Tuesday 200s

I always cringed in the past when I heard that term, Tuesday 200s. There has to be a better reason for doing something other than alliteration. However, Tuesday I decided for reasons other than the way it sounded to hit the 200s in the pool. 

My decision started with the release of the Senior Olympic dates, the specific dates of the swimming events. Those will be held April 6th, and participants can sign up and compete in a total of four events. I think I will do four. The date is good news for me because it will give me time to peak for the pool and then train for Chicot. Not counting this week and the week of the meet, I have ten weeks to bring my body to its best in terms of speed, endurance, and lactate buffering capability. That knowledge gave me the kick in the pants to hit the water for some real intervals. Its easy to just go up and down the lane at a comfortable pace, but to do the hard work needed to swim fast over a few hundred yards is no easy task. I swam

2,000 warm up 35:59 (1:47), and then

7 X 200 as 
1 - moderate (3:18)
2 - 1st 50 fast (3:19)
3 - 2nd 50 fast (3:18)
4 - 3rd 50 fast (3:16)
5 - 4th 50 fast (3:14)
6 - 1st and last 25 fast (3:12)
7 - all fast for 2:57 (ties PR at 1:28/100)

While I was still breathing hard from the all-out 200, I put on the small paddles and swam an easy 500 for a total of 3,900 yards. Then I did 400 kick with fins. So it was a good swim and one that gave me some stress but not so much that I can't train the next day.

Trevor came over and we hit the weights pretty hard. For my rotator cuffs, I have lately been doing overhead external rotations with light plates. Tuesday, I brought out the cords for the first time in a few weeks and was amazed at how much strength I had lost on that move which involves the same muscles. Consequently, I plan to rotate that part of my training to make sure those muscles are the strongest they can be in anyway they can be moved.

So I now have another good day in the books, or to use a banking analogy, I put more money in the account, both accounts. By having two accounts, swimming and lifting, I can eventually transfer some funds from the weights to the water. Thank you, Jesus, for another fine day of life.