500s/200k IM/100IM/150s
I saw two of my elementary students as I was buying my ticket for the pool. Usually my students at that age are pretty shy. But these two girls found me in my lane and said hi. Then a few minutes later I saw them running around on deck. I realized after about 100m that they were trying to meet me at one end but didn't know where I was gonna stop. Finally I looked up and they asked if I'd go play with them. I said--5min! So they were back in 3 min running around again trying to wave me down! When kids are that eager, you just can't say no!! So I swam less than 1000m today, but I spent a good 30 min in the kiddie pool playing Marco-Polo and doing acrobatic swimming. When I finally asked how long they were staying they got the idea that we should go and play outside in the playground. So, we changed and off we went to the playground--firepoles, swings, see-saws, balance beams, etc. And then it started raining and their dad came to collect them!
I had big hopes of getting two big swims in this weekend, but with cleaning and preparing for the parental visit--it didn't happen!! By the time I got to the pool today it was more out of desperate need to shower than swim! So, I got what I needed! And I got to be 8 again!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
1750m
Warm-up:
500s/400p/100k
Sets:
8x50 fly drill
100 fly drill
50 s
Cool Down
200s
Total: 1750 1hr. 15 min.
Tonight was Masters Practice. I'm still negotiating exactly how I fit in this group. And trying to figure out what the dynamics of the practice are. And they are trying to figure out how I fit in as well. When practice first started, they divided the two lanes 1)training lane 2)free swim. I heard people comment that I didn't need training because I was too good. And they told me to go in the free swim lane. But if I'm gonna be on a team and go to practice I don't want to swim alone. And that is how it got divided. Me in one lane with 2-3 men and 20+ swimmers in the other lane! Okay, that was stupid. So, I jumped in the "training lane" and joined their kick set. And within minutes, the other lane had joined the set as well. Which only confirmed my fear that they were trying to accomodate me. Anyway, after the other lane turned into a training lane as well, I jumped back over there...as it is the fast lane. But after a few sets, I got pushed to the front of the line. "Wakai" goes first apparently! I'm curious to see how lane dynamics develop. Each team and each lane group has it's own dynamics. Now I've been thrown into the mix....how will they react to me? and me to them?
Tonight we had a semi-practice. We did some drills, but not on time. It was just to practice technique. It was good practice and got my heart rate up. But I could have gotten in A LOT more meters if I was swimming alone. But as long as I get to the pool 2-3x a week for more long distance swims, Monday night practice will be good for stroke and technique work.
500s/400p/100k
Sets:
8x50 fly drill
100 fly drill
50 s
Cool Down
200s
Total: 1750 1hr. 15 min.
Tonight was Masters Practice. I'm still negotiating exactly how I fit in this group. And trying to figure out what the dynamics of the practice are. And they are trying to figure out how I fit in as well. When practice first started, they divided the two lanes 1)training lane 2)free swim. I heard people comment that I didn't need training because I was too good. And they told me to go in the free swim lane. But if I'm gonna be on a team and go to practice I don't want to swim alone. And that is how it got divided. Me in one lane with 2-3 men and 20+ swimmers in the other lane! Okay, that was stupid. So, I jumped in the "training lane" and joined their kick set. And within minutes, the other lane had joined the set as well. Which only confirmed my fear that they were trying to accomodate me. Anyway, after the other lane turned into a training lane as well, I jumped back over there...as it is the fast lane. But after a few sets, I got pushed to the front of the line. "Wakai" goes first apparently! I'm curious to see how lane dynamics develop. Each team and each lane group has it's own dynamics. Now I've been thrown into the mix....how will they react to me? and me to them?
Tonight we had a semi-practice. We did some drills, but not on time. It was just to practice technique. It was good practice and got my heart rate up. But I could have gotten in A LOT more meters if I was swimming alone. But as long as I get to the pool 2-3x a week for more long distance swims, Monday night practice will be good for stroke and technique work.
Monday, April 17, 2006
2000+m
Warm-up:
500s/500k/200IM drill
Sets:
a shit load of 50's
3min swim
Cool Down:
25s
Ha ha ha! It was my first official "masters" practice. I paid up and I finally swam in the same lane with them. But being the day after the meet, it was a "free practice." Fine by me! So we just swam 50's if we felt like it. I'm glad I went to stretch out. But I do hope we have real practices and real sets most of the time!
500s/500k/200IM drill
Sets:
a shit load of 50's
3min swim
Cool Down:
25s
Ha ha ha! It was my first official "masters" practice. I paid up and I finally swam in the same lane with them. But being the day after the meet, it was a "free practice." Fine by me! So we just swam 50's if we felt like it. I'm glad I went to stretch out. But I do hope we have real practices and real sets most of the time!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Japan Masters Swim Meet
Hurray! I swam in my first Masters swim meet on Sunday! I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Well, I knew it would be overwelming. I knew I would be self-concious. And I knew it would be exhuasting. And I was right about all of those things. But it was also a lot of fun! And I think I've found my level of competition! Finally!
The diversity of people was absolutely enthralling--endless people watching! There were over 1000 swimmers aged 18-100 from Hokkaido to Kyushu! In a Japanese sort of way there were people of all shapes and sizes, but I still stuck out like a sore thumb. Japanese women don't have chests, hips or thighs. I have all three. The blonde hair didn't help either, but luckily that was under a swim cap most of the day. I also wasn't sporting one of the trendy suits! I'm a cheap skate. And really, the only thing that is going to make me go faster is more practice, not a cool looking suit!
As with most competitions, I was really nervous about where I would fit. Would I be the slowest? Would I be in the middle? I've never been the fastest at anything, so that wasn't really an option in my head. I was just hoping I would be able to compete, that is, actually race at the same level as others in my heat!
There was a lot of pre-race confusion about who was swimming what, when the event was, where we were supposed to go, etc. But after a few moments of panic we all figured it out and I got ready for my first race...100 Breast. I was glad it was my first because in my head it was my most important. Breast is my event. I wanted to put all my energy into this race. But I haven't really been training or sprinting much. During the actual swim, the first 50 felt great, but the last 50 was a struggle. I was feeling the lactic acid burn and not feeling like I could move much at all. My first 25, I was pretty even with the woman in the next lane. But after the 50, she pulled ahead and finished about 3 seconds ahead of me. I was bummed, but it was good to have someone next to me to motivate me to go a little faster and push myself. In the end I got first in my age group (ha ha ha, I was the only one in my age group swimming that event). But I also got second in the entire event! I was the youngest swimmer. The woman who beat me is from Uozu....I wonder if she will be my competition in the 50 brst in October?
The 100IM and 25free in the 100Medley Relay were fun to swim. But I didn't give them my all. I swam the IM to try something different. I would swim it again, but it's something I excel at!
Seriously, it was a great day...but a huge thanks to Linea for being my partner in crime. Could not have, probably, would not have done this without her. It is so much easier to do something NEW--new group of people, foreign language, new event, new rules, etc. when you have someone else to work it out with you. When we could, we cheered for each other on the sidelines. Our new team mates were always there to give us a "gambatte" or "otsakaresama" but hearing a deep English grunt calling out your name from the side can't be replaced! I needed it! Gokorosamadesita!
After the races, the bento, lots of Aquarius, a shower, hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, a lesson on Easter, a lesson on how to say our names, recording our times, strutting our stuff on deck, and lots of pictures with the old men....we made our way to a izikaya in Kurobe and gorged ourselves on fried food, sashimi and salad. The other swimmers were guzzling beer, but I felt drunk from exhaustion, I didn't need the beer! Linea and I ate our food, collected our medals, promised to join the team and headed home to bed! It was a 13-hour day! In your own culture that is one kind of exhaustion, but when you are trying to navigate another culture it adds another level of exhaustion. We both had headaches. Tanoshikatta, demo segoi tsukaretta!
In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I finally paid my dues and joined the team tonight! I'm already planning what I want to swim in the next meet in October. And I think I'll be much more inspired to train for it now that I know what to expect.
Times:
100m Brst 1'31"81 (gold medal)
100m IM 1'29"33 (bronze medal)
100 Medley Relay 1'10 (didn't get splits)
I'm not sure how accurate this website does yard-meter conversions. For fun, I wanted to know how I compared to my college times. So, if I had swam in a yard pool, this would have been my times:
100yd Brst 1'22"26
100yd IM isn't listed as an option! ha ha ha
The brst time, is only a second off from my conference time in college! Wow!!! I had no idea. Maybe if I train a little more, I can actually get a personal best in my 100 brst. That would be awesome. Too bad I can't swim it for another year!
The diversity of people was absolutely enthralling--endless people watching! There were over 1000 swimmers aged 18-100 from Hokkaido to Kyushu! In a Japanese sort of way there were people of all shapes and sizes, but I still stuck out like a sore thumb. Japanese women don't have chests, hips or thighs. I have all three. The blonde hair didn't help either, but luckily that was under a swim cap most of the day. I also wasn't sporting one of the trendy suits! I'm a cheap skate. And really, the only thing that is going to make me go faster is more practice, not a cool looking suit!
As with most competitions, I was really nervous about where I would fit. Would I be the slowest? Would I be in the middle? I've never been the fastest at anything, so that wasn't really an option in my head. I was just hoping I would be able to compete, that is, actually race at the same level as others in my heat!
There was a lot of pre-race confusion about who was swimming what, when the event was, where we were supposed to go, etc. But after a few moments of panic we all figured it out and I got ready for my first race...100 Breast. I was glad it was my first because in my head it was my most important. Breast is my event. I wanted to put all my energy into this race. But I haven't really been training or sprinting much. During the actual swim, the first 50 felt great, but the last 50 was a struggle. I was feeling the lactic acid burn and not feeling like I could move much at all. My first 25, I was pretty even with the woman in the next lane. But after the 50, she pulled ahead and finished about 3 seconds ahead of me. I was bummed, but it was good to have someone next to me to motivate me to go a little faster and push myself. In the end I got first in my age group (ha ha ha, I was the only one in my age group swimming that event). But I also got second in the entire event! I was the youngest swimmer. The woman who beat me is from Uozu....I wonder if she will be my competition in the 50 brst in October?
The 100IM and 25free in the 100Medley Relay were fun to swim. But I didn't give them my all. I swam the IM to try something different. I would swim it again, but it's something I excel at!
Seriously, it was a great day...but a huge thanks to Linea for being my partner in crime. Could not have, probably, would not have done this without her. It is so much easier to do something NEW--new group of people, foreign language, new event, new rules, etc. when you have someone else to work it out with you. When we could, we cheered for each other on the sidelines. Our new team mates were always there to give us a "gambatte" or "otsakaresama" but hearing a deep English grunt calling out your name from the side can't be replaced! I needed it! Gokorosamadesita!
After the races, the bento, lots of Aquarius, a shower, hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, a lesson on Easter, a lesson on how to say our names, recording our times, strutting our stuff on deck, and lots of pictures with the old men....we made our way to a izikaya in Kurobe and gorged ourselves on fried food, sashimi and salad. The other swimmers were guzzling beer, but I felt drunk from exhaustion, I didn't need the beer! Linea and I ate our food, collected our medals, promised to join the team and headed home to bed! It was a 13-hour day! In your own culture that is one kind of exhaustion, but when you are trying to navigate another culture it adds another level of exhaustion. We both had headaches. Tanoshikatta, demo segoi tsukaretta!
In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I finally paid my dues and joined the team tonight! I'm already planning what I want to swim in the next meet in October. And I think I'll be much more inspired to train for it now that I know what to expect.
Times:
100m Brst 1'31"81 (gold medal)
100m IM 1'29"33 (bronze medal)
100 Medley Relay 1'10 (didn't get splits)
I'm not sure how accurate this website does yard-meter conversions. For fun, I wanted to know how I compared to my college times. So, if I had swam in a yard pool, this would have been my times:
100yd Brst 1'22"26
100yd IM isn't listed as an option! ha ha ha
The brst time, is only a second off from my conference time in college! Wow!!! I had no idea. Maybe if I train a little more, I can actually get a personal best in my 100 brst. That would be awesome. Too bad I can't swim it for another year!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
College Times
My college coach, the best coach ever, sent me my times from my senior year in college! Tomorrow I'm swimming the 100IM, 100Brst and 25fr (medley relay). In college I only swam in yards, so the times will be different in that respect. Oh, and I only swam the IM once and that was at the start of the season just to have a time! And I haven't really been training! But, here are my college times as a little incentive/reference point for tomorrow! Yikes!
1999-2000
100Y Brst 1:20.03-1:26.08
100Y IM 1:21
50Y Free 28:83-29:92
Yikes!! I don't think I'll be anywhere close to those times. That was my best season!!
Gambattemasu!
1999-2000
100Y Brst 1:20.03-1:26.08
100Y IM 1:21
50Y Free 28:83-29:92
Yikes!! I don't think I'll be anywhere close to those times. That was my best season!!
Gambattemasu!
~1600m
Warm-up:
500s/500p/200k
Sets:
200 IM drill
10 turns
Cool Down:
200s
Total: ~1600m 1hr.
Linea and I headed to the pool early to beat the crowds. I managed to swim a leisurely warm-up, do some drills and we practiced turns!! Yeah! I need to keep my tighter. My brst-free doesn't feel fast. My brst turns feel pretty good though. But that's what I did in college. But in a different pool, you never know what to expect. A turn in one pool can be so different in another pool. If the height or texture of the wall is different it throws me off. Also, if the pool is deep vs. shallow---it's like swimming a totally different race! The water feels different. I've ONLY trained in a shallow pool. And I think tomorrow we might be swimming in a deep pool. I'm still stuffed up and full of mucus! Yuck!
Tomorrow is going to be an adventure!
500s/500p/200k
Sets:
200 IM drill
10 turns
Cool Down:
200s
Total: ~1600m 1hr.
Linea and I headed to the pool early to beat the crowds. I managed to swim a leisurely warm-up, do some drills and we practiced turns!! Yeah! I need to keep my tighter. My brst-free doesn't feel fast. My brst turns feel pretty good though. But that's what I did in college. But in a different pool, you never know what to expect. A turn in one pool can be so different in another pool. If the height or texture of the wall is different it throws me off. Also, if the pool is deep vs. shallow---it's like swimming a totally different race! The water feels different. I've ONLY trained in a shallow pool. And I think tomorrow we might be swimming in a deep pool. I'm still stuffed up and full of mucus! Yuck!
Tomorrow is going to be an adventure!
Friday, April 14, 2006
2000m
Warm-up:
500s/500p/100k/200IM drill
Sets:
100 brst fast
100 IM fast
4x25 free sprint
4x25 IM sprint
Coold Down
300s
Total: 2000m 50 min.
I've been sick all week. I have a cough. So swimming is a little strained, but since the big meet is on Sunday, I had to get something in! And since I'm in "taper" mode there is no point in pushing it! ha ha ha!! As if I've really been training! Oh well. I'm gonna jump in the pool tomorrow for a warm-up and maybe a few 25 sprints. Gotta take it easy.
500s/500p/100k/200IM drill
Sets:
100 brst fast
100 IM fast
4x25 free sprint
4x25 IM sprint
Coold Down
300s
Total: 2000m 50 min.
I've been sick all week. I have a cough. So swimming is a little strained, but since the big meet is on Sunday, I had to get something in! And since I'm in "taper" mode there is no point in pushing it! ha ha ha!! As if I've really been training! Oh well. I'm gonna jump in the pool tomorrow for a warm-up and maybe a few 25 sprints. Gotta take it easy.
Monday, April 10, 2006
2200m
Warm-up:
500s/500p/200k/200IM drill
Sets:
7x100 IM/brst/free
10 starts Relay/Free/Brst/Fly
Cool Down
Standing and talking on deck about the upcoming swim meet!
Total: 2200m 1hr. 40min
Linea--did you know there will be about 1000 people from all over Japan attending this swim meet? Oh my!! I thought it was just Toyama! Yikes, what have we gotten ourselves into.
500s/500p/200k/200IM drill
Sets:
7x100 IM/brst/free
10 starts Relay/Free/Brst/Fly
Cool Down
Standing and talking on deck about the upcoming swim meet!
Total: 2200m 1hr. 40min
Linea--did you know there will be about 1000 people from all over Japan attending this swim meet? Oh my!! I thought it was just Toyama! Yikes, what have we gotten ourselves into.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
2000m
Warm-up:
500s/4oop/200k/200IM drill/100s
Sets:
4x50 sprint/ IM order 1:00 rest
8x25 sprint/IM order by 50 :15 rest/1:00min after first 100
Cool Down:
200s
Total: 2000m 1 hour
Linea and I did the sprint set together! It kicked my ass. Swimming with someone else always make me swim harder and pushes me faster! I need to practice some 100brst and non-stop 100IM's to get ready for next Sunday! Oh why did I sign up for 100's??
500s/4oop/200k/200IM drill/100s
Sets:
4x50 sprint/ IM order 1:00 rest
8x25 sprint/IM order by 50 :15 rest/1:00min after first 100
Cool Down:
200s
Total: 2000m 1 hour
Linea and I did the sprint set together! It kicked my ass. Swimming with someone else always make me swim harder and pushes me faster! I need to practice some 100brst and non-stop 100IM's to get ready for next Sunday! Oh why did I sign up for 100's??
Saturday, April 08, 2006
2400m
500s
1500p
100k
200IM drill
100s
And then I got hungry!
Total: 2400m 50min
I'm not sure why but my arms were really tired today--before the 1500p. But I went ahead and did a long pull swim. Swimming as a hangover cure is never really very productive. But with any luck I'll make it early tomorrow morning for another swim before the big D.
1500p
100k
200IM drill
100s
And then I got hungry!
Total: 2400m 50min
I'm not sure why but my arms were really tired today--before the 1500p. But I went ahead and did a long pull swim. Swimming as a hangover cure is never really very productive. But with any luck I'll make it early tomorrow morning for another swim before the big D.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
3300m
Warm-up:
700s/200k/200IMdrill
Sets:
5x 200p/100s (IM/brst alt)
100k
8x25 sprint IM order 1:00
200k
Cool Down:
200s
Total: 3300m 1hr. 20 min.
700s/200k/200IMdrill
Sets:
5x 200p/100s (IM/brst alt)
100k
8x25 sprint IM order 1:00
200k
Cool Down:
200s
Total: 3300m 1hr. 20 min.
Monday, April 03, 2006
2700m
Warm-up
500s/300k/400p/100s
Sets:
10x100 IM :30-45 rest
100s
4x25 relay starts (fly, brst, fr, brst)
Cool Down
200s
Total: 2700m 1hr. 40min
IM focus: turns! I need to make sure my transitions are smooth. I've never competed in IM before, and I don't swim back or fly....so I used the 1000m of IM to practice. The last IM I went 85% and finished 1:45.
After that set, I practiced relay starts with the Masters team. Linea and I are both in a relay. I'm swimming as anchor-free! They are only 100m, so each persons swims a 25! I used to swim 4x100free....so a 25 feels SO SHORT. But I'm not complaining! My starts suck! My googles keep falling off, so some major adjustments need to happen before the 16th. They will be practicing next Monday night as well! I can't miss it!
500s/300k/400p/100s
Sets:
10x100 IM :30-45 rest
100s
4x25 relay starts (fly, brst, fr, brst)
Cool Down
200s
Total: 2700m 1hr. 40min
IM focus: turns! I need to make sure my transitions are smooth. I've never competed in IM before, and I don't swim back or fly....so I used the 1000m of IM to practice. The last IM I went 85% and finished 1:45.
After that set, I practiced relay starts with the Masters team. Linea and I are both in a relay. I'm swimming as anchor-free! They are only 100m, so each persons swims a 25! I used to swim 4x100free....so a 25 feels SO SHORT. But I'm not complaining! My starts suck! My googles keep falling off, so some major adjustments need to happen before the 16th. They will be practicing next Monday night as well! I can't miss it!
Sunday, April 02, 2006
1700m Warm-up
600s
400k
300p
200IM drill
200s
Total: 1700m 40 min
Today was a success because I left my apartment in the rain, after a night of drinking and after being away for 2 weeks and actually made it to the pool! That was todays accomplishment! I haven't been in the water for 2 weeks, although I have been hiking and doing lots of WALKING! So it counts for something, but I did feel pretty sluggish today. Although it was fun to try out one of my new suits and my new googles. Yeah! My googles make a different noise when I swim...something to get used to. I have to get serious now....2 weeks until the swim meet. Oh shit!
400k
300p
200IM drill
200s
Total: 1700m 40 min
Today was a success because I left my apartment in the rain, after a night of drinking and after being away for 2 weeks and actually made it to the pool! That was todays accomplishment! I haven't been in the water for 2 weeks, although I have been hiking and doing lots of WALKING! So it counts for something, but I did feel pretty sluggish today. Although it was fun to try out one of my new suits and my new googles. Yeah! My googles make a different noise when I swim...something to get used to. I have to get serious now....2 weeks until the swim meet. Oh shit!
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