for the last few weeks?

Since mid-December over 4.5 feet of snow has fallen at my house. That might not seem like a lot to people from the prairies and Ontario but for the West Coast it's a colossal amount. According to my research, in the 70 or so years that they've been tracking this stuff, we've never had so much snow in such a short period of time.

We had snow fall pretty much every second day during that period. Needless to say, I spent A LOT of time shoveling snow from the back lane, walkways and sidewalks, as well as the roof. I also had to clear ice-jams from the gutters, which is something we never have to do on the West Coast. I have put in at least 30 or 40 hours on this, which ate away most of my spare time and exercise time over the last few weeks. Not that I needed any extra exercise -- all the snow shovelling just about crippled me. Even today, after not having to shovel much for the past three days, my fingers, hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders and back are all sore and shredded.

Mukmuk the Cash Cow, er, Marmot

I should be finding out this week which tickets I "won" in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic ticket lottery. Of course, you don't actually "win" the tickets. What you win is the right to buy the tickets (typically for hundreds of dollars each). Since more people requested tickets than there are tickets available, the lottery decides who gets them. I wonder who will be the lucky ones chosen to max out their Visas this December? Did I mention that you can't return the tickets if you can't afford them? Did I also mention that VANOC won't allow you to resell the tickets on websites like Craig's List and eBay?

By the way, did you hear that Mukmuk the Marmot has been promoted from a virtual sidekick mascot to a real sidekick mascot? As such, Mukmuk is now entitled to all the rights and privileges that come with membership in the exclusive 2010 mascot club. For example, he can now be sold in various forms by the 2010 online store, The Bay and other official retailers. That means you should be able to buy these fine Mukmuk products just in time for Christmas: plush toys, t-shirts, toques, pins, collector cards, hockey pucks, lanyards, mouse pads, luggage tags (no, I'm not making this sh*t up!), spoons, coasters, keychains, coins, fridge magnets, calendar bookmarks, umbrellas, story books and tote bags.

How did this promotion happen? Perhaps VANOC, as an expression of their benevolent wisdom, finally gave in to pleas from the public (yeah, VANOC always does that...).

Or perhaps the marketers at VANOC came to the astute realization that they could turn Mukmuk into another 2010 cash cow. Are you drinking this koolaid?

Don't get me wrong. I like Mukmuk. He's a WAY better mascot than those Hello Kitty knock-offs known as Miga, Sumi and Quatchi, who were the target of a scathing rant on this blog last year. At least Mukmuk is a real animal from the West Coast of Canada. Those other creatures are the figment of someone's deranged imagination.

No, I don't have a problem with Mukmuk (you go boy!). It's the timing of this announcement that irks me. Why didn't VANOC do this last year when Canadians expressed overwhelming disapproval of the original three mascots? I guess they needed time to do some more market research on the idea...

Oh well, maybe this is actually blessing. Perhaps the revenue from the sale of Mukmuk can be used to offset the recent 2010 cost overruns.

I must admit that I have been an Olympic fanatic since I was a small boy and I will be attending some events in 2010. However, as a Canadian taxpayer, I am becoming increasingly disgusted with the hype being spewed by VANOC. I'm sure Mukmuk would not approve (but I wouldn't put it past Miga, Quatchi and Sumi).

Red Lining It

Friday's swim practice was fun and somewhat challenging. I can't remember the whole practice but I did remember the main set:

• 4 x 50 m free on 1:00. Start and finish at red line (i.e. halfway down the pool). The catch was that we had to do vertical dolphin kicks at the end of each rep, starting with 5 kicks and adding 5 for each additional rep. So, for the last rep, we had to do 20.
• 8 x 25 m free. Odds on :30, evens on :25. Start and finish at red line.
• 4 x 50 m free on :55. Start and finish at red line. End each rep with a flip turn at the red line.

Total distance was around 1800 meters, if I remember correctly.

It is a Dark Time for the Rebellion

My swim team's home pool is shutdown for cleaning for the next three weeks. During that period, we'll be swimming at another pool that is even older and more decrepit than ours (and I didn't think that was possible).

Our first practice at the replacement pool was on Friday night and it was a Gong Show, for a number of reasons.

First, the practice started at 9:30 PM instead of the usual 9:00 PM. At 9:30, I've already got one foot in bed.

Second, for the first half hour, we have to share half of the pool (a tiny, 25 meter, six-lane pool) with the peasant horde of unwashed masses known as public lap swimmers. Serious circle swimming requires an even number of lanes, allowing two lanes of swimmers to go up the outside lane rope and back down the middle of the two lanes with the middle lane rope removed. Sure, you can circle swim in a single lane but you'll be knocking hands every time you pass each other and fly is virtually impossible (unless you want to dislocate someone's shoulder). Since we had only three lanes for the first 30 minutes, we made two extra wide circles. This was inefficient and resulted in having 10 people per lane!

Finally, the pool is extremely DARK! In particular, there is sort of a black hole at the far wall where the swimmer in front of you disappears for a second and then suddenly reappears after completing a flip turn. This resulted in a few close calls on Friday night.

Well, it's only for 3 weeks so I guess I'll survive.

The main set was 6 x 100 m freestyle on 1:40, descending 1-to-3 and 4-to-6, followed by our choice of 100 m fly or breast. I was holding about 1:26 or 1:27 for the first 5 reps and then absolutely died on number 6. For number 7, I did fly for about 75 meters and then resorted to breast.

We finished practice with an all-out 50 m sprint, from a push start. My time was a somewhat respectable 31.5.

Total distance was about 1800 meters.

No Cramps Here

Last night's swim practice was a lot less painful than Monday's practice, in that I didn't get any new cramps. However, my legs were still a bit sore from Monday's cramps.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time remembering the entire practice so I'll just give the highlights:

• The total distance was about 1900 meters.
• The main set was short and sweet (sort of). It was 200 m fly, with no interval. The catch was that we had to maintain good form and not take a break at the walls or resort to single arm fly. I went slow and steady and finished in 3:40, holding smooth (albeit slow) form throughout.

Cramping My Style

After surviving my Halloween charity event, the flu and a minor back injury, I finally made it back to the pool last night, after a 1 month break. Yikes, was it painful!

Warm up:

• 200 free
• 200 m kick
• 100 m back
• 100 m kick
• 50 m fly
• 50 m kick

Set #2, 6 x 50 m back drill, on 1:30, done a follows:

• 25 m double-arm back, 25 m swim
• 50 single arm back
• 25 m clock drill, 25 m swim
• 25 m double-arm back, 25 m swim
• 50 single arm back
• 25 m clock drill, 25 m swim

Set #3:

• 4 x 100 m back on 1:55. I averaged about 1:47 -- not good.

Set #4: 8 x 25 m breast drill, on :45, done as follows:

• 25 m palms-down on recovery
• 25 m swim
• 25 m one left arm pull with one right leg kick, one right arm pull with one left leg kick, one normal pull and kick
• 25 m swim
• repeat

Set #5:

• 6 x 50 meters breastroke, odds on 1:10, evens on 1:05.

I cramped up BADLY during set #5. At one point, I had a cramp in both hamstrings, one quad, one calk and a couple of toes. Needless to say, I had to get out and stretch for a couple of minutes.

Cool down:

• 1 x 100 m fly

I think that was around 1800 meters in total but it felt like 2800 meters. There's nowhere to go but up from here.

A Dry Run

The remnants of an early-November flu have kept me out of the swimming pool. The last couple of winters have taught me not to swim when I've got sinus congestion and post-nasal drip; swimming just seems to make the symptoms worse.

That hasn't stopped me from getting in a bit of exercise, however. Yesterday was Remembrance Day here in Canada and I decided to go for a run. The problem is, we had torrential rain in Vancouver. We're talking rain of biblical proportions -- the stuff that can soak you in about 15 seconds.

So, for the first time in awhile, I climbed on Old Faithtful (the treadmill) and ran about 5 K. No, it wasn't a long run but it sure felt good after not doing anything for a couple of weeks.

If all goes well, I should be back in the pool tonight.

Halloween Hangover

Where have I been lately? I spent the last couple of weeks of October frantically preparing for my Halloween event for the food bank. As in years past, I turned my front yard into a graveyard on Halloween night. And, like last year, I collected food for the local food bank. This year we collected about 350 pounds of food!

Unfortunately, many late nights led to an early fall flu. I've been down for a few days now and there's no end in sight. Sigh.

If you're wondering where the Halloween pictures are, don't worry. I'm putting up a dedicated Halloween web site soon.

Bright Lights, Big Field

I had to skip Friday's swim practice but with good reason. I was invited to a youth soccer coaching clinic to learn some new drills for my team.

The clinic was held on Friday evening at a newer, modern, multi-sport, multi-field facility. It boasts very bright floodlights and Field Turf artificial turf.

This Field Turf stuff ain't your dad's artificial turf (you know, the neon green stuff your dad might have put on the sun deck back in the 70s). Field Turf looks a lot like grass, has less seams and is softer and more forgiving. While running around on it under the bright floodlights, I couldn't help but feel a bit like a professional athlete.

During the clinic, I took notes in my waterproof Rite in the Rain notepad. The notepad must have made me look like a man of some importance because I was asked a zillion questions by referees, players and parents that were arriving at the field for a game to be held right after the clinic.

On Sunday I made up for the missed swim practice. My son went to a birthday party, which gave my wife and I a chance to go for a brisk run in Central Park (no, not THAT Central Park, I'm talking about the one in Burnaby). We ran about 6 K in 34 minutes and felt GREAT doing it. Today I'm not sore at all. I'd love to get my mileage back up to where it was a couple of years ago but I'm too busy with swimming and coaching soccer. When is retirement?

Goodbye Turkey, Hello Pool

As I wrote in my previous post, I missed a couple of swim practices last week due to family commitments. Unfortunately, I also missed Monday's practice due to the Canadian Thanksgiving.

As usual, I had three plates of turkey and trimmings, a slice of pumpkin pie and a couple of glasses of wine. Between that gluttony and missing three practices, I was beginning to feel a bit heavier and out-of-shape. Thankfully, I got back into the pool last night and, hopefully, I shed a few calories.

Warm up:

• 4 x 100 m free on 1:50
• 4 x 100 m free on 1:40

I held 1:30 for all 8 reps.

Transition set:

• 2 x 25 m kick on :40, 1 smooth, 1 build
• 4 x 25 m free on :40, 1 smooth, 1 build
• 2 x 25 m kick on :40, 1 smooth, 1 build
• 4 x 25 m breast on :40, 1 smooth, 1 build

Main set:

• 6 x 50 m free on 1:00, descending 1 to 3 and 4 to 6, with goal times of :45, :44, :43, :45, :44, :43 respectively. I descended the first three bang on. For the last three, I held :43.
• 4 x 25 m free, strong (i.e. medium-fast), on 1:00
• 50 m free, fast, on 1:00. I could only muster a 33 on this one (from a push start).
• 50 m free, easy, on 2:00
• 6 x 50 m breast on 1:10, descending 1 to 3 and 4 to 6, with goal times of :55, :54, :53, :55, :54, :53 respectively. I held about :53 for all six reps.
• 4 x 25 m breast, strong, on 1:00
• 50 m breast, fast, on 1:00. I did a :42 on this one (from a push start).
• 50 m breast, easy, on 2:00

Bonus set:

• 4 x 25 m fly on :45, 1 smooth, 1 build

Total distance: 2200 meters

All Good Things...

Last night I made my thirteenth swim practice in a row to start the season. Alas, that streak will come to an end on Wednesday but at least the streak is ending for a reason that is out of my control. My wife has some kind of work function to go to so I have to stay home to look after my son. I probably need the night off anyway. I'm also missing Friday's practice to attend a football game. Hopefully, I'll do a make up swim on my own this weekend.

Last night's warm up:

• 8 x 25 m single arm fly on :45
• 8 x 25 m breaststroke on :45. Odds - 2 kicks, 1 pull. Evens - normal breaststroke.

Transition set:

• 200 m backstroke pull on 4:00
• 100 m breaststroke on 1:50
• 200 m freestyle pull on 3:20

Main set:

• 2 x 25 m fly on :45
• 50 m breast on 1:00
• 2 x 25 m fly on :45
• 100 m breast on 1:50
• 2 x 25 m fly on :45
• 50 m breast on 1:00
• 2 x 25 m fly on :45
• 100 m breast on 1:50
• 30 seconds rest
• 2 x 25 m fly on :40
• 50 m back on :55
• 2 x 25 m fly on :40
• 100 m back on 1:50
• 2 x 25 m fly on :40
• 50 m back on :55
• 2 x 25 m fly on :40
• 100 m back on 1:50

Towards the end of the main set, I got tired and starting mixing in a bit of single arm fly. Shoot me...

Total distance: 1900 meters

200 Butterfly? Zoinks!

Just before the start of Friday's swim practice, Coach Brad told us it would be tailored towards middle-distance swimmers. Whenever Brad says that, you know that the main set is going to involve 200s. I was right...

Warm up - 8 x 50 m on 1:15, broken down as:

• 25 m free with 3 breaths, 25 m kick on your back
• 25 m free with 2 breaths, 25 m kick on your back
• 25 m free with 1 breath, 25 m kick on your back
• 25 m free with no breathing, 25 m kick on your back
• repeat the above one more time

I cheated and stole a breath on the two 25s that were supposed to be done without breathing. Shoot me...

Transition set:

• 5 x 100 m free pull on 1:45

I held 1:30 steady on all 5 reps. My new lane mate B kept up on that set too. She's steadily improving since joining the club last month and I'm happy to have her positive energy in my lane.

Main set:

• 200 m free (pull or swim) on 3:20.
  
• 200 m back on 4:30.
  
• 200 m free (pull or swim) on 3:10.
• 200 m breast on 4:30.
• 200 m free (pull or swim) on 3:00.
  
• 200 m butterfly, or choice of stroke if you're too chicken to do fly, on 4:30.
  

My times on the three freestyle reps were 3:00, 3:00 and 2:55, respectively.

My time on the backstroke rep was 3:36. No, that's not blazing fast but in three seasons I've gone from being one of the worst backstrokers in the club to being an average or perhaps above-average backstroker. When I was a kid I HATED backstroke and never, ever, chose to do it during "choice stroke" sets. Now I'll choose it over breastroke and fly, in most cases.

My time on the breaststroke rep was 4:03. I was trying to conserve energy for the last two 200s.

For the last rep, Coach Brad dared us to do fly and I accepted the challenge, along with one other swimmer. I've never done 200 m of fly in one continuous swim but I'm feeling pretty good about my fly in recent weeks so I said "What the heck!". I just went super slow and glided a lot, with the goal of finishing with good technique. My time was a pitiful 3:58 (pitiful considering I can do 50 meters of fly in 30.5 seconds) but I never struggle at all during the rep. I let out a war whoop after finishing that one.

Cool down:

• 2 x 50 meters back, smooth, on 10 seconds rest
• 2 x 50 meters "tiger sprint" on 30 seconds rest

For those of you that don't know, a tiger sprint is 25 meters underwater (no breathing!) followed by 25 meters of any stroke at sprint speed. For the first tiger sprint, I did freestyle on the way back. On the second one, however, I did fly on the way back. Call me crazy. (Okay, then, "you're crazy!").

Total distance: 2300 meters.

BTW, kudos to me -- I've made 12 practices in a row to start this season. And if you count the end of last season, I've now made 18 practices in a row.

A Real Nail Biter

So I'm pulling in to the parking lot at work the other day when I had to do a double take. There was a women sitting sideways in the back seat of a SUV, with her legs dangling out the open door. What's the big deal? Well, she was trimming her toe nails. Yes, she was trimming her toe nails in the middle of the parking lot for all to see!

---

Last night's swim practice was butterfly-laden. Since I'm okay at fly, I wasn't too upset but lots of people were complaining and rolling their eyes. Too bad for them...

Warm up:

• 100 m back
• 200 m IM
• 50 m fly
• 50 m free
• 100 m back
• 200 m IM
• 50 m fly
• 50 m free

Transition set:

• 6 x 50 m kick on 1:15. Odds - fly kick, evens - breast kick.

Main set:

• 4 x 25 m single arm fly, with free arm at your side, on :45
• 2 x 50 m fly on 1:10
• 6 x 25 m Pablo drill fly on 1:00. Pablo drill is like normal full stroke fly but with two important differences. First, when you finish your pull, you glide with your hands at your side and your head in breathing position until you stop. Then you take your next pull. The second difference is that the recovery is underwater, sort of like a breaststroke pullout recovery. The purpose of the drill is to improve the timing of the second kick, which propels you out of the water so you can take a breath and recover your arms more easily.
• 4 x 50 m fly on 1:20
• 2 x 25 m fly with breaststroke kick on :45
• 2 x 50 m fly on 1:00

Overall, the main set wasn't too bad. I guess my fly form is rounding into shape.

Cool down:

• 2 x 100 m done as 25 back, 25 free, 25 back, 25 free

Bonus set:

• 2 x 25 m Pablo fly drill
• 2 x 25 m fly

Total distance: 2200 meters