I have just returned from my first competitive outing of the season at the Canada Cup which was held in Toronto over the weekend. As I sit here shirtless on my verandah it is very obvious to me that I am not cut out for winter and the Canadian cold.

I raced the 50 and 100m freestyle as well as the 100 Individual Medley. These are the events that I plan to compete in at the World Championships in Dubai next month. The plan was to race hard and and to work out the kinks so to speak, to see how I would react to certain situations and to film and learn from the mistakes that I am making in the hope of fixing before Dubai.

As always it’s a work in progress. I felt like I was constantly accelerating then slowing down. I will work on this for my 100 where rhythm is of the utmost importance.

The 50 was solid but I over swam the final after missing my dive. Overswimming means fighting up too much, not being relaxed and fluid. I guess after the dive went terribly I pushed the big red panic button.

My IM came through as pleasant surprise. The walls were rusty but its wasn’t bad, meet record and good enough for the 18th fastest time in the world. I know I will be faster in all 3 events in Dubai with some rest and some sharpening up.

There were some great dives and one or two that really cost me, the same goes for the turns. So I have my list of things to work on, and If I can get them all down I expect to be extremely fast.So all things considered the trip to Canada was a success. I came out undefeated, learned from my mistakes and am back in the racing mindset.

>

I just received a digital copy of my Athens Olympic 200m IM race from the Auburn swim office. I decided to upload it, put up here and share it. I don’t like to watch it that much, gives me goose bumps, too stressful.

Please take a look if you have the time!

Unfortunately you cant be your fastest when you are working your hardest. You just get broken down, sore, heavy and without that easy speed. The speed comes when you rest later on, but in order to get the speed at the end of the season you have to grind it out and put in the work. This meet came in the middle of a hard training period for me.

Here is an interview from right after my 50m freestyle on the second night of the Charlotte Ultraswim.

I followed this up with a 50.7 in the 100 freestyle the next evening to come 7th in the finals. Its ok for where I am right now in my season. I think next time I race this event with a little more rest i need to get down below 50 seconds

So, it wasn’t the 22.1 I was hoping for, nor was it the 1st place. I was 22.6 and 3rd place, but at least i made it to the podium. Josh Snider was first in 22.38 and Cullen Jones was second in 22.4.

It was strange that I was switched from swimming in lane 1 as the listing after the morning heats indicated to swimming in lane 8 in the final.

To watch the race paste the link below into your browser and scroll down to select the Men’s 50 Freestyle A final.

http://www.swimnetwork.com/Events/Meets/2010/May/Charlotte-Ultraswim-Grand-Prix.aspx?t=video

Results here

http://www.charlotteultraswim.com/results10/index.htm

You might think I am being hard on myself but I won’t lie here, I am disappointed with this time. It was a step back up from the time of 22.35 which would have won that I had posted in Spain 3 weeks ago. I was on track to be very fast but really slowed up in the last 10m. My stroke rate dropped considerably, and my arms were a little wild. I remember feeling as if i was swimming in mud for those last few strokes. Tonight in the warm up I just didn’t have that spring that I feel when I know I am fast. Looking back I think I was over optimistic when it came to estimating how much recovery I needed before this meet.
I also noticed some issues developing with my left arm recovery. I believe this to be because of a temporary lack of flexibility due to being stiff. All things considered It was a learning experience, and I intend to get down to the low 22. ‘s next month in Europe.
100 freestyle tomorrow….. First I have to make into the finals tomorrow morning. Many of the world’s best swimmers are here and I know its going to be extremely competitive.

Stay tuned……….