Off the Deck

&^%$#@)*&!!!!

I woke up at 4 a.m. today totally congested and shivering. Having learned my my lesson from many, many past “I’ll just swim through it” mistakes, I knew I had to scratch the meet today. So I called it a day at 6:30 a.m. and unpacked my swim meet bag.

I was really looking forward to the meet. Foremost, I wanted to see if I had made any progress on my weak middle 400 IM 100s after swimming a lot of back and breast since the last local meet. Checking out a new pool (well, “new” to me — the pool has been there for awhile) is always a highlight for me. Another consistent “meet-perk” is watching good swimming while catching up with everyone from other teams as well as making new friends. And, I really enjoy identifying out new training focals points based on my performance.

Oh well. On the bright side, if I have to be sick now is a “good” time since I have one month+ to shake this thing off and return to solid training before States. And, as Lady COMSA noted this morning on the phone, I wasn’t going to swim any “Rebecca,” or distance events, in other words. If I want to check in on my middle 400 IM I can do some time trials off the blocks at practice, something which I should be doing on a regular basis for all of my events anyway!

Off to rest…until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Tomorrow I am swimming through a local short course indoor meet (“off events” for me [100 back, breast, fly, IM] since no distance ones are offered). I’ve just packed my bag, so I thought it might be interesting to take a peek:

–Stadium jacket: I usually bring this to all meets since it can be freezing inside due to AC or freezing outside in the a.m.s

–Two suits, two pairs of goggles, two caps: “doubling-up” on the essentials is based on the “you never know” premise. And, sometimes it’s nice to change into a dry suit if you have awhile until your next race.

–Deck wear: sweatsuit*, short-sleeved t-shirt*, flip flops. The ability to layer to meet shifting temperatures is key!

–Two towels: one stays on deck for in between races, the other is saved in a locker for the shower. There’s just something about having a clean, dry towel at the end of a meet day.

–Chamois: Used for a quick post-swim self-mops, it’s small but goes a long way towards minimizing that “sitting around in soaking wet” feeling.

–Insulated lunch bag with cool shark on the outside: These quick little local meets require bite-sized snacks/gulps of fluid here and there to stay fueled and hydrated. I didn’t buy anything special for this meet, I just packed whatever I had on hand that seemed good: nuts, veggie sticks, applesauce, fruit, accelerade, power bars, water.

–Shower stuff: I don’t think this needs further explanation other than it’s essential to get that chlorine off!

–Padlock from my high school days: It still works, I haven’t forgotten the combination, and it’s always good to lighten the load by stashing things you don’t need until the meet is over in a locker if they are available.

–Notebook and pen: no writer worth her salt goes anywhere with tools of the trade. You just never know when a story idea will hit you…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

*Non-matching; some day I might actually gear up and get something that was sold as a set…
**From prior swim meet, of course

Maybe it’s the economy, but there is no time for deliberation these days on purchasing sale swim suits off websites. And yes, I swear I’m not being paid by swim purveyors to blog about this today!

Last week I got one of those email alerts from Swimoutlet.com* which advertised the sale price of $166 for women’s full body Fastskins. I’ve been thinking about buying a new one for the summer competitive season, so I was excited to see they had my size in stock, and in racy-black, my favorite color.

Yet I didn’t jump on the offer. I figured that my normal approach — think about it for a few days then purchase — would work just fine.

Except it didn’t. By Monday afternoon my size had sold out. Grrrrrrr!!! Lesson learned? If you see a desired item on sale on a site, you probably can rumminate for a day or two. If you get an email that highlights a sale item? BUY NOW!

Here’s hoping there’s another sale before August…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

*O.K. so I will provide a free shout out concerning one swim website: Swimoutlet.com. they are by far my fave site for all things swim! They have the best mechandise selection, offer great sales and provide speedy delivery.

On Wednesday I was a tad dehydrated heading into the pool — I didn’t do as good a job as I could have over the past 24 hours with the fluid intake. Sometimes I might be able to squeak out a decent workout under those conditions, but not this time. Although my intervals were acceptable (at least the math savant seemed to think so) it took way more effort than ususal to hit them. And I was straggling about 5-10 seconds behind the math savant on every repeat — ugh!

Absolutely, I had some water on deck with me. Except that because I forgot to refill my bottle before leaving work (mistake #2 — see how easily bad situations compound?) I was out within the first ten minutes or so.

The third factor that really pushed me over the edge? The pool’s at a rec center, so the water is always a bit too much on the warm side for serious training. By the time I got home my brain was fried and I needed some serious recovery — about three glasses of water and a 20-minute nap before I felt semi-coherent again.

Honestly, I am annoyed with myself because dehydration just shouldn’t happen under normal circumstances. Particulary because it takes a day or two to “catch up” physically, which means I put in another day of poor training.

I must get better at meeting the minimum hydration standards:
–at least 8 ounces of water one hour before training
–at least 8 ounces of water per sixty minutes of training
–at least 8 ounces of water right after training

Of course downing more water is appropriate for swimmers larger than me (which, let’s face it, is just about everyone, including kids), and if the air, water or both, are hot.

Maybe if I got one of those clear water bottles that has hatch marks on the side notating ounces…or kept “emergency” bottled waters in the car trunk…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Did you hear my “oop” earlier this month when I turned the calendar page to February? Less than two months from States is not a good time to realize that despite all of the off-season rumination, yaking and writing, I have done diddly to improve my breaststroke.

Well, that’s not quite true. To be fair, I’ve made an effort to swim actual breaststroke sets (4×50 counts, doesn’t it?) I’ve been rotating in breaststroke evenly for the first time in my life during choice stroke sets. And, I did meet my goal of swimming the 100 breast at each local meet this fall/winter, no matter how much my pace threatened to slow meets down.

But I didn’t do the key thing: get technique help from an expert on a regular basis.

Absolutely, chalk up most of my failure to act to laziness. By the time fall rolls around, I need break from the pool. But I really can’t rest on that excuse — focusing on stroke improvement during the fall would be the perfect way to maintain feel for the water while giving my body a break from training.

The other stumbling block is easy to identify but harder to resolve. Where can I get consistent feedback? While clinics and assistant coaches offer valuable insight, you can’t incorporate every tip you hear when just about everyone has their own opinion on how breast should be swum.

The ideal would to be to work with one coach. Not only do they see your strokes regularly at practice, they often attend meets. Since I don’t have “a coach” I’ve been trying to find one person who could work with me on a regular basis. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Particularly because you have to find someone who won’t slap the most en vogue style on to you. Rather, a mentor who asseses your body type as well as your strengths and weaknesses, to find the best fit for you is needed. And then you have to find time and money to work with said expert…

Here’s hoping something clicks this spring!

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Earlier this week, I noticed benefits from my new system were starting to kick in:

–I’m more lucid during the day (and evening!) since I’ve been getting up at a very reasonable 6 a.m. versus 4:15 a.m.

–I’m attacking sets with more vigor because I approach afternoon workouts fueled and hydrated

–I’m working harder. Nope, no more “oooh, I’ll just drift along here at the back of the lane” days when it’s just you and swimming math savant pushing each other every single lap of every single set. Note: direct swimming math savant quote from last week, following a 200-300-400-600-800 free ladder set “We’re going to kill each other.”

–I’m finally getting 90-minute workouts in again — bliss!

So there I was on Wednesday: all excited about the future filled with afternoon training, ready to devise my own overall training plan since the new system held such promise.

Of course, the bubble burst on Thursday, when the math savant emailed with the news that the pool was closing April 1. No, not for a two-week intensive spring clean. For good.

Sigh…back to the starting block with training sites, locales and times….

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Yesterday I made another bold move (well, for me) as part of my conversion to a mercenary swimmer — I cancelled my locker at my former “home base” facility. Much of my motivation was practical: 1) It seemed silly to pay for something I was only using once or twice a week, 2) Who couldn’t use a monetary refund these days?, 3) I wanted to have all of my equipment (kickboard, fins, “best” deck shoes, etc.) where ever I worked out.

The emotional aspect? It felt good to make a “I’m not settling for your sub-par treatment of masters anymore” statement. Although, I am not sure how much of a statement canceling a locker is, especially when no-one asked me why I was making this change. Guess their business model doesn’t include keeping in touch with loyal customers.

Granted, it might get old eventually to carry around all my swim and shower stuff after stashing it in a locker for almost five years. And I confess that the unpacking each night (got to dry that stuff out after all) and re-packing the next morning sucks up additional time.

But right now I am enjoying the “can swim anywhere, anytime” rolling- stone feeling. Another goofy and totally “girl” pro of giving up the locker? Now I can place my bag anywhere in the locker room post-practice and catch up with whoever swam that day!

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

In a recent post, I wrote about my collapsing team situation and how it’s driven me to seek other training options. Today however, I am pleased to report on a positive trend I’ve witnessed over the past week: assistant coaches stepping up.

I suspect that this phenomenon occurs in other vacuums — some people step up to fill the void. In any case, it was great to witness such behavior concerning my team over the past week:

1) Shout out to Mike Mann: Our team morale has been low lately. Thank you for thinking of and organizing a fun social — attending the last university dual meet and heading to dinner afterwards.

2) Shout out to Ken Classen: You brought the “team workout” concept back last weekend. Thank you for spotting the rare opportunity to use more lanes than usual, which allowed us to spread out and do an entire sprint workout on a shared interval. Your enthusiasm on deck (using the whistle, calling out repeat times, and more) was inspiring.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Michael Phelps was not what I was planning to blog about today. But considering today’s news, how can I not comment here?

I fully accepted his mea culpa after his first um, “youthful indescretion” following the last Olympics. (Remember kids: alcohol and driving don’t mix!) I chocked it up to young-boy dumb behavior that occurs when blowing off steam.

Today however, I am kind of annoyed at his stock “I messed up. I let people down. I won’t do it again” groomed PR message. Especially because it seems as if the pot-smoking wasn’t an isolated incident event over the past few months. And because he apparently did not learn his “lesson” or live up to his promise from four years ago.

Granted, I don’t know him personally. But the latest news has me wondering if a bigger problem exists. Perhaps it’s as simple as finding a more balanced lifestyle to prevent him from going bezerkers after each Olympics.

Or, maybe Michael needs to address why he seems to make some bad choices beyond the pool.

Yes, I know, there are raging debates about if pot is harmful or not. And if Michael doesn’t want to be a role model, that’s fine too — it’s his choice. But to me, it seems as if there are other healthier, non-destructive ways to have fun, especially if you have loads of money. I’m just saying…

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist