I was never a racing swimmer (until age 26, and there are those who would say I've *never* been a racing swimmer), but I now do all intervals up to 500s faster than, say, Oly distance race pace, and with < :10 rest/100yd. I'm trying to nail down a pace that I can do in my sleep without digging a hole for the rest of the race. Only occasionally will I do any intervals much faster than that pace, and then just for grins to see where I am (that and it's rather depressing to know that I'll never be as fast as I was).

Way back when, I was training for a relay. I did a straight 100/200/300/400/500/400/300/200/100 on 1:20/100yd, and nailed every single interval at 1:10/100yd. I then did 18:54 on my swim leg, which was almost exactly 1:10/100yd.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

I was an average Div II collegiate swimmer and find two to three practices a week is about right. I alternate between organizized masters workouts and swimming on my own focussing mainly on long uninterupted sessions (ie, swim 30-45 min straight) focussing on technique and staying totally aerobic.

I have just decided over the years it is not worth it to allocate more time to swimming for a marginal improvement to the swim segment which is much shorter relative to the other segments. Like many former swimmers, I am run challenged so try to do more of that.

I agree. I don't swim at all, except in races, and still find that I am near the front of the race getting out of the water.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I try to keep up the intensity during triathlon season swim mostly because I like to feel like I am in good swimming shape when I am training for the other events. If I am not breathing hard at the end of a set, I am not working. Swimming fast gives me confidence that I can do the other events at a higher level. If I get in the water and fool around, I feel like I am wasting time.



I admire the guys that can get in the water and do well. I have to train if I want to keep up.

I too have a background in swimming.

Basically, I use my swimming skill as a "free pass" to turn triathlon training in to a 2 sport thing.

I'm usually in the top 10% out of the water up to a HIM on 2 or 3 2000 yard workouts a week. I figure if I increased my time in the pool by a factor of 3, I might gain up to 2 minutes in a sprint, and around 5 in the half but since I can't run to save my life my overall time is better given the total amount of training time I have if I take a couple of hours of pool time and use it for running or cycling instead.

My typical pool workout is aimed at working on swim specific strength and muscular endurance. I get all the basic cardio I need on the road. I also aim to maximize the efficiency of my limited time. No drills, no kicking sets. I usually just do a 1000 yard swim, increasing my pace with the 2nd 500 at or close to race pace, follwed by a set of either 5 200s or 10 100s at above race pace on a fairly short interval.