Trexlera wrote:
Brandon, you’ve probably answered this elsewhere, but what would be an example pool test set from 2013 that you think indicates the fitness you had then?
It’s a fascinating data point for us swimming nerds.
I don't know that I have answered. I am also 'Grumpy Marsh' and 4 years retired. I don't really remember too much of the specifics, and this may come off a bit vague...and long.
I was always a decent swimmer, but was never fully dedicated to swimming when growing up. I swam a 456 500scy free and something like a 203 200im and 200ish? 200 fly. I say I wasn't particularly fast. I never made the state meet.
For tris, I really wasn't fully dedicated until 2010 when Amy and I decided to make a real go of it. We trained with Brett and his squad in Thailand and Swiss. I was a front pack swimmer then. I posted one of his sets earlier in the thread. Pretty basic. We swam probably 20k a week with Brett and I used a lot of paddles only. 10x400 was a recovery day after a hard run. All easy. But, my swim (in general I think that I was a slower athlete those 2 years) really wasn't any faster, I was just a bit smarter in open water than previous. I think that I won the swim at Cozumel in 2011, but even though I was racing with a TeamTBB kit, I'd made the decision to switch coaches.
I think after IM Cozumel in 2011, I won every IM swim that I entered and several 70.3s. I don't remember the specifics. With Paulo we swam a lot, probably 20-25k a week. Amy and I also went to altitude in Flagstaff which really helped me, but her not so much. With Paulo we swam also with Eric Lagerstrom, Joe Maloy, and Kevin Ryan. All very good swimmers and one that was an Olympian. This was when we were with his squad.
So, it wasn't a single set. It was a lot of swimming. What I remember is that Paulo had us do 'just enough' fast work. He and I talked about it. It was when USRPT was getting more popular. We swam some quality 100s with longer rest, say on a 2 minute send off. These were best average or AFAP. But really, it was a lot of swimming. And, I feel like we also had a lot of easier swimming in there.
I posted earlier that a single set can be very misleading. Amy was always right there in a set of 50s or 100s on a tight interval. Whether it was the difference in stroke or confidence, my open water swimming was way better.
Most age groupers don't swim enough or focused enough. There needs to be an effort to have multiple speeds and really pay attention to what they do. That's why on the watch thread I posted that a garmin in the swim takes away from the swim. I'm grumpy like that. There's a big difference in 40x100x120 scm and 10x400x520 scm I think even though they take the same amount of time. I only coach about 8 or so athletes now, and it's remote. I hate that I say they swim 'good enough', but the reality is that most triathletes need to be able to make it through 1,500 or 1,900 or 3,800 meters without being gassed or falling apart. That's where the 40x100 sets really help. The bike and then run is where the real time gets made up.
That's not a real answer, but the standards are 1:10 scy and 1:20 lcm. I don't think that those change. You also need 200 speed to get out and hang on when it's needed. I took the lead in Kona after about 1k, because Pete Jacobs and Eneko Llanos didn't seem to be swimming that fast. I was 3rd and tried to pass. It wasn't overly hard. And, I pressed when I got inside the pier because I figured that Clayton was back there and was going to come around. It helped that Andy Potts didn't swim that year!!
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