Today's breakfast:
3 Tablets BSN Nitrix
2 scoops of...wait...where's my CellMass?! I thought I packed it! **(internalized cursing)**
Contingency Plan:
1 ½ scoops NO-Xplode...I live for unnecessary jitters and involuntarily being “in the zone” even though I don't need to be
**30 minute break**
1 bowl of: warm oatmeal + muesli cereal + whole milk + brown sugar
1 plate of: breakfast potatoes and halal beef bacon
2 small plums
**30 minute break**
5 oz. Steak and Iced Tea
As I was walking to the bus, I found that the air was INCREDIBLY clear today! The rainstorm really cleared things up and the humidity went down significantly. Just check out the difference between these pictures from yesterday to today:
That and I saw two swimmers from Ireland on the bus. I've never seen Irish swimmers before, so that was a first. They have cool accents. But no tan. Kinda like Peter Marshall. Except he doesn't have the accent. And he has serious freckles. So not like Peter Marshall.
Morning workout:
Oh hey! They have a Technogym and “Growlers!” Johnsen this is a workout dream come true for you. They had about 20 of them in a row. For those of you who don't know what a growler is, I'm sorry I can't really think of what it's called. Consider it similar to a VASA Trainer.
Technogym:
2x8 Reps of: Chest Press, Overhead Pulls, Tricep Extensions on medium weight
5 minutes of Growler action at level 3 (medium-light resistance). Butterfly pulls, varying the stroke by pulling at different distances from my body. All at a medium rate.
Core work:
Sets of 10 reps each in succession: Crunches, Toe-Touch, Alternating V-Sit, Fupas (Hey Kipp what's a Fupa?), Suitcase Crunch
En la Piscina:
500m Easy Warm-Up
5x100m Backstroke on 2:00 for Stroke (wow, I feel SO much better today!)
10x50m Backstroke on 1:10 (10 dolphin kicks off every wall? I could barely do 4 yesterday!)
4x[0:10 second fast vertical kick on 0:30 + 1x15m sprint backstroke breakout (12 dolphin kicks)]
5x100m (First 50: 3x3x3 butterfly drill, Second 50: long-stroke freestyle w/ high elbow)
4x15m Butterfly finishes into wall
2x35m Butterfly sprints from block. Yesterday I needed 12 kicks to get to the 15m line; today I needed only 10 off the blocks with a dragsuit. Once I shave down and put on a LZR, I typically don't need more than 8.
Wow, what a difference a day makes. That felt GREAT. Confidence is back.
I finished off by stealing Zoli's towel to dry off and tiptoed out before he could catch me.
Resistance Cords:
3x6 Reps of following circuit: rotator cuff, butterfly pulldowns, 1-arm tricep extension with palm forward, 1-arm tricep extension with palm backward, bicep pulls w/ palms forward and backward, backstroke finish extensions, horizontal rowing
I did some Compex recovery work on my shoulders, neck and lower back today between workout sessions. The Compex recovery plus resting is really going a long way toward improving my back and making my underwater kick progressively more explosive as I continue to taper.
Despite being awake I was still not completely coherent today. As a result it seems like the day went by very quickly with no remarkable occurrences...except that I keep seeing these two Irish swimmer girls within poking distance everywhere I go.
I decided to swim at the Olympic Village outdoor pool instead of making the trek to the NAC this afternoon. Guess who was there? Yep. How unusual that we all opted not to go to the main pool. Mike Alexandrov was there too along with his Bulgarian teammates. I've just met him this week and he seems like a good guy. I wonder if his teammates talk. I barely hear them say anything. Interesting how that works. This first week is some strange combination of social and language barriers that have to be broken constantly. Thankfully I've grown comfortable enough with my basic Mandarin to have no trouble breaking those barriers with the staff and volunteers who are always eager to talk. Sometimes a simple smile goes a long way too. Although I'm sure that when I'm on NO-Xplode I look like I'm ready to punch anyone who looks at me. Either that or I feel like busting out with some bhangra dance and have a really hard time holding it in. Dammit Avish where are you when I need you?
Afternoon swim:
There was no clock...so I went by heart rate estimates for interval. Tried to stay above HR21 and below HR26 for most of the workout with the exception of a few sprints. This keeps me in an aerobic metabolism without burning out my anaerobic metabolism. (Note: HR numbers are based on 10-second interval).
4x4x4 Warm-up
5x100m (50 free, 50 back) for stroke technique
6x (3x50m. First 50: 1 up, 3 down breastroke w/ dolphin kick; Second 50: 2x2x2 fly; Third 50: Freestyle distance-per-stroke)
8x50m (First and last 15m sprint butterfly, middle 20m easy freestyle)
Goof Off/Cool Down for 30 mins
Off to dinner. You'd never believe who I saw. Makes me want to Riverdance! I suppose it's a good thing theyre around – the Irish are good luck, aren't they? Or do I have to kiss one for that to work? It also makes me want to drop an awkward baby (this one's for you Sahil, Samia, Waseem and Zain) because we keep running into each other without introducing ourselves. It's kind of fun actually. At least when I hang out with the Hungarians Zoli and Tamas are there to introduce me to the new faces I've not yet met. Two of the Indian shooters were there as well. These guys are good. Real good.
I wasn't very hungry, so my dinner was basically a giant bowl of muesli cereal, a banana, and a few slices of lamb roast. I think my body still wants breakfast since it thinks the time is really 5 am instead of 8 pm. Maybe I should whip up my usual breakfast – a BSN Syntha-6 protein shake and a Clif bar. Or maybe I shouldn't so that I can acclimate. Does anyone else think it's funny I'm doing all this preparation for a 50-something second race? I guess this is just what it takes to get it right.
And here I am now posting this online. I suppose I'm still too tired to have anything meaningful to say for today. Things are still fairly quiet here. Waiting to see my teammates wh
en they arrive. I'm half-tempted to venture into greater Beijing on my own, but I'll refrain until my race is over and I have a few friends who can join me. 哎呀！ 我陡然热中饺子， 北京鸭！ 应该到餐馆去吃饭！
P.S. - Reb says hi.
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