Monday 10x300 Report

We are lucky to train in Naples, Florida USA

On Monday Feb 22, we did our traditional 10x300 Freestyle set.  We do this on (330) with most of our sub 5:10 500 freestylers and on (350) with everyone else.  

The fastest we've had anyone average on this set is probably the 2:55 Shawn averaged the last time we did this.  We had three guys there today.  Here are some of the results:

Shawn 252.8 average

Jack 253.7 average

Jacob 2:55.6 average

Matt 2:58.6 average

Aaron 2:59.3 average

Emma 306.5 average

Karen 3:10 average

Bean 3:11.6 average

We had a number of other athletes who did very well on the set.  

I will use the averages we got on the set (as well as the averages from the group that went on 3:50), and I will put together sets like we've been doing recently…where we shoot for "pink" and "red" pace based off my "COLOR CHART".  I probably won't pull out the charts and hand them out because we would have 40 people or at least 18 people who are all supposed to hit a different time.  Athletes, you will see that I will continue to give you ranges to hold, and I will guide you into the range that is indicated by your set of 10x300 or your 3000 for time.  If you didn't do well on the 10x300, it's not a problem because I'm simply going to use my head and put you in a good spot to train.

I was looking at my program today (the "Color Chart" excel program many of you have seen), and on it is the leftover results of some of the Club Wolverine people who did these sets (Gold Medalists Peter Vanderkay, Klete Keller, and Michael Phleps).  

When I hit "SAVE" on my computer, I label our results "T2" so I keep some of the averages from the original program Coach Urbanchek gave me.

I've also got some of the averages from athletes I've coached in the past.  I'm generally hesitant to break out too much from my past, but if it can help us either 1) motivate or 2) get inspired and encouraged -- then I will share.  So here are a few from 2008:

Drew Cosgarea averaged 2:47.0 (went 15:25 and 8:04 LCM 1500 and 800 in HS, got down to 1:48 in the LCM 200 Free at Stanford last summer.  Recently made the 2015 World University Games Team)

Brennan Morris averaged 2:48.4 (went 15:33 LCM 1500 and then 15:15 in 2009 to make the USA World Championship team)

Austin Surfoff 2:53.3 (went on to win NCAA's for Texas in the 200 IM (2009) and make the World University Games team in the 200 IM in 2011)

Dan Madwed averaged 2:50.0 (4:19 500 guy in HS, Dan went on to win Gold Medals in the Pan American games, the World University Games, and the World Championships between 2009-2011…competing mostly in the 200 Free and the 400 Free).

Katie Hoff 2:49.3 (went on the set the American Record in each SCY distance 500 and up, as well as the LCM 400 Free).

Camryne Morris 3:02.0 (went 16:32 in the LCM 1500 and 8:43 in the LCM 800 in the summer of 2009 after going 16:25 SCY and 9:53 SCY the spring leading into it….National Junior Teamer at 14 or 15)

So these are some of the times I've seen in practices, and they are proof to me that they can be done by athletes who are in HS.  I'd say that we are moving into this direction of the above athletes on this type of set.  Keep in mind, it's only one type of set!  Dan Madwed, for instance, went 2:50 for his average, but he could also kick a 54+ for 100 yards IM and that sort of thing on a daily basis.  So there are different parts of training that affect performance and you want to have as many of those parts as you can have (more on that later this month). You can't just be good at one thing!

With guys like Shawn, Jack, and Jacob getting into the lower 250s, you guys can see that you can roll at this sort of practice with many people.  Michael Phelps went 2:46 average in 2007 or 2008, as another example….I've got the results on my program.  By going 252-255 average, it shows that you could at lease do the set with Michael and not look completely out of place!  

And it also shows that perhaps there is more coming down the line for our athletes.  We won't have everyone go on to make the World University Games team, etc…but perhaps someone will!  You never know.  Or maybe some of our athletes DO know, deep down, that they can compete with a USA Flag on their cap!  You have to know what greatness looks like, and you have to have on open mind about being great.  

And you have to build you training, going from one day to another getting better at one thing or more each day.  Let's get better at skills and focus on skills more often.  Skills affect the race.  Let's work on the first 2 pulls off the walls and the last two pulls into the walls.  We have to make those pulls count, and to do it we need to have discipline and focus.  We can be much better over all distances with improved focus in those areas.