Saturday, December 21, 2013

SEASON MID POINT and HOLIDAY SCHEDULE


NEW RECORD:  As was pointed out to me by a concerned 3rd party who shall remain nameless (we all know who it was), Alexa Cuomo also set a new team record in the 50 fly with a 26.32.in Lancaster.   How did I miss that one, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I hear that voice all the time, when I'm sleeping, even on the radio.

During the holidays we need to keep up with our practice schedule the best we can so here it is.  This may change a little after the 1st, and I will try to keep it updated.

Monday 23-  8:30-10:00 Senior Prep/ 10:00-11:00 Junior Gold / 11:00-12:00 Junior Blue
Tuesday 24-  8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Wednesday 25- what do you know OFF. HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY
Thursday  26-  8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Friday 27-  8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Saturday 28-  8:0-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Monday 30- 8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Tuesday 31- 8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold
Wednesday January 1 2014.  Oh no another off day
Thursday 2- 8:00-9:30 Senior prep / 7:00-8:00 pm JUNIOR BLUE
Friday  3 - 8:00-930 SENIOR PREP and Junior Gold
Saturday 4 8:00-9:30 Senior Prep and Junior Gold

If you are traveling and can find a pool here are 3 workouts that you may use.  Feel free to adapt them to your individual needs.

#1  IM workout

WARM-UP 400 FREE/ 4X50 KICK-SWIM/ 4X25 IMO (800)
PRE SET; 4X75 FLY (25 R ARM/ 25 L ARM/ 25 SWIM)
4X100 BACK (25 R ARM/ 25L ARM/ 25 BOTH ARMS/ 25 SWIM)
4X75 BREAST (25 PULL FLY KICK GLIDE/  25 PULL KICK-KICK/  25 SWIM)
4X100 FREE (25 R ARM HAND LEAD/ 25 L ARM HAND LEAD/ 25 STOP-STOP-SWITCH/ 25 SWIM )  2200 YDS
MAIN SET: 15 X 100  (#3=FLY/ #6=BACK/ #9=BREAST/ #12AND 15 =IM/ all others free) 3700 YDS
HARD SPRINT SET: 6X50 (DO TWICE) FREE-FLY-FREE-BK-FREE BREAST (FREE 10 SECONDS FASTER THAN STROKE) 4300ydsCOOL DOWN 
COOL DOWN= EASY 150  (TOTAL 4450 YDS)

#2 MIDDLE DISTANCE SET: 

WARM-UP 400 FREE/4X25 IMO/ 300 BACK/4X25IMO/200 BREAST 4X25 IMO ( 1200)
PRE SET; 3X50 #1=FLY/BK #2 BK/BR #3 BR/FR (REPEAT 5 TIMES) {1950}
MAIN SET: 6X4X100'S 1ST SET @1:20/ 2ND SET @1:25/ 3RD SET@1:30/ 4TH SET@1:35/5TH SET@1:40/ 6TH SET@1:40
EACH SET TRY TO HOLD THE SAME TIME ON EACH REPEAT.  LOWER THAT TIME 2-3 SECONDS WITH EACH NEW SET OF 4.  LAST 4 SHOULD BE CLOSE TO BEST 100 TIME. (4350 YDS)
COOL DOWN 150  TOTAL 4500 YDS

#3 FREE AND STROKE SPRINTING

WARM-UP- 400 FREE/300 KICK/ 200 IM DRILL-SWIM/ 100 CHOICE (1000)
PRE SET: 4X25 IMO (4TIMES THRU) 1ST TIME 5 SEC REST/ 2ND TIME 10 SEC REST/ 3RD TIME 5 SEC  REST/ 4TH TIME 10 SEC REST ( 1400)
MAIN SET: 5X75 (25 FREE-25 STROKE-25 FREE) DECSEND1-5
4X75 (50 STROKE-25 FREE) DESCEND 1-4
3X75 STROKE DESCEND 1-3
2X75 FREE DESCEND 1-2 
1X75 IMO FAST (1125/ 2525)
 SPRINT SET FREE  4X50 FREE (5 TIMES THRU) #1 25 EASY/25 FAST-#2 25 FAST/25 EASY- #3 ALL OUT- #4 EASY  3525 YDS 
COOL DOWN 150 TOTAL YDS= 3675


TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF WHERE WE ARE

As we have now finished the first half of this season and head into the last week of 2013 it's time to take stock of where we are.  We have talked about being totally honest with yourself when establishing goals for the season and how you as an individual and WE as a group were going to work towards them.  You may be one of those swimmers who had a amazing season up to this point, or you may find yourself struggling with an average season so far, or you may have be one that has seen the season go astray  up to this point.  First  off let's not PANIC, because nothing good will result from that.  On the other hand an athlete can not rest on past accomplishments, they must surge forward with a new dedication to improve.  Take a moment this week and critique your performance over the last 4 months and make the effort of correcting any areas that need to be corrected.  BE HONEST !
The following 6 reasons may be why you are not getting the results that you want.   They are taken from an article from (Swim Swam).

1.  Your expectations don't match up with the work you've done.
Denial is a funny thing.   How many times have you swum a race leaving everything in the pool in terms of effort, touched the wall, looked up to see a result that fell far below your expectations?   You look at the clock in disbelief, unsure how you could have that result with all the work you put in.
Did you put in the necessary work, though?
Sure it might seem that you only missed a work out here and there, or you were only sick for a week. There might have only been a couple of times when you slacked off on a set, got in late, sat on the wall playing with your goggles.   Maybe your nutrition is not what it should be or maybe your not taking in the proper amount of water.   All little things you say, cumulatively they add up.  Look back at your training in and out of the pool and ask yourself, "Based on the work I did leading up to the meet, did I earn the reward?"

2.  Your goal setting skills may need some work.
There are many reasons why goals are "stinky". Not being realistic,  not having a clear deadline, not having a plan of action, and so on, but the most common is lack of specificity.  Let's  take one I hear a lot on the deck, "I want to break a 1:00 in the 100 free this year."  It's a nice goal on the surface.  It appears specific; after all there is a quantifiable element to it.  Your intentions are good, but this goal will probably only end up frustrating you more than anything else.  You have not set a specific time this year where this will take place, meaning that it has no deadline outside of this year. There are no specific things that you are going to have to do to get to your goal.

3.  You're over-thinking it.
How often have you said to yourself; 
"I want to be an elite swimmer but I need to buy a better suit/ train in a better pool/ get the right supplements..."
"I want to swim in the fast lane, but I am going to be embarrassed around all the fast kids..."
"I want to be the best swimmer I can be, but first I need to research everything I can about technique, improving my kick, strength training, proper nutrition, etc..."
I not telling you that all these things are bad, but too much thinking sometimes paralyzes you, and sometimes you need to just turn off the brain, crack the whip and JUST SWIM BABY, JUST SWIM.

4.  You're a part time athlete.
We've all seen the guy that walks into McDonald's, order 2 big macs, large fries..and a diet coke, thinking that the one good decision will cancel all his bad choices.
Don't be the same way with your swimming!
You've worked hard at the pool, put in the training day after day.  Don't throw it all away by not giving yourself the opportunity to recover properly with adequate nutrition, hydration and rest.  If you want to be better than the average swimmer, remember that what you do out-of-the-pool is just as important as what you do in the pool.

5.  You're not setting short term goals.
Even at this point of the year, JO's  Districts, Regions States, and NASA seem so far away.  (And they are relatively speaking)  This causes a a couple of different issues:
  • Removes any sense of urgency.  With so much distance between where you are right now and your season end goal, you begin to become detached from it,  There is no pressing need to get down to work on your goal.  After all, there is so much time to go still, you can always get serious later.
  • It's hard to get motivated to get after that goal.  Swim seasons are are a hard long haul.  With the long amount of time between now and CHAMPIONSHIP season, a disconnect is created.  There is too much of a gulf between the swimmer you are now and the swimmer you aspire to be at CHAMPIONSHIP time, which makes it hard for you to stay on track and make that goal relevant.

The solution is to introduce short-term goals.  Set goals for the month, for the week, and even for individual practices.  Not only will they keep you focused on taking the necessary steps to achieve your big goal, but they will also help you stay dialed in and motivated on a daily basis.

6.  You're not consistent enough.
If there is one thing every single champion swimmer holds in common is that they are consistent.  They show up every day, rain or shine, and put in the work.  No matter what kind of day they had, if they're feeling  a little beat up, or if they simply aren't " feeling it" they show up and do the necessary work to forge forward to their goals.
There are an endless number of reasons/excuses for why swimmers fail to put their best effort in every day at the pool--
  • I forgot my goggles. Oh well.  Can't train today!
  • I need to adjust my goggles at each wall.  Oh well.  Missing a few repeats won't hurt!
  • I'm tired today.  I'll go to the back of the lane and take it easy!
  • I hurt!  I'll sit out a few sets!
  • I worked hard yesterday, I'm good!
The fast kid in your lane doesn't buy into these excuses.  Neither do I.  They understand they need to maximize every opportunity they are given in order to have the success they want Success doesn't come with spurts of effort, it comes from the continual and consistent application of hard work.

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