2014 One Hour Postal Swim

It's nearing the end of January but on Friday my friends and I still managed to sneak in our annual One Hour Postal Swim.  The Postal Swim is a national swim meet that you hold at a location and time of your choosing.  Once complete, then you mail in your results and that is how the meet becomes Postal! There are various postal meet events through out the year with US Masters Swimming but January is known for the One Hour Postal Swim.

This year, we gathered again on a Friday evening to hold the swim.  Our pool has lanes in use after work for one of the local swim club teams.  We managed to get the final two lanes in the pool except we had five swimmers.  Luckily the next lane over was a pro-triathlete who was willing to split the lane with us.  There isn't much fanfare to the one hour swim.  Our timers sit in chairs at the end of the lane.  They each have a stop watch/ iPhone to time with and a split sheet to track the splits for each swimmer.  The splits are kept per each 50 yard lap of the pool.

Lori, Jeff, Me, Brent, and Jeff

We select a time to start and then with a jump into the pool everyone is off and swimming.  Once again, Lori and I shared a lane this year.  I think Lori and I have shared a lane for almost every year that I have done the one hour postal swim.  She is much faster than me and that provides me with mental entertainment during the swim as I try to calculate how many laps it takes her to lap me or other silly things.

This year I made the decision to count laps for every 500 yards.  It helped me gauge the amount of time that I had been swimming and stay mentally focused.  I went into the event without a goal and very fearful that my distance was going to be much lower than I wanted.  My swimming this fall has been hit and miss as work has sometimes overtaken my life.  Counting the laps led to me doing some math to try and calculate out what distance a 50 sec 50 yard pace would cover which was equal to 3600 yards.

I had asked Jon, Lori's husband, who was timing for the two of us to give us a 10 minute warning.  His warning came and I definitely felt like I had to pick up the pace to try and get my remaining laps in and try to hit 3600 yards.  I ended up with 3560 yards in the one hour time.  This equates out to a pace of 1:41 per 100 yard which I was happy with for the most part.  My distance in 2013 was 3580 yards so it was a little disappointing to miss that distance by 20 yards or less than one length.  That equates out to 1/3 yard per minute which is so negligible in the long haul.

Below is my distance history for this event.  Every year I am so happy when it is over! With that...12 months until I have to do a solid hour swim again! The best part of this event is definitely the dinner and social time afterwards with my buds.

2014 - 3560 yards
2013 - 3580 yards
2012 - 3440 yards
2011 - 3295 yards
2010 - 2935 yards

A Tough Swim

Today I headed to the pool thinking it was just a normal Friday.  I began the day by cleaning out my swim bag (side note: I found 2 suits, bra/underwear, 6 pairs goggles, and tons of swim caps in my bag!) and so I was ready for the new year of swimming! I didn't know that I would be kicking off the first 50's Fridays for 2013 with one of the hardest workouts imaginable. 

This workout has been our lunch crew's nemesis since Thanksgiving.  We screwed it up the first few times that we tried to recreate it until Brent put together a spreadsheet with the send off times. This makes it easy for us to follow the workout and is how we have finally mastered the workout.  Truth time...it took us a few times to even write out the send off times correctly!

Brent got the inspiration for the workout from his daughter's college team.  They swim it in a 50m long course pool and we swim in a 25yd short course pool.  The workout is a descending set of 50's.  You begin at a 1 min interval and then work down by 5 seconds until you hit 40 sec. That's one set.  The first set requires one extra 50 but all of the remaining sets contain just 5- 50's.  We did six sets for 31 total 50's.  Once you get started it is pretty tough to keep track of the interval times...your brain just gets fuzzy from the oxygen deprivation!  One person usually calls out the next couple send off times during the sets and that helps out a lot too. 

My water logged send off sheet...it's generally a good practice to put your workout in a plastic zip bag!

I did an okay job on the workout today.  I sat out on 2 of the 50's when I fell off the interval and needed rest to get back on track with the group.  I will not lie...I don't hit the 40 sec interval.  I end up swimming that as touch and go on the 45 sec but it works out that the extra time I need just comes out of the 1 min interval for the next set. 

It's a tough workout for me but I can tell that the rest of the crew is working pretty hard during the workout too.  There is hardly any talking during this workout and normally our crew is always chatting during our rest breaks.  There just isn't much rest so that makes the workout go by quickly. 

So far 2013 is off to a great start since I survived more of this workout than ever before! Plus, I signed up for the Nike Go the Distance challenge and selected 250 miles for my goal.  I officially ended 2012 with 203.7 swimming miles.  I'm excited to see if I can maintain consistent mileage throughout 2013 and continue to improve my times.  Without my goal to swim more in 2012 there is no way that I would have been able to hang on and complete the workout today!

Go the Distance Challenge

Earlier this year I signed up for the Nike Go the Distance Challenge through U.S. Masters Swimming. 

I had never tracked my swim mileage before and had no clue what to select as my goal.  In the end, I decided that 150 miles for the year would be a good goal.  I had no idea that I would surpass that distance and then some!!!

Today I met my modified goal of 200 miles for the year.  It has been so much fun to work towards this goal and my swimming really improved a ton this year.  The additional time in the water has definitely paid off and I can't wait to continue the challenge in 2013. 

Here's the workout that got me across the finish line today!

Warm up - 350 yards

1 - 4 x 150 yds on the 2:30 (I swam all free and was touch and go on this interval)

2 - 3 x 100 yds on the 1:50 (slow, medium, fast)

3 - 200 yds pull

4 - 200 yds kick (4 x 50 under/overs on the 1:10) Under/overs are swim underwater on one breath for the 25 yds then swim easy over water on the return 25 yards to recover.

5 - 4 x 50 yds on the :50 and 1:00 (I dropped to the 1:00 interval after the first 2)

6 - 4 x 75 yds on the 1:30...I took plenty of rest since my interval should probably have been the 1:20.

7 - 100 yds cool down

Total: 2250 yds. 

My workout buddies ended after the 5th element of the main set.  They helped me gauge the math on how much I had left to reach my goal since I knew that I needed 1.22 miles to hit 200 miles.  I was on my own and needed at least a 350 so I decided on the 4 x 75 plus a 50 cooldown.  In the midst of my set I got nervous about the distance so I added on another 50 for cooldown.  Better to be safe than get home and be a couple of 1/100ths short on my goal!

I've got a few more days of swimming for the year so I will probably end the year around 203-204 miles.  This challenge has been one of my favorite aspects of my USMS membership this year.  It has been so motivating to work towards a goal and see just how much swimming I could fit in.  I had a much stronger back half of the year than first half so I can see plenty of room to improve on my monthly consistency for next year. 

There are approximately 3400 participants in the Go the Distance Challenge and together we have swum 704,000 miles in 2012.  Isn't that amazing!!!!  My club, Arkansas Masters, had 21 swimmers and we have covered 5000 miles!

Wooohooo...here's to accomplishing one of my goals in 2012!!!!

2012 NWA Masters Long Course Swim Meet

Earlier in June was the Northwest Arkansas Masters Long Course Swim Meet at Memorial Park pool in Bentonville.  This was my second time to do a long course swim meet and it was a great weekend for it.  This year the meet organizers decided to do a two day meet format with the long events on Friday night and the sprints/mid-distance events on Saturday morning. 

The normal meet format for Masters is that you can select five events to participate in but they allowed participants to do one event on Friday and up to five on Saturday.  Bonus!

Some helpful tips if you are new to swim meets like me:
1) Read the meet registration form and look for important details like warmup and seeding information. 
2) If you are unsure of a seed time, speak with the meet director and they will help you get in the right heat. 
3) Take advantage of warmup and cooldown lanes.  Usually 2 lanes will be provided for all the swimmers to use for warmup and cooldown during the meet.  Prior to the start it is generally okay to utilize all lanes for warmup.  Make sure you circle swim since this is the accepted practice with swimmers. 
4) When you get to the meet, locate the heat sheets.  Make note of your events and what heat and lane assignment you have been given.  I usually bring a second registration form to keep track of this.  I also will write down how many heats each event has as well as if any events are scratched. 
5) You are responsible to be at the starting block on time for your events so you have to pay attention! Sometimes there aren't any entrants in an event and it will be skipped.  The heat sheets will help you stay on top of that. 
6) Most meets will post state and citizen records somewhere at the meet.  If you think you could break a record for your age group and event, notify the starter and head timers.  Record attempts require 3 timers to be official and it is your responsibility to tell the officials that you are going for a record. 
7) If you are unsure of starting off the blocks or even diving from the edge, go ahead and do an in-pool start.  There will be swimmers of all ages and abilities at a Masters meet so you have nothing to fear, all types of starts will be used!
8) Have fun and Swim Hard!!!

Back to the meet...this year I elected to do the 1500 Free for my Friday evening event.  There was just one heat with about 5 of us entered.  I put down 32 minutes as my seed time.  This is a mental event more than a physical event for me.  It's a tough distance to stay engaged and focused and keep a consistent pace.  My previous time from this meet in 2010 was 32:35 so I was pretty happy when the timer told me I was under 29 min.  I'm still waiting for the official results to be released but I pretty happy with a 3:30 minute improvement!

I'm in green on the left side just before our 1500 start.

After the events on Friday, I headed to the club's board meeting.  I had reached out to the president about getting more involved and it was fun to attend the meeting.  I especially enjoyed the motion to elect me as Social Media coordinator!!! I'll be taking over the Facebook, Twitter, and Blog feed for the Arkansas Masters!

Saturday morning I got to the pool around 8:30 for the meet start at 9:00.  I was super nervous since I was trying out a new event...50 m Breast stroke.  I decided on 4 events for Saturday which were 50 Breast, 100 Free, 50 Back, and 200 Free. 

First up for me was the 50 breast and I was in the 2nd heat.  After the first heat, the official had a conversation with a participant about her stroke form and it appeared she was being DQ'd.  That increased my nervousness even more.  Turns out she was pulling below the waist which isn't allowed in breast stroke.  My start was a little iffy since I initially forgot to kick properly and caught myself starting to flutter.  Kick fix and I was on my way doing the breast stroke! About half way down the pool I realized that it's a long way, 3/4 of the way down I wanted to be done! My time was just under 1 minute...barely. 

Whoops, bad form with a way too wide kick!

Up next after a quick rest was the 100 free.  I swam in the 2nd heat and managed just over 1:30 for the distance which was a few seconds improvement over my time in 2010. 

The 50 back was stressful since I was assigned lane 1 next to the wall and the official.  In outdoor pools I struggle to stay in a straight line for back stroke.  So I was worried about running into the wall and I was worried that somehow I would make a form mistake with the official watching.  With those two things making me nervous I got started okay.  For the first 15m or so I stayed straight and then I slowly moved to the lane divider on my left and promptly ran into it.  That startled me and I tried to get back on course.  I ran into the divider a couple more times but soon enough I spotted the flags and new I was just a few strokes from finishing! My time was just under 53 seconds which was in line with my previous time. 

My last event was the 200 free.  My finish time was around 3:18 which I was happy with since I stayed pretty close to the other competitor in my heat for most of the race.  Overall, it was a good meet for me and I had a good time swimming the events and chatting with the other swimmers. 

After the meet was over, we headed over to Greg's house for the meet social.  Greg and his wife Kim had a great pasta lunch spread and a beautiful shaded deck where we enjoyed the meal.  It was a perfect finish to the meet since I was starving given my nerves kept me from eating much before the meet!

Release the Beast Open Water Swim

Happy Memorial Day!

I kicked off the morning with the Ozark Open Water Swim at Hickory Creek park on Beaver Lake.  The swim this year was called Release the Beast and is a fundraiser for the AquaHawgs kids swim team.

I participated in this race two years ago when it was in September.  They moved the race to be earlier in the season so that it didn't conflict with the Long Dam swim in August.  The race distances are .6mile, 1.2 mile, or 2.4 mile.  I elected to do the 1.2 mile distance again which is a one loop course. 

The course is laid out as a straight out and back along a buoy line.  The weather conditions today were dramatically different than in 2010.  For starters it was in the upper 70's versus 54 at race time! The water was also a little chillier which made it a wetsuit legal race.  (Side note: I highly recommend TriSlide for any wetsuit races!)

There was a brief pre-race meeting to go over the course and logistics for the different distances of the races.  This was an event that was open for both Masters swimmers as well as Age Groupers (otherwise known as kiddos!)  The Masters got a head start on the kiddos by 5 minutes or so.  We all headed into the water and self seeded ourselves.  The race director let out an air horn and signaled the start of the race. 

The race site and course...the buoy looks a long ways away!

I swam next to my friend Britt for a few minutes and then I felt like we switched sides and was gone.  I was a little panicky for the first few minutes until I could find some open water.  The water was super choppy from the wind and it was a little frustrating at first.  Eventually, I settled into a rhythm and plodded my way to the turn buoy.  As I neared the buoy, I was surprised to be in the wrong lane of traffic! I had drifted to the left of the buoy line and it was as if I was headed into oncoming traffic.  I shifted to the right and was pumped to make it around the buoy. 

There's something about a swim race that is just interesting.  There's so little exterior noise to process...it's just you and the water.  I tend to hear bits of songs in my head and have pep talks with myself.   The first pep talk was during the first few minutes of the race.  The crush of people is always overwhelming and it takes some reminding to know that I can do it.  The next big one was during the return trip.  The distance between the turn buoy and the 2nd buoy just seemed to take forever.  It felt like I was zig-zagging and not getting any closer to the buoy.  I ended up doing some math trying to calculate what distance would be left when I got to the buoy to distract myself and keep focused. 

Rocking my ToughChik hoodie!

The last buoy was about .3 miles out and I equated that to about 10 minutes more of swimming.  I don't swim with a watch and during the entire race had no clue of how much time had passed.  I was really surprised to see the clock at the end and see that I had done the event in 34 minutes and some change.  That was almost a 10 minute improvement over my time in 2010.  I'll take that kind of a PR!!!

Congrats to Britt! She's training for IronMan Wisconsin...truly a beast!

Britt did awesome too...she did the 1.2 mile and killed it for coming off of being sick recently.  After I told her that I thought she had ditched me on the swim since I had lost her after a few minutes.  I think I started pulling left towards the buoy line and she stayed on the outside edge of the course.  Either way...fun times with friends!

50 Miles!!!

Today I updated my USMS Master's Swimming online fitness log for my progress on the Nike Go the Distance challenge.  I set my goal for this year to swim 150 miles in 2012! 

Today I made it past the 50 mile mark which means I am on track to make it to my goal this year.  Yeah!!! Today's Sunday Funday swim was a full group with all of Team Tininenko in attendance (Brent, Lauren, and Alexa) as well as myself and Carie.  Carie's friend Hannah also came but did her own workout. 

For the workout: we started with a 1000yd warmup ladder.  The ladder breaks down as 400yd swim, 300yd drills (75 per stroke), 200yd kick, 100yd IM or pull.  My friend Kyla and her son Karsten showed up during the drills portion of the warmup.  She normally swims with us for Sunday Funday but she was on baby duty today.  I had her watch some of my kick because lately when I've been doing breast stroke kick drills I feel off kilter.  It's as if one foot comes up higher than the other.  She thought it looked like my hips weren't even which makes sense.  I've been feeling like my hips were a mess lately while I run too.  I'm probably overdue for a visit to the chiropractor.

Next up was our main workout set.  The workout Carie had picked for today called for 6-8 x 200 with the odds IM and the evens all free descending pace.  They selected a 4:00min interval which would give them plenty of time to recover for the descending pace challenge.  I decided to go with a shorter distance of 150 on a 3:00 min interval and increase the number of reps.  I managed to get in just shy of 11 reps while the others did the 200's.  For the first 8, I did a 25yd stretch of backstroke in the middle on the odds and 25yds of breaststroke on the evens.  For reps 9 & 10, I did pull and then for the 11th and final I only got in 100yd of straight free. 

We did an easy cooldown and then hit the hot tub.  The hot tub was super crowded tonight with some other people plus our group of 6.  We might have exceeded the occupancy limit but the lifeguard didn't say anything to us. 

2012 One Hour Postal Swim Meet

Every year in January, US Masters Swimming hosts a One Hour Postal Swim Meet.  The objective of the meet is to swim as far as you can in one hour.  It is a national event in that anyone can compete from wherever they want.  You have the entire month of January to swim and submit your results. 

I'm really lucky that our Masters club get together to swim the One Hour swim together.  This year the meet was on Saturday and it kicked off bright and early at 5:30 AM with registration.  I'm not a morning person so this is always one of the most challenging aspects of the meet.  We hold two heats and most people swim a heat and count a heat.  Each swimmer should have a counter and that person is responsible for keeping track of the swimmer's lap splits and distance. 

3rd from the left and I'm getting some last minute coaching from Carie.

My friend Carie offered to count for me again this year.  She is a great friend and she always coaches our Sunday Funday workouts.  My friend Lori and I shared a lane and lined up in the lane next to our friend Brent.  This year was the first time that we filled the pool and had to send people to the 2nd pool.  Pretty impressive turnout with 50 swimmers!!!

Our awesome club President Jeff Spencer kicking off the meet

The first heat of swimmers got started at 6 AM.  Carie and I had agreed that she would tell me when I hit the half way point and also when I had 10 minutes remaining.  My goal this year was to hit the 2 mile mark.  As we got the one minute warming for the start time I slowly lowered myself into the water...it was soooo cold. 

Ready, Set, Go!

As we got started it took me a few laps to feel like I was settled into a pace.  I decided to count laps by counting up to 10 (500yds) and then starting over.  I thought this would help me stay focused and see if I was on pace at the halfway point.  It also helped me to keep track of just how much time I had left after passing the halfway point.  Swimming for an hour non-stop can get a little boring so anything to keep your mind off of it is great. 

At the 30 minute mark I had already made it past the one mile mark and figured I had a cushion of about 50-100 yds.  I couldn't give up my focus or pace.  At the 10 minute warning, I knew that I could easily swim 500yds in the time remaining and that I was going to make my goal.  In the midst of this time, I came upon Lori stopped in our lane.  Right as I passed it she started swimming again.  Turns out someone decided to blow a 5 minute warning whistle and she thought it meant our hour was up.  She wasn't happy about it because it cost her 10-15 yds while she tried to figure out if it was over or not. 

Lori and I after we finished. 

The final minute went by quickly and when the whistle went off I was in the middle of the pool.  My official distance was 3440 yds.  The first thing I did when we were finished was swim down to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a dive toy that had been resting on our lane line the entire swim.  Then I confirmed with Carie that I hit my goal and had a celebratory cooldown.  It was so awesome to do some back and breast stroke since all I swam for the hour was freestyle.  My muscles were ready for something different. 

Arkansas Masters 2012 One Hour Swim

After the cooldown, all the participants gathered together for a group picture and then it was time for the 2nd heat to get started.  Carie had a friend counting for her that is just getting into swimming.  She was curious about the meet but a little scared so counting was a good introduction into what the meet is all about.  Brent, Lori, and I took over the hot tub and enjoyed a nice soak before cheering on our friends during their heat. 

I think the top distance swam was 4800 yds and there were quite a few in the 4000+ range including Lori and Brent.  This was my third year to do the one hour swim and in that time I have added 500 yds to my hour distance.  As one friend said, I can now report that I swim at 2 mph!

Photos taken by Daniel McGurk.