For one it was a great turnout today, which is awesome on one hand, but also crowds the pool and pushes some faster swimmers into the lane that I typically swim in. Not only am I currently slower than I had been most of the current year but my lane was also faster than it typically is, which made me feel pretty horrible for being the last one into the wall by a significant amount every time. I know that really no one cares or judges and I'm probably not holding the workout up by that much, but it just doesn't feel great. My discomfort with being last by a significant margin surprises me a little bit though. I've been in this position a lot in my life. I know that you have to have a certain degree of comfort with being in this position in order to progress. You don't get faster leading a lane that doesn't challenge you. Playing catch up is always how I've always improved. So it's strange that I don't like doing it right now. It's probably because I don't feel like I'm where I should be. If I felt like my swimming was the best that it could be right now, I would accept being slow, but I know I can do so much better and underperforming alongside being the slowest in our workout group is just rough.
As far as being slow right now goes, a lot of it comes down to not having the same kind of upper body and core strength as I used to. I let some of that go for the run training and due to the back injury which has kept me out of the gym, and the swimming has definitely slipped because of it. I also just don't have the same kind of sprint power I used to or the technical skill in terms of stroke efficiency/turns/etc. Part of that is probably because long course didn't lend itself to really pushing myself and part of it is wrapped up in the fact that I just haven't been swimming as much and everything down to my lung capacity is feeling it. All in all, my swimming just hasn't felt great.
Finally, there was the whole issue of expectations. It was sprint day, I guess I was just expecting nice easy short sets and there ended up being an early set of 5 x 200s with pickups in the middle on a 1:30 base (which would have been a piece of cake 4 or 5 months ago but is quite the struggle now) that just knocked all the confidence out of my person. I felt especially terrible when some of the other swimmers in my lane chose to put paddles on and basically left me in the dust despite the fact that I was still making the intervals. It was rough. There was literally nothing I wanted more than to just get out and go home in the middle of that set. But I got through it (because really what other choice did I have?) and things got a little bit easier from there on out. One of my lane mates who I swim with pretty frequently at masters practice could definitely tell that I was out of it and feeling discouraged today so he made a big point of turning back and saying encouraging things like "time for the fast one!" or "almost finished!" in a very peppy manner every once in a while between intervals. That really helped keep me going. It made me feel like someone was rooting for me and that meant a lot.
In any case, here's the summary!
Today's Workout: AM CSP practice, sprint free day
Summary:
- WU: 450 swim (should have been 600, I got in a tad late)
- Main Set:
- 5 x 100 free @ 1:30, moderate w/ head down sprint last 12.5
- 5 x 200 free @ 3:00, moderate w/ head down sprints at the end of each 100 (I didn't do the pick ups, I was just trying to make the interval)
- 4 x 50 free MAX @ 1:00
- 200 easy
- 4 x 100 kick w/ fins @ 1:30, focus on the jump off the walls
- 10 x 50 free @ 1:00
- 1, 4, 7, 10 MAX
- The rest moderate focusing on where you would breathe in a sprint 50 (breath control)
- 100 easy
- WD: 4 x 75 @ 1:15, moderate, first 25 breath control
- Total Distance: 3650 SCY
Hit Rate: 9/10 (90%)
Tomorrow is the day off! We made it! Weekend plans are yet to be confirmed because the weather is being questionable. I'll keep you posted. Time for Pats vs. Dolphins! Let's go Patriots! (:
Much love,
Jess
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