Race: A rabbit Runs Through It 5K run
Date: April 2, 2016
Location: Latrobe, PA
Time: 23:38
Overall Rank: 18 out of 91
Age Group Rank: 4 out of 13
Results: http:
A dreary day turned sunny just as we got to the start line. It was still nippy with a cold wind and 48-degree temps, but I was not cold. I set a personal best today, breaking 24 minutes for the first time. The run felt good. I knew I was going at a fast pace through mile 1 and I wondered if I could keep it up as I started passing a lot of runners. I did, and ended up placing 4 out of 13 in my age group, and 18 overall out of 91 runners.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Friday, April 1, 2016
March mileage
My March fitness total was 155 miles (19 running + 108 cycling + 10 swimming + 18 walking). This is fairly average for the last 12 months but I am about to take it to a new level in April. My goal is to increase this by 50% to 232 miles. Let's go!
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
February mileage
7 months until my 140.6 mile triathlon! I started training in January, going 177 miles during the month. In February I only did 125 miles. Uh-oh, I did fewer miles in a month than I plan to do in one day (I was sick for a week). I need to take it up a notch.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
AMYMSA swim meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: February 21, 2016
Location: Cranberry Township, Pa
Date: February 21, 2016
Location: Cranberry Township, Pa
I had mixed feelings going into this meet. I was looking forward to the competition today, but I was feeling sluggish. The sluggishness dominated during my first couple events:
Event#2: 100 IM. My butterfly felt strong but my stroke rate was rather slow. Backstroke felt slow. Breaststroke felt slow...and my legs felt stiff from my long run the day before. I hadn't noticed I was sore from that until this part of my swim. I tried to recover in the freestyle segment, but my time was 1:15.49, or 1.73 seconds slower than my personal best.
Event #4 50-yard Butterfly. I decided to work harder in this event after my "slow" performance in the 100IM. I planned it out in my head before the start. I would take only 3 breaths. I followed my plan, and had a quick turn at the wall. My stroke rate was good. One of the faster swimmers in our league complimented my form, saying it was only a matter of time before I would be in his heat. Always nice to hear that! (I realize I will need to do more fly during workouts to achieve this). My only regret about this event was my dive. It was too deep and I took too long to return to the surface. I finished in 32.45, which was 0.87 seconds slower than my personal best.
Event #8: 50-yard Backstroke. What a disappointment! I put my heart into this race and had a great performance until the very end. I looked for the backstroke flags overhead, did 2 or 3 strokes and then peered over my shoulder to find the wall too far away for me to touch. I should have just kicked a little more, which would have provided the necessary thrust to move me forward. However, I panicked and didn't think of that until what seemed like 3 seconds of fruitless reaching. My time was 37.92 seconds, which was 1.9 seconds slower than my personal best. I could have had a best time today, but I failed! I was angry.
Event #9: 200-freestyle. "Ok, calm down. Let's do the 200-free. I should do well in this because I have been practicing this distance a lot in training." At the buzzer I dove in and tried to take it out a little slow. This was my strategy; I wanted negative splits. However, I seemed to be leading my heat after the first turn. I continued to increase my lead for the next 3 lengths. I felt myself kicking more than normal, but I wasn't too out of breath. My turns started out really good, then got progressively sloppy. I finished whole seconds ahead of everyone else with a time of 2:28.45, a new personal best. My old time was 2.2 seconds slower.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
AMYMSA swim meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: February 7, 2016
Location: Franklin, PA
Sunday morning Shannan Jones-Kellam and Jamie DePastino Brandon and Daniel Pruzinsky and I went to our master's swim meet in Franklin, Pa. This is a 2-hour drive each way, and we enjoyed each other's company during the carpool. At the meet, I performed surprisingly well for my somewhat-still-sick and sleep-deprived state.
(1) My first event was the 50-yard butterfly. I swam in 33.06, which was 1.48 seconds slower than my personal best. Indeed, it was just an average swim. It felt ok, and I had a good stroke rate, but my dive was too deep. That probably cost me a second.
(2) My second event was the 25-yard freestyle. I swam it in 12.85 seconds, which broke my old record by 0.09 seconds. I even beat Gary, one of my age group competitors. He pointed that out and it made me feel good.
(3) My third event was the 50-yard backstroke. I swam it in 36.02 seconds, which beat my old record by 0.26 seconds. I had no idea I was in personal record territory, but I sure felt great during this swim. Well, actually, I didn't feel great. What I mean to say is that I worked as hard as I could...and that feels great. I kicked hard throughout, and I had a good start and turn at the wall. This swim was as perfect as I could make it, in the technical sense. At around 35 yards I felt tired and heard myself whimper. But I didn't let up. I will plan to do more whimpers during future swim meets and see if that helps my performance.
(4) My last event was the 25-yard breaststroke. I swam it in 17.43 seconds, which was 0.39 seconds slower than my personal best. I am not surprised. I'm not sure my legs were doing the kick right. It felt funny to me.
Date: February 7, 2016
Location: Franklin, PA
Sunday morning Shannan Jones-Kellam and Jamie DePastino Brandon and Daniel Pruzinsky and I went to our master's swim meet in Franklin, Pa. This is a 2-hour drive each way, and we enjoyed each other's company during the carpool. At the meet, I performed surprisingly well for my somewhat-still-sick and sleep-deprived state.
(1) My first event was the 50-yard butterfly. I swam in 33.06, which was 1.48 seconds slower than my personal best. Indeed, it was just an average swim. It felt ok, and I had a good stroke rate, but my dive was too deep. That probably cost me a second.
(2) My second event was the 25-yard freestyle. I swam it in 12.85 seconds, which broke my old record by 0.09 seconds. I even beat Gary, one of my age group competitors. He pointed that out and it made me feel good.
(3) My third event was the 50-yard backstroke. I swam it in 36.02 seconds, which beat my old record by 0.26 seconds. I had no idea I was in personal record territory, but I sure felt great during this swim. Well, actually, I didn't feel great. What I mean to say is that I worked as hard as I could...and that feels great. I kicked hard throughout, and I had a good start and turn at the wall. This swim was as perfect as I could make it, in the technical sense. At around 35 yards I felt tired and heard myself whimper. But I didn't let up. I will plan to do more whimpers during future swim meets and see if that helps my performance.
(4) My last event was the 25-yard breaststroke. I swam it in 17.43 seconds, which was 0.39 seconds slower than my personal best. I am not surprised. I'm not sure my legs were doing the kick right. It felt funny to me.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: January 24, 2016
Location: Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Results: http:
We had another AMYMSA swim meet yesterday, this time at Duquesne University pool. The university women's swim team was there helping run the meet, and they had a great time cheering for all of us old people trying to be competitive. For example, the whole pool deck irrupted in cheers as Frank and Elaine, ages 83 and 78, respectively, raced in adjacent lanes during the 200-yard individual medley. The touch pad results indicate that Frank beat Elaine by 3 seconds, but all who watched the race saw that Elaine hit the pad before Frank (but she hit the top of the pad instead of the center, so it didn't register). In any case, it was a very close, slow-motion swim between husband and wife, and everyone celebrated. The 20-something university swimmers were definitely impressed.
My fellow swimmers all seemed to have good swimming times, so it was fun celebrating with them. Shannan Jones-Kellam had a wonderful day, beating her seed times in all 4 events she swam. "Where did that time come from?" she asked with awe and disbelief when she saw she dropped scores of seconds off her 200-fly.
My enthusiasm for my friends helped keep me in good spirits, even though my swimming performance was rather average in my 4 events. My first event was the 100-yard freestyle. Shannan tells me that my diving start was excellent, and I broke out well ahead of my heat. In the pool, I was preparing for a personal best by kicking hard, pulling hard with my arms, and minimizing surface breaths. But then at the 50-yard mark I began my flipturn too early and nearly missed the wall. This halted my momentum, and I saw that the other competitors had caught up. I angrily discarded my hopes for a personal best and tried to catch up to the other swimmers. I finished in 1:05.64, just missing my personal best by 0.15 seconds. I would have broken that record by more than a second if I hadn't messed up at the turn. One day later, I am still fuming a little at my mistake!
My second event was the 100-yard breaststroke, and this was also full of drama! My best buddy Daniel Pruzinsky was in the adjacent lane and some day I will beat him. Stepping up on the starting blocks, we were both wondering if this was the day (it wasn't). My strategy was to do a lot of gliding during the breaststroke. I think I'm good at that, and the alternative--increasing my stroke rate--doesn't do much for me other than tire me out. So I glided through the first 50 yards with Dan always there at my side. His turns seemed to be faster, and I was 0.58 seconds behind him at the halfway point. So on the last 25 yards of the race I took it up a notch and concentrated on pushing more water with my arm stroke and increasing my stroke rate a bit. This caused me to gain ground on Dan and I really thought I was going to win. In fact, that might have been my downfall, as I was celebrating in my head during the last couple strokes. Meanwhile, observers say that Dan gave it everything he had right at the flags, and he threw himself into the wall, out-touching me by 0.02 seconds! What?! Wow, what a good race. I don't mind he beat me. I had so much fun. Interestingly, competing next to Dan did not push me to set a personal best. My time of 1:21.39 did not beat my personal best of 1:20.78.
My third event was the 50-yard freestyle. I am trying to beat my 28.72 best, set last year. My time was 29.41. I felt like I had a great swim. I was a little surprised I wasn't closer to my best time, but upon further reflection, it makes sense that I didn't. My dive was a little deep, my turn not so quick, and I breathed 4 times instead of the 3 breaths I had planned.
My fourth event was the 200-yard individual medley. I finished in 2:52.38, which was 1.43 seconds slower than my personal best. I admit to having mixed feelings during the swim. During the backstroke and breaststroke, I started to push hard, then I'd pull back. I'd push a little more and then pull back again. I was weighing the amount of work required to swim fast versus how much discomfort I was experiencing, and I sometimes chose to minimize my discomfort. Races are not won by people who go the easy route. Analysis of my split times shows I have an endurance problem. After accounting for the dive in the beginning, my fly segment was 3 seconds slower than a 50-fly; my backstroke segment was 6 seconds slower than a 50-back; my breaststroke was 7 seconds slower than a 50-breast; and my freestyle segment was 8 seconds slower than a 50-free. In sum, I was getting slower and slower as the race went on.
I don't mean to end on a sour note. This was surely the most fun swim meet of my season. I've got some good swims ahead.
Date: January 24, 2016
Location: Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Results: http:
We had another AMYMSA swim meet yesterday, this time at Duquesne University pool. The university women's swim team was there helping run the meet, and they had a great time cheering for all of us old people trying to be competitive. For example, the whole pool deck irrupted in cheers as Frank and Elaine, ages 83 and 78, respectively, raced in adjacent lanes during the 200-yard individual medley. The touch pad results indicate that Frank beat Elaine by 3 seconds, but all who watched the race saw that Elaine hit the pad before Frank (but she hit the top of the pad instead of the center, so it didn't register). In any case, it was a very close, slow-motion swim between husband and wife, and everyone celebrated. The 20-something university swimmers were definitely impressed.
My fellow swimmers all seemed to have good swimming times, so it was fun celebrating with them. Shannan Jones-Kellam had a wonderful day, beating her seed times in all 4 events she swam. "Where did that time come from?" she asked with awe and disbelief when she saw she dropped scores of seconds off her 200-fly.
My enthusiasm for my friends helped keep me in good spirits, even though my swimming performance was rather average in my 4 events. My first event was the 100-yard freestyle. Shannan tells me that my diving start was excellent, and I broke out well ahead of my heat. In the pool, I was preparing for a personal best by kicking hard, pulling hard with my arms, and minimizing surface breaths. But then at the 50-yard mark I began my flipturn too early and nearly missed the wall. This halted my momentum, and I saw that the other competitors had caught up. I angrily discarded my hopes for a personal best and tried to catch up to the other swimmers. I finished in 1:05.64, just missing my personal best by 0.15 seconds. I would have broken that record by more than a second if I hadn't messed up at the turn. One day later, I am still fuming a little at my mistake!
My second event was the 100-yard breaststroke, and this was also full of drama! My best buddy Daniel Pruzinsky was in the adjacent lane and some day I will beat him. Stepping up on the starting blocks, we were both wondering if this was the day (it wasn't). My strategy was to do a lot of gliding during the breaststroke. I think I'm good at that, and the alternative--increasing my stroke rate--doesn't do much for me other than tire me out. So I glided through the first 50 yards with Dan always there at my side. His turns seemed to be faster, and I was 0.58 seconds behind him at the halfway point. So on the last 25 yards of the race I took it up a notch and concentrated on pushing more water with my arm stroke and increasing my stroke rate a bit. This caused me to gain ground on Dan and I really thought I was going to win. In fact, that might have been my downfall, as I was celebrating in my head during the last couple strokes. Meanwhile, observers say that Dan gave it everything he had right at the flags, and he threw himself into the wall, out-touching me by 0.02 seconds! What?! Wow, what a good race. I don't mind he beat me. I had so much fun. Interestingly, competing next to Dan did not push me to set a personal best. My time of 1:21.39 did not beat my personal best of 1:20.78.
My third event was the 50-yard freestyle. I am trying to beat my 28.72 best, set last year. My time was 29.41. I felt like I had a great swim. I was a little surprised I wasn't closer to my best time, but upon further reflection, it makes sense that I didn't. My dive was a little deep, my turn not so quick, and I breathed 4 times instead of the 3 breaths I had planned.
My fourth event was the 200-yard individual medley. I finished in 2:52.38, which was 1.43 seconds slower than my personal best. I admit to having mixed feelings during the swim. During the backstroke and breaststroke, I started to push hard, then I'd pull back. I'd push a little more and then pull back again. I was weighing the amount of work required to swim fast versus how much discomfort I was experiencing, and I sometimes chose to minimize my discomfort. Races are not won by people who go the easy route. Analysis of my split times shows I have an endurance problem. After accounting for the dive in the beginning, my fly segment was 3 seconds slower than a 50-fly; my backstroke segment was 6 seconds slower than a 50-back; my breaststroke was 7 seconds slower than a 50-breast; and my freestyle segment was 8 seconds slower than a 50-free. In sum, I was getting slower and slower as the race went on.
I don't mean to end on a sour note. This was surely the most fun swim meet of my season. I've got some good swims ahead.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: Janury 10, 2016
Location: Grove City, PA
Results: http:
Just a quick report on my swim meet at Grove City YMCA last Sunday. I swam in 4 events and had fun. It's important to note that I had fun. I usually [have fun] or [work hard and swim fast]. I usually can't do both at the same meet. I wish I could! Anyway, here's my stats:
100 Breaststroke: 1:23.33 (2.55 seconds slower than my personal best)
50 Freestyle: 29.00 (0.28 seconds slower than my personal best)
200 Individual Medley: 2:55.93 (4.98 seconds slower than my personal best)
500 Freestyle: 7:17.52 (7.70 seconds slower than my personal best)
Essentially, I am stuck at my times from 2014. This may still be due to a lower swim training volume in most of 2015, but I started swimming more in November and December, and expected to be a bit faster by now. I will be patient.
Date: Janury 10, 2016
Location: Grove City, PA
Results: http:
Just a quick report on my swim meet at Grove City YMCA last Sunday. I swam in 4 events and had fun. It's important to note that I had fun. I usually [have fun] or [work hard and swim fast]. I usually can't do both at the same meet. I wish I could! Anyway, here's my stats:
100 Breaststroke: 1:23.33 (2.55 seconds slower than my personal best)
50 Freestyle: 29.00 (0.28 seconds slower than my personal best)
200 Individual Medley: 2:55.93 (4.98 seconds slower than my personal best)
500 Freestyle: 7:17.52 (7.70 seconds slower than my personal best)
Essentially, I am stuck at my times from 2014. This may still be due to a lower swim training volume in most of 2015, but I started swimming more in November and December, and expected to be a bit faster by now. I will be patient.
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