Garry_p does these sets all the time. I think he's posted something similar to what you describe. When the time comes down, drop the rest to the next even number...and hold the pace the same. Then as the pace continues to drop the rest will increase again. So, you basically end up with 15-20 seconds of rest as depending on what your coming-in time is.

Since, I'm not a real swimmer I don't have anything against wearing a computer in the pool. So, goofy send-offs are a non-issue for me. :-)

My goal is to get to a sendoff of 60 seconds.

My goal is to get to a sendoff of 60 seconds. //

You will then be a real swimmer..(-;

Today's swim:
Warmup and drills -
300S,
4x75B-3,
3x150K,
2x25 UDK.


Main Set -
400N/S,
2x200 desc,
300N/S,
2x150 desc,
200N/S,
2x100 desc,
100N/S,
2x50 desc,
100 easy,
4x100 best average (1:15)
100 w/d.

Its a USRPT set..

I have seen this bandied around here, but never paid much attention. What exactly is this set supposed to tell you? 500 pace, 1000, 1650 pace?? Or is it just a workout for workouts sake? Maybe some swimmers here who are still racing can give some context of your time in this set, and an actual race you did comparing paces...

I think the book would say that usrpt 50s are good for training the 200/400 race distances.

My ultimate goal is 25min Oly swim. So, basically 1:30 / 100 pace.

My approach has been to establish the ability to swim that fast, then to begin extending the distance that I can hold that pace. Garry_p and I have discussed this some, based on his use of USRPT for the 1650 trials he was training for last year. He felt that 20x125 was a good pace indicator for an open 1650. He had some other thoughts that he posted on the usrpt forums for translating that to a triathlon swim vs. an open 1650.

Right now, I'm not really using the 50s to train for a race distance. I'm just trying to build as much pace as I can using the 30x50. Once I get there (or as close as I can get), I plan on beginning to lengthen the interval. First to 75s, then 100s, 125s and maybe 150s.

At one time, I used a watch with interval timer that was set to my target time plus a 20 second rest. It broke, and, rather than replace it, I just reverted to using the pace clock, and rounded the send off to the nearest 5 seconds. Not surprisingly, a couple seconds more or less rest didn't really change the effectiveness of the training methodology.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

In my experience, this particular set (50's on 20 seconds rest), getting into the low 20's before failing out, is a strong indicator that Tom should be able to split 46's on 50's # 2,3, and 4 of a 200, and should probably (with quality start and turns) be able to go ~3:03 in an all out, off-the-blocks, rested race effort.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

 should be able to split 46's on 50's # 2,3, and 4 of a 200, and should probably (with quality start and turns) be able to go ~3:03 in an all out, off-the-blocks, rested race effort. //

Just thinking about what I think I could do, it would be no where near my 200 pace, more like 500 I think? Of course I have not done the set yet, but it seems like 30x50's(failing around 20) would indicate a much longer race. I hadn't even considered it would mimic the last 3 50's of a 200. Is that how it pencils out for you too, a 200 pace?

I haven’t focused on this specific race in a while, and only dabbled in this set this season. I ended up going about a second/100 faster on the back three 50’s of my 200 at Nationals than I was able to hold this set the couple times I tried it down the stretch. When I worked it more regularly in the past, I had even tighter correlation to actual race performance.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

OK so I just started biking again after a multiple year hiatus and aside from loss of power in my left leg things were going really well and I was getting excited about swimming, weights, rowing machine and now biking with the odd treadmill shuffle.

Well, all of that ended after I hit something on the road yesterday that for some reason I did not see (I can say I had not lost any road handling ability), but then my bike started veering right as my hands came off bars from the sudden road shock....in any case i ended up hitting the curb and bouncing back into traffic right at the time a school bus was starting to move forward (there was a line up of cars that was just getting moving at the green light and I was going to turn right).

I ended up bouncing into traffic with my right arm and right foot pointing into traffic under the bus. The school bus, not knowing I was there and already in motion ran over my right bicep and forearm and my right foot. My right foot was basically unharmed due to the rigidity of the bike shoe (it is sore), but the two tires of the school bus covered everything from halfway up my bicep to my wrist.

Miraculously, nothing is broken, but the bus managed to sheer away muscle from bone. This spot is 2K from home and I have done probably 1000 passes of this tarmac as it is part of a hill interval loop (this part is downhill and recovery phase....not that I am doing intervals as I just started riding).

In any case in all my years of cycling, my worst fear is crashing and ending up in traffic. Yesterday I finally did but under a bus (kind of like Cristian Bustos style for those of you old timers).

Why did I post on the fish thread.....my first reaction as I was crying on the curb waiting for the ambulance "What If I can never swim again....second reaction....Oh my God, I have a startup company to run....all these guys are depending on me!"

So the orthopedic surgeon at the ER feels the arm will work again. I look forward to when they will let me back in the pool to do endless kick sets. I hope I can do that. Right now I cannot imagine activating my bicep to even get my arm overhead. No cast or anything, just a sling.

Oh, and it appears I can use my right arm to type (this is my first test). So ST is in trouble because I can still post and I will have an extra 1.5 to 2 hrs per day and given that I am already doing 10+ hrs per day on my startup, we'll you guys will be swimming for me.

Today's recommended set as I was supposed to race all these events tomorrow in Toronto in racing and I have worked up to doing this frequently in training:

1. 50 free
2. 200 fly
3. 100 free
4. 400 IM
5. 50 fly
6. 200 IM
7. 100 fly
8. 400 free

bonus 800 IM at the start for any of you guys who want the bonus Dev approved 2300m set (I am doing that 1x per week)

The Canadian health care system paramedics and emergency were totally awesome. I have no health insurance due to starting my own company and not being able to afford any health insurance yet for me and my employees.

Holy shit, Dev! Glad you are here to tell us about it, but hell....

I'm not sure about those other strokes, though. I haven't done fly since I was about 14...it was "my" favorite back then. How about if I relearn to do flip turns? Baby steps.

Quality start and TURNS! Ha! How about open turns, off the wall?

As I said about, in honor of Dev, I will work on my flip turns.

Same sort again today... Warmup and cool down were both substantially faster today. 1:38 / 1:43 respectively. My drills were faster by 10s too... But, that's not their point... Just interesting that they were faster.

Wu:
100 swim (1:38)
2x100 drills

MS:
27x50 @46s (20s) failed at 15, 22, 27

Cd 100ez (1:43)

I never know what to expect on the second day in a row. Sometime it's as good or better than the day before, sometimes it's just a no-go. Both days this week saw improvement on the second day in a row, though.

I felt quite a bit stronger today than yesterday. The first 3 50s were all 45s, and a total of 5 in the first 15 were 45s, and 1/3rd of the entire workout. After how I felt yesterday...struggling to hold on for 10...i didn't expect today to go like it did.

I really focused on floating my hips and keeping my feet tight. I'm my cooldown, specifically, I didn't kick but rather kept my feet touching each other and tried to imagine myself as a torpedo (:-) rolling and pulling.

So sorry to hear this news Dev. Glad to know you're mostly alright with no broken bones, but yeah, that is a very scary accident report. You're a machine and will heal quickly. The Terminator has nothing on you...

Working up to a LC meet in 4 weeks where I will swim the 1500, 800, 400, 200, 100 free and the 100 fly (on the same day). I'm not sure what my throwaway swim will be that day.

This morning - 100S and 2x50 B-4 warmup. Main set of 1000, 600, 400. 2200 SCY.

OK Dev. Geeeze! Well, my left leg sciatic issue is now merely a nuisance compared to your predicament. I'm so sorry for you.

In spite of the weakness and instability in my leg, I hobbled down the beach for the Seal Beach Roughwater Swim, a 3 mile (short, tho at 2.7 miles), no wetsuit swim. And, in spite of my limited swimming the past week, I managed a 13th overall place and first in my division. The race lived up to its name as it was pretty choppy/windy out there. At one point, my kayaker bumped into me as he was pushed by the wind. The water temp varied from 62 to 64, but a huge hotspot of over 70 (all degrees F) had me worried that the whole outer leg of the race was going to be that warm and I was going to fatigue. But, I finally got back into cooler racing water. I hobbled up the beach to the finish shoot, handed popsicle stick #13. Happy to have won this race every time I've entered.

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Dev, I am so sorry you got hit. Incredible nothing broke.
Sending wishes for a speedy healing.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

5.5 mi run w/ 2.1 mi at a pace that felt like it took effort
1500 yd swim

2 x [100 free + 50 kick]
3 x [100 as 25 stroke/75 free + 50 kick]
a bunch of 50s as 25 fly/25 back
some free 100s

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I saw some triathletes swimming, so I moved to a lane nearby. Then it was:

1000 with no warm up. The "top" of the clock just happened to come about 10-15 after one of those guys flipped at a 100 split. So, I jumped in and felt like chasing him down. I guess I'm an ass, but I wasn't really making it look like I was being so, and besides, if I plan to do any open water races, I need to go out fast. So, I. chased the guy down at 400 or so, then finished the total 1000 in 14:23. Then, the rest of the practice:

1000 as 200 pullbuoy, 300 no pb, 500, no pb, all with a snorkel
10 x 100 @ 1:35, held comfy 1:24
1000 paddles
200 as 50 kick, 50 swim

4200m.

OK today's suggested workout:

• 10x50 IM order 4 (25fly-25 back, 25 breast-25free)x4
• 10x50 legs only IM order
• 10x100 as 5x (50fly-50 back, 50 breast-50 free)

Is this a real swimmer approved workout? 2000m worth of IM-ing.

If the docs give me the OK in 10 days, I guess I will embark on a long legs only focus doing all strokes legs only. Monty and Ericmulk will be happy!

I like it. Made a tweak or 2 for you....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

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

Would you be allowed to do one-arm?

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

yesterday just a 2.3 mi run, super tired. Took a 4+ hr nap.
today 8.6 mi run w/ last mile 8:07, 1725 yd swim

17 x 100 on 1:30
25 kick c/d

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Hey Steve, get well buddy, thought you might have been doing too much running for that old body of yours, especially all those hard races. Maybe time to join me and dan in the over 60 5k max club?? I went in the ocean at San Clemente last night and it had to be 70 or over, very pleasant. Did a 25 minute straight swim in Redondo on sat, and it was about 67, so much warmer up here for sure.

So I got in today and did my usual 200 warm up and it felt great and much faster than usual, so I decided to just do this set I did last week and see what the improvement was, todays times in bold..

4x(2x200/100IM kick@2;30) 2-swim@3;15(2;56/2;54/2;52/2;46)2-buoy only@3;15(2;50/2;45/2;42/2;41)2-paddles only(2;43/2;37/2;35/2;32)2-full pull(2;29/2;27/2;25/2;22) kicks(2;10 to 1;52/1;54 to 1;47)
8x50's- odds IM order@1;00/evens buoy only@1;30 descend(IM-35/40/42/33/34/39/41/33) swims(40/39/38/37/37/37/37/36)
100 dolphin(2;01/1;55)
2500 SCY

So same exact workout as last week, but all much faster. Dont know why, perhaps my 15 lb weight loss in the past 4 months is kicking in, or my daily fasting and T levels rising are working. At any rate I will take this one as it is the best I have gone in awhile, all on 6k a week too!! I will be looking for an ocean race in the area, sometime in the next couple weeks, what you got Steve??

July 14 – Balboa - Newport Pier to Pier is 2 miles
There’s a lifeguard swim run coming up on July 12 starting at Huntington Beach Pier and ending at Seal Beach Pier. I think 5 runs and 4 swims & 8 miles total.

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Haven't posted in a few days so:

Saturday - 30 minutes mostly easy with 2x50m sprints in 38 seconds -1600m
Sunday - No wetsuit sprint triathlon swim. 13minutes for 750m - disappointing.
Monday - Masters swim. We only get one hour in summer, so I only managed 3000m. It was pretty empty and cold too!

I'm finding this whole trying to be a fish thing a bit depressing! I watched the league above ours race on Sunday and the faster guys swam 10 minutes for 750m, the slower ones 12 minutes (no wetsuit).
I then swam 13 minutes. The gap is massive, not sure how or if I can close it!

Jason, this actually perfect because you practice all turn sequences which is what I need in my swimmer progression. If not, in my suggested workout we lost the back-breast turn (which actually I find to be the hardest....my legs are winded from back stroke, I can never judge the wall and scared to slam in wiht an extra pull and have no cardio for the dolphin kick-pull out-break out.....usually just got from dolphin to break out).

OK OK...so who is going to do the workout today? Monty we have you as the natural victim!!!!

So my pain has come down a touch. Yesterday I realized I can actually get my arms overhead in the streamline position with a lot of soreness. My right arm is the size of my quad (OK, no jokes about chicken leg quads). I lifted it overhead several times in the evening. So you can see where this is going. Ii tried to do a freestyle stroke in the air...yeah, I could do it. Tried breast...no problem (kind of). Did several of these. Then got up the nerve to do a fly stroke in the air...yeah, it worked in terms of being able to move my bashed up arm through it. So then I tried back stroke but the catch and the finish were too hard....but barely possible. I have no clue if these shenanigans are doctor approved and I had to do it in stealth without family members spotting this going on.

So that was my fish thread workout for the day...2 minutes of range of motion all strokes (kind of). Hoping docs give me clearance to get in the pool for legs only next Monday. Currently stitches where they sewed me together are letting out only a few small drops of blood per 24 hours usually after I do stupid things in my sleep and roll over and likely stress the wounds.