With 4 weeks left all to often this is when people screw up!
10) Get injured: going for max lifts, playing ultimate frisbee, getting out of bed to fast, screwing around in general. The further you get into a taper the more energy you will begin to feel and that's when it often happens.
9) Try and make a technique change: save that project for May 12th (take 1 week off after nationals and repair your body). This is not the time to change from a grab to a track start, this is not the time to staart learning to SDK....not is the time to refine and dial in whatever you've been doing all along.
8) Go on a diet: This is a national championship not a bathing suit contest...you need to eat healthy more than ever. Because your intenstiy should be upped the next 7-14 days DO NOT reduce calories but rather eat better in general...5x a day (a healthy low cal snack between breakfeast/lunch & lunch/dinner).
7) Get sick: more often than not this is when many people do. #1 way to avoid it is to avoid others who are sick...and wash your hands..a lot! Even if you do keep your head screwed on tight...we have all seen and at times first hand experienced great swims in spite of getting sicik right before or during a meet.
6) Take the stairs/wear flip flops/practice starts: Stop all 3 of these 2 weeks out...the legs ill take the longest to feel 100%.
5) Not take rest days: whereas I will typically swim 3-5x a week and go "hard" 2-3x....from here on out I will be in the water every single day...however I will make every other day...or more as needed, recovery days. For the next week that means keeping yardage the same with more rest and doing broken swims every other day with some speedwork and on the rest days longer, hypoxic swims.
4) Not stretch: Even if you typically don't stretch on a regular basis you like most probably do some...or a lot at a meet. This is often times shy people feel sore at meets because they have not been doing it all along. Start today and 2x a day spend 5-10 minutes...you will 100% feel/see the differance...espcially by the last day of your meet.
3) Not test out a new suit...goggles; Don't wait till the meet to buy them...get them now and practice with the suit at least twice and the goggles every day.
2) Try to get into "shape": you've either banked your yards by now...or not so don't up your mileage with 4 weeks to go and try and play catch up. Either wat the next 7-14 days you need to be doing quality swimming with more rest added in. If you go pace 50's on :50, go to 1:00 and try and get 1-2 seconds faster, if 100's are typically 1:30, go to 1:45 and try and be 2-4 seconds faster. Remember...you will most likely feel terrible the last week of your taper...this is not because your getting out of shape...its your body adapting to a change in training and healing...this is also one of the main times people screw up...trust your training/trust yourself.
1) Turn into a head case. Listen...its a cliche but its the journey not the destination. Nationals is simply the gravy on top of the mashies...have fun, swim fast, get ready to come back and start the whole process again!
FYI I've moved up the food chain to Menage a' Trois....be thankful because my mentor and idol Ron Johnson has been trying to sell my on two buck chuck from Trader Joe's!
And by the way...your not out of the woods yet Fort...not only do you buy the first round but for every transgression from this point forward you will continue to buy rounds...no more whining!
I am going to put the hammer down tomorrow ... and not on my foot either.
I think we have plenty of other whiners that are great candidates for round two. Like your evil twin.
My top two reasons now are:
2) have your pool closed the month before nationals (only other ones are either kidney shaped or 2 hours away over snowy mountain passes).
and
1) have your back-up plan to go somewhere else to train go astray.
Both of these happened to me and yesterday I was so stressed that I decided not to go to Austin. However, after drinking a glass of Wooly Booger from our basement tap and a glass or two or three of Sangiovese and having a great night's sleep I was able to find a solution (not revealing what it is).
So, I'm back on track for a bunch of half-:mooning: swims in Austin AND to get on with the big drinking contests!
I'll be there half :mooning: swimming with you, Mel! WARNING TO SMITH: DON'T READ ANY FURTHER! I just spent four hours seeing doctors, being injected and getting back and foot xrays and I'd like a nap now. My foot appears to be broken in addition to being ridden with tendonitis. I'm sure my backstroke starts will be most excellent! Oh well, I'm going to carry on.
I'm glad you didn't give up on our drinking contest, Mel. :applaud:
I told you it was important to drink at the end of a long day.
My top two reasons now are:
2) have your pool closed the month before nationals (only other ones are either kidney shaped or 2 hours away over snowy mountain passes).
and
1) have your back-up plan to go somewhere else to train go astray.
Both of these happened to me and yesterday I was so stressed that I decided not to go to Austin. However, after drinking a glass of Wooly Booger from our basement tap and a glass or two or three of Sangiovese and having a great night's sleep I was able to find a solution (not revealing what it is).
So, I'm back on track for a bunch of half-:mooning: swims in Austin AND to get on with the big drinking contests!
The bathtub's a little tight, no? It's tough to do flip turns in the shallow end:lmao:
My top two reasons now are:
2) have your pool closed the month before nationals (only other ones are either kidney shaped or 2 hours away over snowy mountain passes).
and
1) have your back-up plan to go somewhere else to train go astray.
Both of these happened to me and yesterday I was so stressed that I decided not to go to Austin. However, after drinking a glass of Wooly Booger from our basement tap and a glass or two or three of Sangiovese and having a great night's sleep I was able to find a solution (not revealing what it is).
So, I'm back on track for a bunch of half-:mooning: swims in Austin after AND to get on with the big drinking contests!
I was able to find a solution (not revealing what it is).
Well, I've heard if you get avalanched you should 'swim' to try to get to the surface of the snow. If this is your plan Mel, don't do it, it sounds too dangerous! :drink:
I thought of another way to blow a taper: too much gardening. Lots of bending down and potential to throw out your back or kill your legs. Just let those weeds grow for a another few weeks.
New Top XX, in no particular order:
1) Spend 3 days in March with Bob Bruce changing your principal strokes (arm, head and body position) resulting in a net setback in time and lots of muscle pain because they are now being used differently;
2) Spend a couple of days training with Rich Abrahams, have him look at your breaststroke turn that you have been proud of for 50 years and comment that it really isn't all that good;
3) Arrange to have your pool close the month before Nationals and be certain that the next nearest pool is at least 75 miles away;
4) Have the Post Office 'misplace' your certified mail tax return to the CO Dept of Revenue to whom you are greatly in debt;
5) Find out that your cats are carrying the fleas that propagate bubonic plague (OK, OK I just made that one for crying out loud).
You are offically renamed "Mel-Fort"...i.e king of the whiners on the men's side! And I say this knowing that John's nicknmae is often "glum" for his ability to see rain clouds on a sunny day everday of this life!
Let's not usurp Eeyore's crown just yet. He's apparently in this condition 24/7. Mel-Fort and I are like this because we are being deprived of training. I do notice, however, that Mel-Fort forgot to mention that he broke taper and went skiing for 90 minutes the other day ...
I was going "soft"....so we went back to CO this past week and got some altitude training in and cold weather toughness training (outdoor pool in Steamboat with air temp at 32).
A nice soak at Strawberry Park hot springs would have been a nice way to warm you up afterwards.
I do notice, however, that Mel-Fort forgot to mention that he broke taper and went skiing for 90 minutes the other day ...
Right. I forgot. That was supposed to be 5) Be certain to have the best spring skiing in a decade available right out your front door.
The cat's/fleas were supposed to be 6).
Oh, well, memory is not everything. Wonder who said that?
You are offically renamed "Mel-Fort"...i.e king of the whiners on the men's side!
Since I have the same locker privileges as you do, you had better keep an eye on those Victoria's Secret underwear you wear (Betcha didn't know that, did you ladies, because it wasn't mentioned on the Men's Locker thread. Paul has to get them at VS Big and Tall.). Something could happen to them when you let down your guard.
