Swimming

Growing up a competitive swimmer, I'm no stranger to swim workouts and the what it takes to become a better/faster swimmer. Those who never swum competitively or are new to swimming, often don't see or understand that just swimming for 30min or 1hr is good enough. Sure, swimming 500-1650yds great for pacing but it won't make you any faster anytime soon. The list of excuses from non-swimmers could go on and on ("no walls in triathlons, so why flip turn?" to "the chlorine makes me itchy"). Seriously. I'm no expert in running so correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you have to do some interval training to become a faster runner?

What is interval training? 

A workout routine which alternates a high intensity effort followed by a low intensity one. For example, 10x100 on 2:00. Say you swim the 100 on 1:35, you rest till the clock hits 2:00. 

Why add intervals into your swim workout? 

1. Improve your cardiovascular system

2. Gain strength

3. Builds endurance

Here are a few swim workout descriptions:

Warm-Up Set (WU)

Basically a easy swim, at a easy pace, just enough to get the blood flowing but not your heart rate up. 

Drill Set (DS)

Technique drills to improve swimming. Better technique = efficient/faster swimming. 

Main Set

Like the title says, this is the main part of the swim workout, there are six types of main set: base intervals, swim time trials, speed intervals, lactate intervals, threshold intervals, and fartlek intervals. 

Base Intervals (BI)

Freestyle swim intervals performed at moderate intensity and separated by short recoveries (ex. 6x100 with 5 seconds rest). BI's improve aerobic fitness, endurance, and efficiency.

Swim Time Trials (STT)

Swim a give distance at race pace. The main purpose is to help prepare you for race day and to guage your current swim performance level. This can be done at the pool or at a open water swim location.

Speed Intervals (SI)

Short intervals swum at speed intensity for the whole set. SI's will increase your maximum swim speed, your efficiency, and your ability to quickly recover from hard swimming. 

Lactate Intervals (LT)

LT's are middle-length intervals swum at max speed. LT's will maximize your swim-specific aerobic capacity and improve your ability to sustain faster swim speeds.

Threshold Intervals (TI)

TI's are longer intervals swum at threshold intensity. TI's will significantly increase your intensive endurance, or the time you are able to maintain a fast swim speed. 

Fartlek Intervals (FI)

FI's comprise alternating segments of easy and hard swimming. 

Kick Sets (KS)

Kick sets are basically using a kick board or not. The idea of this is to develop a more powerful and efficient kick. 

Cool-down Sets (CD)

Few easy laps at the end of each swim workout. Usually done at recovery intensity. 

How do you put this all together?

This is how I would structure my swim workout for the week.

Monday

WU (500)

DS (4x50)

BI (6x100 with 5sec rest)

LI (9x75 with 45sec rest)

SI (6x25 with 20sec rest)

DS (4x50) *

KS (4x50)

CD (300) 

Wednesday

WU (500)

DS (4x50)

TI (5x200 20sec rest)

SI (4x50 20sec rest)

DS (4x50) *

KS (4x50)

CD (300)

Friday

WU (400)

TT (1650)

CD (300) 

*It's good to force yourself to work on form while tired)

This is just an example of what I would do. The distance may seem a bit excessive, so it can be toned down to your individual needs.

 

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Granola

Sure, I've been called "Granola" occasionally and a hippie a few times but what does it actually mean? According to Urban Dictionary definition #3, Granola refers to  "A person who dresses like a hippy, eats natural foods (granola), and is usually a Liberal, but in all other ways is a typical middle class white person, and is likely to revert back to being straight when they finish college."

Middle class and white? Far from it but hey, if it gets me free stuff. 

Since I bought way too much oatmeal at the store this past weekend (never shop before dinner) I needed to do something with the excess amount. Granola it was. 

Granola adapted from Perry's Plate

1. 3C rolled oats

2. 1C sliced almonds 

3. 2 1/2T (packed) brown sugar

4. 1T flaxseed

5. 1/2c shelled sunflower seeds

6. 3/4t ground cinnamon

7. 1/2t ground ginger 

8. 1/4t salt

9. 1/3c honey

10. 3T olive oil

11. 1/2t vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 300 deg F. 

Using a mixer or by hand, mix ingredients 1-8 in a large bowl. Using a microwave safe bowl, combine 9-11 and heat for 30sec or until everything is mixed well. 

Add liquid to dry mix and mix till everything is coated. 

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper, evenly spread half of the mixture on the pan. Bake until golden, be sure to stir every 10 min to so the oats don't burn. About 20-30min. Remove and let cool on rack. Stir in any dried fruit if needed.

Granola will not be crunchy when taken out of oven, but will become crunchy once cooled. 

Enjoy!

 

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Wednesday Web Randoms

Since it's the second week of the build phase of my 1/2 Ironman training plan, I've been pretty tired and lazy to cook some new stuff. Here's some randoms from around the web. Also, if you have any questions, about anything, feel free to ask and I'll post up the replies in a week or so, 

Wednesday Web Randoms

Motivational #1

Motivational #2

Motivational #3

My wife said "she'd leave me if I wore those"

Ryan Hall

Pre-game music

Best tag that came on my shorts.

                                              Good read Can exercise help prevent cancer?

Slowtwitch!! 

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Black Bean Quesadillas

With the recent bad weather this past week, training has been quite a bust. I've gotten kicked out of the pool due to thunder and lighting, running has become a thought and biking has been strictly trainer rides. I give anyone credit for staying motivated for areas where it snows for months. It's only a week but I barely have any motivation to do anything but lay in bed. Perfect time for some microwavable food.

Last month I came across a recipe for Black Bean Quesadillas on Budgetbytes and decided to give it a shot. 

Black Bean Quesadillas (adapted from Budgetbytes)

1 15oz can black beans

1 can corn kernels

1/2 small red onion (diced)

1 clove garlic (minced)

2c shredded cheese

2T taco seasoning (more or less to your liking)

10 taco sized tortillas 

Drain black beans and rinse lightly but leave slightly dirty. Place beans and corn in a large bowl. 

Dice onion and mince garlic. Add to bowl along with cheese. Stir in taco seasoning until everything is evenly incorporated. 

Using a 1/2c measuring cup, scoop out the mix and place on one side of the tortilla and fold over. Cook on a large frying pan or skillet till each side is brown and crispy. 

Quesadillas can be eaten now or can be frozen. If you're going to freeze them, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place quesadillas on top. Repeat process for others. Place in freezer till solid. Once solid, they can be wrapped in saran wrap and placed in Ziploc bags.

Enjoy! 

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New Balance 890

So as you recall, way back in November I bought a pair of Asics Gel-DS Sky Speeds as my wet weather running shoes. So after what seemed like a long break in period, I developed a pain in my right forefoot. The pain was real similar to turf toe but that couldn't be it since it's been months since I played field hockey. So after doing a quick search and a little e-diagnosis, Sesamoiditis seemed to be the culprit. Upon further reading, it is mentioned that "Shoe treatments include wearing a shoe that doesn’t flex at the forefoot or have a thin, non-shock absorptive sole. In a running shoe, this means no flex groove directly under the big toe joint where the sesamoid is inflammed."

 As you can see, the flex grooves are right under the big toe joint.

After a week and a half of no running, the pain subsided  and began to feel normal again. Not wanting to re-injure, I switched back to my lovely K-Swiss Blade Light Runs. After switching back for 2 weeks, I have been pain free but running in wet weather sucks because of the drainage holes on the bottom. So the hunt for a new shoe began. While looking for a recipe I stumbled upon The No Meat Athlete and his minimalist shoe saga. In his story, he mentions pain in the ball of his foot and goes on to mention the NB 890 and mentions "I ran Boston in them.  They felt great.  And then I started doing track workouts in them.  They still felt great.   And so, I realized, did the ball of my foot." Figuring, it's still early in the training program so why not give it a shot. A few days later they arrived at my doorstep. 

 

Notice the gray area.

The gray part is directly under the big toe joint.

My first impression was that I found theses shoes to be really light and was a little concerned about the durability. The first day, went out for a short 20min run and was surprised to find them pretty much ready to run out of the box and pretty comfortable. After a month of doing a few 40-55min runs, I still have no pain in the forefoot or anywhere else. Give these a shot

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