Back to Plate City

Friday morning rolled around, and I was dreaming at 8:00 a.m. when my wife awoke me by making noise in the house. I honestly cannot remember when I've slept until 8:00. According to Garmin Connect, I was out for 9 hours and 22 minutes that night. I needed every second of it. 

So I did a slow-start day. I lounged, drank coffee, and petted cats. Then I went to the pool around 10:00 when the ladies water aerobics ends. Friday, remember, is long swim day, the day where I do a straight swim. This time, I did a few sets. It went like this:

  warmup 5,400 straight in 1:47:24

  main set 200 free with medium paddles

  cooldown 50 back with small paddles

  total: 5,650 yards

How is that for programming? Yeah, I'm smart like that. I even sent this to one of my former Masters coaches. I know he loved it. The way they (real swimmers, i.e. college swimmers) write practices, the warmup is about 10% of the practice. The cooldown is about 5% or less. The main set or sets are lung-busting, puke-making trips up and down the pool. That is very difficult for a solo swimmer to do. With Tyler being out due to a new baby and a new dealership in another town, I would have been in real trouble this year if Vicki had not started training with me. She had been a huge boost to me. It's easier to do those tough sets if you have someone else doing them with you. But the 5,400 straight, I like that kind of training, and it is valuable. It builds the base, that basic fitness, that everything else is built on.

 

Yes, when I went home, I ate some food and took a nap. Then in the late afternoon, I went to the City. Pee Wee was beside himself. We hung out, and I ran on the treadmill and did the overhead press machine. I still love that machine; it's my favorite out of all the equipment I own. 

On the treadmill, I did 2.65 miles. That was only my third run of the week. My hope is that next week will be better on the road and in the gym. We'll see.