World Record (WR) Quest

USMS LC Nationals was my midway point in my 18 month goal to break a FINA World Record in the 40-44 year old age group.  For 2020/2021, I had the most consistent block of water training that I have ever had.  The yardage was not high, but the quality was there.  In addition, I had 6 months of strength training under my belt which I hoped would show up in the water.  After USMS SCY Nationals in Greensboro, NC (July 2021), I knew I was on track for my 2022 goals.  I had minimal strength training after that competition and instead focused on water fitness that I would need for a LC meet.  LC Nationals was another checkpoint along the way to focus on race strategy and execution.  Despite being prepared for the competition, I tried not to limit myself to time goals.  The only specific number I had in my head was breaking 29 in the 50 breast.  Everything else was centered around racing and executing those races.   50 Breast - 29.34 - PB b...

Recap of USA-S LC Zone Championship in Buffalo, NY Thursday, 8/12/21 A week has now passed since my 100m breaststroke swim at the LC Zone Championships in Buffalo.  This is a meet I have attended several times in the past.  With a long day ahead, I woke up at 5am, left the house at 5:30am and headed on the almost 2.5hr drive with enough time to get 30 minutes of warm up in the big pool.  This is the first time I have touched a LCM pool since the US Open in December 2019, but it feels familiar with the amount of open water breaststroke I have done over the pandemic.  I had high expectations going into this meet with the 55.35 SCY time that I had posted at USMS Nationals in Greensboro, NC two weeks prior.  I maintained my taper (off of minimal training to begin with…) and was hoping for even a fraction of the 1.8sec drop that I had.  Realistically, I was looking for a 1:04 anything to finally break the 1:05 barrier which I have been consistently at since 2014...