Getting back on track

Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of this week:
The good: My favorite swimming hole, which has been closed due to toxic algae, has finally reopened! A nice little nature hike leads to an abandoned rock quarry, which looks like this:

I got in a couple of short, very refreshing quarry swims this week.

The bad: Since the Swim Around Key West, I have been unable to make myself do any swims over 8,000 yds. This is not good, considering I have a 10 mile race in a few weeks.

The ugly: This week was my highest yardage week since high school, which left me unable to move by Saturday. Jason had to drag me grumbling and groaning to go watch the fireworks.

Since I don't have much interesting to post this week, I'll share some of the open water drills that we did in the quarry. Normally, I'm not a fan of drills, because I find them slow and boring. I also think that breaking complex, fluid movements into component parts is not conducive to motor learning. It's not that I'm opposed to technique work, I'd just rather work on something in the context of the whole stroke. But my open water drills are fast and fun, and focus on race skills and strategy instead of stroke technique.

The first drill I like is called the "leapfrog."

1) Swimmers (ideally 3) beginning swimming in a line.


















2) The last swimmer in line (here, the fox) sprints ahead until he passes the line leader (the penguin).


















3) The fox takes the place as the line leader. The drill continues until all swimmers have had a chance to pass and lead.

4) Of course, if currents pull at you from different directions, staying in line can be more difficult.

















I like this drill, because it is a great way to work on drafting and passing.


Matt and I did another drill, one that I invented. I call it "the draft and drop." Two swimmers of similar speeds start swimming, one in front of the other. The goal of the last swimmers is to stay on the leader's feet and draft for the entire predetermined distance. The leader's goal, on the other hand, is to pull away from, or "drop" the drafting swimmer. The last swimmers has the drafting advantage, while the first swimmer has the element of surprise - he or she can make his move at any time, throwing the other swimmer off guard.

Next week is the Chris Green Lake 2 mi cable swim. The race involves swimming around a long cable, so line swimming is a must. Hoprfully these drills will come in handy!

Week 26:
Mon: swim 6100 yds, 1 hr kickboxing
Tues: swim 8200, hike 2.5 mi, 1 hr boxing
Wed: swim 5700, run 3 mi, 1 hr kickboxing
Thurs: swim 5500, 1 hr boxing, run 3 mi
Fri: swim 4500, hike 2.5 mi, 1 hr boxing
Sat: swim 8,000, walk 5 mi
Sun: run 5 mi
Total: swim 38,000 yds, 5 hr boxing/kickboxing, walk/run 21 mi