Over the course of this season, I've done a lot of thinking in regards to what times I wanted to make during the season, but didn't map out any of my long term goals. With that in mind, today I sat down and mapped out my swimming goals through the rest of the year and next year. I also threw in my goal times for 2014, but that is total conjecture at this point.
For 2012, the events listed with an asterisk are the events I plan to hit the times in by the end of the calendar year, but are either not on track to hit the times at Zones/Nats or don't think I'll hit the time till later this year. For 2013, the times are just extensions of how my swimming has gone during this season. I've got 20 months to train to hit those times, so they should be relatively achievable. As I said, the 2014 goal times are total conjecture at this point, but that's where I could theoretically be if my swimming progresses over the next two years as it has over these past six months.
Event
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
50 fly
|
25.8
|
24.5
|
23.8
|
100 fly
|
57.1
|
55.0
|
52.5
|
200 fly
|
2:18.0*
|
2:05.0
|
1:58.0
|
50 back
|
28.0
|
26.5
|
25.0
|
100 back
|
1:02.0*
|
57.0
|
55.0
|
200 back
|
2:18.0*
|
2:10.0 (low expectations)
|
2:00.0
|
100 IM
|
1:01.0
|
58.0
|
56.5
|
200 IM
|
2:15.0*
|
2:08.0
|
2:02.0
|
400 IM
|
5:00.0* (low expectations)
|
4:40.0
|
4:20.0
|
50 free
|
25.0* (low expectations)
|
23.9
|
23.5
|
100 free
|
55.5* (low expectations)
|
53.8
|
51.8
|
200 free
|
2:05.0* (low expectations)
|
1:58.0
|
1:53.0
|
2012: I think I've got a pretty good shot at the 50 and 100 fly over the next two meets. Nats should be a great meet for me--I'll be shaved, tapered, wearing Fastskin jammers, and swimming in a very fast pool. I think both of those times are well within reach. I haven't trained for the 200 fly at all, but that time should be within reach with a bit of training. As I've said before, I have no idea what's wrong with my backstroke--I'm planning on really working on ironing it out this summer, so if I'm successful, those back times should be in the realm of possibility. The 100 IM should be achievable at Nats--I'm currently about 2.5 seconds off that, so preparation for Nats should help out. The 200 IM should be well within reach by the end of the year--I've only swum it once so far and even with a horrible swim, I was a low 2:20s in it. Should be a piece of cake to hit that mark. The 400 IM is a total guess, but I'd imagine I could hit that by the end of the year. I haven't "trained" for freestyle at all so far. Yes, I do a lot of free yardage, but mentally I don't approach it the same way as I approach fly and IM work. I'm completely guessing at those times, but they should be achievable by the end of the year.
Over the summer/fall, I plan to up my practice time, since there are currently a handful of practices each week that I don't go to, but could. My goal is to work up to doing as many team practices as physically possible and at least continue the number of individual practices I currently do, or increase that number. So while the length and intensity of the practices I do won't be drastically different than what I'm doing today, I'll hopefully be adding in 5-6 hours of swimming in a week on top of what my current regimen is. Once I hit that level, I plan to maintain it for the forseeable future.
Another thing that I will focus on in the summer and fall is the technical details of swimming. So far, I'd say approximately 60% of my time improvements have been a result of better conditioning, 30% has been from sheer muscling through the water, and 10% has been from technique improvements. Some of the big technical areas that need attention are my starts and turns. In addition, there's the little stuff like how I kick, my arm/hand position, all that fun stuff. I intend to really get to work on ironing out all my technical deficiencies over the summer and fall.
Mentally, I'm a much more effective swimmer than I was in highschool. Back then it would take a looooong time of Mike and Scott (my coaches) yelling at me to correct something or alter my technique before I'd actually get it right. These days, Drew/Katie/Jen only have to say something once or twice before I really try to work on it. In addition, I actively work on technique and stuff on my own during my individual practices, something that would have been unheard of back then. I think a lot of the shift in my mental outlook has come from my two year stint coaching and teaching lessons in South Carolina. As a coach, you're the one on the deck working on the swimmers' technique, so it makes you constantly think about what you're seeing and how you'd correct it. Whatever caused the mental shift, I'm SO much more effective mentally now than I was, and the mental aspect of swimming is about 90% of the sport.
2013: I plan to continue the volume of training established in the fall of 2012 through the full 2013 calendar year. During the year, I intend to focus primarily on butterfly training. My second and third priorities will be backstroke and IM, respectively. Freestyle is a distant last priority. With that in mind, the butterfly times should be easily achievable, especially if my butterfly progresses as it has so far. Backstroke times are a guess, since I've got a LOT of work to do to even get to the point where they're theoretically possible. The IMs shouldn't be too hard, I just need to train for them. Free, again, is just a guess.
2014: Again, pure conjecture at this point, but these times are my long term goals. These would be lifetime best times across the board. If my training continues to progress and all that stuff, the fly times should be in the realm of possibility, but the rest are just guesses.
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