Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Qualifying times

For me, there is something to be said for swimming frequently. Tonight I felt awesome in the water, hours after debating whether to take the evening off. I'm very happy I didn't.

The coach - without advanced warning and without calling them anything out of the ordinary - had us swim a consecutive series of all-out 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m. We also had a super easy repetition of each distance in between with lots of recovery time too.

Whatever was in the water worked for everyone else too. Times dropped across the four lanes.

I swam a mid-30 50m, a 1:22 100m, a 2:44 200m and my first Sub 6 400m: 5:58. There's something to be said about swimming fast regularly.

It's a sign - yet another reminder - that being focused with training and consistent with it does translate into improvement, sometimes unexpectedly, even when you think you're having a low energy day.

I swam hard and I know that I can swim with still greater effort.

The 200m time is a personal best and it's beneath the 2:47 that I would need to have in a meet to qualify for that event at the Montreal Worlds 2014. I swam a 3:09 in this event at the swim meet at UBC in the fall.

As for the 400m, it's what I consider to be my first real Sub 6 effort. About a month ago we did a 400m TT to start the year and I swam 6:52. I wasn't impressed and I let the coach know that I wanted some additional advice. To her credit, I got it.

I had two years ago swum a 6:18 and then got stuck.

What do I think I've done to improve:

I've slowed down my arm rotation. I've stopped trying to teach the water a lesson with each stoke. My reach is significantly more extended. I'm actually catching and pulling myself through the water. I'm flip turning and streamlining. I'm 'trying' to breathe every third stroke. I'm doing all that I can to be aero in the water. I am swimming in the 'box' that a previous coach sketched for me.

While I've been thinking of a Sub 6 for more than a year, I hadn't expected to achieve it this week. I swam a second TT in late January of 6:32 and at the meet on Sunday I swam 6:30 (with a goggles malfunction).

I always want to go faster. It's part of who I am, though I realize that it's not something that can be rushed.

The Sub 6 though is huge and here's why. If I can - over the next few months - swim that pace at a slightly easier level of effort then a 1-hour Ironman swim comes squarely into focus. I'd be seriously impressed with myself in reaching that level.

I would see a 1-hour Ironman swim split as a sign that I've reached a new level in the sport. My fastest swim split is 1:03. I've dreamt of a 1-hour or slightly faster time for a decade.

And so now I'm more motivated than ever.

In addition, I've now moved within reach of the qualifying standard of 5:50 that I would need to enter this event at the Montreal Worlds. Four days ago that time seemed so far out of reach that I'd put it out of my mind. Now, it's front and centre.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Love to Swim? Yes

After my third indoor swimming competition, I'm a little wiser and also know that there's still a lot more to learn. Yesterday was the English Bay Swim Club's Love to Swim meet at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.

For some reason I swam most of my events goggles-optional, though that doesn't mean 'intentional'. I recommend swimming with goggles - perhaps double-capped too - and I'll focus on that for the next meet - Provincials April 26-28 in Vancouver.

At the next Titans Flippin' Tuesday session on March 5th, I will look to practice my diving skills along with perfecting my turns. I flip turned every time at yesterday's meet; a year ago I didn't know how to flip.

What did I get from this latest meet? First and foremost, I have some early season benchmarks, in particular for the 1500m. It's the fastest 1500m that I have swum in recent years - and as best I know ever.

Yesterday I swam 25:26.76 - which made me 1st among one in my age group. Ha! Once relegated to the slowest lane where I swam with fins in a losing effort to keep up with superswift kids, I now have a 'gold' medal performance :)

What I've learned most over the years is to celebrate my successes - with a grain of salt.

My objective for the 1500m was to start slower than I knew I could swim and then build. It was a good strategy though I might revise it a bit for the next meet. I might opt for a fast start and then ease into a rhythm that is 'comfortably uncomfortable' - in other words, a half ironman or ironman pace.

I am usually good at counting laps but not yesterday. I lost count of the 60 x 25m laps very early and so practiced my sighting skills - keen to see a bell ringing for me, the signal for the final 50m. Apparently I was sighting a lot. Perhaps that's because it seemed to take a lot longer than I expected - though my anticipation of the bell and some frantic on-deck signals from Titans teammate Simon encouraged me to swim the last few hundred metres as fast as I could.

I was ecstatic to finally see the bell and hammered the last 50m. I don't think I had much left in the tank so I'll look to expand the tank a bit ahead of April.

For comparison, I looked up my swim times from some recent triathlons.

I rarely do Olympic distance events, which start with a 1500m swim. The one exception has been the Squamish Triathlon which I have raced the last three years.

In 2012: I swam 25:29. In 2011, it was 26:20. And in 2010, I clocked 25:56. Last year I 'sort' of tapered ahead of the race and so I was fresh; the previous year I had completed a massive training day on the Saturday and had nothing.

The key change for me has been to swim calmer for which I credit Coach Roseline Mondor-Grimm.

So yesterday's time is a positive one, in particular given that it's so early in the year. I am convinced that a Sub 25 swim is within my reach and I intend to get it this season.

What will that mean for a longer distance swim? Ideally it will translate into a faster, more efficient one. And the intent of a faster swim as a triathlete is to exit the water with a stronger group of competitors. If challenging yourself is an objective, as it is for me, then you want athletes at least as fit as yourself either chasing you or in the near 'legal' distance.

I have done seven half ironmans (mostly starting with 1900m in the water) in the last four years: Vancouver four times, Oliver twice and Sooke once. (And I have three Ironman Canada swims in those four years too but I won't look at those results today.)

My times in Vancouver have steadily fallen: 31:15 (2012), 32:49 (2011), 32:35 (2010) and 33:32 (2009). My target for this year: Sub 31.

In Oliver - which is a 2k course - I swam 38:32 (2012*) and 34:16 (2010). *The course last year wasn't accurate, I know that because I was in great form and swam very well. Others agreed. That said, everyone does the same course so it didn't alter the overall results - though it gave me pause for thought as I ran for my bike. Learning to compartmentalize is a great skill for a triathlete, one that I continue to develop.

In Sooke I took 32:09 (2011).

The progression in my swim times is positive. In both the 1500m and the 1900m, I am stopping the clock faster and faster. That's all I can ask for. Well, I can ask for still faster times :) and I do.

***

As for the swim meet itself, I did four events.

In the first - the 400m, I lost my goggles immediately after diving off the blocks and stopped as immediately to reset them. So much for the starting momentum. Coach Roseline says the start/stop cost me 5-10 seconds. The disturbance did fire me up and I swam hard to recatch the swimmers in the adjacent lanes. It ended up being my fastest 400m in recent months but not what I think is an accurate  reflection of my fitness at the moment.

I was, however, particularly happy with both my 100m and 50m efforts - and times. I enjoy these timetrial efforts: head down, breathing deeply and as little as I can, kicking and reaching long for the timing mat.

As it turns out my 50m split was very close to the qualifying time that I would need to attend the FINA World Championships in Montreal in 2014: 33.54 ME vs 33.0 FINA.

I also believe I can make the 100m standard, given that yesterday I was somewhat slowed by having to pull my goggles out of my mouth as I was in motion: 1:21.19 ME vs 1:15.30 FINA.

400m .. 47.92, 1:35.50, 2:25.73, 6:30.28  (6th)

100m .. 1:21.19  (39.43)  (7th)

50m .. 33.54 (5th)

1500m .. 25:26.76 (1st)

Other targets for Montreal, I would need to swim 5:50.00 in the 400m and 12:20.00 for the 800m. I did swim Sub 6 once in training last summer.

See you at the pool.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Half marathon stats

2002 Lake Macquarie 1:31:21 4:21/km

2003 Sydney (Homebush) 1:31:17 4:20.9/km

2005 Sydney ½ marathon 1:32:48 4:25.2/km

2005 Sydney (Opera House) 1:32:57 4:25.7/km

2006 Sydney (Sept) 1:30:15 4:17.9/km

2006 Sydney 1:33:19 4:26.7/km

2006 Lake Mac 1:30.25 4:18.4/km

2007 Sydney (May) 1:31:39 4:21.9/km

2008 Gibsons (April) 1.31.06

2008 Vancouver (June) 1.30.17

2009 Vancouver First Half 1.29.06


2012 First Half half (Feb) 1:33:30

Everson, WA half (Mar) 1:32:09

Gibsons half (Apr) 1:30:10

2013 First Half half (Feb) 1:31:14

*I'm impressed with my consistency :)

Monday, February 4, 2013

Five things


The following is the end result of a bit of introspection and reading on how to refocus myself for the year ahead.


Strengthen my strengths
- The success I have now and the potential for more of it lies in taking advantage of my natural strengths and making them stronger. As an athlete, that means trust in my training.

Be more self-aware
- The best thing I can do to improve my effectiveness is to become more aware of what motivates me and my decision-making. Transparency is critical.

Have more enduring faith in myself and others
 - Be more confident in my abilities, knowledge and expertise. Be more open to seeing good in others. Pause first, breathe second and then - maybe - respond.

De-personalize
 - Establish a conflict-free zone and put myself in the middle.  Find a way to challenge others to be better.

Make a conscious decision to focus on the positives
 - See the sun through the rain.


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Tweaking my swim


I’ve been swimming regularly and have had many coaches over the last decade. Yet I’ve been frustrated that I’m not getting much faster.
At times in recent years I’ve pulled off faster sprints over 25m, 50m and 100m.

Endurance isn’t an issue - at least not in the sense that I can get in the water and swim continuously for a solid hour or longer with few breaks.

And so I recently told Coach Roseline that I wasn’t happy with my swim. I’m investing too much time for too little return. The purpose of my comment was: what do I need to do to swim faster?

Coach Roseline had a simple starting point: Stop fighting the water. 

And then, after a video review a few other tweaks were relayed to me:

Extend the forward entry arm/hand just a bit more.

Slow down my arms. It’s not a race to see how fast I can throw my arms forward.

Pull with focus. Anchor my hand, pull the water and then push it. Do this with effort when speed is the objective. But keep my arms moving forward above the water at the same speed.

Glide a little longer. In other words, increase the distance that I cover with each stroke.

Breathe less often. When I accelerate or when I get tired, I breathe every stroke.

And voila. 

I did an unexpected 400m TT on Friday and knocked 20 secs off the time I set about 10 days ago - which prompted my initial - recent - frustration.

I’m still not where I want to be in terms of swimming with less effort and generating more speed but it’s early in the season and now I have some concrete things to focus on in the water.