Swimming with Billy

Today I swam with a lot of speedies. There was Martin and Dave (Dave used to be in Team-GB and is very fast), then there were two other ex(?) Stockport Metro swimmers in the mix and Abdul (a breaststroker). Between us we did one of those sprint sets that just feels good, probably because it was different. Definitely a low yardage day, but also a demanding day in terms of energy.

The highlights a few minutes of drag cord work - where two of you are attached to a bungie rope and one tows the other to the other end of the pool. The added wrinkle is that in the last 5+ meters the towee (is there such a word?) spreads themselves like a starfish and tries to slow you down. This bungie work was done at "sprint" effort. Then we did a couple 25M max efforts: 13.1 both times if Craig's to be believed. Then a 1 x 200 recovery, but with the first four strokes of each 50M all out. And finally a 1 x 50 from a dive.

This last was humbling, three speedies went (25-high, 25-high, 25-low) them me (28.54) then Abdul. 28.54 is my second fastest ever, so very pleased with that - but felt totally goosed afterwards!!

And so I was... I think the euphermism I'm thinking of is the above being polite for "you were crap" (and so I was).

I got roped into entering a kid's meet this last weekend. Now that was an experience. I got to the poolside and was immediately challenged as to whether I was a spectator or a coach - neither but an old 14+!! This got a few funny looks, but worked out okay in the end. Actually my races 100 free and 100 fly were swum against proper mature swimmers, the kind of people I swim with, or would like to swim with, more of the time. They were all pretty fast (or very fast) and all 16 - 20, so whilst out of place in the general program, I wasn't when my events came up.

Any how I swam spectacularly badly. I blame the kids' warm-up culture, it was bedlum - give me a Masters meet any day for that side of things. In the morning I swum the 100 fly, seeded slowest in my heat, I went out "fast" and clocked 31-high for the first fifty. Sadly I then looked like the old man I am as I staggered home! Actually to be fair 1:13 is/was about my top speed, until last week's crusader where I hit 1:10, so may be I am being slightly unfair to myself. And I wasn't last either...

Just received an email from our head and assistant coaches from Buxton. They're doing an Iron Man Triathlon end of this summer and have set up a sponsorship page: http://www.justgiving.com/ironman2008. Their charity is a good one called the Rossendale Trust.

Anyhow on Di's JustGiving site there's a link to a YouTube video of an awesome father and son team (Team Hoyt). After watching that video I found this on about them as well. Just watch and be humbled (and then go sponsor Diane!)

Last Saturday was interesting - I swum in my first ever kid's club meet! For reasons I won't bore you with I got asked to be part of the "Open" section for the Buxton team in their first Crusader meet of the year. The Crusader league is a small two division league for "midlands" (ish) based clubs, and Buxton are in division 2.

Now I only started entering masters comps last year, so it was interesting to see "grass roots" competition first hand. It was also nice to see a number of the young kids I periodically help teach (and I think it helps re-inforce the swimmer-coach bond for them to see me swimming and taking it seriously). And it's scary being definitely the oldest swimmer there! I think our male open team were aged: 39, 33, 26 and 17 - well it's an open competition.

I was entered in the 4 x 50M medlay relay, the 4 x 50M free relay and the last (proper) event the 100 fly. In the relays I swum the freestyle legs (anchored the medlay, and lead the free). I really enjoyed it and swam the best I've done this year:

28.6 is 2+ seconds quicker than anything else this year and 1:10.3 is a PB by 3 seconds

Okay, okay, so I've gotten into a really bad habit of not keeping the postings going (and looking at how the work thing's going, that looks like it'll continue for a while...). I meant to post this during the Xmas break but didn't (and so much for New Year resolutions).

Last year, in swimming terms, was a good year. No, wait, it was a really good year. I swam my first ever proper swim meets and am now a veteran of four such events. I also have really belatedly decided to give "sprinting" a go. Now for year's I have shyed away from sprints deciding that I simply wasn't and never would be fast enough. I would use the argument that my TI-based style wasn't suited for speed. Sure I could hold my own with the normal mature swimmers and certainly when compared to your average triathlete, but that's my limit. I also argued that I was a much better long distance swimmer.

Well 2007 kind of turned that on its head slightly. If/when you enter Masters meets, there aren't that many longer distance events on the program. After sitting through a number of long 400M at one event it dawned on me just why - the time to run such events is a real killer. Now I'd prefer to see more of them but I can understand that running a couple of events where each race takes 8 - 10 minutes really mounts up - that's saying nothing against those (generally older) swimmers who take that long. Good on them for doing it, and I want to when I get older. It's just that the practicalities of event running means there are less 400+ events (even 200+ events) in the regular calendar.

So given those constraints and the fact I want to enter Masters events - it's shorter distance events, which means "sprints". Now sprinting is an emotive term that I am still coming to grips with. Pre-2007 I said (if asked) that sub-30s was the goal of a 50M freestyle swimmer if he/she wanted to call themselves fast. Now I look back on the preceding year and am now "comfortably" sub-30s I am re-evaluating that statement. I still think sub-30s is fast, but real speed is 26s and below - that's the big drop to _real_ club swimmers.

But I am comfortable with my current standard and it sets me up nicely for the coming year.

So ladies and gentlemen. The scores on the doors for last year are as follows:

Male: 35-39 Age Group

Male: All age groups