Week 28: Coach’s Notes, Upcoming Events, and Workouts of the Week

[chucifer]

Week 28: Coach’s Notes, Upcoming Events, and Workouts of the Week

Congrats to all who raced this weekend! I, along with other MSP coaches, were out at Peasantman and saw a great number of current and former MSP swimmers challenging themselves! Great job, everyone, and remember to keep both tires on the pavement, lest you end up like yours truly! (hence the reason for this short update)

As for UDC, unfortunately, the UDC pool is still hovering at 74 degrees. We are looking into other options so stay tuned. I will be reversing any May charges for the AM membership holders.

***Transition drills this week: Bring an old pair of shoes to the pool this week and put them by the wall. When we do Deck Ups this week, we will be asking you to get out of the water and then to put on those shoes and then take them off before jumping back in. Learning to focus on accomplishing a task when your heart rate is climbing in transition is a skill that needs to be practiced. Please hold on to the wall or some other stable apparatus if you are very unsure about your balance. Also please be extremely careful as a wet pool deck can cause issues.

***Video Spotlight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68BtNNtN8RM&t=361s
A couple of points to note:

1. 2:16 and 3:19, watch Katie’s stroke. Notice that on entry, her hand never wavers from side to side, she pulls with a significant bend in her arm and she exits right by her hip.

2. She breathes every 2 strokes. Somewhere in history, someone has sold triathletes a line that breathing every three strokes is key for swimming. What they didn’t tell triathletes is that breathing every three strokes is a great *drill* for learning how to breathe on both sides and to help balance the stroke. Unfortunately, most of the benefits end there because at 3 strokes per breath, with any sort of intensity, the swimmer will be in oxygen debt in a very short period of time. For anything above easy swimming or drill work, we recommend you breathe every two strokes. If you’d like to practice breathing on both sides, just breathe on your right side going down the pool and on your left coming back!

“If you don’t hold your breath while running, why would you do that in swimming?”

***Reminders:
1. Race season is approaching! If you happen to be racing on any upcoming weekend or have recently raced, please let a coach know and we can tailor workouts for you. It’s important to keep swimming up until your race with varying intensities to keep your abilities and skills sharp. Slow sessions at the pool pre-race will not prepare you for the intensity at a race.
2. We are continuing to do ‘Deck Ups’ and as detailed previously the goal of this skill is to help acclimate you to the rigors of getting out of the water and into a vertical position to mimic transitions in a triathlon. We would like you to, when directed, to get out of the pool (in a safe manner) at the end of the interval, stand up, and touch something a few feet away, then return to the pool safely. Remember, Do NOT, under any circumstances, jump into the water with a swimmer coming into the wall inside the flags. As always, our coaches will be guiding you through these workouts so please listen to them closely when Deck Ups come around! Further, please be sure that when someone else is getting out of the water, if you are behind them, to give them enough space in case they don’t make it out of the pool completely!
3. With the region’s outdoor triathlon season starting, many of the swims are requiring wetsuits. If you haven’t had a chance to practice swimming with your wetsuit on, please come to practice ON FRIDAYS to gain familiarity with swimming with a wetsuit. Knowing how your body position changes with a wetsuit on is very important for those looking to maximize your race experience. If you would like to join us with your wetsuit, please arrive extra early so that you have time to put on your wetsuit. We expect that you will be ready to go when the practice starts. Please don’t forget any tools you might need to help you put your wetsuit on or to prevent chafing!
4. With all of the sighting and Deck Ups, please be kind to your shoulders! Shoulder mobility and strength exercises can greatly help prevent injury! These skills are strength dependent and as such, if they become too much for you, please let a coach know! We understand the challenge and don’t have a problem giving you an adjusted exercises to better suit your needs!

Questions? Feel free to post on our Facebook page or, as always, you can email us at masters@dctriclub.org

Happy Swimming!
-James

For day to day announcements and interaction, we use Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/212967452505458/

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Core Exercises: Currently we are prescribing a total (not all at once!) of 3 minutes of front plank and 3 minutes of superman exercises three days a week. If you can’t hold a front plank for a minute, go for 30 seconds. If 30 seconds is too much, go for 15 seconds and repeat that until you get up to a total of 3 minutes

How to do a front plank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7IuxfKFDzE (If you would like an easier version, try a high plank by supporting yourself with your hands. For an even easier version, plank from your knees)

How to do a superman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6PJMT2y8GQ

Sighting Steps:
1. There are multiple times that you can sight, but effectively, the best time to sight is right at the moment when one of your arms is right at the beginning of the catch. Once in that position, in one fluid motion, pull hard and *slightly* downward and lift your whole head out of the water, not just your eyes.
2. Once your head comes out of the water, take a quick mental snapshot of what you’re seeing and immediately put your head back down into the water with your nose pointed down. Do NOT keep looking forward with your head in or out of the water. If you do so, you create a severe amount of drag and can slow your momentum down significantly.
3. Once your head is back in a normal swimming position, review your mental snapshot to see if you are able to identify what you saw. If the answer is yes, then continue swimming. If the answer is no, repeat the sighting steps until you understand what you’re seeing.
4. As for adding breathing to this motion, you can breathe before or after your sighting. I recommend sighting first, then turning your head and breathing in as you lower your head into the water. I recommend this method because it limits the lateral motion that can happen with your head if you breathe then try to lift your rotating head to sight.

Recommended Gear: https://www.swimoutlet.com/dctmasters/ **Please come to practice with a swimmer’s snorkel and paddles. Please use resistance cords at home or right before practice.**

Shoulder Mobility: Start this video at 6:10 and with the last exercise, you can do it against a wall (aka Wall Angel) starting from a superman position: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BuC-bZ9WQ

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Upcoming Events:
Mid-East Regional Club Championships: May 20th at Bear, DE: https://www.beartriathlon.com
Club NTP/ODP/HIM Goal Races: July 7th & 8th, Williamsburg, VA http://www.rev3tri.com

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Workouts of the week:

Monday

Pre-Workout: 3×30 Resistance Cord Pulls. Bring your cords to the pool, get there early and crank through these before the workout.
Warm Up:
300 EZ (BOP: 200)

200 with Snorkel as 2x(25 Superman Kick, 50 Alligator Eyes every 6 strokes, 25 Swim)
**Superman Kick should have arms fully extended with hands shoulder width apart, fingertips below wrists below elbows below shoulders
**Alligator Eyes Drill: press slightly down while taking a stroke while looking forward to allow your eyes to come out of the water. Immediately return to proper swimming head position

Pre Main: 6×50 Descend on 10s Rest (MOP/BOP: 4×50)

Main
Main 1
6×250 all on 25s rest (MOP: 6×200; BOP: 6×150)
#1 & #2 Pull with Snorkel + Paddles @ 70%, Middle 50 Hard
#3 & #4 Swim @85% Deck up at the end, put on a pair of old shoes then take them off before getting back in
#5 EZ Alligator Eyes every 8 Strokes
#6 Build 70-90% Finish Strong

Main 2: 16×50 (MOP: 12×50; BOP: 8×50) on 10s Rest. Treat Odds as recovery.
16×50: Odds: EZ Sight every 7 strokes; Evens: Hard (90+%)

200 Warm Down
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Wednesday
Pre-Workout: 3×30 Resistance Cord Pulls. Bring your cords to the pool, get there early and crank through these before the workout.
Warm Up:
300 EZ (BOP: 200)

200 with Snorkel as 2x(25 Superman Kick, 50 Alligator Eyes every 6 strokes, 25 Swim)
**Superman Kick should have arms fully extended with hands shoulder width apart, fingertips below wrists below elbows below shoulders
**Alligator Eyes Drill: press slightly down while taking a stroke while looking forward to allow your eyes to come out of the water. Immediately return to proper swimming head position

Pre Main: 6×50 Descend on 10s Rest (MOP/BOP: 4×50)

Main Challenge Set aka “The James”

600 Pull with Snorkel and Paddles @ 60%. 1:30 rest (MOP:400; BOP:300) Alligator eyes once per 50

12×100 @ TPace +10s (MOP:10×100; BOP: 8×100) Deck Up every 4th 100 and put on/take off shoes with extra 30s Rest

100 EZ

600 Pull with Snorkel and Paddles @ 60%. 1:30 rest (MOP:400; BOP:300) Alligator eyes once per 50
200 Warm Down

Warmdown: 200

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Friday
Pre-Workout: 3×30 Resistance Cord Pulls. Bring your cords to the pool, get there early and crank through these before the workout.
Warm Up:
300 EZ (BOP: 200)

200 with Snorkel as 2x(25 Superman Kick, 50 Alligator Eyes every 6 strokes, 25 Swim)
**Superman Kick should have arms fully extended with hands shoulder width apart, fingertips below wrists below elbows below shoulders
**Alligator Eyes Drill: press slightly down while taking a stroke while looking forward to allow your eyes to come out of the water. Immediately return to proper swimming head position

Pre Main: 6×50 Descend on 10s Rest (MOP/BOP: 4×50)
Main

500 Pull 60% with Snorkel & Paddles (MOP:400; BOP:300) 30s Rest
100 Hard @ 90% 25s Rest
400 Pull 70% with Paddles Sight once per 50(MOP:300: BOP:200) 30s Rest
100 Hard @ 90% 25s Rest
300 Swim 80% Deck Up every 100 (MOP&BOP:200) 30s Rest
100 Hard @ 90% 25s Rest
200 Build 60-90% Sight once per 50 30s Rest
100 Hard @ 90% 25s Rest
100 EZ 20s Rest
100 Hard @ 90% 25s Rest

200 Warmdown

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Longer Distance Swimmer Added Set: Add to any day after the main set. This is NOT a replacement for the main set.

HIM:
500 @ 60% sight every 8 strokes immediately into 200 Swim @ 85%
Focus on maintaining form after every sighting

IM and Longer:
700 @ 60% sight every 8 strokes immediately into 300 Swim @ 85%
Focus on maintaining form after every sighting

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