the17thman

April's Rearview Mirror - Running

To say I've been running at all of late is an understatement.  Looking at my Nike+ for the month of April I ran 28.23 miles.  It's my post LA Marathon resting period.  28.23 miles is nothing compare to March when I ran 91.35 miles, February when I ran 75.14 miles and January when I ran 124.97 miles.  Hopefully May will bring me back into the run of things.  

Swimming + Crepes = Happy Swimmer

Today I gave myself a bit too ambitious workout.  It was going to 5,000 yards which is in itself ambitious.  I could have sucked it up and finished it even with a cramp in my leg but decided to save it for another day.  

I started off with a short warmup of 300 swim, 300 kick, 300 pull.  So a 900 yard warm up.  I don't know why I didn't just do another 100 to round it up but it ended up working out at the end of it all.

Next up was a stroke warm up since the main set was all stroke.

200 IM Kick

200 IM Pull

200 IM 25 drill / 25 swim

I didn't do this on any interval and got to admit the pulling killed me so I rested for a few seconds at the 1/2 way point.  (600/1500)

Now the main set.  I modified it from a Sunday afternoon workout I did in February which you can see HERE.  As for today this is how I did it:

3x50's backstroke on 55

3x100's IM on 1:45

3x150's 100 Back / 50 Free on 2:20

rest about 1 min or so to square up the clock.

3x50's free on 55

3x100's IM on 1:45

3x150's all free on 2:10

This time i rested a bit more then a minute as I was chatting it up.

3x50's back on 55

3x100's IM on 1:45

3x150's 100 Back / 50 Free on 2:20

Then once again took some time for water and some more chit chat.  I was getting tired but I had one more round to go.  Since this round was to be butterfly I started to fiddle with the set.

6x25's fly on 30

3x100's free kick on 2 minutes

then as I was about to start my 150's with fly I pushed off the wall and cramp.  Doh!  I knew it was coming when I was kicking.  I should have just drank more water and rest a bit more.  But the pool was slowly getting crowded and I was losing my private lane   I just warmed down a 100 free.  So that was 3,250 with the warm down for that set.  Total yardage was 4.750 yards.  Not bad.  

Luckily the Crepe'n Around Food Truck was parked right outside.  So after my workout I got to eat in the park.  I ordered just the veggie crepe.  They were out of garlic fries.  So sad!  I love garlic fries.  Garlic fries make Dodger games worth going to.  Anyways I was either really hungry or I had the best veggie crepe ever!  You can follow them on twitter @crepenaround.  

Friday's Swim Report - Full Moon Edition

1.  This week over at the Swim Network's weekly 20 Questions is Ricky Berens.  For most   people Beren's is the guy whose tech suit split right in the perfect spot.  

2.  The Swimmers Circle reports that the IOC has given swimming a "second tier" status when it comes to it's revenue sharing structure.  Here are the tiers -

Tier One: track & field, the marathon, and race-walking events

Tier Two: Aquatics, basketball, cycling, football (soccer), gymnastics, tennis, and volleyball

Tier Three: rowing, equestrian, handball and field hockey

Tier Four: boxing, badminton, canoeing, fencing, judo, wrestling, modern pentathlon, table tennis, shooting, archery, weightlifting, sailing, taekwondo and triathlon

Race-walking?  WTF.  And Triathlon being in Tier 4?  I wonder what tier would Beer Pong fall into?

3.  Swim Coach Direct gives a few fast swimming tips in a post called "The Smallest Possible Hole".  Hole.  That word makes me giggle.

4.  Swim Network declared that Aaron Piersol is "The Poseidon of the Pool".

5.  I know I posted this sometime before when it ran in the WaPo but since it got picked up and posted at dallasnews.com here it is again "Swimming laps has its own etiquette".

6.  Gold Medal Mel looks at artist Jeannie Maddox and her series of swimming paintings.

7.  The Finis Blog looks at warming down after working out.  Something I always fail to do! 

 8.  The LA Times and NY Times reports on the death of Olympic Diver Victoria Manalo Draves.  (pictured over to the right)

9.  Over at SCAQ Blog is a Q&A with Bryan Smeltez who is The Vice President of Arena Marketing.  Seems Arena wants back into American waters.  Growing up it seemed that Arena was every where including our team suits.  So when I started up swimming 6 years ago of course I started to look for Arena but didn't find any.  Over time I did find a website to buy a few pairs.  Needless to say I look forward to buying even more Arena swim products.

10.  According to Social Workout "Baby Swimmers are Better at Everything".  It seems some study found that "babies who learn to swim before they're seven months old wind up better at pretty much everything, or at least everything involving balance and coordination".

Slacking - Recovery Day

Yesterday when swimming my body was beat up so I decided to not swim today.  I   actually even decided to skip hitting the weights.  Figured I needed to recovery.  All day I told myself that I may go running at night with the Nike Run Club but as the day went by so did my energy.  So nothing but eating and eating.  Got dinner from the Comfort Food Truck @comforttruck on twitter.

I'll have to work extra hard tomorrow to burn off today's calories!  But it was so worth it.  Those chicken slidders were yummy!

Thursday's Swim Report

1.  GoSwim.tv recently announced the introduction of premium video rentals via YouTube.  Right now 4 videos are available with more to come soon.

 2.  Gold Medal Mel talks to swimmer Michael ALexandrov and his Urban Training.  (the photo to the right is Michael from GMM.  Look at that ass...woah!)

3.  Kast-A-Way features the new web series entitled "Over & Under".  According to K-A-W "Arizona State University Swimming & Diving Team and their journey to rebuild the legendary swim program after a series of state-wide budget cuts threatened the team’s very existence."

4.  Casey over at Swim Network talks about joining the SWIM MAFIA!  {Insert Godfather Joke Here}

5.  Every so often I stumble upon a swim site.  Recently I found Swimming Canada.  Who knew Canucks did more then Hockey?

6.  While watching Chris Matthew's Hardball today I found out that the NCAA has a new leader.  After catching up on my RSS Reader it seems The Screaming Viking has it all covered.  From "Our Fearless Leader" LINK to Split Time Video LINK.  Once again the Viking is dead on!

7.  Did I mention that swimming hottie Michael Alexandrov is featured on Gold Medal   Mel? (just an excuse to add another picture of him to this post!)

8.  On Deck Software launches the latest upgrades to it's Swim Log and Swim Time Convertor iPhone apps.

9.  Wanna Meet Dara Torres?  In the Chicago area?  Well Swim Across America in Chicago is having a luncheon with Dara Torres.  For more info check out swimacrossamerica.org

10.  I am sad to report that an animated Aquaman  movie with a finished script will not go to production because some bozos in marketing decided it wasn’t going to be profitable enough to release.

4100 Yard Workout In The Sun

I am beginning to get a nice golden brown tan from swimming in the day time as opposed to 6am or 7pm.  Me likey!  

I started off with the usual warm up of 400 swim, 300 pull, 200 kick and 100 swim.  Then I put on my Finis Zoomers to do a warm up set.  I decided to start using them   more this month.  I noticed in my backstroke kick I was able to do the kick that helps me rotate as opposed to my usual flat kick.  So I did 8x50's alternating kick / drill.  I did 2 fly, 2 back, 2 free and then 2 breast.  Did the breast at the end so I had time to take off the fins and not have to put them back on.  That is 1,400 yards.

Main Set:

I found this set from a short time ago and just adjusted it just a bit.

200 Free Recovery on 2:50

2x75's Breaststroke on 1:20

1x100 Free on 1:20

4x50's Breaststroke on 55

Took a bit of a rest.  Maybe a minute or so.

200 Free Recovery on 2:50

2x75's Backstroke on 1:15

1x100 Free on 1:20

4x50's Backstroke on 55

I really worked those 4x50's backstroke.  I had my own lane so I decided to cruise the 50's at a good clip.  After I took a quick pee break before moving on.

200 Free Recovery on 2:50

2x75's Butterfly on 1:20

1x100 Free on 1:20

4x50's Butterfly on 55.

55 sounded like a good interval for the 50's fly but even with the long rest I was getting winded and tired.  Took another quick break before moving on.

200 Free Recovery on 2:50

2x75's Freestyle on 60

1x100 Free on 1:20

4x50's Freestyle on 40

The whole set was 2,600 yards.  The freestyle was killing me.  My body was hurting all over.  I just kept going knowing I was pretty much down for the day (2,600/4,000)

I then warmed down with 4x25's backstroke kick.  I tried to stay under water for as long as I could.  Mostly I was trying to get some sun on my other side.  So the workout was a total 4,100 yards.  I can't believe I did that much breaststroke.  I hate breaststroke.  But not having someone on my feet allowed me to relax and work on my stroke.  Not that I really have a clear concept on proper breaststroke technique.  But at least I did it.  I originally had written down a 400 IM at the end of this workout but felt it was time to go home.  Another time...

The Biggest Loser Goes Big In Texas

Normally I wait till next Tuesday to talk about The Biggest Loser but tonights episode was this seasons best so far.  The first 30 minutes of the show was shot in Texas. Why Texas?  Texas is home to five of the ten fattest cities in America.  So the contestants were sent to Texas to promote getting fit and hit the local airwaves to talk up a 5K around The Cotton Bowl.  This is when the waterworks started to turn on.  While walking and some running of local Texas folks during the 5K they opened up to tell life struggles with obesity.  It was a tear jerker.  If that wasn't enough to make you cry Jillian then visited a local high school to deliver a pep talk about getting fit.  During a Q&A period a young teenage girl stood up to talk about her own obesity issues.  This poor girl is probably teased every day by her classmates and here she is standing up before them telling her story in tears.  And that was only the first hour of the show. 

Yeah the show was filled with the usual lamest attempts at slipping in advertising.  Umm..really Walgreen's sells healthy snacks?  But Bob did drop in on a local 24 Hour Fitness and held a boot camp style class and some of the 5K Contestants won passes to 24 Hour Fitness.  I can over look the 24 Hour Fitness cross promotional tools cuz' it's about Fitness and Working Out.  But Walgreens?  

The last hour of the show was mostly the weigh in.  This week outside in 34 degree weather.  Brrr....damn thats cold.  I won't say who went home but I cried some more.  But watching the video of the contestant who was sent home made it easier.  It made the episode just more inspiring.  As Comic Book Guy would say "BEST EPISODE EVER!"

Don't take my word for it here is what others have to say...

Entertainment Weekly has a great play by play recap of the entire episode. 

The Houston Chronicle chimes in with some quotes about how fat Texas really is.  Oh and for those you care about Health Care Reform in regards to Obesity "It costs you Texans $10 billion annually to treat obesity related health issues."  

also the examiner.com has a short recap of the episode.

Next week is the make over show.  That is always a fun episode to watch!  

The Biggest Loser Weekly Recap - The Buffet..

In case you missed last weeks episode like I did here are some links to recaps and some other fun links to the world of The Biggest Loser...

1.  This week's castoff Vicky Andrews tells Hollywood Life that the best part of being on   The Biggest Loser "Is Being Able To Cross Her Legs!"  I liked Vicky even if she joined the season midstream after winning a second chance to be on this season.  So hard to just jump on in midseason!  

2.  Oh I so stand correct as that site just leached on to People.com's talk to Victoria.  Umm…you mean Vicky!  Read more of what Vicky learned from being on The Biggest Loser.  

3.  A great article over at OK! Magazine with the "OK! EXCLUSIVE: The ‘Biggest Loser’ DietO" and ton's of links to OK!'s The Biggest Loser coverage.

4.  that's fit has a great recap of last weeks episode including this tip from Bob Harper "Yoplait has entered the Greek yogurt craze with their new 100-calorie cup of Yoplait Greek boasting 14 grams of protein and zero fat. Greek yogurt has a strong taste, especially if fruit-on-the-bottom is the usual. Yet Bob had Ashley dipping in her spoon and she loved it."

5.  Over at the Huffington Post columnist Christine Ferguson writes "Why the Biggest Loser Won't Help Solve the Obesity Problem".  All the points of the article are a joke.  No one ever claimed that The Biggest Loser is the answer to weight lost.  It's an entertainment show.  No one thought that Robocop was the answer to crime.  Except that The Biggest Loser does inspire people to workout and get healthy.  Everyone, no.  But The Biggest Loser inspires more people to get healthy then Glee inspires people to join a local glee club.  It's entertainment damn it!

6.  that's fit talks to Shay who is "Still Losing Big" in her Subway challenge!

7.  The Insider reports on finding love and dropping the weight in "'The Biggest Loser' Contestants Losing Weight & Finding Romance."

8.  Personally I don't care but so many people do so here is an article from the Seattlepi.com that recaps the Women's Health magazine article with Jillian Michaels in which Jillian is quoted as saying "I've been in love with both", as in male and female.  Meh.

Okay time to hit Hulu.com and watch last week's episode before tonights!

I Hate You Attempted Robber!

While I was at the gym today someone tried to steal my bike helmet which was locked with my bike.  In the attempt of trying to pull it off the lock the attempted thief ripped the outer plastic shell of the helmet right off.  It just pisses me off!  Now I guess I need to buy a new bike helmet.  Over the years I've gotten use to having various lights stolen off my bike.  Lately I've been using these cheap flashlights I got as a gift.  I just wrap string around them to keep them on the bike.  Figured if someone wanted a .99 cent flashlight they can have it.  The thing about today's attempted theft was that it happened sometime between 10:30am and 11:15am.  It's daytime folks.  On top of that it was the closet bike stand thingy right by the door at the 24 Hour Fitness.  Meaning tons of people coming and going yet the attempted thief didn't care.  I find it amazing how brazen these folks are.  Daylight on a busy street outside a busy gym and yet they tried to steal the helmet.  For all I know they may have been trying to steal the bike.  Damn them!

5,000 Yard Workout

Before hitting the pool I did hit the gym for some weights.  Worked on chest and arms.  I went right from the gym to the pool.  I had planned on hitting the gym early this morning but that didn't happen.  Last night I ate KFC for dinner and well let's just say I spend some time praying to the porcelain god.  So I didn't sleep well after that.  Since the pool and gym are so close to each other I decided to do back to back workouts.  I'll pay for it later.

Warmed Up

400 Swim

300 Pull

200 Kick

100 Swim

During warm up my stomach still felt a bit sour from last night.  Was thinking of giving up and going home.  But I stuck with it and after a few dozen burps I felt better.

Main Set:

4 Rounds - One of each stroke IM Order.  So one round fly, one round back, etc....

100 Kick on 2 mins

75 Swim on 1:15

50 Kick on 60

25 Swim on 30

I took some extra rest and did the set again but a bit different

100 Swim on 1:30

75 Kick on 1:30

50 Swim on 60

25 Kick on 30

Once again one round of each stroke IM Order.  The fly felt pretty good.  Breaststroke was a struggle but it always is.  Had to add some extra rest to the breaststroke intervals.

I then did the entire thing a second time taking some rest in between the rounds.    The entire set was 4,000 yards.  I had the lane to myself for the most part.  Every so often someone would get in my lane but then move over.  When I first got in the pool people had already taken over the fast lanes so I started in the medium lane.  I moved over before I was done with the warm up.  I think it's funny that in both swimming on a team and swimming in lap swims that people really have this thing about swimming in the fast lane.  Like it's so important that they be swimming in the fast lane.  It's all relative and I'm sure they'll be a time when I need to move down but ya know I won't care.  It doesn't really matter to me what the sign says at the end of the lane.  All that matters to me is that I am swimming.  With warm up I swam 5,000 yards today.