12/20/02

I forgot to post this yesterday, so here it is:1,000 warm-up:Mixed it up my general way, some swimming, then pulling then kicking. Tried to mix in some faster pace stuff so I had some kind of idea what to take out this 400 in. I'm so lost as to what pace i can hold, I guess I just have to keep trying things, and if I die, I die.400 Free - 2 x 200 free - 4 x 100 freeEverything is on the 1:30 base.Took out the 400 pretty fast, and started thinking more about a continuous turnover, rather than just riding the stroke out. It's going to be MUCH faster than just focusing on length. I've thought about that for so long now, I think I forgot how to get speed. The trouble is, I'm just not in that good of shape to hold it, so at the 150, I settled down into a smooth stroke just to finish in a decent time. It was fine.I switched to alternating 25 free 25 breast, and pulled the 200's and 100's. I feel I need to overload my upper body and really work on my breaststroke pull to build that strength. Intervals were pretty easy, so i could keep the free smooth, and focus on the breaststroke.200 Pull - 2 x 100 pull - 4 x 50 pull.I kept the same pattern of 25 free 25 breast, but by the time the 50's came up, I was sprinting the pull. Started to feel pretty good and powerful. Trying not to overkick, which even with a pull-buoy on, I have a tendency to do on breaststroke pull, but to think of the feet following in line with the rest of the body... a powerful flow.100 kick - 2 x 50 kick - 4 x 25 kick... on the 1:00/50 base.Good first 100, at 1:21, and the 50's were about :41, and the 25's were just as fast as I could. Turns out this is the standard Friday morning practice, and it's good to know what the practice is, so that you can plan the parts where you're really going to work. Most people love to put the emphasis on the 400 free, but since my freestyle is not so good! I like to save the real effort for the stroke specific stuff.As I get in better shape, I'll be doing quite a bit of alternating slow freestyle, with really fast breaststroke. This practice gives the opportunity to do that, while staying up with the group.I'm off for a week now, as we travel to see friends and family, so I wish everyone a Happy Holidays, and I'll be talking to you soon.