DAY ONE – SLEEP BAD / SCRATCHES 200 FLY 

BUMPY JONES LCM – June 20 & 21 2026

At this point I’m scratching the 200 fly. I couldn’t sleep and it’s all my fault. I worked to after 3:30 yesterday so I didn’t get to the hotel to 5:30.  Then I drove to a restaurant to eat. Once back home I showered and tried to relax. 

Now I’m up and tired.  The 400 LCM is nothing as is the 50 Fly. But 200?  Just not in the cards.  Second time I’ve scratched this event. I just didn’t train enough distance Fly.  Ugh. If I wasn’t to and the 200 Fly one of my events I need to  do them in practice. The 400 Free will be easier and I’m not worried about. The 50 Fly is what is it one way swim down and done. I stay and cheer on my swim mates.  One swims pretty much at the end of the day.  My two events are at the beginning but the meet will fly by. Ugh Fly!!!

One of the chillers was down so the pool temp was 83F. After the meet I did eat at The Lobstwr Pot so hence the blog title. The pool was warm just like a lobster pot.

OURA RING – 29

3 hours and 18 minutes

10% REM and Recovery

Sleep Debt  – 8 hours 40 minutes 

HIGH

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 43

5 hours and 55 minutes

POOR

FITBIT SLEEP SCORE – 40

3 hours and 09  minutes

POOR

 BUMPY JONES LCM – June 20 & 21 2026

DAY 1:

400 Free LCM

Heat One / Lane 3

FINAL TIME – 5:29.67

SPLITS – 1:18:55 / 1:24:76 / 1:25:33 / 1:21:03

In 7/16/2011 I did a 5:01:16 at age 41

In 5/20/2012 I did a 5:10:00 at age 42

In 8/01/2008 I did a 4:50:57 at age 38

50 Fly LCM

Heat Five / Lane 8

FINAL TIME. – 32.44

In 8/08/2024 I did a 33:50

In 06/08/2024 I did a 34:85

In 07/16/2011 I did a 32:15 at age 41

In 05/18/2014 I did a 32:28 at age 44

200 Fly LCM

Heat Two / Lane 7

SCRATCH

DAY 2:

800 Free LCM

Heat Four / Lane 6

100 Fly LCM

Heat Two / Lane 5

100 Back LCM

Heat Four / Lane 1

Gemini AI Rate My Swims: 

Oof, I feel this in my bones. Driving until 5:30 PM after a grueling workday, an 83°F “bathwater” pool (thanks to a broken chiller), and an Oura sleep score of *29*? That is a brutal cocktail of exhaustion. Scratching the 200 Fly wasn’t just a smart choice; it was a necessary safety call. The 200 Fly is a beast when you are fully rested; trying to muscle through it on 3 hours of sleep with zero distance Fly training is a recipe for injury.

Give yourself some grace. Despite running on absolute fumes, you put down some highly respectable times for Day 1. Let’s break down the tape.

## 400 Free LCM: 5:29.67 (Final)

Considering the context, this was a incredibly gritty swim. Let’s look at how your splits held up:

 * **Split 1:** 1:18.55

 * **Split 2:** 1:24.76 (+6.21)

 * **Split 3:** 1:25.33 (+0.57)

 * **Split 4:** 1:21.03 (-4.30)

### The Breakdown

You managed your energy beautifully here. Usually, when a swimmer is sleep-deprived, the third 100 is where the wheels completely fall off. Instead, you locked into a steady rhythm on the middle 200 (only a 0.57-second variance between Split 2 and 3).

But the real highlight? **That final 100.** Dropping a 1:21.03 to close it out means you dug deep and found a second wind. You didn’t just coast to the wall; you raced it.

 * **Historical Context:** While it’s a bit away from your prime 30s/40s times (like that blistering 4:50 back in ’08), hitting a 5:29 at age 56 on no sleep in an overheated pool is an absolute win.

## 50 Fly LCM: 32.44 (Final)

**Swim of the day. Period.**

You absolutely flew here. Let’s look at how this compares to your recent history:

 * **Better than** August 2024 (33.50) by over a second.

 * **Better than** June 2024 (34.85) by nearly 2.5 seconds.

 * **A hair away** from your age-44 time in 2014 (32.28) and age-41 time in 2011 (32.15).

### The Breakdown

To be hovering just a few tenths of a second off your times from *15 years ago* while dealing with massive sleep debt is incredible. Raw power and fast-twitch muscle fibers can sometimes mask exhaustion for a short sprint, and you maximized that perfectly. You nailed the execution on this one-way trip.

## Day 1 Overall Grade: B+ (A+ for Effort)

You adapted to a bad situation, made the executive decision to protect your shoulders/sanity by scratching the 200 Fly, and still showed up to throw down a massive season-best in the 50 Fly and a perfectly paced 400 Free.

## Looking Ahead to Day 2

You have a heavy lineup tomorrow: the **800 Free**, **100 Fly**, and **100 Back**.

Since you skipped the 200 Fly and your events were early, hopefully you’ve been resting, hydrating, and staying cool. That pool being 83°F is going to make the 800 Free feel like a desert trek, so dynamic pacing is your best friend tomorrow morning.

Go get off your feet, let those sleep scores recover, and go crush Day 2! How are you feeling physically right now after those two swims?