Faces of Victory! - Except for mine - More photos from that 'rockin' Mission Viejo Nadadores Relay Meet

SPMA Regionals is coming: Be very afraid. Mark Savage took these photos yesterday at the Mission Viejo Nadadores Relay Swim Meet.

His work can be sen here: [Link] and here [Link]

Swimming Pier-to-Pier this morning with Anthony

There is going to be a Pier-to-Pier race on August 5th I believe. Anthony wants to do it and I probably will too just to see where I am located on the food chain of experienced open water swimmers but for now on to the business at hand.

Here is how these Sunday swims go: Some SCAQ members like Steve J. and others meet at the lifeguard tower south of Manhattan Pier at 8:00 AM. At 8:15 AM they all run down en masse to the Hermosa Pier and begin the swim.

It's unofficial so anybody can go.

Open Water Clinics and Open Water advice

[Here is some open water advice and a clinic offer for open water swimming. After I did my first SCAQ Open Water Clinic, I moved up 40 places in the Alcatraz Sharkfest standings. That Anthony and I in the photo.)

SCAQ OCEAN CLINICS are all summer long. Whether you are a new or seasoned triathlete you should be spending 80% of your time in the pool and 20% in the ocean. A few things that we cover in the clinics and that are very important are: how to get in and get out of the water, how to sight, use a wet suit and get used to chop and waves. A few important race day tips: An essential "must do" for that morning is testing the bottom and checking waves and currents/ The most important thing is to get in that good warm up. Try warming up your core first with a short run, then do at least 500 yards minimum in the water.

Great time saving strategy: stay in a straight line. This is called sighting. Sight the far horizon (mountain, building, tree) not the buoy. Go out in your warm up and see where they line up. You will save tons of time and energy not having to lift your head up as high to spot a buoy. Try to not make too many directional errors.

If you are in a pack of swimmers, you can rely on them for a lot of your sighting. Less time lifting your head saves energy. Keep on eye on any pack, because they generally drift with the leader. If a pack drifts too far out stay with them, but on the inside. And if the pack drifts inside stay on the outside.

Our ocean clinics are almost every Saturday in the summer months. See SWIM.net/SCAQ for details or call us at 310.390.5700 to sign up.

I have been asked by Clay Evans to come up with an idea to entice former club swimmers to start swimming with us again.

Any ideas? I 'm thinking of some sort of incentive; say like a discount for a couple of months. Perhaps some free swim technique clinics or maybe a free suit, Zoomers and goggles?

There there is always the proverbial contest: Bring us the most new members in between now a the autumn and you win a TYR super hero outfit of your choice?

SCAQ OPEN WATER CLINIC this Saturday!

I endorse this clinic. I think it is vital if you are a triathlete or have never swam in an open water race that you take this clinic. I believe Clay Evans is conducting it and he is a guy who was once a lifeguard, has won the La Jolla Rough Water Swim and has a silver medal from the 1976 Olympics as well. Ergo, he has "skillz"

An open water clinic will take place this Saturday, 6/23 at 10am, at Venice Beach Pier. To get rate information and register for the clinic all swimmers must call the SCAQ Office at 310 390-5700.

During clinics, you will be learn methods to enter and exit the surf, learn how to read the currents, and learn how to properly sight. Swimmers interested in enrolling for a clinic must feel comfortable in the water, and be able to swim 4x100's on the 2:00. If you are unsure about your swimming ability, it is highly recommended that you enroll in a Swim 101 Clinic prior to the Ocean Clinic or come by a SCAQ workout.

Photo by musengs

Small pro bono piece for my swim club - I will edit the UCLA movie some more tomorrow

It will be a small ad the size of a business card placed in a parenting magazine called the Daisy Chain.

I am swimming from Hermosa Pier to Manhattan Pier this morning

I will be meeting another SCAQ swimmer there named Anthony. I am so sore from doing all those sprints yesterday at the meet too. I feel like the Marque de Sade gave me a Swedish massage with a KGB era truncheon.

To the right left is a picture of Hermosa Beach Pier and to the left right is the Manhattan Beach Pier taken this morning at around 6:30 this morning. I got the images at watchthewater.org which features web cams along with surf/water info including air temps for just about every beach in Los Angeles: [link] Now fill in 2 miles of water in between these pictures and that is my workout for today.

Scott Hubbard Sprint Workout

Dimitriy asked me not to post any of his "secret sauce" workouts anymore when I swim at VNSO or Santa Monica City College. So, these workouts are taken from the the SCAQ library. I am swimming with bronze medalist, Erik H. on Saturdays afternoons after this upcoming meet and I will post his workouts and advice.

Sprint 3,600 LC Meters
Designed by Scott Hubbard
4/27/07 Culver City

Warm Up (900):

• 300 free
• 300 (100k/100stroke/100free)
• 300 (100 easy/50 fast),

Main Set (2700)

• 6 x 200 @ 3:00/2:50/2:40/2:40/2:50/3:00
• 6 x (50 fly @ :40/100 free @ 1:40)
• 6x100 @ 2:00 "rabbit races"

• On the last 6 100's, the lane reverses order and the last person goes first every time. The goal is to catch the person in front of you!

Will Ferrell to Participate in “Swim With Mike” and you can too

Here is a SCAQ (Southern California Aquatics) email I got yesterday about the event:

Hello Tony,

SWIM with MIKE this Saturday! Last year there were six Olympic gold medal winners coaching these masters clinics! SCAQers, this is an incredible place to get instruction, so take advantage of this! USC’s McDonald’s Olympic Swim Stadium opens at 8AM, and swim clinics begin at 9AM. Swim With Mike is an annual event held to benefit the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. SCAQ has been participating with this great, worthwhile event for many years. If you want to take advantage of a great event and clinics done cheaper than anywhere, then please support this event. For more information, please visit:

http://www.swimwithmike.org/swmusc.html and/or http://www.swimwithmike.org/events07.pdf

SCAQ email about Clay's "SUPER IRONMAN WORKOUT"

If you thought 10 x 400 was tough, it is about to get much harder at Clay's Saturday morning workout. Right at the beginning of the set (after a good warm up), you will do a SPRINT 100 much faster than your regular pace, then return to 3x400s at the pace you have been going. This will mimic an ocean swim. At the finish of the 3x400, then another 100 sprint- and then again, 3x400s. Finally, one last round of sprint 100 and 3x400s and ending (finally) in one LAST sprint 100.. This is much more difficult than going straight through the even-paced 400s. This will only be for those in swimming shape and who have already experienced our 400s workouts over the last few weekends. If you are new to this workout, Clay suggests that you sit out and rest the 100s instead of swimming them hard.

Why these hard 100s screwing up these otherwise nice paced 400s? Because that is the way it is out in the real world. Ocean swims or triathlons never mimic normal, even-paced swims, and no two races will ever be the same. You therefore should prepare for abrupt changes. So, when you have achieved the ability and the endurance to pace yourself for a 200, a 2,000 or a 2 miler you then practice adversity and increase your ability to regain your composure and return to an effective pace. Tactically most ocean races for serious swimmers should start and end with speed (come to one of Clay's ocean clinics in Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach to find out WHY). And always it will be inevitable that during a race you will need to apply some speed, like get around some slower swimmers, beat people to a buoy, catch the waves, et cetera. And once again, you will have to return to an effective pace. So for the next couple of weeks at Santa Monica College (SMC), Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Westchester, and the San Fernando Valley pool (VNSO), you can expect this workout.

For those of you swimmers stuck at this workout you can change it. Just stay with the interval of your lane. If you want to do middle distance go instead of rounds of three 400s, one 400, one 200 and one 100. If you are an IMers try doing three 300s IM. And for some of you guys that want an all out sprint workout go three 100s.

[Check this page often for both swim clinics and ocean clinics: Link]

SCAQ Workout - Santa Monica swimming today

My swim club, SCAQ, caters to both Masters swimmers and triathletes. If you are a triathlete in need of swim skills it is a great club to learn and develop aquatic skill sets. Today SCAQ had what is called a Ironman set at VNSO for triathletes; (VNSO: Van Nuys Sherman Oaks pool), but I headed over to Santa Mo for one of Dimitriy's mid distance workouts instead.

I don't remember the intervals but I remember the yardage. Oh, and blogger trevr was there. He has a play coming up on April 13. Go to his website and check it out.

200 warmup
6x50s kick/swim
6 x 75s descending 1-3 and descend 4-6 with a more agressive interval
3x300 with a descending interval.
3x300 with a faster descending interval
6x50s warm down

Total: 3050

SCAQ: VNSO Swim Workout

Dimitriy coached a quasi-sprint workout. The only downside was that the lazy-bones, pool attendant forgot to put the covers on the pool after closing last night and the water has been cold. Watr temp was like, 78-79 degrees.

Total workout 2900 yards.

Warm-up:
200 easy

Transitional set, 1050 yards - 20 x 50's total done in this fashion:
5 x 50s moderate @ 1:00
5 x 50s build @ 1:00
5 x 50s descending @ 1:00
5 x 50's descending interval - 0:55, 0:50, 0:45, 0:40, 0:35.
easy 50

Main set, 1650 yards total:
5 x 100s @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20)
easy 50

2 x 100s @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20)
1 x 100 @ 1:25
2 x 100s @1:30
easy 50

1 x 100 @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20s)
1 x 100 @ 1:25
1 x 100 @ 1:30
1 x 100 @ 1:25
1 x 100 @ 1:30
easy 50

Warm down 200