It's hard to believe that we'll have our first semi-official meet of the season this weekend: The TYR Grand Prix.

If you haven't signed up yet, it's not too late. Just visit this link and sign up. It will ask you for your masters number, then it will ask you to enter your personal info and select your team. Make sure you select Mt. Greenwood Masters when registering. (If you are new to the team, sign up for a master's card here. Otherwise, you can still use your 2008 card.)

As of this writing, there are five swimmers signed up. You can check the team rosters here. It would be really great to get a few more people going--especially a few more women, because with just one more, we could post a mixed relay. With three more, we'd have a full women's freestyle relay at the event.

This meet is unusual in several ways: First, it's really, really low-key. (This meet is so early in the season, there is almost no pressure whatsover.) Next, it's in short-course meters rather than yards, so times will get a little longer. Finally, this meet is one of the closest we'll have this year: It's just up the street at the beautiful University of Chicago pool--without a doubt one of the best pools we'll compete in all year.

Hope to see you there.

For years now, I've looked at this time of year with anticipation (we're getting ready for another season), and dread (we have to handle team and individual registrations.) This year, I'm happy to report that it's more of the first and less of the last.

First things first: Yesterday, I found out that MGM has been registered as an official USMS club and is now in their system for 2009. That means we are now free to collect dues and start issuing 2009 USMS cards, allowing you to compete in any upcoming masters competition.

The next thing--and this is important-- is that USMS is now using an online registration system that allows you to register for your USMS card online. Rather than having to fill out a paper form and return it to us, you can now just get out your credit card and pay the $35 fee at your leisure.

Last summer, I took a fairly long bike trip that I had to spend some time training for. Since I'm not a cyclist, I had no idea how to prepare, so I scoured the bookstores looking for tips on how to train. That's how I came across 'The Cyclist's Training Bible,' by Joe Friel, a writer and coach who has been training cyclists and triathletes for years.

While Friel has written several books for both cyclists and triathletes, 'The Cyclist's Training Bible,' was the one I really studied because it lays out a training plan for attacking the cycling racing season. (Nevermind that I wasn't racing: My goal was just not to be left in the dust by the life-long cyclists I was riding with.)

Friel is a great writer, but what I like most about him is that he's a true scientist when it comes to training. Unlike many coaches, his methods are really exact, based on data recorded from both elite and amateur athletes.

I'll write about it in more depth in a later post. But to give you some background, his premise is that by following a precise trainging plan you should be able to shape--even predict--when your body will provide the best performances during the season, right down to the week of the event.

Today, I filled out and sent in paperwork to register MGM as a club within USMS. When I hear back from ILMSA, we can start thinking about collecting dues. I'm certain you're going to be receiving some kind of email from ILMSA that chastizes me for not doing this sooner, but let me just say this: Whenever  you get an email from ILMSA that talks about team registrations, mark it as spam and throw it away. (More on this later...)