If you could swim five days a week

Triathlon Forum
1

…how would you vary your workouts?

Leg injury = limited biking and no running. I am trying to see the cup as half full: Lots of swim opportunities!

Goal: Race Alcatraz (3 months out), 1.2-1.5 mile distance

Background: Slow swimmer, but good open-water skills. Spent this winter re-learning (from masters team coach) swim skills, including balance, kick, and catch. Been doing a LOT of technique work, drills, etc. and hardly any endurance or speed work.

As a result, form is getting better, speed per 100y a little better, but I start to slow down after 1000y and I’m tired after 3000y, neither of which used to be the case. I feel like I need to build my endurance back up.

Here’s what I was thinking,

Two endurance swims/week (for me that’s around 3000y apiece),
Two technique focused swims (drills etc.)/week, and
One speed focused swim/week.

But even the endurance/speed swims would HAVE to start with some technique focus/drills. If I don’t do that then I seem to revert to my old (poor) form.

(I keep reading that I shouldn’t focus on speed/endurance till I get the technique down. But if I did 5 “pure technique” swims per week I’m afraid I’d go batty from boredom, and lose more endurance and speed.)

Oh yes, and when the lakes/ocean warm up around here, one of my weekly swims will become an open-water swim.

How does that sound? What would you do?

Oleander

2

Oh, almost forgot! I am going to experiment with aqua jogging. Maybe 2 days a week, following a swim. Wish me luck!

3

I did 5x a week a couple of years ago when I sprained my ankle and couldn’t run for a year. I did a 1hr swim clinic, long masters workout, 3 other swims (usually something creative like 10x300). I did a triathlon right after I could start running again and almost made up for my super slow run with my improved swim. aqua jogging looks like it gives you a good workout.

4

I would join a master’s program if possible.

Or follow a somewhat typical swimmer schedule…

M = Distance Free

Tu = Stroke work, non-free, or IM

We = Threshold Free

Th = Stroke work, non-free, or IM

Fr = Quality (sprint) Free or Distance Free again

5

Well, I can tell you what I am doing right now. I have the “Swim Workouts in a Binder” book. It has a four days per week scheduled in it. The schedule looks like this right now.

M - book workout 1 for given week
Tu - book workout 2 for given week
W - book workout 3 for given week
Th - approx 400m warmup followed by 2500m continuous and 100m cooldown (I started in December doing 2000m continuous, may increase once more to 3000m continuous)
F - book workout 4 for given week
Sa - one of a number of workouts I’ve collected from xtri, Gordo, etc depending on the mood, will change once the longer rides start on Saturday mornings
Su - nothing right now, but since they added a new LCM swim at the local aquatic centre, plan is like Thursday, but 3000m continuous, or move Saturday’s swim here

Yes, I like swimming obviously, its one of my strengths clearly. Point of diminishing returns reached yet? Hard to say, but I have the time to spend on it, don’t feel I’m neglecting the run or the bike so I’ll keep on swimming lots.

6

M: mid distance free (like 8x500 as a main set)

T: drills, stroke work

W: long endurance (repeat 1000s or 1650s, or a straight 3000 or so)

T: IM sets

F: sprint free (25s to 200s)

…I swim all week but I just make it up as I go along…

7

I would buy the book called “Workouts in a Binder” and follow the workout schedule in there.

There are Endurance, Form, Speed, Force and Muscular endurance workouts laid out in a way that really helped me last summer.

jaretj

8

agree with your plan - you do need the endurance/speed workouts especially when not doing the other 2 sports.

I’d do just 1 long swim a week, make the 2nd endurance workout a 6x500 repeat instead, trying to do the 500s on a significantly faster pace than the 3000. Also be inclined to do 2x speed workouts/week, only 1 technique, but add some technique/drills to the beginning/end of the speed workouts.

aqua jogging works well to maintain run fitness. get a waterproof radio or mp3 player for the boredom…

9

I’d do two endurance, two interval days such as 10x100 and 10X200, and one technique/drill day. Unless your form is terribly poor, I think two days is necessary.

I think I’d find it hard to do five days in the pool.

10

Use your technique days to swim strokes other than freestyle or do IM work. Also, do some shorter, faster sets to boost your speed. Too many triathletes spend too much of their pool time doing LSD freestyle.

11

How will doing IM’s (instead of purely freestyle technique) help my triathlon?

I’m open to it, just curious.

I think IM’s with the masters team is a good way to fight boredom. But how it helps your freestyle…?

12

IMs build strength… swimming four strokes evens your shoulder muscles out. And they do help break things up a bit so you don’t get bored.

13

You might want to think about aqua jogging 4-5 days/week – never heard any bad reports from doing that. Boredom would be the biggest obstacle, so get creative with the mp3 player, etc.

This too shall pass – good luck with it!

-Mike