A Couple of Exhausting Workouts

Last night it was our second practice at Chimo Pool. Again, what with snow falling and extreme driving conditions, only five swimmers (plus Coach Brad) showed up; Ian, Darren, and I the sole holdovers from Monday. It was a workout the club sprinters would be pleased they missed as Brad (formerly an 800 & 1,500 meter specialist) uncorked a workout he’d enjoy doing:

Warm up: 2x100 free on 1:50
2x100 free on 1:40
2x100 free on 1:30
Main set: 400 pull on 7:00 (1:45/100)
200 pull on 3:20 (1:40/100)
300 pull on 5:15 (1:45/100)
100 pull on 1:30
Repeat above in reverse order
Sup. Set: 6x50 back on 0:50
Warm down: 100 easy

Our first 3,000 meter practice this season! Coming on top of my weight training the same morning this became quite the workout for my shoulders. Warming up I started out too fast, a speed which at the time seemed easy enough, until fatigue and the warmth of the pool started working on me. By the time the last 2x100 came up I barely kept within the interval times, but only at a cost of working at a pace which was certainly unseemly for a warm up. In future I promise myself I’ll take warm up literally and use the provided intervals as a guide to the desired pace. In the main set I threw in some backstroke for some variety, pulling 200 meters at a time for a total of 600, but swam just free in the 200 and 100 distances to keep within interval times. My rollover turn seems to be progressing nicely. I wonder if the pull buoy has anything to do with my improved surfacing I saw last night? Didn’t have much problem meeting the back set, though my times rose steadily over the six fifties. The final 100 warm down I spent kicking and was rewarded with a couple of cramps. A very tiring workout I enjoyed but not something I’d want as a regular diet. Practice rating: 7/10.

I was very ambitious yesterday afternoon in designing my workout for this morning. The plan was to complete 2,600 meters in the hour allotted, including 900 meters of 90% speed work covering the three strokes I’ll be swimming this Saturday; breast, free, and back. Overly ambitious it turns out; as my body cried foul for trying to having two hard practices only eight hours apart. I ended my practice after doing only 4x50 free instead of the planned 2x50 and 2x100 of my free workout, the preceding breast and back portions also being chopped, the workout taking everything I had to achieve only marginal times. I quit the pool without warming down after only 1,800 meters feeling absolutely exhausted. Practice rating: 5/10.