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.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
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.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters swim meet
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Results: http:
Maybe I get too dramatic in writing these race reports, but the drama is truly going on in my heart and mind. Today I had a mountain to climb: the 200-yard butterfly. I've done it only once before, and it was at least a couple years ago. I decided to do it again this season to challenge myself. You see, I have been floundering in the water all summer and fall. I haven't been swimming as much as I want, but honestly, the source of this has been a lack of motivation rather than a lack of time. I went to dramatic measures to fix the problem, by forcing myself to do the 200-fly. This was more of a mental feat than a physical one. In practices leading up to today, I just couldn't catch my breath and stopped short of the 200-yard goal...every time. I have been dreaming for the last two weeks of delaying the 200-fly to a later meet, and that almost happened by accident. I left my swim bag at home and had to drive back to get it. I was almost relieved that I might have to miss my first event, but I alas, I got back to the Y with plenty of time to spare. The only harm done was I had no time for a warm-up swim. So now the actual event...
200-Fly: I finished in 3:19.57, lowering my personal best by 11 seconds. I had trouble believing it. But the swim really did go well. I was relaxed and having fun for the first 50 yards. I tried to go slow so I would still have energy for the end, but my split reveals a fairly quick 40.08 seconds. I always go too fast at the start. My second 50 yards surprised me because I didn't feel out of breath at the end. My split time was 45.68. I wasn't panicking like I had done in practice, but paused at the wall for a couple seconds anyway, just to regroup. The difference was that I was taking a breath with every stroke. I try not to so this (instead, I try to breath every two strokes), but I had just watched my friend Daniel Pruzinsky in the heat before, and he was breathing every stroke, so I though "hey, if it's good enough for him..." The consequence of breathing so frequently is that the legs don't generate a good kick, and at yard 160 or so, I felt my legs flutter around a bit. This would have disqualified me, but I fixed the problem rather quickly and the official didn't notice or didn't care. I paused at the wall at the 175-yard mark. It seemed like maybe 4 or 5 seconds. But I had just 25 yards to go, and my friends were there rooting for me, so I pushed off and tried to finish strong. My arms were finally tired but I felt so GOOD finishing this event!
Shannan Jones-Kellam asked me what my next event was and I said "it doesn't matter." Indeed, the 200-fly was the event that defined this meet, and I was so happy that (1) I finished, (2) I set a personal best, and (3) it was OVER. I looked at my entry cards and saw the rest of the meet would be easy--just 50- and 25-yard events.
50-yard freestyle: I finished in 29.39 seconds. This is 0.67 seconds slower than my personal best...not very good. When I got out of the pool, Jim F. said I could improve by doing two things. I said "I know the first thing you'll tell me is that my underwater segment after the dive was too deep and too long." He agreed. The second thing he noticed was that my arm strokes were too short--I didn't bring my hands back to my hips before taking them out of the water. I am sure this was true. I was doing a shoulder-driven freestyle (not hip-driven) my coach taught me, but maybe I have forgotten the proper technique for that. Lengthening one's stroke is never bad advice.
50-yard breaststroke: I finished in 39.19 seconds. This is 1.85 seconds slower than my personal best. Whoa, that's bad, but who cares! I had a good dive and pull-out. I think I was going quite fast during the first half, but then at the wall I did a strange turn. I touched the wall with both hands, then immediately let go of the wall, twisted around, and punched the wall with my feet to go in the opposite direction. It was the fastest breaststroke turn I've ever done, and for the rest of the race I was distracted by it. Did I touch the wall with my hands or just my feet (which would have been illegal)? I couldn't remember. I must have really slowed down as I thought about that.
25-yard butterfly: I finished in 14.98 seconds, which was 1.24 seconds slower than my personal best. I was trying to go fast, but just didn't have it in me. I still didn't care. I was still glowing with the success of my 200-fly.
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Greensburg, PA
Results: http:
Maybe I get too dramatic in writing these race reports, but the drama is truly going on in my heart and mind. Today I had a mountain to climb: the 200-yard butterfly. I've done it only once before, and it was at least a couple years ago. I decided to do it again this season to challenge myself. You see, I have been floundering in the water all summer and fall. I haven't been swimming as much as I want, but honestly, the source of this has been a lack of motivation rather than a lack of time. I went to dramatic measures to fix the problem, by forcing myself to do the 200-fly. This was more of a mental feat than a physical one. In practices leading up to today, I just couldn't catch my breath and stopped short of the 200-yard goal...every time. I have been dreaming for the last two weeks of delaying the 200-fly to a later meet, and that almost happened by accident. I left my swim bag at home and had to drive back to get it. I was almost relieved that I might have to miss my first event, but I alas, I got back to the Y with plenty of time to spare. The only harm done was I had no time for a warm-up swim. So now the actual event...
200-Fly: I finished in 3:19.57, lowering my personal best by 11 seconds. I had trouble believing it. But the swim really did go well. I was relaxed and having fun for the first 50 yards. I tried to go slow so I would still have energy for the end, but my split reveals a fairly quick 40.08 seconds. I always go too fast at the start. My second 50 yards surprised me because I didn't feel out of breath at the end. My split time was 45.68. I wasn't panicking like I had done in practice, but paused at the wall for a couple seconds anyway, just to regroup. The difference was that I was taking a breath with every stroke. I try not to so this (instead, I try to breath every two strokes), but I had just watched my friend Daniel Pruzinsky in the heat before, and he was breathing every stroke, so I though "hey, if it's good enough for him..." The consequence of breathing so frequently is that the legs don't generate a good kick, and at yard 160 or so, I felt my legs flutter around a bit. This would have disqualified me, but I fixed the problem rather quickly and the official didn't notice or didn't care. I paused at the wall at the 175-yard mark. It seemed like maybe 4 or 5 seconds. But I had just 25 yards to go, and my friends were there rooting for me, so I pushed off and tried to finish strong. My arms were finally tired but I felt so GOOD finishing this event!
Shannan Jones-Kellam asked me what my next event was and I said "it doesn't matter." Indeed, the 200-fly was the event that defined this meet, and I was so happy that (1) I finished, (2) I set a personal best, and (3) it was OVER. I looked at my entry cards and saw the rest of the meet would be easy--just 50- and 25-yard events.
50-yard freestyle: I finished in 29.39 seconds. This is 0.67 seconds slower than my personal best...not very good. When I got out of the pool, Jim F. said I could improve by doing two things. I said "I know the first thing you'll tell me is that my underwater segment after the dive was too deep and too long." He agreed. The second thing he noticed was that my arm strokes were too short--I didn't bring my hands back to my hips before taking them out of the water. I am sure this was true. I was doing a shoulder-driven freestyle (not hip-driven) my coach taught me, but maybe I have forgotten the proper technique for that. Lengthening one's stroke is never bad advice.
50-yard breaststroke: I finished in 39.19 seconds. This is 1.85 seconds slower than my personal best. Whoa, that's bad, but who cares! I had a good dive and pull-out. I think I was going quite fast during the first half, but then at the wall I did a strange turn. I touched the wall with both hands, then immediately let go of the wall, twisted around, and punched the wall with my feet to go in the opposite direction. It was the fastest breaststroke turn I've ever done, and for the rest of the race I was distracted by it. Did I touch the wall with my hands or just my feet (which would have been illegal)? I couldn't remember. I must have really slowed down as I thought about that.
25-yard butterfly: I finished in 14.98 seconds, which was 1.24 seconds slower than my personal best. I was trying to go fast, but just didn't have it in me. I still didn't care. I was still glowing with the success of my 200-fly.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
AMYMSA meet
Race: Masters Swim Meet
Date: November 8, 2015
Location: Clearfield, PA
Results: http:
I feel good about this meet. My times were still slower by about 3% from last year, but I think I'm getting closer.
200IM = 2:57.22 (personal best is 2:50.95). My butterfly and backstroke were strong but I lost fuel on the breaststroke. My triceps and shoulders felt fatigued and I don't know why. Jim F. told me I could improve with a better streamline off the walls.
50Free = 29.31 (personal best is 28.72); I've been doing a lot of 50s in practice, so it makes sense I'd do well here.
100Breast = 1:26.89 (personal best is 1:20.78) I found I couldn't glide as much as I wanted to. Just too fatigued.
100Free = 1:07.84 (personal best is 1:05.59) Felt good.
Date: November 8, 2015
Location: Clearfield, PA
Results: http:
I feel good about this meet. My times were still slower by about 3% from last year, but I think I'm getting closer.
200IM = 2:57.22 (personal best is 2:50.95). My butterfly and backstroke were strong but I lost fuel on the breaststroke. My triceps and shoulders felt fatigued and I don't know why. Jim F. told me I could improve with a better streamline off the walls.
50Free = 29.31 (personal best is 28.72); I've been doing a lot of 50s in practice, so it makes sense I'd do well here.
100Breast = 1:26.89 (personal best is 1:20.78) I found I couldn't glide as much as I wanted to. Just too fatigued.
100Free = 1:07.84 (personal best is 1:05.59) Felt good.
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