Taper Group Having Some Fun

PSAC Group on Power Tower

This week has already brought a lot of change with classes starting on Monday. For about 7 weeks our athletes have been able to focus solely on swimming during their semester break, now school is here and they've done a great job adjusting to the life of being a STUDENT athlete again.

With how long the swim season is, sometimes its easy to have weeks where other outside stresses take over a workout and have an athlete "go through the motions." Thats about as counter productive as can be in swimming, and its sometimes fun to do different things.

Today, our women completed their sets, and then finished off with work on breakouts using heavy resistance with the Power Tower. Today was the last lift of the season, so by the end of a full practice, it was easy to say that they were feeling not their best, but the point is that right now is about effort going into the end of the season. I was proud and excited in seeing the work done today and know it'll pay off later!

So here is how it worked:

We filled the buckets with DOUBLE their normal max (and sometimes more....Britt Rehrig was pulling 6 buckets)

and then they worked on explosive breakouts as fast as they could for....

Sprinters:

6 x @ :08 100% AO Break Out...1:00 total interval

Stroke:

3 x @ :08 100% AO Break Out...1:00 total interval

After each one we placed a cone along the wall and they tried to go further than the last time.

Here are videos taken during this set...

Kristin T.

Carley

Kaitlyn

Britt

Haven Invite is this Saturday at noon! Pretty excited to get it going! GO HAVEN

Senior Britt Maguire is Back In The Water!

Fighting an injury, Britt is determined to have a great meet this Saturday!

Haven Invite will be prelims/finals with senior acknowledgment in the middle. Meet gets started at noon! We'll also have a team tailgate in the gymnasium at the conclusion of the meet!

Event order:

500 Free

200 IM

50 Free

100 Back-- BREAK

100 Fly

200 Free

100 Breast

400 IM—BREAK

100 Free

200 Breast

200 Fly—BREAK

1000 Free--Timed Finals only

Sometimes, Warm Ups Just Need a Shark Fin to Make It Fun

Facebook Photo Albums Updated

The Facebook photo albums can be viewed here from this weekend.

If anyone was there and wants to send me any extra photos, please feel free, jnb5025@lhup.edu. 

Vulcan Dual Meet Challenge: Session 2 and 3

Session #2 was our dual meet vs Chatham,  with the same dual meet style as last night. We picked up the win 90-33

The first session of the day began at 10am. To recap:

The 200 Medley Relay of Kayla Schnars, Laura Stephens, Shannon Milstead, and Carley Nitchie got first place points with the time of 1:57.78.

Kristin Taylor took the 400 IM with a time of 5:02.12, registering a time and allowing her to swim it at PSACS.

Rehrig won the 100 back with a time of 1:02.06.

Freshmen Amanda Thomas and Junior Ciara Conklin went 1-2 in the 200 Breaststroke with times of 2:45.10 and 2:49.56 respectively. Very awesome to see as these two have been pushing each other along all year.

Britt Rehrig took 1^st in the 50 fly with a time of 26.75, just off of the meet record of 26.57 set by LHU great Jenna Brooks.

Abby Miller had a big swim in the 100 free with a 56.99.

Lunch was a quick trip to Subway. It was nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary, but hey, if it’s good enough for Michael Phelps its good enough for us!

After lunch we packed up and headed over to the new Cal conference center to check out the first half of the women’s basketball game against LHU. Something I really like about this school is that the athletes really support one another and want the other teams to do well. “Haven Nation” is two words that mean something to our athletic programs, and our women were proud to support the team on their huge game on the road.

When we returned we got a long warmup for the third and final session, a 84-51 loss to Cal

The events for the session were:

15.400 Medley Relay

16. 500 Free

17. 200 Back

18. 50 Breast

19. 100 Fly

20. 50 Free

21. 100 IM

22. 400 Free Relay

The 400 medley relay team of Schnars, Rehrig, Allie Muha, and Kristen Capretti took first with a time of 4:13.28.

Kristin Taylor dropped 6 seconds from her season best in the 500 with a time of 5:33.88. Emily Shultz in front of family from Washington PA (Only 20 mins away from Cal) swam a time of 6:07.99, dropping nearly 17 seconds from her lifetime best!

Kristin Taylor was outside smoke from lane 6 in the combined 100 fly, taking 1^st in the meet against Cal and overall with a time of 1:03.02.

Rehrig took the 100 IM with a time of 1:00.87, falling only to her meet record from last year.

Overall a pretty good weekend away from “The Haven”. This meet is always a good one, because though the women are at very different points in their seasons, there is still something to swim for. This is the start of the taper season for those who have not yet qualified for an individual event at the PSAC meet, (with the Haven Invite yet to go next week) and those that have can swim some events they don’t normally.

Our dinner was take out from Lagerheads, a delish burger for me and some good picks for the swimmers. We made a pit stop at Sheetz on the way home in Altoona, and are almost back to LHU. 

Its hard to believe that the next time we travel as a team, it will be to PSACs, its also hard to believe that the last dual meets of the season are over. Practice and classes begin again on Monday…A lot of big things happening at LHU. Lets finish this season out strong. GO HAVEN!

Session #1 Meet vs Mansfield

Great start to the Vulcan Dual Meet challenge with a 76-41 win over Mansfield. Because Chatham was not present (weather, they should be joining us tomorrow) Cal condensed the heat sheets and we had some Cal swimmers in open lanes. The results are for our first dual meet as scheduled with Mansfield. 

Our 200 yard free relay of Abby Miller, Kristin Taylor, Britt Rehrig, and Shannon Milstead picked up the win with a time of 1:44.87 with the team of Kaitlyn Druby, Kayla Schnars, Carley Nitchie, and Kristen Capretti right behind them with a 1:45.54.

Allie Muha had a pretty good 1000 with a time of 11:17.74. Kristin Taylor followed it up with a 200 IM of 2:22.94 both for 1^st place in the dual meet. Great swims for this point in the season for both of them.

Kayla Schnars had the best 50 backstroke with the time of 29.17. Its fun to go old school once in a while, and its fun to see college athletes swim shorter events every once in a while…it really mixes it up!

Druby picked up the win in the 100 breast with a time of 1:13.18, pretty good at this point in the season for her.

Rehrig took the 200 fly with a time of 2:18.79. This was her 2^nd time swimming the race, and it wasn’t a bad one, but she was pretty tired at the end.

Again, we’ll post all of the dual meet results AND after it was scored as an invite when the meet is over. Fun night with some short sessions. Tomorrow we have Chatham in the AM, and Cal in the PM

After the meet, the drive back to the hotel was far better than the drive to the meet. Our bus driver George has been nothing but business, making sure we arrive safely. We as a team appreciate his hard work and making a bit of a stressful situation look like a piece of cake, and we cant thank him enough.

Dinner tonight was Campys in California. Stoner and I enjoyed a delish meatball sub and I saw quite a few good choices in food (and one or two not so good choices). It’s always appreciated when establishments bake their own bread, so it worked out great.

After a good night stay in the Hampton Inn, we’re going to be back to work tomorrow morning.

Events for tomorrow morning:

8. 200 Medley Relay

9. 400 IM

10. 100 Back

11. 200 Breast

12. 50 Fly

13. 100 Free

14. 800 Free Relay

LETS GO HAVEN!

Vulcan Dual Meet Challenge Setup

The setup of this meet is one of the most unique around and our women. Each of the four teams swim in a dual meet with one another, each with different events. After the third and final dual meet, all of the best times are complied and scored as an invite. There are also some fun events thrown in like 50s of stroke and the ever popular 100 IM. All around we’re set for a good weekend!

We have a group that is tapered for this meet, and we’re hoping to see some fast swims after a great week of practice.

Our order of events and meet opponents are:

Friday 1/25

Mansfield 5:00pm

1. 200 Free Relay

2. 1000 Free

3. 200 IM

4. 50 Back

5. 100 Breast

6. 200 Fly

7. 200 Free

Saturday 1/26

Chatham 10:00am

8. 200 Medley Relay

9. 400 IM

10. 100 Back

11. 200 Breast

12. 50 Fly

13. 100 Free

14. 800 Free Relay

Cal 3:30pm

15.400 Medley Relay

16. 500 Free

17. 200 Back

18. 50 Breast

19. 100 Fly

20. 50 Free

21. 100 IM

22. 400 Free Relay

Stay tuned for updates tonight and tomorrow, and as always check out our Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/havenswimming

Twitter: @Havenswimming

Meet at Kutztown 1/19/2013

Pretty good meet yesterday with fellow PSAC team Kutztown.  One of the hardest things to do in swimming is get up twice to race in back to back days in the middle of a training cycle, and though our women were tired they were racing. That is the ultimate goal going into the end of the season, and from start to finish I was proud to see them go after it!

The Medley Relays picked up 1^st and 3^rd place points, with the team of Kayla Schnars, Laura Stephens, Britt Rehrig, and Carley Nitchie taking the pool record of 1:51.20

Laura Stephens got it done in the 100 breast, finishing with a time of 1:09.19.

In the 1000 Kristin Taylor had a season best 11:36.54 and Senior Britt Maguire was under 13 minutes for the 2^nd time in 2 days. Emily Shultz, like her freshmen teammate Amanda Thomas the day before completed her first ever 1000 yard free race. Great stuff!

Kayla Schnars had a strong showing in the 100 and 200 back, winning both events.

Allie Muha had a big 200 fly going 2:15.35

Britt Rehrig picked up a win in the 100 free and had a hard fought race in the 200 breast, finishing with a PSAC time of 2:32.43. Britt also picked up a win in the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.63

The free relays picked up 1^st and 3^rd place points with the team of Kristen Capretti, Kayla Schnars, Laura Stephens, and Carley Nitchie picking up the win in a time of 1:43.87

An html copy of the full results can be viewed here. 

Again, it was a great showing from our women against a tough Kutztown team. I was pleased with seeing the racing that was happening. I am excited for us to head to California (PA this time) this weekend and take on 3 different dual meets against Chatham, Mansfield, and California PA. Going to be a great way to end our dual meet season and hopefully gain a little momentum going into the Haven Invite on 2/2.

Thank you again to the great showing from the Lock Haven University family in the stands. It was pretty impressive to know where our section is right off the bat because they’re cheering the loudest. That is something I have been proud of this team for years, and now that I am the head coach it makes me so happy to see continue. GO HAVEN!

Those that were at the meet yesterday, please send me your pictures for our twitter and blog. My email is jnb5025@lhup.edu

Movie number 2, Despicable Me!

First Movie For Trip To Kutztown

First movie is Bridesmaids. Kristen Wiig is a personal favorite!

LHU vs Juniata College 1/18/2013

Great meet tonight against a much improved from last year Juniata College. Our women had a great showing.

Some notes of what I was seeing from this meet:

Senior Britt Maguire had one of the best swims I’ve ever seen her do in the 1000. It was a race that was full of guts from the beginning and she just raced it out. I was proud, but fellow senior Adam Stoner was ecstatic. Great stuff. Also noteworthy in that swim was Amanda Thomas completing her first ever 1000 and getting 3^rd place points towards the team’s victory.

Our sprinters returned in full force and really helped us on this meet. It helps when its not cold and windy, right?

In front of friends and family, Allie Muha really stepped up and won the 500 with a great back and forth swim.

Britt Rehrig just missed the LHU Top 5 list in the 100 back by 2 tenths of a second, but led the 1-2 LHU finish with Kayla Schnars.

So many more noteworthy swims. The full LHU results can be viewed here. I am excited to get up early in the morning tomorrow and head to Kutztown. We’re in a good place right now in our training cycle, and these women have certainly put in the work, and its great to see the results of the hard work.

Another big thank you to the HUGE crowd that came out tonight. I really feel like Lock Haven Athletics and local athletics coming together is truly something special. Thank you all again! 

LETS GO HAVEN!

3 Hour Practice and a Trip to the Beach!

Another GREAT day for Haven Swimming here in California!

We started things off with our one and only practice of the day, but it was a 3 hour one where we incorporated rotating stations! Here’s the breakdown…

7 Stations, 2 times through…

1-8 minute swim oyo

2- 12 x 50 @ :40, OR 4 x 50 @ 1:30 using the parachute

3-8 x 50 AO kick @ 1:00

4-2 x 250 @ 3:45

5-4 x 125 @ 1:50- 50 build, 75 FAST

6- 8 x 25 @ 1:00 Underwater, working on turns

7- Hot tub

That’s right, the hot tub made an appearance in our set! It was well earned this week, and it was nice to see a station be REALLY looked forward to!

 

Afterwards, we headed to Freebirds (a personal favorite) where our very own Adam Stoner put away the legendary Super Monster with ease. This burrito is MASSIVE, and Adam really put me to shame (I just had the ‘normal’ size, I’m getting too old for that stuff!).

Immediately following our trip for burritos, we headed to explore Huntington Beach and all it has to offer. Jimmy, Adam, and I found a spot to watch the Patriots vs Texas game while the team shopped. After, we went to the beach around 4:15pm for a 5:00pm sunset. After what seemed like a thousand pictures, we had a fire and some s’mores and called it a night!

Tomorrow is our last full day here. We’re ready to go after it with full force! Stay tuned, and as always, keep following us on Facebook and Twitter!

Twitter: @Havenswimming

Facebook: www.facebook.com/havenswimming

Give The Effort, Its Worth It

Training Trip is hard work of course, but there are some fun little aspects of it that from year to year happen through the hard work that is going on in the pool.

Something I remember from my very first one with Lock Haven is an award that was handed out highlighting effort given during the trip.

http://www.havenswimming.blogspot.com/2009/01/cocoa-beach-award-photo.html

I’m not giving any spoilers, but this is a bit of a tradition I believe in….and since we’re in Hollywood…