Wednesday – Swimming it out. This morning I woke and felt pretty good. The night before I was thrashing and had pulled all my sheets off the bed. I did have a hard time falling asleep but I don’t think I was thrashing about.

OURA SLEEP SCORE– 69

5 hours and 43 minutes

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 60

4 hours and 36 minutes

Cramps. My left leg cramped up towards the end of today’s swim. I am guessing the fact I didn’t drink k any water or Liviu’s from 8am to about 5:30pm yesterday may have something to do with that. Ugh. My own fault.

THE WETDECK:

MASTERS SWIM PRACTICE – INTERVALS

SCM

1:05.54

ZONE 1 – 08:53

ZONE 2 – 09:42

ZONE 3 – 04:15

ZONE 4 – 04:40

ZONE 5 – 29:16

WARM UP: (500)

300 Free

50 Breast

50 Back

100 Long Axis

SET ONE: (1000/1500)

4 x 50’s Kick w/ Board on 1:15 (200)

4 x 50’s Kick w/ Fins and Board on 1:00 (200/400)

3 x 100’s Free w/ Fins on 1:35 (300/700)

300 Free No Fins sub-4:40 (300/1000)

SET TWO: (1000/2500)

4 x 25’s Free on 30

4 x 100’s on 1:40

4 x 25’s Free on 25

We rested a bit to let others get to the wall so we could do the 100’s together.

4 x 100’s on 1:40

SET THREE: (450/2950)

4 x 100’s Pull on 1:45

Cool Down

2,950 SCM

SET ONE – I am not a kicker. With that said the 50’s without fins I was holding with the leader but fell behind everyone once we got fins. For the 100’s I didn’t use fins and was dead last. Then the 300 I held my own only being my ass kicked by a 35 year old.

SET TWO – All my 100’s I was consistent. Even with my leg starting to cramp up I led the entire set.

SET THREE – The third 100 I had to stop for a second or two cuz my calve was cramping up. But kept going and led 3 of the 4 of the 100’s.

The coach made a joke about how the young guy is in shape now or something like that after the 300. I know he said that cuz’ I’m competitive and he’s trying to push me. And it will!

2025 SWIM DISTANCE TOTALS:

SCY- 50,500

SCM – 150,825 *including this workout

LCM – 56,000

THE LIFT AHEAD:

THU– COMBO + PELOTON RUN & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

FRI – SWIM w/ Team

SAT – Working / Announcing 5K

SUN – COMBO + PELOTON RUN

MON – SWIM w/ Team (Masters)

TUE – CHEST + PELOTON RUN & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

WED – SWIM w/ Team

THE ROAD AHEAD:

STRENGTH (80-100%)

ENDURANCE (60-80%}

TAPER (50-60%)

Programming My Workouts for the next few months:

ENDURANCE – October 14th – October 30th

10K runDISNEY October 25th

Sanford Senior Games November 2nd

STRENGTH – November 4th- November 16th

ENDURANCE – November 18th – November 23rd

TAPER – November 25th – December 4th

Florida Senior Games either Dec 6 & 7 or Dec 13 & 14.

RUNNING MORE – Will be running more as I’m running a Half Marathon on March 1st.

Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

800 Free

400 Free

200 Fly

1500 Free

100 Fly

Will figure out a training program for December thru March that will keep my swimming up, weight training in a longer Endurance Phase while I gear up my running. Yikes

JUST KEEP SWIMMING:

-Sanford Senior Games – Nov 2nd

100 Fly

100 IM

50 Fly

100 Back

-Florida Senior Games – TBD DEC Temple Terrace

– Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

TBD

– T.V. Senior Games April 18 & 19, 2026

TBD

runDISNEY:

Wine & Dine 10K – OCT 25th

12K’s of Christmas Virtual – TBD

WDW 5K – JAN 8th

PRINCESS HALF – MARCH 1st

Springtime Surprise – APRIL 17-19th (Not Running)

GEMINI AI RATE MY WORKOUT:

That was a massive swim! Almost 3,000 SCM is a fantastic distance for a Wednesday Masters practice, especially with that many intervals. You clearly pushed yourself hard.

Workout Rating and Review

Based on your detailed account, I’d give your workout a B+ to A-.

The Good

* High Volume and Intensity: You put in 2,950 SCM and spent nearly \mathbf{30} minutes in Zone 5, which is your highest intensity zone. That’s a huge effort for an interval-based practice.

* Leading Sets: Despite your leg cramping, you led the entire Set Two and \mathbf{3} out of 4 intervals in Set Three. This shows excellent mental toughness and sustained pace, which is critical for your \mathbf{400} and \mathbf{800} Free goals.

* Consistency: Your ability to keep your \mathbf{100}’s consistent in Set Two, even as the cramps began, is a testament to your current conditioning.

* Coach’s Push: That joke from the coach is a compliment! He knows you’re competitive and sees your potential, so he’s trying to push you past your comfort zone. Use that as fuel.

Areas for Improvement (and why the B+)

* Hydration: You already nailed this: The cramping is almost certainly due to your lack of hydration/electrolytes the day before. You can’t out-train poor nutrition and hydration. For your endurance phase, this is a top priority.

* Sleep: Your OURA (69) and Garmin (60) scores show that your body wasn’t fully recovered. Poor sleep impacts everything: energy, concentration, and muscle repair, which can make you more susceptible to cramps.

Performance Summary: Key Takeaways

The Kicking Barrier

Your observation that you are “not a kicker” and that the fins made the gap worse is a classic endurance swimmer dilemma. You have the engine (lungs/arms) to hold the pace (as shown in the \mathbf{300} Free and \mathbf{100}’s), but your \mathbf{leg strength and technique} for propulsion are lagging. This is an excellent thing to know as you move into your next training blocks!

Cramping and Your Training Plan

It’s great that you finished the sets, but you’re now in your ENDURANCE phase, heading toward a \mathbf{10K} run, the \mathbf{1500} Free and the \mathbf{800} Free. Electrolyte management is non-negotiable for these events. Make sure you are consistently hydrating throughout the day, not just before and after workouts.

Next Steps for “The Road Ahead”

Your programming looks very busy and exciting!

* Hydration Protocol: For the rest of your ENDURANCE block, be meticulous. Set reminders to drink water/electrolytes between 8 AM and 5 PM.

* Address Kicking: Since you’ll be ramping up your running, your leg strength will improve, but swimming-specific kick technique still needs work.

* In your STRENGTH block (Nov 4-16), consider adding dryland exercises for your core and hips, as a strong core is essential for an effective kick.

* In your next SWIM w/ Team (Masters) session, focus on a small, fast, and continuous kick during the 100s, even when you feel tired. Don’t let the kick drop out.

* Prioritize Recovery: With the \mathbf{10K} on October 25th, try to get closer to \mathbf{7-8} hours of quality sleep to maximize the training benefits you are currently earning.

That’s a lot of distance! How are you feeling about the start of your ENDURANCE phase, given all the events coming up?

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