The KodaFit Blog

I was really worried hitting the pool this morning.  I honestly don’t think I’ve been there all month, and the couple of Open Water swims I’ve done, haven’t exactly had much in the way of quality or quantity…

Add to that, that I’m still up the 10 pounds from my post Ironman junkfood fest - otherwise known as my ‘Recovery’ and I was expecting some pretty dismal lap times…

Turns out that I dropped about 2 seconds a lap on average though?!?

So it seems that…

REST + WEIGHT GAIN = SPEED

I wonder if perhaps the extra padding around my middle is functioning as a pull buoy and helping my positioning in the water.  And I  did go through a couple of weeks of good solid weight training…

Either way…  I’m not complaining.  We’ll just have to see if it holds out for the end of the week.

Layton Triathlon this weekend!  It’s the super sprint/sprint which has the Swim Bike Run repeat deal going on.

I finished 4th in my age group last year, and so hopefully I can crank a little extra speed out of my legs this time around and actually place.

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Folks, before I get started, some background is needed…

I typically train in 25 yd pools.  There have been a couple of different locations of those pools, but they’ve all been the same length, which makes comparison easier.

2 years ago, I found I was averaging about 1:02 for a 50 yd lap.

1.5 years ago, I managed to drop that time below the minute mark, and was probably averaging 59s a lap.

Last year…

After the Desert Shark Swim Clinic, I changed my technique a little, and got my lap times down into the 55s range.

After a swim clinic in October, the one where I was more than twice the age of the next youngest participant, I made a few more tweaks, and dropped another 2 or 3 seconds.

I began 2010 with lap times consistently in the 52 second range.  Usually my fastest would be about 44s (First lap) and the slowest would be about 58s - although on longer sets it might stray into the minute range.

Another Desert Shark Clinic, a month long swim challenge which was capped off with a 10k swim, and training for Ironman and that brings us to now.

About a month ago, I finally broke through the 50s average on a 500yd set.  I was pretty stoked.

I’ve also found that consistently going 4-5 times a week has helped with my stamina and intensity.

I began this week with a 750 yd set on Monday and Tuesday mornings, both averaging in the 48s range.  Fastest laps on both workouts were about 41s and slowest were around 53s.

Yesterday I did a longish work out, which included paddle work, and sets of 50yd sprints.

Today I arrived at the pool a little late and only had 10 minutes for my morning workout, so I started swimming…

It felt good!

I hit 10 laps, figured I could get two more in, and hammered them out as quick as I could.

Final lap was 43s - I’m liking that!!

Final time for 600yds was 9:06 - With my best 500yd time being just below 8 minutes, I was really liking that!!

Average lap time….  0:45.66!!  SWEET LADY GAGA!!!

Fastest was lap 1 - at 38 seconds, slowest was lap 8 at 48 seconds.

Final Analysis…  the consistent schedule, speed work outs and paddle work are paying off…  BIG TIME!!!!

I still have a long way to  go in maintaining a consistent pace, but I’m getting closer.  My goal is an average lap time of 40s, and I’m definitely closing in on that.

I’m also increasing my intensity, which is ultimately the goal.  My wife made a comment about how quickly I recovered from Ironman, and I think a big reason for that was the fact that while I don’t regret it, I didn’t do Ironman with any intensity.  I saved my legs on the bike, and then did a 6+ hour marathon…  Why was I saving my legs again?!?

I can crank out a sub 30 second 50 yd swim with no problem at all at a swim meet, but when it comes to longer distances, I relax too much.

I know I can go faster, I think at this point, it’s just a matter of breaking through the mental barrier.

THERE IS NO SPOON!

Once I get that down, I’ll see if I can work on focus when blogging…  My apologies as usual for a rambling and incoherent novel, instead of a quick post.

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I had a great deal planned for the New Year, particularly related to updates to my online presence related to this blog, but I’m afraid to report, that not as much has happened as I had hoped would.  Never-the-less, stay tuned because change is coming sometime in the future.

2009 was a great year for me.  I raced more than I have in the past, in a season which lasted from February through November.  I did my first half-ironman, as well as a second half down at Silverman and a second marathon.    The season was almost too long, but hopefully I can change that in the year to come.

I’m STOKED for 2010 though.  Here’s what I have planned!

First ultra-distance race in March - 50k trail run

First IronMan event in May

A couple of other races through the summer, including the Bad-Ass at BAM in August.

I’m going to finish off the season as being of an Ultra Team at this years Red Rock Relay, and then I’m hoping to break 7 hours at the Silverman Half in Las Vegas.

And I’ve saved the best for last…

The season kicks off for me in February again with an indoor triathlon in Clearfield.  It’s the “Sweat with your Sweetheart” event and I managed to talk my sweet wife into entering as part of a team with me.  I’m going to swim, where after she’ll bike and then I’ll finish it up with a run.  Should be an absolute blast!!

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I’m working on a post for the Red Rock Relay last year, and due to the length of the race, and all that happened, and ultimately a desire to not bore anyone to tears, it’s taking longer than I suspected it might.

In the mean time though, I have a report on my swimming…  I’ve been putting in some serious mileage this month, and sometime in the next day or two, I’ll hit my goal of 21 miles, which is also the distance across the English Channel.

The first week went great, and then I struggled a little on week two.  I think my shoulders had taken a bit of a beating and I was just a little fatigued.  Week 3 went really well, though, and were it not for the fact that I wanted to spend some family time yesterday I probably could have hit my goal.

There are two big highlights for me…

Last friday I swam a 5k, and managed to keep my lap times all under a minute.  It got a little scary at the end, as I as dodging the high school swim team, who keep jumping in my lane and I got nailed by the ball they were using on a couple of occasions.  I know some of the kids, so it may or may not have been an accident!

And then this morning I had perhaps my fastest swim ever…

Let me explain…  a year ago, I was averaging about 1:01 per lap in a 25 yard pool.  Then in April I switched to a 25 meter pool, and pushed a little harder to keep my average.

After the swim clinic a month or two back, my times dropped to about 53 to 54 seconds a lap for longer swims.

Yesterday my goal was 1 mile.  3 laps into it, another gentleman hopped in my lane and started churning out the laps.  He was fast, and if you know me at all, you know that I like a rabbit!  Someone I can focus on to catch, rather than worrying about my speed.

He was only in the pool for 7 or 8 laps, but I pushed the pace hard the whole time.  Once he got out, I was actually feeling pretty strong, and so I tried to keep the pace going.  You know that taste of blood you get when you’re running all out?  I got that in my mouth towards the end.  Never happened in the pool before, and since I was still feeling strong I took it as a good sign.  I finished my mile (Swimmers mile!) in 25 minutes and 37 seconds.  Good for an average just over 51 seconds per lap and about a half second faster than my 1000m time trial last week.

This morning I hit the pool with only 10 minutes to swim.  It was a tight fit since it seems Monday is the day for everyone to recommit to swimming or something.  I focused on form for the first lap or 2, and then tried to focus on power, speed and keeping my turnover high.  I hit the end of lap 12 right at 10 minutes.

Average lap time 50.0 seconds.  That’s just a hair away from dipping into the 40’s!!!!

If I can get my laptimes over a mile into the 40-42 second per lap range, I think I can become really competitive at the Olympic distance races, and possibly the half iron distance races - at least for the swim portion!

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I know, I know - that last one was a bit of a stretch, but it got me my third S!

Saving Money

I’m hoping to purchase a Computrainer in the next couple of weeks so I can train inside this winter.  I’m even more motivated after learning that I need to do an 80-100 mile ride this weekend, and well…  It’s 6am, and the temperature in the city I live is currently showing 15 degrees.   That’s like…  Negative 9 degree on the Celcius scale.   I’m not one who likes biking when it’s really hot, but 9 below is a wee bit ridiculous!

Anyway, the Computrainer is a little pricey, but I found a deal through the guys at TriHive magazine where if they can find 10 people to order them, they can get them for about $500 off, and you’ll get a free copy of the IronMan St. George course.

They’re still looking for people to make up the 10, so if you were on the fence about buying one, let me know and I’ll get you more information.

 Swim Update

Three days into December and I’m sitting at - 2.58 miles.  12 % of my goal for the month.   Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I’ll be pretty close to a third of the way!

Some Trail Running

I’m planning on a pretty extensive focus on trail running this winter.  Trail running is more scenic and safer that road running, it’s easier on your joints, and it generally has rougher terrain to strengthen you ankles.  The place I go also has a lot of climbing, which I really need in order to prepare for IMSG.

I’m headed out to Antelope Island for a run this Saturday.  There’s a group going at 8 for a training run on the Buffalo Run course.  I’m thinking I may join with them, or I may try and summit the peak (2000+ ft of climbing in just 3 miles).  Either way though, if you’re in the area and want to tag along, let me know.  The only thing better than trail running, is trail running with a friend!

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With a new month comes new challenges.  Yesterday I started officially on my first full base training segment for IronMan, and today I’m kicking off two new challenges.

First is the USAT Winter National Club Challenge.  Clubs compete for 3 months to see which club can rack up the most miles.  Each month has a specific focus and Decembers focus is swimming.  Since I’m training for IronMan anyway, it seems like a no brainer to try and take this on as well.

Second is actually linked to the First.  A local running store, and sponsor of my club (The Desert Sharks) is offering a special prize for anyone who can complete 21 miles of swimming in the month of December.  They won’t say what it is, but they are saying it will be a prize worthy of the achievement.

21 miles is the same as 33.8 kilometers, and kilometers are easier for me to track, since I swim in a 25 meter pool.

I’m continuing with my getting up super early to hit the pool before commuting into work, and the challenge actually made it a little easier to get up this morning.

In the 15 minutes I had, I got in 16 laps or 800m.  It felt good.  Just 33kms to go!!

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Stef tipped me off on Facebook last week to a list of 75 tips for triathlon by her coach.  You can read the entire list here, but I would like to mention #14 in reference to todays post…

14. Frequency of swimming & running is important for neuromuscular adaptation; 3 sessions a week to maintain, 4 to make progress, 5 to reach 95% of your full potential.

From my experience - at least in running, that definitely hold true.

Now typically I swim on Wednesdays over lunch and then again on Fridays.  Wednesday I work on speed and drills and then Fridays, I try to work on distance.   The Friday work outs have been spotty at best though, and so sometimes I only get 1 workout a week in the pool, and on a good week I get 2.  Not exactly what I need to be doing to reach my potential.

So this week I’m starting something new.  I’m not 100% sure if it will work, but it’s worth a shot.

On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I carpool into work.  It’s helpful because work starts really early, and knowing that someone is counting on you to get up on time is the added nudge I need to get out of bed.  Usually I get up at 4:55, shower, dress and I’m ready and waiting at 5:30 to head down to SLC.  Lately it’s been a struggle though, and often I’m still throwing my running stuff together and trying to get lunch organized several minutes after I should have left the house.

So it’s working, but not as well as it should…

My new plan is this…  Wake up at 4:15.  Leave the house at 4:45.  Hit the pool as it opens at 5:00.  Do a short, but very intense swim for 20 minutes.  Shower, get dressed and be ready and waiting to go at 5:30.

Monday I was a little late, since I had to load my bike in the car, but I got a 7 minutes swim in…  Not much, but better than nothing.

Today I was still a little late, mostly due to a howling wind that kept me awake most of the night, but I got almost 15 minutes of swimming in.

I’m getting extra workouts in, my shoulders are feeling it, which must mean it’s working, and in all honesty, starting the day with a short, intense workout seems to be perfect to get the brain firing on all 3 cylinders.

I’m going to keep my longer swim on Wednesday, so I can do more specific training, including drills and perhaps some variation on the different strokes, and I’d like to still do a longer swim on Friday’s but even if I miss that one, I’ll still have 4 swim workouts under my belt at the end of the week.

My long term goal would be to be able to pound out 1500m in 20 minutes.  It’ll be tough to get to that level, but I think I can do it!

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So, with a week of swim coaching under my belt, I was excited to see how it improved my speed.  The weekend after the clinic, was the Daybreak Triathlon and I’d signed up for the Olympic distance as kind of an impulse race at the end of the season.

I’ll share more on that race in a day or two, but the long and short of it was…  It was my 4th race in 4 weeks, and I’d spent 15 hours swimming in the week leading up to it.  My shoulders were shot, to put it mildly.  Fortunately (I think), the lake where the swim was to be held was found to have some funky South American parasite in it, just a day or two before, and so the swim ended up being a 75m dash in a pool, followed by a 1 mile run - but like I said, more on that later.

Since I haven’t cataloged this yet, I’d like to look back over my improvements from the past year…

Last year, I found myself averaging about 1:03 for a lap at the pool.

At the beginning of this year, I took part in a tri swim clinic, which got me focused on keeping my head down and taught me some drills.  The first couple of races went well, and in April I switched pools to one with better hours and more stuff for the kids (Since they’re on my pass as well).

Following the clinic and the change of pools, I found myself averaging 1:01 a lap with my laps generally ranging between 47 seconds for lap 1 and usually about halfway through, I’d hit a lap in the range of 1:07.

It was a small improvement, but an improvement none-the-less!

Then I discovered that not only had I gained 2 seconds a lap, but I’d also switched from a 25 yard pool to a 25 meter pool, which means it was a little longer of a swim too.

Lets fast forward to last week though.  I’ve been trying to focus on increasing my intensity, since I think my big problem with the swim is that I take it too easy.  I’m a swimmer..  I should be one of the first people out of the water.

OK, so last week I tried a new work-out.

300m - warm up

100m - fingertip drag drill

100m - straight arm recovery drill

That was all new, since usually I just get in and swim!

Then for my main set I did 2 x 500m

First 500m…  Average time per 50….  52.87.  That’s like an 8 second improvement!!

Second 500m…  Average time per 50… 53.6.  Still a 7 second improvement!!

Last Friday, I started with a similar series or warm ups and drills and then tried a 2500m set.  Average time for each 50 was 57 and some change….  Alright!!

Similar workout on Wednesday of this week too, except for my main set I did 3×500m sets.

First - 53.69 per 50

Second - 54.2 per 50 (I tried to sprint each 4th length of this one)

Third - 52.7 per 50  (I was warmed up, I started solid and I focused on form and power)

The best part of that last workout, was even after I was done, I still felt like I could keep going.

Looking forward…  I think I need to get my average around 50 to be really competitive.  If I want to compete at the highest levels though, I need to take it down into the low 40’s.

8 seconds improvement in just a couple of weeks is huge, but I can definitely extract more.

Just need to focus on form, definitely keep increasing the intensity, and I think it might be time to start experimenting with a drag suit, paddles and perhaps a pull buoy too.

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Been a while since I wrote, but much has happened.

Since my last post, I finished up the swim clinic with the City - the one where I was more than twice the age of everyone else involved.  On the final day, they put together a mini-swim meet and we each got to compete in a 50 meter race in each of the four strokes.

First up was freestyle.  I used to race the 50m in high school, and even won on occasion.  I was particularly excited since I have no idea what my times used to be, but I figured this would give me a reasonable idea.

I was in heat 7, racing against a couple of school and state record holders…

Not a fan of the blocks (they tilted forward) and not used to fast starts either.  I don’t think I’ve done one since high school actually.

BEEEEEEP

And we were off.  I tried to focus on my form and keeping the intensity high.  My turn was a little messy, but I’ve lost a lot of that too.  The return trip was hard, but I kept my focus on the finish.

I think I came in 4th out of 7 in a time of 28.9.  Definitely not the best time ever, but I think it means I can still have it, if I work on my dives, my turns and a little more on my stroke.

The backstroke just sucked - plain and simple.  I was not meant to swim on my back.  Everyone who says that in a tri, if you get freaked out in the swim, just flip on your back and breathe…  Doesn’t apply to me in the least.

I think I got done in 42 and some change.

Breaststroke was  interesting.  My kicks have been wrong for the last 30 years, and my timing has been off as well.  Plus, after a week of correcting these things, my knees were killing me.  I can run 20 miles without knee problems, but less than a mile of Breaststroke drills and I’m dying - go figure.

Interestingly enough I beat my backstroke time, and I think I may even have got a 3rd place in this one, but I can’t remember right.

Finally it was Butterfly.  This was about the only stroke which I have been doing right apparently, and it was one I figured out myself as a kid - all the others I was taught and coached in.

Butterfly is tough at the best of times, but racing it is especially grueling.  I know I got 3rd in this one.  Got done in a hair over 35 seconds as well.

So where to from here…

I’m thinking I’d like to try out a Master’s Swim Meet sometime.  See how I stack up against guys my own age.

I’d also like to include some of the drills and some of the various strokes into my regular training, to help keep me balanced, and to break up the monotony a little as well.

I’d really like to use it to increase my intensity as well, but more on that tomorrow!

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This post is more just some notes to myself from the swim clinic last night.  The focus was backstroke, during which I realized that I am not a backstroker.  I can swim a length of it during an IM if I have to, but after 20+ lengths of drills and sets and breathing in half the pool through my nose, I came to realize the backstroke is pure evil!

After the backstroke, they had us swim an IM on camera so we could see ourselves swimming.  As I got done, one of the coaches came over to offer some advise.

Butterfly - despite not having done this in 16+ years, apparently my form is good!!  WOOT!!  The good form stops here though.

Backstroke - I’m kicking too much from my knees, need to kick from the hips.  My timing is also off, apparently I’m pausing mid-stroke, thus applying the brakes.  I need to focus on rolling my shoulders and slowing down to go faster.

Breaststroke - Timing again, and I’m kicking to the corners of the box.  I need to spread my legs and then pull together as I straigten.  Similtaneously, I need to push to streamline position as my legs kick so I can glide.  “It’s called the RESTSTROKE for a reason”

Freestyle - Been trying different methods and have picked up some bad habits.  Chief among these is that my right hand is entering right by my goggles, thus digging into the wake from my head.  Need to stretch this out more and enter further ahead.  My left arm is fine though.

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