FLORIDA BOUND WORKOUTS

 For those of you who need workouts between now and Tuesday here are a couple that should work.  Set your intervals where you are getting 15-20 seconds rest.  Please if at all possible do not stay out of the water for two straight days.  You lose that feel quickly which makes those first few races harder than they need to be.  

WARMUP ( our usual) (800)

200 long smooth free fast feet to turns. Breathing every 3-5 by 25

4x50 free to back @45/50/55/1:00. Hold UWD AFAP OFF TURNS

200 IM KICK/swim

4x50 free/IMO strong effort @1:00

SET #1 (1500)

10x50 @1:00 odds are choice (can be IMO). STRONG EFFORT FAST TURNS. evens are free recovery (deep arm no breath turns)

5x100 done as 25 kick 50 strong free 25 kick

10x50 fins done as UW DOLPHINS (gold fast to 12.5. Prep fast to 15 meters) double arm backstroke back

Finish with are 25 set. 8 rounds (800)

3x25 ALL OUT @25/30. 1x25 double arm back with breast stroke kick

SET #2 (1650)

2x75 (25 no breath free. 25 backstroke breathe. 25 no breath free)

2x75 (25 stroke build 25 easy free. 25 stroke fast

2x75 ( 25 backstroke. 25 no breath free.  25 backstroke 

2x75 ( 50 stroke build to fast. 25 easy free) 

2x75 fast kick

1x75 stroke build by 25’s

FINISH WITH THE USUAL 25 set from above

Remember all turns should be done properly and fast even if swims are easy

All easy swims should be done with great technique always.

SPRING

 

Now that we have turned the calendars to spring, what exactly does spring bring.  Spring is all about new beginnings and transformations.  Although we have had a somewhat mild winter it's time to shake those winter doldrums off and reawaken ourselves to the changing environment.

Yes, we can also apply this new beginning to our swimming.  It could be a renewed spark as most of you inch closer to your summer season back at your neighborhood watering hole.  For some of us heading to St. Petersburg in the coming days it will offer a chance to take your racing outdoors.  The winter is over and what I see over the horizon for all of you are new opportunities and new possibilities.   Just like the flowers and the leaves need help to bloom you need some self help to seek those new opportunities and possibilities .  

You need to take OWNERSHIP of your races as soon as you step behind those blocks.  Be fearless, Be brave.  I DARE YOU.

MY TAKE

 We finished 14 and under Champs Sunday night with some awesome swims from our kids.  Saturday our Mako swimmers continued to swim very focus as many of our kids posted personal bests.  Returning Saturday evening for finals were  Shannon Stegmaier (200 fly), Sadie Buckley (13-14 200 IM,100 back), Lyla Devlin (13-14 200 IM and 200 breast), Tyler Harris (100 IM and 50 back), Anna Rizzardi (100 IM), Anna Roth (100 breast), Laura Roth (100 Breast), Claire Anderson (100 IM and 200 free), Jaxon Chan (100 breast), Anna Helms (50 free), Andrew Zimmerman (100 breast), and Maddie Carroll (200 free).

The Mako Swimmers showed up Saturday night very focused and ready to race.  They were incredible during their warmups and showed up to the blocks with one clear objective, which was to RACE.

On Sunday we all arrived on time even after losing an hour from the switch to Daylight Savings.  The Mako swimmers had an outstanding Prelims session when many best times.  We do have to give a shout out to Shannon Stegmaier who had a swim off for the 200 fly and after trailing for the first 150 she came roaring back in that last 50 to win and posting a new best time.

I also want to thank our 9&10 boys for their understanding and great sportsmanship to our guest relay swimmer.  You see we had three boys for our relay so we went to the coach who had 1 swimmer who warmed up with us and we explained the situation and asked if he would like to join us for a relay and without hesitation the answer was yes.  I will tell you that after he swam his 50 free (dropping 1.5 seconds) he stopped to thank us for letting him get that warmup swim in the relay.  That's what this is all about.

Returning to finals Sunday evening were; Tyler Harris (50 back and 50 free), Laura Roth and Anna Roth (200 breast), Claire Anderson (200 breast and 50 free), Anna Rizzardi (50 free), Maddie Carroll (50 free), Andrew Zimmerman (200 breast), Shannon Stegmaier(100 fly), Sadie Buckley (200 back and 100 free), Anna Helms (100 free), and Lyla Devlin ( 200 back)

CONGRATULATIONS to Sadie Buckley named outstanding Female 13 year old swimmer 2021-2022 season on Saturday evening.

GREAT JOB TO ALL OUR MAKO SWIMMERS for a successful weekend of racing!

SWIMMING SAFE

 

Our swimmers had a good day Thursday at 14 and under champs.  We had a lot of swimmers posting personal best and had a good group at finals.  Winning their events Thursday night were Tyler Harris in the 100 free and the 50 fly.  Sadie Buckley winning the 400 IM and the 200 free.

After dropping time in the 400 IM in the morning Lyla Devlin showed up in the evening with her “A” game dropping another 4 seconds this after swimming a personal best in the 100 breaststroke.  

Anna and Laura Roth also had 2 races in the evening (50 breaststroke 200IM).  Laura posted a best time in the evening and her sister Anna who posted a best time in the morning swam a great race again posting the same time.  In the 200 IM the girls swam great races posting best times with Anna out touching Laura at the wall.  Claire Anderson also posted a best time in that 200 IM after having a great race in the 100 free in the evening.o

Anna Rizzardi was the iron woman of the evening swimming 3 events at finals.  Anna had the 100 free 50 fly and the 200 IM where she not only posted her best times but also winning every heat she was in.  She must have had a really good lunch between sessions.

Maddie Carroll was our other swimmer at finals and as I told her before she went up, “Maddie your swim is the most important” because your race is first and it sets the tone for the whole team.  Just as she did in the morning she swam the 200 back and posted a personal best just as she had done in the morning. Maddie sometimes you need that pressure put on you and then it’s up to you to rise up to the challenge.  Later in the evening Maddie posted another personal best time in the 100 free.

Now Thursday is behind us and it’s time to move on to the next events on your list.  

Something that I notice from some swimmers is that you tend to swim safe, yes I swam safe, I dropped time but I failed to take a risk during the race for fear of failure. Swimming safe does produce some good times often but swimming safe keeps you from reaching your true potential at times.  Swimming safe is basically the same as swimming scared where you are worried more about the unknown over the chance of having that lifetime swim at that moment.  Your body can handle so much more than you think it can.  The only limits it has are the limitations that you yourself place on it mentally.  What might happen if you go out just a bit faster, take one last breath, extend your underwater a little bit, work the middle of the race a little harder, or go harder off that lat turn to the finish.  WHAT IF’s. They are all around you. This them out of your races.  Talking to some of you I realize that you are aware of it also.  

KING/QUEEN FOR A DAY

 

The next two weekends will see most everybody swimming in their championship meet for the short course season,  Are you ready?  Is there anything you can do now that will help?  Glad you ask.

The most important thing you can do now is to show up with the right attitude and maintain it throughout the meet,  that will go a long way no matter what the results are.

Get your swim bag ready with your gear (pack extra caps, goggles, suit) ahead of time not the morning of.  Pack some snacks to fuel your body, you are about to ask a lot of it and above all as Eric would say water,water,water.

Know your list of events for the day and focus on the one event that is in front of you.  Does no good to worry about an event later on.  Control what you can control and what is in front of you at the present not in the future.  Manage your expectations and visualize in. advance of how you want to perform in the race.  Envision yourself swimming successfully especially in the face of adversity.  As Taylor Swift would say "YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN" .  What ever the results are do not celebrate too much nor berate yourself too much.   Sometimes your ahead, sometimes your behind but in the end the race is yours.

Take care of your body, after all you are asking a lot of it so you need to treat it well.  Keep it fueled, hydrated and warm.  Execute your warmup and warm downs the way you know it should be done, no shortcuts here.  Do not sabotage yourself by doing things that make you go slow.  Be a smart athlete.

Remember where you can find time in your race.  Explode off those blocks and be aggressive on those breakouts.  Turns be aggressive going into those turns.  Those of you who have open turns remember "KNEE SPEED" = "TURN SPEED".  From the time you touch the wall to the time your feet leave the wall it should only take you 1.0-1.2 seconds.  Flip turns, do not pull and delay that flip because it will kill your speed.  Do not pick your head up going into the turn as this too will kill momentum.   Finish your races hard, pick up that kick and be aggressive.  Too many races are lost because swimmers relax at the flags thinking the race is over, it's not over until you get the hand on the pad.

Above all keep a positive attitude throughout the meet and have a good time.  You Swim to Win the Race!  Be the KING or QUEEN for the day.

TAKING CARE of the FRONT END

 It has always amazed me to watch swimmers come in 5,10, or 15 minutes before practice flop down with their phones and do nothing that will help them have a good workout.

If you take care of the front end of your practice, the rest of the workout will pretty much take care of itself.  Win your workout.  Elevate your swimming.

I am sure a lot of you think that if practice starts at 5:00 am or 5:00 pm there is no harm just sitting around and just waiting until a minute before to start getting ready.  Tells coaches that you clearly are not focus on practice.  How many of you have ever seen your coaches show up late for practice?  Yes incidences do occur in every ones lives from time to time that cause us to be late, but when it happens all the time it becomes a pattern and not one you want to be judged on.

I like to think of warmup as "victory warmup" where we get a bit of a long swim in to make sure we are in working order usually anywhere from 5-8 minutes.  We then go into a small aerobic set on a interval with a mix of drill-kick-swim.  We then start to engage our heart rate with a small descending set usually stroke/ free.  None of this is done super fast so it gives you a chance to get in touch with all your working parts.  If you can nail this warmup it will make the rest of the workout run smoothly.

Maybe instead of walking onto the pool deck, flopping on the floor with your devices you could maybe do some dynamic stretches while talking to each other about the day such as;

• how was your day?
• much homework?
• any projects?
• anything exciting?
• what's practice going to be like?

Eliminate distractions as you get ready for practice which is hard to do in today's world of social media.  Focus on the right things, the things that will help you in warmup.  Get your mindset in the right place.  Instead of thinking about all the things that are wrong, move your mind to a healthy place.   BECOME A STACKER.   Stack your good practices on top of each other.

Let's have a good week.

WIN YOUR WORKOUTS

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON NEARS

 

We are now entering the final leg of our season.  We all now know which championship meet we will be competing in.  It could be JUNIOR/ SENIOR CHAMPS, 14 and under CHAMPS, MAKO SPRING FLING or the SAINT PETERSBURG CLASSICS.   

Make no mistake, wherever you find yourself swimming this is YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP meet.  Your last races of our short course season, a time to embrace, a time to relax and a time to swim FAST.  If you have put in the time, the effort and worked hard it’s time to see it come to

fruition.

For the next few weeks take the time to work on the little things such as starts, breakouts, underwater’s, turns, finishes and race strategies so that as you step up onto the blocks to race that there is no doubt in your abilities.  This is not the time to go into panic mode with a lot of questions.  That time has passed, and all you can do now is work on the things that you can control.  The biggest thing that you can do right now is keep showing up, work hard and work on your positive mindset.  With that positive mindset the possibilities over the next few meets are endless, however you can’t just say the right things in fact you don’t have to say a thing to anyone.   All you need to do is say it to yourself and believe what you are saying.  Sometimes that is hard like everything else.  It also takes practice like everything else.

So, what can you do now to get ready for your championship meet?  The very first thing is to decide on "the list" of events that you want to race.  Things to consider to set yourself up for success; are relays a possibility?  How much recovery time will you need between events:?  Chance of swimming at finals? That is a hard one because at this level except for the first few seeds everyone is fighting for those spots.  Talking about finals, I catch a lot of swimmers talking about finals first thing in the morning.  Bad Move.  You still need to RACE  prelims to get there.  When racing in prelims most of you if not all of you will have to at least race your seed time to have a shot. Have a plan to succeed, failure to plan is planning to fail.

LATER