The Post with Week 3's Swim Homework

Week  3 Homework 11/20 – 12/2   

(Complete 2-3x before class in 2 weeks)

 

Workout #1

Warm-Up

200m Easy swim – focus on tracking

100m Side Kick Drill w/ fins – Body Stretch

Set #1  (Stretch, Lift ,Tracking & Timing)

2 x 50m  “L” Drill w/ fins - lead with the same arm for the whole 50, switching lead arms each 50.  RI: 15

150m  Easy swim  w/fins – focus on recovery lift & tracking

4 x 50m  “L” Switch– pay attention to tracking & timing- don’t move head while arms are moving. RI: 15

150m Easy swim w/ fins focus on tracking & timing.

Set #2  ( Pull Power – Feeling Tension on the water) * Remember you must be well rotated to catch properly

3 x 50m w / fins  RI: 15

     1^st 50 – Swim with hands in a fist or use tennis balls – focusing on an accurate catch position

     2^nd 50 – Regular swim with hands open – feeling more tension than the previous 50m

     3^rd 50 – Swim w/ hand paddles – be careful with arm positioning – don’t drop your upper arm when initiating the catch! 

200m Easy swim focus on tension in the catch – no equipment
 

3 x 50m w /  Pull buoy  RI: 15

     1^st 50 – Swim with hands in a fist or use tennis balls – focusing on an accurate catch position

     2^nd 50 – Regular swim with hands open – feeling more tension than the previous 50m

     3^rd 50 – Swim w/ hand paddles – be careful with arm positioning – don’t drop your upper arm when initiating the catch!

200m Easy swim focus on tension in the catch – no equipment

Set #3  ( Breathing patterns)

300 Easy Swim – Working on Breathing Pattern- Swim broken into 100 m thought segments:

     Odd number 100’s  - Breathe every 5 to 6 strokes – forced long exhale

     Even number 100’s- Breathe every 3 to 4 strokes.

Total: 1900 meters

Workout #2

Warm-Up

2 x 100m Swim Easy

2 x 50m 12 Kick Switch Drill w/ fins

2 x 50m  Pull with Buoy working on switch timing

Set #1  (Hand /Hip connection)

4 x 50 One Arm Freestyle w/ fins   RI: 10

200 Swim – no equipment – focus on initiating the rotation at the same time your wrap your arm to catch

*Set #2  ( Powerful pull w/ proper rotation)

3 x 300m – Each 300 broken into:   

1^st 100 -  Pull w/ buoy and hand paddles – (hand hip/ connection)

2^nd 100 -  Extended Finish Hold  (no buoy) Hold glide/ finish position 3 counts

3^rd 100 -  Pull w/ buoy and hand paddles – (hand hip/ connection)

 

* Really focus on getting well rotated before initiating a strong catch in this set.

*Set #3  ( Technique to Power)

3 x 100m Build  by 25’s

* On this set I want you to start off slow thinking about technique and then try to put more umph into your catch and rotation to drive yourself faster through the water each 25m.

Cool Down

Easy 100m

Total: 2100 meters

The Post with Week 2's Swim Homework

Week  2  Homework 11/12  - 11/18

(Complete 2-3x before next week)

Reminder: Leave every wall in a stretched and tight streamline position.

Warm-Up

250m Easy swim – focus on long exhale forcing bubbles toward the bottom of the pool.

100m Streamline Kick on Back w/ fins

Set #1  (Alignment & Tracking Focus)

2 x 50m  Side Kick Drill w/ fins - lead with the same arm for the whole 50, switching lead arms each 50.  RI: 15

100m  Easy swim  w/fins – focus on glide arm staying up while breathing

3 x 50m  12 Kick Switch w/fins – pay attention to tracking- don’t move head while arms are moving! RI: 15

150m Easy swim w/ fins focused on tracking and keeping head centered.

Set #2  (Tracking &Rotation Focus)

3 x 50m Double Touch  w/ fins – keep recovery arm next to the body and pay attention to your switch timing.  RI: 15

200m Easy Swim w/ fins – focused on keeping the recovery arm next to – not on top of the torso.

3 x 50m Flow Drill w/ fins – Keep head centered, stretch and rotate. RI: 15

200m Easy Swim w/ fins – focused on stretch and pressing your rotation forward into the glide arm.

Set #3 (Rotation Focus)

3 x 100m   Swim w/ Pull buoy & Hand Paddles.  Work on keeping the bodyline long and stretched while rotating around a well-positioned and relaxed head.  Work the core as a unit focusing on the lower abdominal muscles.  RI: 20

 

Set #4

350 Easy Swim – Working on Breathing Pattern- Swim broken into 50 m thought segments:

     Odd numbered 50’s  - Breathe every 5 to 6 strokes – forced long exhale

     Even numbered 50’s- Breathe every 3 to 4 strokes.

Total: 2200 meters

The Post With Week 1's Swim Homework

Week 1 Swim Clinic homework: 11/5 – 11/11

(To be completed 2-3x before Week 2)

Reminder: Leave every wall in a stretched and tight streamline position.

Warm-Up

200m Easy swim – focus on long exhale forcing bubbles toward the bottom of the pool.

Set #1  (Alignment Focus)

6 x 50m  Side Kick Drill w/ fins – lead with the same arm for the whole 50, switching lead arms each 50.  Rest Interval (RI): 20

100m  Easy swim regular swim w/fins

Set #2  (Rotation Focus)

4 x 100m   Use fins and hand paddles if you have them.  Take long slow strokes with a slight 

hesitation at the finish. Make sure your arm finished under the water by pressing water toward your feet and that your arm is next to not over your body at the finish.  Glide arm out front should be stretching forward keeping the hand in line but not on the same level as the shoulder.

                    

 * When your finish arm hand reaches the mid-thigh point your torso should be well rotated- so that the shoulder on the finishing arm side is out of the water and the same side hip is close to the surface.   RI: 45

200m Easy swim – no fins – focus on keeping head still and rotating the body.

Set #3 (Rotation Focus)

4 x 100m   Swim w/ Pull buoy between thighs.  Work on keeping the bodyline long and stretched while rotating around a well-positioned and relaxed head.  Work the core as a unit focusing on the lower abdominal muscles.  RI: 30

Set #4

400 Easy Swim – Working on breathing every 3 to 4 strokes.  Long slow exhale- deep inhale; use pull buoy                  

Total: 2,000 meters

The Post Where We're All Learning to Swim Without Dying

Geek at Swim Clinic

So now that we have nearly a full year to train for our Ironman (rather than the 9 months we thought we were going to have when doing Kentucky) we're all taking time to ease into training instead of jumping in head-first.

The swim was a place we knew we all could use some help. All three of us are at a different level of confidence and ability. I signed up for a five-week swim workshop with a local triathlon coaching group.  I was pretty confident in my ability to swim going into that first class.

Geek with Coach Juliet

I was much less confident coming out.

After a warm up, the class had a 50-meter all-out swim. The coach praised the fact that I was a good sprint swimmer, with relatively good sprint technique. I was pretty excited about that and attributed it to the fact that I was raised in southern Florida where they basically threw you in a pool immediately after birth and left you there until adulthood.

But then the bad news came: an Ironman is not a sprint in any way, shape or form. She warned that if I was going to swim 2.4 miles in the most effective and least-calorie burning way possible (relying more heavily on core and upper body so I could save my legs for the biking and running) I was
going to have to completely retrain myself in how to swim.

Hippie & Princess

Great.

So that's what I've been doing for the past three weeks since starting the class. At first the rolling from side to side was awkward and seemed like a ton of more work. But when Coach explained the physics of it (terms like drag, pitch, and recovery have now become regular part of my vocabulary), I could understand. And I admit, I'm getting better at it.

Hippie and Princess are taking swim classes also. More updates on them soon.


Three random things we found out about the IM swim that reassured us:

1) You can use any stroke you want at any time. Need a break from freestyle? Breast stroke is fine. Even backstroke is allowed. Go figure.

2) If you're in trouble (or if you just need a rest) you are allowed to hold on to one of the official kayak/canoe/paddleboards in the water and rest. As long as you aren't making any forward progress while holding on to the object, you can stay there as long as you want (but keeping in mind that there is a 2:20 cut off for the swim).

3) Unique to IM FL: It's a 2 lap course in the ocean. That means you start on the sand, run out (through the waves) and swim in a giant 1.2mile "U".  The end brings you back into shore, you run along the shore for a few yards and go back out for your second loop.  Crazy, but good to have a tiny little break in there.

A taste of the IM FL swim start:

The Post Where Everything Completely Changes

So in the last post I talked about how we wanted to do Ironman Florida (or Arizona) but those sell out so fast (in minutes) that we had resigned ourselves to doing Ironman Kentucky.

The main problems with Ironman Kentucky were: 1) The heat/humidity in August in Louisville (regularly gets up into the 90s) and 2) The hilly bike course (considered one of the more difficult).

Here's the elevation map for the bike course of IM Louisville:

But as we were watching the live feed for IM Florida on Saturday, November 2, Princess, Hippie and I started texting back and forth: Should we try to get in to IM Florida? Would the other two be willing to do Charity spots if one of us got in and the others didn't?

IM Florida is considered to be one of the best races for first-timers. It's a flat course, it's in November, it's in a crowd-friendly city.  Here's the bike elevation for IM Florida (in Panama City Beach):

 

 Although both may look hilly in the pictures, the actual key is to look at the gain numbers. Kentucky is 3x more hilly than Florida on the bike.

And for someone like me, already not real confident on a bike, who lives in Virginia Beach, (aka: Least Hilliest Place on the Planet), the thought of eliminating some serious hills was thrilling.

So we decided to go for it. We'd try to register for IM FL and if none of us got in, then we could go back to Kentucky and if one or more of us got in the others would do Charity spots and we'd all help fundraise.

Ironman registration for the next year's race opens the day after the race is run in the current year. (So IM FL was Nov 2, 2013, and registration for 2014 was on Nov 3) Registration opens first to athletes who just finished the race.  If every single athlete who raced IM FL on Saturday had decided to sign up again on Sunday, there would be no spots open for anyone else. But since that's kind of like asking a mom who just went through labor 10 minutes ago if they're going to have another kid next year, a lot of athletes don't sign up.

Volunteers at the race have the next level of priority. If you want to make sure you get a spot in IM FL, volunteer for the race the year before. Volunteers can sign up for the race before registration opens on line.

Getting whatever advantage I can for registration.

Then, after athletes and volunteers sign up, IF there are still spots available, they open to the general public online. And for a flat, fast courses like IM FL and IM Arizona, there aren't many spots left by the time they're available online. That's why they sell out in minutes.

But we were determined to try. So at 1pm on Sunday we were all sitting at our computers, on the correct page, ready to hit refresh over and over. I personally was using: 3 iPads, 2 iPhones, and my laptop. I had my 9 year-old assisting.

Princess, Hippie and I were frantically texting each other through the whole process. First one of us got in -- hooray! Then another and finally another! ALL THREE OF US WERE IN (although one of us had to use an Ironman Foundation spot). It was stressful, but worth it in end.

So, so long Kentucky! We'll be doing Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach on November 1, 2014!

This does mean I will have to defer my guaranteed entry to the NYC Marathon (scheduled for Nov 2, 2014) to 2015, but I decided that was worth it. So Panama City Beach, here we come!