Toefuzz wrote:
My question in regards to USRPT is how do you go about setting your target time? I've read some articles on how to set it for competitive swimmers, but it doesn't directly apply to a triathlete (or aquabiker in my case). Please forgive me if it's been asked and answered, but after skimming the thread I didn't see it. I have an Oly swim in May and my goal is to not embarrass myself... any suggestions on how I would determine my target intervals? I was going to take my goal pace for the May race and use that for 50's (for example, if I wanted to average 1:40/100y I could start with 50 seconds per 50 plus 20 seconds rest)... start out with 20x50 and see if I can hit the intervals using the USRPT principles (miss 1 sit the next out, miss 2 go home I believe). If I tried that and found I can only get 10 intervals in then I know it might be a bit aggressive. If I can hit all 20 (unlikely) then I know I want to go a little faster.
Trial and error is what I had to do when I started using USRPT, as I really didn't have relevant race results to work with. Didn't take long to zero in on target times that were appropriate. If you don't get to the mid-teens before failing out, your target was probably too aggressive. If you get to the end of the set (30 reps), or even close (high 20's), you probably need to advance the pace.
Either way, you'll probably be readjusting on a pretty regular basis for a while since you're coming from a low swim fitness state, but suggest that you have some previous swim training.
For an Oly swim, I think you ultimately want to work yourself up to being able to do 15-20 x 125 at a pace that's 3-4sec/100 faster than your targeted race pace before any adjustments for pool vs. open water. For example, If I wanted to swim 1:40/100 in a non wetsuit legal open water Oly swim leg, I'd feel like I need to be able to swim a 1500 @ ~1:33/100 in the pool at less than full effort, which means I'd want to be able to swim a 1500 @ 1:29/100 at max effort. For me, 15-20 x 125 is a bellwether set for an all-out 1500m/1650y/1-mile race effort pace .
There are a couple ways to come at this. By-the-book USRPT would tell you to do 125's at whatever pace you can now, and work your target times down. Or you can work your target pace at shorter distances, then go incrementally longer (in other words, master your goal pace doing 50's, then 75's, then 100's, then 125's.) I've had success both ways. If you're coming from a low fitness state, I'd work pace first, and worry about distance/endurance later. If you start to plateau before you get to 125's, come at it from the other end, doing 125's at whatever pace you can sustain and trying to get faster from there.
"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"