What a great practice this morning. We all braved the snow and ice and made it happen today for a 2 hour practice. I'm not going to lie, I really liked being able to get the kids in at 10:00 instead of 6:30, that extra sleep and time to get there was great. There were a couple of highlights for our practice today:
First, the great turnout from our group. Out of the swimmers that could come we really rocked the house with the commitment and the ability to make it. I was impressed that we filled up 8 lanes so well, where we usually have 5. Showing up at times that practice is offered when it is different than your normal schedule isn't easy. There are easy excuses to not go to practice but it seemed like everyone that could make it did. We had a couple of swimmers missing, but most let us know that their parents just couldn't make it due to practice times and work.
Another highlight was the end of the practice, the daunting VO2 Max. The VO2 Max is our version of the Pacer in school. It's a dropout set that we set up a couple of different ways throughout the year. This is one of my all time favorite sets, the swimmers really get into it, go for goals, and cheer each other on. Today we did our classic VO2 Max which is a set of 4 * 25's, 3 are free and 1 no free. The 25's started today on :40 seconds and we dropped :02 seconds every 4. As the swimmers start to drop out, they come over and cheer the rest of the swimmers on who are still going.
3 Stars of Practice (Hockey Style)
The 3rd star: While we had a lot of great swimming, 3 people stood out to earn stars today. First was Isaac, he really pushed himself more than I have seen in the past. Isaac is a strong swimmer who is just figuring out how to work hard, and I think he took a huge step today. He was using his strength today and stayed in as long as he possibly could.
The 2nd star: The next swimmer is Hannah. She has been getting faster and faster, and today she really stepped up and kicked butt. Hannah was going second in her lane and was consistently finishing in front of the swimmers going first in the other lane (she was behind the champion). The sky is the limit for Hannah and she keeps surprising me in how she can adapt and continue to learn how to work. Hannah was working her streamlines and pushing herself to be great today. Hannah made it longer than many swimmers who are older and have faster times, and made it all the way to :20 seconds per 25, which was my goal for the group to get to.
The 1st star: This one was easy as Maddie stood head and shoulders above everyone in this set. Maddie took over from the beginning and won every 25 throughout the set. She was the last person standing and did 6 * 25's on her own at the end. Maddie split 17 seconds on every 25 from a push, both freestyle and backstroke, throughout the whole set. Her streamlines were fantastic, she was using her distance per stroke, and kept her kick up the whole time. What really impressed me was the effort and energy she was putting in the backstroke in the set as she was holding the same speed as her freestyle. She made it through :18 seconds per 25 and finished the last one for time backstroke in :16 seconds. If you've done the math that was 48 *25's by the end of it!
Another shout-out to our group and how far we've come since the beginning of the year! I can't wait for championship's to start next week and see what we can do!
Friday, March 6, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Taper time?
The end is in sight, it's almost championship season. We have finished our meets and are looking at taper time. All of the hard work is done, now just don't screw it up!
There are a couple of rules to live by when thinking about your taper and being ready to race.
First make sure you go to each and every practice. Don't miss practice or "self taper", your coaches know what they're doing and are planning for each day before your championships.
Don't spend or waste your newly found energy. Being on taper and resting means you are building up energy so you can compete at your top level. This means the couple of days before you race, you will probably have extra energy. Don't go running around in circles just to burn that energy, try and save it and hold it until your meet. I remember when I was swimming in college and everyone would be spinning in their chairs and couldn't stop moving. Elevators are completely appropriate during taper time too, I mean you have to save your legs and all.
Eat right sleep right. Two important things to preparation and taking care of yourself. No soda's, stay away from fast food, and cut out the late night snacks. If you're going to snack, because I'm sure you'll be constantly hungry, find something that is healthy. This all matters and it matters throughout taper time. What you do a week or two before can affect what you do during your champs.
Details, details, details! This is during practice where you need to follow the details and pay attention to the little things. Little things will make big differences. You're talking about hundredth's of seconds between places. Every little bit counts so make sure you work your turns, starts, entry, and small details of your strokes.
When it's time to race in practice and go for goal times, GO FOR THE GOAL TIMES. Be aggressive and go after it. If you get it great, if you go faster, great, if you don't.......don't stress. It will all come together when it's time to race. The important thing is that your are giving that race effort and race speed and practicing going fast. Practice racing your turn, your stroke count, etc. You have to do it in practice if you expect it to happen in a meet, it doesn't just automatically happen just because.
When you get to your meet, go for it. You are prepared, have done everything possible to do your best, and are ready. Confidence goes a long way at this point, go out and own your race. Have fun, cheer on your teammates, and enjoy the meet. You don't get to taper often, so when you do, make it count!
I personally can't wait for the meets, there is nothing better than fast swimming and great racing!
There are a couple of rules to live by when thinking about your taper and being ready to race.
First make sure you go to each and every practice. Don't miss practice or "self taper", your coaches know what they're doing and are planning for each day before your championships.
Don't spend or waste your newly found energy. Being on taper and resting means you are building up energy so you can compete at your top level. This means the couple of days before you race, you will probably have extra energy. Don't go running around in circles just to burn that energy, try and save it and hold it until your meet. I remember when I was swimming in college and everyone would be spinning in their chairs and couldn't stop moving. Elevators are completely appropriate during taper time too, I mean you have to save your legs and all.
Eat right sleep right. Two important things to preparation and taking care of yourself. No soda's, stay away from fast food, and cut out the late night snacks. If you're going to snack, because I'm sure you'll be constantly hungry, find something that is healthy. This all matters and it matters throughout taper time. What you do a week or two before can affect what you do during your champs.
Details, details, details! This is during practice where you need to follow the details and pay attention to the little things. Little things will make big differences. You're talking about hundredth's of seconds between places. Every little bit counts so make sure you work your turns, starts, entry, and small details of your strokes.
When it's time to race in practice and go for goal times, GO FOR THE GOAL TIMES. Be aggressive and go after it. If you get it great, if you go faster, great, if you don't.......don't stress. It will all come together when it's time to race. The important thing is that your are giving that race effort and race speed and practicing going fast. Practice racing your turn, your stroke count, etc. You have to do it in practice if you expect it to happen in a meet, it doesn't just automatically happen just because.
When you get to your meet, go for it. You are prepared, have done everything possible to do your best, and are ready. Confidence goes a long way at this point, go out and own your race. Have fun, cheer on your teammates, and enjoy the meet. You don't get to taper often, so when you do, make it count!
I personally can't wait for the meets, there is nothing better than fast swimming and great racing!
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