Journey to Olympic Trials: Speed of Sound

ORLANDO, Florida, October 15. THE second week of eight in my sprinting phase of this season has concluded, and I'm feeling very good about the direction I'm taking in the lead-up to my taper meet on Dec. 10.

This week incorporated a lot more speed training than last week, both in and out of the pool. I invite you to go to my blog to read the workouts from this week. Thursday's workout with Coach Coley Stickels was very tough, but gave me perspective on my stroke.

Today, I raced two events at the Rowdy Gaines Classic, a short course meters Masters meet which I am covering for SwimmingWorld.TV and getting race footage and video interviews. In the middle of this, I did a 1:05.5 in the 100 breast and 54.73 in the 100 free. The 100 breast was not very good, and the lack of sleep and being on my feet for work took its toll. I felt better in the 100 free, and was within a few tenths of my best Masters time in the event. The 100 breast was great technically, but it lacked the snap in my stroke. The 100 free was also technically good, but I dug deeper in that race and managed to finish second. Just to remind you, the 100 free is probably my sixth- or seventh-best event, so that was a big boost for me.

Next week will continue the great work I'm doing in the pool. I'll back off on weights to allow my muscles to recover from the heavy lifting, then pick it up again. I'm 254 days away from swimming the 100 breast at Olympic Trials, and I am so glad it's not tomorrow! A lot of work needs to be done, but I can tell things are on the right path. I just have to remember that I'm 37 years old, not 17.

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