Trying to set one solid goal for next year. After a mediocre season, I've decided to focus on one event only for next year. I want to see if I can break 5 minutes for a 500 free.
Back in my college days (almost 30 years ago), my best was a 4:47, and I would routinely swim just under 5 in most dual meets. Since I started Masters swimming 4 years ago, my best has been a 5:10. Not bad, but I think I can do better.
Now here's the question for all the middle-distance studs out there: what are some good workouts/drills that you can do to A) increase raw speed, and B) increase endurance. As I mentioned in a different thread, I have been dealing with a mild anemia issue, which I'm pretty sure has been resolved.
Glenn, I'll be at Pierce this weekend. I've entered the 1500 and a few other events, although I'm planning on giving everything I've got on the 1500. I'll even do a mini-taper for this meet, as I won't be able to swim the 1500 at Regionals.
Mmlr38, isn't your 800 coming up soon? How is your shoulder feeling?
Mmlr38, isn't your 800 coming up soon? How is your shoulder feeling?
Yep, thanks for remembering! I'm swimming the 800 this Saturday. The shoulder is feeling great. I think I'm probably 95% healed now. Every once in a while I'll feel a little tenderness at the end of the collar bone or in the left triceps, but this week I've had none.
And I even did my 6000 yard ePostal on Sunday! Went out really slowly, holding 1:15s (SCY) the first half. Ended up descending and negative splitting it! My last 1000 was just under 1:12 pace. I've never negative split a swim before. I always try to even split it as much as I can, but I was really worried about having the endurance to finish, given how much pain I was in 2 weeks ago when I did the 3000 ePostal.
And I swam again on Monday, a full workout after that 6000 on Sunday, and I was still swimming fast and felt energetic. So I'm hopeful that I'll have a good swim on Saturday.
Good luck in your 1500 this weekend Jonathan! Let us know how it goes. I'm planning on doing the 1500 in Bend on December 6th.
I'm swimming the 800 this Saturday. The shoulder is feeling great. I think I'm probably 95% healed now.
And I even did my 6000 yard ePostal on Sunday!
And I swam again on Monday, a full workout after that 6000 on Sunday, and I was still swimming fast and felt energetic. So I'm hopeful that I'll have a good swim on Saturday.
That's great news, Fly Trap! I'm glad you have recovered well from your horrible injury. Good luck on Saturday! :cheerleader:
Glenn, I'll be at Pierce this weekend. I've entered the 1500 and a few other events, although I'm planning on giving everything I've got on the 1500. I'll even do a mini-taper for this meet, as I won't be able to swim the 1500 at Regionals.
How did it go Jonathan? I hope you crushed it!
I had a great swim this weekend, all things considered. The pool was hot for me (I'd guess 84 or so) and I'm only 4 months out from a very serious injury, with only about 2 months of (somewhat minimal) training under my belt. But I managed to go a personal best 9:51.00 in the 800. We were swimming 4 wide the entire swim, so that definitely helped pull me along. Started feeling the heat of the water around 600m, but managed to fight off the mental demons and focus enough to finish strong. Came home on a 1:10 (33.53 last 50m), which I was really happy about. Top 4 went:
Mark Frost 9:48.93
Dan Phillips 9:50.68
Matt Miller 9:51.00
Robbert Van Andel 9:52.54
I think it was the most fun swim I've had in a pool.
And, in the same heat, Dan Kirkland set a new American Record in the M65-69 age group with a super-impressive 10:05.03! He took over 14 seconds off his time of 10:19.31 that he swum in September.
Great swim Matt, congratulations!
I should also point out that not only did Dan Kirkland set a new American record in the 800, he also set the World Record which was 10:16. So he crushed that one too! I was thinking that maybe I had a chance at that record, but not anymore. Congratulations to Dan.
How did it go Jonathan? I hope you crushed it!
I had a great swim this weekend, all things considered. The pool was hot for me (I'd guess 84 or so) and I'm only 4 months out from a very serious injury, with only about 2 months of (somewhat minimal) training under my belt. But I managed to go a personal best 9:51.00 in the 800. We were swimming 4 wide the entire swim, so that definitely helped pull me along. Started feeling the heat of the water around 600m, but managed to fight off the mental demons and focus enough to finish strong. Came home on a 1:10 (33.53 last 50m), which I was really happy about. Top 4 went:
Mark Frost 9:48.93
Dan Phillips 9:50.68
Matt Miller 9:51.00
Robbert Van Andel 9:52.54
I think it was the most fun swim I've had in a pool.
And, in the same heat, Dan Kirkland set a new American Record in the M65-69 age group with a super-impressive 10:05.03! He took over 14 seconds off his time of 10:19.31 that he swum in September.
Awesome job! As much as it hurts, there's nothing better than doing a distance race when your neck-and-neck with the opposition. Everyone usually ends up with great times.
I went a 18:17 in the 1500 today. Went out a bit too fast, and died towards the end. Still a PR, so a good day!
Great swim Matt, congratulations!
I should also point out that not only did Dan Kirkland set a new American record in the 800, he also set the World Record which was 10:16. So he crushed that one too! I was thinking that maybe I had a chance at that record, but not anymore. Congratulations to Dan.
Thanks for pointing that out, Glenn. I thought it might have been a world record, but I didn't check before posting so I didn't want to say it was without knowing for sure. Huge congratulations to Dan!
You don't think you still have a shot at that record? You pretty consistently go a sub-5 minute 400. Maybe you could go out a little slower and even split it? I think you might still be able to do it! Dan was out in 5 minutes even at the 400.
Also, David Radcliff, who was kind enough to house me and feed me the night before the meet (thanks Dave and Nancy!), dropped a little over 7 seconds from his world record time for men 80-84 with an 11:35.71. Amazing!
Congratulations, Fly Trap! That's an amazing swim, especially considering what you have been through from that accident! :applaud:
Thanks so much Elaine! I was thrilled with the swim, all things considered. Several people who knew what had happened to me in July approached me and said that they were shocked to see me at the meet and certainly didn't expect me to be able to swim like I was able to. It really was a pretty fast recovery. I even surprised myself!
Awesome job! As much as it hurts, there's nothing better than doing a distance race when your neck-and-neck with the opposition. Everyone usually ends up with great times.
I went a 18:17 in the 1500 today. Went out a bit too fast, and died towards the end. Still a PR, so a good day!
Great swim Jonathan! You should be very happy with that. I'm hoping to do the 1500 in a few weeks in Bend (December 6th). At 4000 feet of elevation, I don't have high hopes for a fast swim there, but I would like to be somewhere around 19:10 or so. That should be good enough to make the top 10.
