About six weeks ago I decided to start doing a massive swim block. I'm still working out the details of how long (both time and distance) the block is going to be. For now, I'm thinking the block will end with a trip to California for USMS Spring Nationals in early May.
In order to get myself to a level that is going to make it worth it for me to travel across the country, spending resources that are coming out of pocket, I decided to set several goals/milestones. I'm thinking about four events for nationals; 1,000 or 1,650 free (can't race both due to meet rules), 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Fly and/or 400 IM, it is all about the clock. With that said, there are times/ personal standards that I would like to hit before I commit to the Masters Nationals;
200 Free - 1:46.99
500 Free - 4:55.99
1,000 Free - 10:15.99 or 1,650 - 17:35.99
200 Fly - 2:08.99
400 IM - 4:35.99
Once I reach at least four of these standards I will give it a go.
February Goals - 120k yards of swimming, that is 30K per week... There is a catch, I would like to run more miles than I'm going to swim. In theory that should be easy (need to run 75 miles). However, hitting over 30K per week takes time and with a full time job, it is going to be difficult to add the running and the biking I want to do without getting hurt. That is why I'm still working out some details.
The bigger picture for my swimming goals is... 1,000,000 yards for the year. Right now I'm about 16 miles behind the pace to hit that milestone at the end of the year. However, I think by the end of March I should be ahead of the pace. I will keep you guys posted with the totals and the end of each month.
Swim Training Volume - The last two weeks have been a nice challenge, things are going very well and my body is, slowly but surely, getting used to the high volume training once again.
Week of Jan 27 to Feb 2 - 28,500 yards with a total of 9 sessions. Longest swim 4,000 yards.
Week of Feb 3 to Feb 9 - 30,800 yards with a total of 9 sessions. Longest swim 6,000 yards (pictured above).
Next week is going to be around 33-35K. I'm actually trying to figure out the workouts right now (I usually print all of my upcoming week workouts Sunday night).
Sponsors - I'm extremely happy to announce that once again, I will be using CeraSport products during the 2014 season. I've been working with them for four years and can not thank the company enough for their support. I started using their products about six years ago when I was a college student, and even though it is a little more expensive than your main stream sports drinks, the quality of the CeraSport products has given me great results over the years.
In order to get myself to a level that is going to make it worth it for me to travel across the country, spending resources that are coming out of pocket, I decided to set several goals/milestones. I'm thinking about four events for nationals; 1,000 or 1,650 free (can't race both due to meet rules), 500 Free, 200 Free, 200 Fly and/or 400 IM, it is all about the clock. With that said, there are times/ personal standards that I would like to hit before I commit to the Masters Nationals;
200 Free - 1:46.99
500 Free - 4:55.99
1,000 Free - 10:15.99 or 1,650 - 17:35.99
200 Fly - 2:08.99
400 IM - 4:35.99
Once I reach at least four of these standards I will give it a go.
February Goals - 120k yards of swimming, that is 30K per week... There is a catch, I would like to run more miles than I'm going to swim. In theory that should be easy (need to run 75 miles). However, hitting over 30K per week takes time and with a full time job, it is going to be difficult to add the running and the biking I want to do without getting hurt. That is why I'm still working out some details.
The bigger picture for my swimming goals is... 1,000,000 yards for the year. Right now I'm about 16 miles behind the pace to hit that milestone at the end of the year. However, I think by the end of March I should be ahead of the pace. I will keep you guys posted with the totals and the end of each month.
Swim Training Volume - The last two weeks have been a nice challenge, things are going very well and my body is, slowly but surely, getting used to the high volume training once again.
Week of Jan 27 to Feb 2 - 28,500 yards with a total of 9 sessions. Longest swim 4,000 yards.
Week of Feb 3 to Feb 9 - 30,800 yards with a total of 9 sessions. Longest swim 6,000 yards (pictured above).
Next week is going to be around 33-35K. I'm actually trying to figure out the workouts right now (I usually print all of my upcoming week workouts Sunday night).
Sponsors - I'm extremely happy to announce that once again, I will be using CeraSport products during the 2014 season. I've been working with them for four years and can not thank the company enough for their support. I started using their products about six years ago when I was a college student, and even though it is a little more expensive than your main stream sports drinks, the quality of the CeraSport products has given me great results over the years.