At Last, My Fast-Twitch Muscles Have Come Along!

Journal by Jeff Commings, Swimming World associate producer

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 3. SWIMMING World associate producer Jeff Commings, who will be the second oldest man to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials next summer, is journaling his daily training regimen on his personal blog. We are reprinting those articles here:

Date: Friday, September 2, 2011
Time: 5:50 a.m.
Short Course Meters/Short Course Yards
297 days to Trials

8×50 on :50 swim
8×50 on 1:00, 25 kick/25 swim
8×50 on 1:10 kick

12×100 on 2:00 (Set called for even repeats to be fast, but I was fairly aggressive on all of them. Did the first six breaststroke, holding 1:43. Did the last six flutter kick with fins and no board, holding 1:30)

200 drill

Short course yards (because I wanted my own lane to avoid swimming circle)
12×50 on 1:00, every third fast from a dive
Breaststroke: 29.3, 28.9, 28.7, 27.7

50 easy, then I decided to do another 50 breast for time. Went 27.6

100 warm down (with stretching)

Yay! I finally felt like a sprinter today. It was a little surprising, given how sore I was after yesterday's mile for time. I was glad to do some fast swims from the blocks, just to shock my system. The first one felt crappy, but I was ready to go after that. The last two 50s I did (the ones under 28), were not all-out. They really felt like the first 50 of a 100: aggressive, but not overloading it. I'm not sure if I could have done another 50 each time, though.

Looking back on the week, the thing that sticks out for me is that I did a lot of breaststroke, and most of it by choice. When given the option of strokes, I usually choose backstroke because it's easier to swim than breaststroke in workout. I am pleased that I made the decision to do so much breaststroke. It will pay dividends later … I hope.

I officially picked my taper meet for short course meters. It will be the Arizona Masters state meet, held at the Phoenix Swim Club pool. It will be the second weekend of December, which is the time when the heaters are on full blast in the pool. I'm in the minority on the team in terms of wanting the pool at a cooler temperature, but hopefully when the meet rolls around the heaters will be turned down considerably. I'll have to remind Mark to keep the pool cool that week. Hard as I try, it will be impossible to swim fast when the water is 83 degrees. I will do my usual events (50 and 100 breast, 100 back, 100 and 200 IM), and maybe the 100 free. I surprised myself at spring nationals with a 47.29, which almost won. I'm looking forward to seeing how fast I swim there. Last fall I swam very well at my taper meet in November, which was the first time I thought about making the Trials cut in the 100 breast. Another great fall meet could verify whether my training is on the right path, or if I need to make adjustments before Omaha approaches.

Reprinted from Jeff's personal blog at commings.blogspot.com

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