Carleton Masters Swimming Newsletter
#38
Sunday, May 26th, 2002
To: Carleton Coaches
Bcc: Early Birds (64 addresses); Whitecaps (73
addresses),
Nightcaps (39 addresses), Varsity registered with Masters (13
addresses), Very
Early Birds (35 addresses)
Masters Registration, Membership Expiry, and PAR-Q
Forms:
I have sent out e-mail reminders to those who have
not yet
registered for Spring/Summer Masters, as well as to those whose
Athletics
Memberships expire before the end of the session. Anyone who has
not
filled in a PAR-Q (medical questionnaire) in the last year, has been
asked to
complete one. Your cooperation in getting all this paperwork done
is
appreciated!
Feedback Forms Information (Part
3):
Here is more information from the 86 feedback forms received in
April:
Workouts:
Here's a summary of your comments on the workouts.
General:
18 people said there is a good variety in the workouts, while 5
said they'd
like more variety. Two said there's a good balance of all 4
strokes, and 2
(others) said that there's not always a balance of all 4 strokes.
One asked that we ensure that consecutive workouts have different
distances
in the main sets -- we definitely are trying to improve on this by
having an
overall plan giving the focus for each workout that all coaches
use. One
suggested that we have more variety in swimming speeds, and another 3
asked for
more sprints. Next week's (optional) lactate tolerance set should
help
there. Another asked that the intensity increases as we go through
the
summer. Don't worry -- it will :-) !
One person asked for more of an emphasis on good technique, rather
than
making the pace times. One person noted that the pace times are
always
good. Another asked for more lower intensity workouts for those
who train
other sports and need an easy day. We tend to spend more time on
technique
at the beginning of each session. If you want to devote extra time
to
working on your technique and find that difficult in your current lane,
you are
free to move to a slower lane. Also if you want an easier workout
one day
for whatever reason (need an easy day, or you're tired, gave blood,
recovering
from injury or illness, etc.) you always have the option of moving to a
slower
lane. Similarly if you are feeling great, or the main set is your
favourite, you can always move up a lane!
Three people asked for a distance free only lane for
triathletes
and/or that freestyle be an option on IM nights. Frankly, I
think
this would do you more harm that good. Always doing the same type
of
training (stroke and distance) almost guarantees that you will
plateau, and can lead to overuse injury. The way things are
currently
structured, you can do mostly freestyle two days out of three.
More than
that is not recommended.
One swimmer asked for written technique pointers to think about
while
swimming. On the spring/summer plan (posted on the bulletin board
and
website), you'll notice that each week has a "focus" -- that is the
technique
aspect that you should have in the back of your mind for that
week. If
you're not sure what you can do to improve in the area given, just ask
your
coach.
Workout Structure:
Warm Up: Three people said they like the (usually)
1000m
structured warm up. Two said the warm up is too
long. If
you are in a slower lane and would prefer a shorter warm up, just let
your coach
know. One swimmer asked for specific warm up drills to be written
on the
board. I'd suggest that instead you ask your coach for good drills
for you
to do -- not everyone needs to work on the same thing! One person
suggested adding a transition set into the main set. We rarely do
this due
to time considerations. Every time there's a new set to explain,
we lose
3-5min of workout time. If we have any short sets, the coach can
be
explaining the previous set to one lane, when another is already ready
for the
next one. However, I'll try making the last part of the warm up
into a
mini-set some days and see how that goes.
Main Set: Three swimmers said they prefer
doing more
short sets, rather than one long set. One said he/she likes having
just
one main set. As explained above, given the short workout time,
it's more
efficient to do just one set, but I'll occasionally add another and see
how
people like that.
Strokes: One person asked for more fly, and one
person for
less! (I guess we keep it the same?!) Two asked for less IM
and two
others asked for less IM on Saturday. One asked that IM be rotated
as
he/she can't attend Monday. We are rotating the IM now, and the
Saturday
plan should ensure that the Saturday workouts are more balanced.
One
suggested that we have fly days, back days and breast days, so everyone
has to
work all the strokes. As a significant number of people have
injuries that
prevent doing one stroke, this isn't really practical. However,
I'll try
to include some best/worst strokes in sets as that should serve the same
purpose
(encouraging you to do all strokes that you can). Five swimmers
asked for
more distance work, longer swims and more timed swims. Two asked
for fewer
long swims and repetitive sets. One asked for more
freestyle. One
asked for less freestyle and another cautioned against having too much
freestyle. We'll do really long freestyle repeats only once every
few
weeks, and will have an (optional) long timed swim each term.
It's no
surprise that we won't be able to please everybody! If there's a
particular workout type that you just hate, at least you can use the
posted
schedule to know the day(s) to avoid!
Kick/Pull: Four people asked for more kick sets
and one
for fewer! Two asked for more pull. I'll try adding the
occasional
kick and/or pull set.
Starts/Turns: Three people want more work on
turns, and
another on flip turns in particular. One person wants to spend an
hour on
turns. Another wants help with dives. One swimmer suggested
we have
more mini-clinics at the end of the workout (e.g. last 15min in the
diving
well). I'm happy to do mini-clinics anytime anyone wants -- just
let me
know what you want to work on (starts, a specific turn, a
stroke,
etc.) and we'll do it! Spending an entire workout on turns
for
everyone probably wouldn't be too popular, but we could do that in the
June
clinic -- let me know if you're interested.
Fun Sets: Three people asked for more fun workouts
(e.g.
relays, games), while two others said they enjoyed the ones we do.
One
person said the time trials were fun, and another person asked that we
do more
crazy drills. Three swimmers asked to do more swimming with
flippers (my
groups will be doing some fly with flippers this week). One person
asked
for more fun competitions, while another said there should be less
emphasis on
competition.
Drill: Five people asked for more drill, and one
for more
technique help on strokes other than free. Two asked for more
explanation
as to why we do the drills. If we (the coaches) don't explain
why you
are doing a drill -- just ask -- we should always tell you why, but
sometimes we
forget! One person asked for more drill at the beginning of the
term, one
said the amount is just right, and another said we should do less drill
at the
beginning of each session!! One asked for more on stroke
efficiency.
Another asked for stroke improvement to be integrated into the
workout.
We've been doing a lot of work on dps (distance per stroke) lately (e.g.
golf
sets, descending with the first repeat dps) -- that should help with
efficiency
and with integrating your stroke improvement into the main set. If
it's
not working for you, ask for help! One person suggested doing
drill sets
without pace times so speed is not an issue. Pace times should be
easy or
there should be rest intervals on drill sets -- let us know if that's
not the
case! One person says we should force the swimmers to do specific
drills.
Usually at the beginning of term we do. Later we give more
flexibility. However, if you're not sure what is most beneficial
to you,
just ask! One person asked for video-taping in workout. It's
not
really feasible to do this during workout (for space, safety and time
considerations). However, it is being offered at the clinic.
Finally, one person asked that we spend more time working on
breathing.
That would be a good topic for a mini-clinic. Again, just
ask!
The bottom line is that we like to hear from you. Your
requests /
suggestions / questions are always most welcome. While we can't
please
everyone all the time, we should be able to help with many of the
suggestions
through slight modifications to the workouts and/or more
mini-clinics.
Next time: Your comments and suggestions on the
facility
and program.
Mini Swim Camp:
The mini swim camp will be held: Saturday, June 15th 5-7pm
and
Sunday, June 16th 8:30-10:30am. The cost will be $40 for
both
days or $25 for one day, plus $10 for the (optional)
videotaping. The
clinic will also be open to non-Carleton Masters at a higher cost:
$60 for
both days, $40 for one day, and $15 for videotaping. As last year,
we will
offer clinics covering each stroke, as well as starts and turns, and
will keep
the ratio of swimmers to coaches at between 5 and 10 to 1. Coaches
confirmed to date are: John, Tim, Louise and Lynn.
Those videotaped on Saturday will get their feedback from
7:30-8:30pm, and
those on Sunday will get their feedback from 11am-noon. The
videotaping
will cover two strokes and you will be taped both above and
underwater.
If you have not already done so, please let me know if you are
interested
in attending this clinic, which day(s) you will attend, whether you are
interested in videotaping and on which day. Please
register by
June 1st (i.e. this coming Saturday), so that we can finalize
the
videotaping schedule and the number of coaches required. Once the
numbers
have been finalized an e-mail will be sent to all participants with
details of
the camp, coaches, and videotaping schedule.
Fun Swim Meet:
We need 12 people to go ahead with the fun swim meet:
Saturday,
June 22nd 5-7pm. You do not have to be a member of MSO
(Masters
Swimming Ontario) to compete in this meet -- it is just for fun.
So far
only three people have expressed interest. There will be a $10
charge to
cover the pool rental fees. I'll set the events based on what
people are
interested in swimming. Let me know if you are interested in
participating
as well as the events you'd like to swim. If we don't have
12
people signed up by June 1st, the fun meet will be
cancelled.
New and Nearly New Swim Equipment For
Sale:
There are still caps, a pair of goggles, and some women's
suits
available for sale. The caps are priced at $1. The goggles
$4, and
the suits $10-$20 at the buyer's discretion. Ask to look at our
"boutique"!
Club News:
Mary Ann O (Winter Whitecaps) is having a house
cooling
party, as she is moving to Montreal to join her boyfriend, Mike!
All are
invited: Saturday, June 15th, 8pm to late at Apt 2-264 Flora Street
(ring
the top ringer). BYOB and friends. Parking is available on
Flora and
Percy streets. RSVP by e-mail (
maryann.oberthier@c=
ommunication.gc.ca)
or phone 233-2785. Mary Ann has promised to send those attending
the swim
clinic home early so that they'll be awake and at the pool for 8:30am
Sunday,
June 16th :-) !
A Very [Crazy] Very Earlybird: One of the members
of the
Very Earlybirds lives a fair distance out of the city. I was
wondering how
early he gets up as he's always one of the first on deck around
6:15am.
The day I inquired he had cycled to Carleton (1.5hrs) and had left home
at
4:40am!!!
Session Notes
After 3 weeks (8 weekday workouts -- we don't take
attendance
on Saturdays), here are the attendance leaders for the Spring
session.
There are currently 20 swimmers with perfect weekday attendance, and 12
who have
missed just one workout:
6:30am Earlybirds:
Perfect: Alice, Andrew K, Dave Bourdon,
David M, Jen
G, Ross
Missed 1: John Westdal,
Rocio
7:30am Earlybirds:
Perfect: Bernie, Gosia, Jacinthe, Jeff,
Julie
Missed 1: Barb M, Lisa O,
Rudy
8:30am Earlybirds:
Perfect: Alan, Jo-Ann, Margaret, Penny,
Renee
Missed 1: Claire
Whitecaps:
Perfect: Cam, Debby O, Joanne
D
Missed 1: Don W, Elaine C, Joanie,
Patricia
Nightcaps:
Perfect: Lisa G
Missed 1: Joe P,
Sylvie
On Monday, June 3rd (fs) and Tuesday, June 4th /
Wednesday,
June 5th (ch) all swimmers will have the option of doing a lactate
tolerance
set. This is a chance to work on your speed and do some "all out"
(race
pace) swimming with long rest. It's optional but is recommended
for those
who race or who are finding they are plateauing in workout.
Details will
be explained at the workouts.
All groups will have the option of doing time trials
in
June. We'll do time trials of shorter (up to 400m) distances from
June
11-12th, and June 17-26th. You get to pick the event(s). The
idea is
to try the same events next time and see if you've improved (or swim the
same
events you did last time). On Thursday, June 13th / Friday, June
15th
we'll do a long freestyle timed swim (800 or 1500m) for everyone.
On the
last weekday of the Spring session (Thursday, June 27th / Friday, June
28th)
we'll do some fun relays at the end.
Race Reports and
Swim Meets
(please let me know if I've missed anyone or any
races!)
April 13th and May 11th Technosport Meets:
The official results are in and the following club records were set
(the
updated records are now on the website):
Apr 13th:
Margaret
(8:30am
Earlybirds): 70-74 100IM 3:02.40, and 100fs
2:34.58
Barb M (7:30am
Earlybirds/Varsity): 20-24 50br 42.60
Katie (8:30am
Earlybirds/Varsity),
Lynn (Coach), Patricia (Whitecaps),
Barb M: 100-119 4x100fs relay 4:55.75
May 11th:
Bernie (7:30am Earlybirds): 50-54 50fl 44.77, and
50bk :44.63 50bk
Tom A (High
Intensity): 40-44 50fl
30.24, and 100br 1:20.07
Upcoming Meets:
The next and last local meet of the season will be on June
1st at Ottawa U (8:30am warm up; meet runs 9-11am). The
only
events offered are 800 and 1500m freestyle. Two Carleton swimmers
will be
participating.
Also, don't forget the fun meet (open to all) at Carleton on
June
22nd, which will go ahead if we have at least twelve swimmers
signed up
by June 1st (just 3 so far).
There are two open water races (open to all) being held by
Technosport in
Meech Lake this summer -- a 3km race on July 13th and a
4km race on August 17th.
I also have the official entry forms for the MSO Ontario Open Water
5km Championships to be held in St. Marys Quarry (near
Stratford) on Sunday, September 8th (the Sunday after
Labour
Day). It's a fun swim (11 triangles) and a group from Toronto
usually
organizes an outing to Stratford on Saturday, plus a stay in a B&B
near the
quarry on Saturday night, as well as a mandatory stop at an ice cream
parlour
after the post-race feast!! To participate in this race you must
be a
member of MSO. Ask for details...
Gatineau Park Duathlon May 4th (76
competitors):
Congratulations to Steph J (8:30am Earlybirds) for
her
results in the Gatineau Duathlon (5k run, 36k cycle, 3k run).
She
finished 42nd overall, 5th woman and 1st in the 20-24 age
group: 1:55:38
NCM Weekend May 11-12th:
Here are the results I've been told about for Carleton Masters at
the NCM
Weekend. First a special mention to Debby W
(Whitecaps)
and Tom M (Whitecaps) who both spend many hours
volunteering
over the weekend!
5k (2865 competitors, May 12th):
Nancee H (Winter Very Earlybirds): 65th overall,
14th
woman and 2nd in 30-34 age group: 21:28.1 (21:21.1
chip)
10k (4057 competitors, May 11th):
David Barclay (Very Earlybirds): 74th overall, 63rd man and 18th in
25-29
age group: 36:31.5
Ross (Very Earlybirds): 120th overall, 105th man and 23rd in 35-39
age
group: 38:33.2 (38:28.0 chip)
Rob L (Very Earlybirds): 296th overall, 254th man and 30th in 40-44
age
group: 43:30.6 (42:35.2)
Moe M (Earlybirds): 2080th overall, 731st woman and 150th in 25-29
age
group: 59:57.8 (57:55.5)
Kristi D (Coach/Earlybirds): 2943rd overall, 1225th woman and 243rd
in
30-34 age group: 1:05.28.1 (1:03:29.5)
Chris M (Very Earlybirds): 3590th overall, 1795th man and 231st in
25-29
age group: 1:17:13.8 (1:11:06.4)
1/2 Marathon (3878 competitors, May
12th):
Rudy H (Earlybirds): 304th overall, 266th man
and 11th in
55-59 age group: 1:35:36.8 (1:33:34.0 chip)
Colleen M (Very Earlybirds): 2938th overall, 1426th
woman and
223rd in 40-44 age group: 2:12:27.8 (2:09:58.8)
Lisa O (Earlybirds): 3234th overall, 1657th woman
and 136th in
20-24 age group: 2:17:32.4 (2:15:05.8)
Marathon (2487 competitors, May 12th):
Richard I (Whitecaps): 307th overall, 280th man and 51st in 30-34
age
group: 3:19:01.8 (3:18:47.6 chip)
Paul K (Nightcaps): 2290th overall, 1475th man and 55th in 55-59
age group:
4:57:17.1 (4:56:00.7)
Broloppet 1/2 Marathon across the bridge between
Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden May 19th:
Congratulations to
Anders (Earlybirds) took place
in this
unusual race while on holiday. It sounds like quite the
course --
across a bridge between two countries:
http://www.broloppet.com/=
eng/karta.asp.
Anders finished in 1:41.18.
Early Bird Triathlon May 25th:
A few Carleton Masters participated in the Try-a-Tri and lots more
in the
Triathlon. The swim was held in the Carleton pool.
Try-a-Tri (116 competitors, 100m swim, 12.1k bike,
2.5k
run)
Steph J (8:30am Earlybirds): 4th overall,
3rd
woman and 1st in the 20-29 age group:
44:44
Tash (8:30am Earlybirds/Lifeguard): 29th overall,
18th
woman and 9th in the 20-29 age group: 50:15
Manon P (Winter Very Earlybirds): 113th overall,
82nd
woman and 9th in the 30-39 age group: 1:22.27
Triathlon (265 competitors, 500m swim, 22.2k bike,
5k
run)
Rob M (Toonie Swims): 3rd overall, 3rd
man and 1st in 40-44 age group: 1:03:16
Rob L (Very Earlybirds): 10th overall, 10th man
and
3rd in 40-44 age group: 1:06:09
Sheila (Very Earlybirds): 16th overall, 3rd woman
and
1st in 35-39 age group: 1:07:45
Jim Y (Very Earlybirds): 30th overall, 25th man
and 4th in
40-44 age group: 1:10:47
Jeff B (Whitecaps): 50th overall, 41st man and
2nd
in Clydesdales: 1:14:56
Paul G (Fall Nightcaps): 53rd overall, 45th man
and 11th
in 35-39 age group: 1:15:19
Joe P (Nightcaps): 91st overall, 74th man and 10th
in
25-29 age group: 1:20:03
Jacinthe (Earlybirds): 117th overall, 28th woman
and 6th
in 25-29 age group: 1:22:35
Gerry D (Winter Nightcaps): 137th overall, 101st
man and
23rd in 30-34 age group: 1:24:34
Renee (8:30am Earlybirds): 158th overall, 44th
woman and
2nd in 45-49 age group: 1:27:07
Natalie G (Fall Nightcaps): 194th overall, 61st
woman and
13th in 30-34 age group: 1:31:02
Brooke (Very Earlybirds): 199th overall, 64th
woman and
8th in 20-24 age group: 1:32:10
Lisa O (Earlybirds): 207th overall, 70th woman and
9th in
20-24 age group: 1:33:55
Cabot Trail Relay May 25-26th:
David Barclay (Very Earlybirds) took part in this relay.
Results next
time!
These questions/suggestions are all from the
feedback
forms:
Dear Coach: Can
we focus more
on heart rate (percent of maximum), rather than effort level in the
workouts? In The Zone
Dear I. T. Zone: If you know your heart rate
zones, by all
means feel free to use those whenever appropriate in workout (e.g. in
descending
sets, hard vs. moderate swims, etc.). However, as maximum heart
rates (and
thus zones) vary widely, I'm very reluctant to ask everyone in the pool
to try
to get their heart rate into a certain zone. On top of the variety
in
maximum heart rates due to genetics/fitness, we also have to take into
account
age and other factors (we have some swimmers with heart
conditions).
Dear Coach: Can we rotate
coaches so that
we all benefit from the variety of knowledge and
experience?
Eager To Learn
Dear E. T. Learn: This is exactly what we do on
Saturday
mornings. All the coaches take turns coaching. See the
schedule to see who is coaching when. Unfortunately, it's not
feasible to rotate the coaches regularly during the weeks due to other
commitments (e.g. work, family) that many of our coaches
have.
Dear Coach: Can you give tips
for
improving general fitness? Want to be Fitter
Dear W.t.b. Fitter: I assume that by "general"
you mean
apart from swimming? Unfortunately, that's outside of my area of
expertise. I'd suggest a fitness assessment (these are done at
Carleton)
and then talking to someone who is qualified in that
area.
Private and Semi-Private
Masters
Lessons
Spring (May-June) remaining available times for
private
and semi-private Masters lessons with Lynn are as follows:
Monday 9:45-10:45am June 3 to June 24th
Tuesday 3:30-4:30pm May 28 to June 18th
Wednesday 7-8pm June 26th
Thursday 3:30-4:30pm May 30 to June 13th
Saturday noon-1pm June 8 & 22nd
Summer (July-August) times are:
Wednesday 6-7pm July 17, August 7, 14 & 21st
Friday 6-7pm July 5th to August 23rd, except August
2nd
Prices for private lessons for Carleton Members
are $35 for
1 hour, $65 for 2, $90 for 3, $112 for 4 and $132 for 5 hours, all plus
GST. Private lessons are also available to non-Members at a higher
cost
($50, $85, $115, $142 and $162, all plus GST, for 1-5 hours,
respectively).
For those who want to take semi-private lessons
(2-3
students), the cost per student for Carleton Members is $21 for 1 hour,
$39 for
2, $54 for 3, $67.20 for 4, and $79.20 for 5 hours, all plus GST.
Semi-private lessons for non-Members cost (per student) $30 for 1 hour,
$51 for
2, $69 for 3, $85.20 for 4, and $97.20 for 5 hours, all plus
GST.
Contact Lynn for availability.
Reminders
Newsletter: An e-newsletter (like this one) is
sent out
about every two weeks. If you have new lane-mates, please mention
to them
that they should give their e-mail address to their coach if they'd like
to
receive it.
Suggestions for Workouts or Interested
in Making
up a Workout or a Set?: If you have suggestions for the
workouts
(something you like that we never do, or something you dislike that we
do too
much!), or if you'd like to try making up a workout or a set in a
workout, just
talk to your coach.
Interested in Copies of the
Workouts?: If
you are interested in getting copies of the Earlybird,
Whitecaps and/or
Nightcaps Masters workouts ahead of time? Let me know.
I
usually e-mail out the week=92s workouts on Sunday.
Social Events: All swimmers are
invited
to join us for:
Thursday Dinner (after Whitecaps workout): Meet
by the
Tuck Shop around 7:45pm
Thursday Drink (after Nightcaps workout): Meet
by the Tuck
Shop around 8:30pm
Saturday Brunch (after 9-10am workout): Meet by
the Tuck
Shop around 10:30am
Triathletes: Check
out Rudy
Hollywood=92s (Earlybirds/Whitecaps) website: http://www.trirudy.com and
subscribe to
the daily tri-news e-mail.
Weight Training for Swimmers:
A six-hour program on strength
training for
swimmers was offered 11am-1pm Saturdays January 12th, 19th and February
2nd. This course was poorly attended (4 people) and the Athletics
department is reluctant to offer it again, unless attendance is
up. If you
would be interested in this course next Fall, please let me know.
Also,
let me know what time/day works best for
you.