It is the day I have been waiting for--the beginning of my taper! Only we are not calling it a taper, I learned mid-week. We are calling it Getting Rested and Ready. My friend who is coaching me through big weekend workouts and helping me think about getting ready for a big meet pointed out, "you're either rested and ready, rested and not ready, not rested and ready or not rested and not ready. Those are the only options I know."
Well yes, he's right. Let's hope I achieve the first option.
The idea is that you back off some of the quantity of swimming, so that by the end of the 2-week period you're swimming only the amount of yardage you expect to swim on a race day. I'm figuring 2500 as my raceday yardage: that allows for 1000 warm-up, 500 more warm-up as I get closer to my event (it's a big enough meet that there will be a gap between the warm-up period and my swims), 200+50 or 100+50 racing (depending on the day), and a total of 800 cool-down (including 200 between events and 600 at the end). Presently my workouts range from 3300-3700 on weekdays and 4000-6800 on weekends. It is going to be nice to bring the yardage down a bit.
But that is only rested: you also have to get ready. Doing that means lots of very targeted fast swims, which you treat as "rehearsals." By the end of the GR&R period, I will only swim fast the amount of swimming I'll do in competition on a given day. Ionly get one shot a day at the 200 BR, for instance, so I learn to get it right the first time.
I celebrated this morning by sleeping in to 5:30, then lounging in bed a little more than usual, and then heading to the pool for an easy 2000 yards. It felt really great to swim easy like that, focus on technique and efficiency and not ever look at the clock (even though I could have). Today, in addition to being the beginning of GR&R, was my recovery practice, between my 3 days of weekday masters practices and my 2 days of big weekend swims. This week I have been TIRED: heavy legs, tight shoulders, low capacity for speed. I know, then, that it is time to start getting rested and ready.
So, in the spirit of same, here is my Friday Rested & Ready (and also Random) 10:
1. "You're Making Me High," Toni Braxton, CD single
2. "Maggie's Farm," Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home
3. "Driving in My Car," Geggy Tah
4. "Dusic," Brick, Old School Volume 3
5. "Aspettanno," Pietra Montecorvino, Napoli Mediterranea
6. "Il dritto," Enzo Jannacci, I Miti Musici
7. Vivaldi: Largo from Concerto for flute in g-minor, Op. 10, No. 2, "La notte," RV 439, Trevor Pinnock and the English Consort, 8 Concerti
8. Dvorak, arr. Kreisler: "Humoresque," Fritz Kreisler (v), Franz Rupp (p), Original Compositions and Arrangements
9. "Alright Hear This," Beastie Boys, Ill Communication
10. "The Family and the Fishing Net," Peter Gabriel, Security
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
When are you leaving for the big swim meet? Are you going to be updating your blog while you are at the meet?
I leave on Wednesday the 10th. I don't know yet whether I'll blog there: I may, if the PP brings his super-mini laptop thingy. We'll see. If not, I will definitely write a wrap-up when I get home!
Does the PP swim too?
He does, though he is not quite as into it as I am. He has swum in one meet this year, and he's not planning to swim at Nationals. I'm sorry he's not swimming (doesn't think he's "good enough"), but it will be fun to have him with me in a support role.
Post a Comment