Long, Strong, and Silent

    Tonight should have been a Sprint Set swim. That really was the plan. Last night was power, tonight was sprint. I got to the pool so tired, stiff, and sore that I almost didn't swim. I was very tempted to just head for the Jacuzzi. But no, that is not my style. I slipped into the water and started with my standard warmup, with a minor alteration, halving the set: 50 yards each breast stroke, backstroke, crawl (normally I do 100 yards each). Every muscle felt tight and sore. Every. Muscle. I was going to do a few sets to warmup, it turned into 7 sets = 21 laps = 1050 yards. Time for Sprint sets. I swam on lap at a moderate sprint pace, and realized I was still too too, I was going to strain something if I tried to sprint. I hung on the edge of the pool for a moment, thinking of calling it a day and crawling into the Jacuzzi. Not my style.
    What to do? What to do? When speed and/or power are beyond the scope of the day's training, no matter what the schedule says, it is time to change the plan. I decided to focus on technique. More precisely, on swimming as silently as possible. The reason being that the quieter the stroke, the more efficient it can be. I try to swim quietly at all times, though the faster the swim the louder it gets. There isn't much you can do about that. I continued with the same type of set: 50 yards each breast, back, and crawl. Mostly because my muscles were sore enough I wanted to keep changing the muscles being used. But now I was focusing on making each stroke long, strong, and silent. Extending my reach as far as possible, lengthening my entire body from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes. Grab the water and pull, keeping my fingers pointed to the bottom of the pool, and my palms facing back. Pulling myself through the water until my hands pass my waist and it becomes a push. Then pushing all the way through until my thumbs brush my mid-thigh. Easy, relaxed recovery. The hand slipping silently back into the water to repeat the stroke. The only noise was the sound of my own breathing. I would hold my breath and hear only the slightest ripple of my hand entering the water. Long, strong, and silent. This continued for another 7 sets, for a total swim of 2100 yards. Not too bad for being tired and sore.
    I did an abbreviated leg workout, only 2 sets (about 20 minutes), because my legs were every bit as tight and sore as my upper body. Like I said, every muscle felt tight and sore. Every. Muscle. Of course, by the time I was done in the pool I was feeling much improved. I slid into the hot Jacuzzi and let myself melt into the heat. In a few minutes I was drowsy and yawning. But the day was not over yet.
    Saturday is my self-asskicking upper body night. I still had strength training to do once I got home. I drank half a cup of coffee and ate another banana (I eat a lot of bananas), fed the animals, then launched into an intense upper body workout with resistance bands, hand weights, barbell, and pushups. Tonight was 12 various exercises (done in supersets of 4 exercises), 15-20 reps each, 3 sets each. I was quivering, sucking wind, and starving by the time I was done. It was a productive evening for starting out tired and sore. But then, I am not inclined to let that stop me, even if it may slow me down a bit sometimes.