June Swim Challenge

Yes, folks, a swim challenge in June! For those of us who still need (many) swim focused weeks, or for those who just need some tuning-up, prior to upcoming races, or for anyone just starting to swim, or loving to swim, here it is:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pU-bz1VCoBnuwygvppkKCPw&ui=2#gid=48

If you have never joined before, PM me with your e-mail address, (preferably a googlemail address, but some others might work) and I’ll set it up to allow you access. Then, sign in, add your name on the top line, decide on whether to swim in meters or yards, put in your goal, and the number of swims you think it will take you to achieve that goal and that’s it.

As you enter your yardage (or meterage) after each day’s swim, the spreadsheet will automatically calculate your total, whether you are ahead or behind your target, and other fun stuff for data freaks.

My morning:
6.6 mi run, 40 min bike, 3 mi run, 2500 yd swim.

The swim was pretty lazy but really relaxing: 4 x desc and 4 x 125 last length fast.

A quadrathlon! Are you training for SOS, or something?

06.01.10 (3,100 LCM**)**

Warm-up (200)
200 free

Transition Set (800)
4 x through:
1 x 100 free on 1:30
1 x 50 dolphin kick on back on 1:00
1 x 50 fly drill on 1:00

Main Set (2,000)
1 x 400 on 1:30/100
8 x 50 kick on 0:50
1 x 300 on 1:30/100
6 x 50 kick on 0:50
1 x 200 on 1:30/100
4 x 50 kick on 0:50
1 x 100 on 1:30/100
2 x 50 kick on 0:50

Cool Down (100)
100 easy
.

no; last 2 days only 3.5 and 4.5 mi running so I wanted to get a little distance in.

Tuesday 4000SCM

4 x 50
3 x 100

500 Mayan pyramid (3000)

300 kick w/fins

4 x 50 fast
.

Warm-up (1,600)
300 free, 300pull, 100drill
2

Main** Set (2,000)**
4x (200fast 10” + 300 steady 1’)
The focus was starting a Half Ironman fast then settling into your pace.

Cool Down (400)
200kick, 200 easy

(4,000 SCM)

I better step it up, everyone else swimming 4k!

I better step it up, everyone else swimming 4k!

Watch those shoulders, please!

06.02.10 (2,600 LCM)
Wacky Wed Workout. I may have leftout a set but here’s the general idea.

Warm-up (300)
300 free

Set 1 (600)
6 x 100
odds were 50 alterating 4 strokes fly and 4 storkes breast and 50 alternating 6 strokes free and 6 strokes back on 1:50
evens were free on 1:30

Set 2 (600)
1 x 300 which was swam as 2 x through:
50 breast, 50 breast pull w/ flutter kick, 50 breast pull w/ dolphin kick
1 x 300 which was 2 x through:
50 dolphin kick on back, 50 back drill, 50 seated sculling

Set 3 (400)
1 x 400 swam where each 100 was 25 dolphin kick on your back, 50 free, 8 deckups on the side of the pool, swim to where it starts getting shallow and dolphin off the bottom to the until you get to the wall.

Set 4 (600)
12 x 50s were you ran the first 1/3, sprined the middle 1/3, and dolphined off the bottom on the last 1/3. After each 50 you had to get out of the water and jump back in to start the next 50.
3 x 50 fly on 1:00
3 x 50 back on 0:55
3 x 50 breast on 1:05
3 x 50 free on 0:55

Cool Down (100)
100 easy

I’m so excited now that I have moved to a place where I get to swim with actual people again. There is a community pool here where old lifeguards and ex swimmers take over 3 lanes at noon and do some sort of workout. Other than racing I dont think I have got to draft for 10 years, what a beautiful feeling, and what a difference in repeat times and intervals.

After a warm up we do 25X100’s SCY, 5 on 1;30.5 on 1;25, 5 on 1;20. 5 on 1;15, and 5 on 1;10. Then we do 15X 75’s, 1;05/1;00/;50 each 3 grouping… And the guy leading the lane is 58 years old, holding about 1;04 pace!!! I was 4th out of 5 in the lane, and the last one to make the set. I didnt get to see the clock much, just went off my 5 second guy, and on the 1;10’s I fudged the gap a bit…(-; All in all I probably averaged 1;08’s or so for over 3500… Man I feel good…

Very nice.

Run and ride day here (10 mi and 55 min respectively).

Tired this morning. 5 mile walk, 2500 yd swim.

300 w/u
6 x 100 last 25 stroke

4 x 50
4 x 100
8 x 150

c/d

06.04.10 (3,700 LCM)

Warm-up (1,000)
1000 mix of swim and kick

Main Set (2,600)
no rest between rounds

Round 1 (1,100)
4 x 50 on 0:50
4 x 100 on 1:25
2 x 50 on 0:50
2 x 200 on 1:20/100

Round 2 (1,100)
4 x 50 on 0:50
4 x 100 on 1:20
2 x 50 on 0:50
2 x 200 on 1:15/100

Round 2 (400)
4 x 50 on 0:50
1 x 200 on All Out (came in at 2:26)

Cool Down (100)
100 easy
.

6/3/10

20 mile bike E1 then 4 mile run, easy, drills every 200 meters or so.

2500 scy swim. Emphasis is reducing drag and DPS. Been studying all those youtube swimming and running drill videos. It’s starting to come together. Also watched quite a bit of the Columbus swim meet this week on Universal. I need more DPS. Anything more than 200 meters at the world class level is absolute DPS. They look so smooth and clean and slow on the entry.

So, did a 10x100 yesterday. 10 seconds rest, which is like an eternity to me since I have become accustomed to 5 seconds rest swimming hard. This set was done easy, but the emphasis again DPS and getting the shoulders abducted in to the head during the reach to minimize drag. Effort level was comfortable, about E2 (E3 for me I guess would be max effort for an endurance set). Did the broken set at a 1:25.8/100 pace.

6/4/10

40 mile bike (2587 feet climbing) E2 then 2 mile MAF run at 7:49 pace. First week of hot summer weather. Takes about 10 days to acclimate it seems.

This afternoon, back to the pool for an easy 2000 scy. Am enthused about the swim progress. The rest too!

14 mi running today, 40 min yoga, 1200 yd swim.

Stroke didn’t feel good.

What’s MAF run?

You must be on the other side of the globe if it’s already June 5 over there (Maine here)

TC, you are quick! I like that. But I goofed the dates. Will change that, then back.

MAF. Phil Maffetone’s MAXIMUM AEROBIC FUNCTION.

80% of max heart rate. I’m in an aerobic mesocycle pretty much through the summer. Did 10 weeks anaerobic prior. So my t-runs are capped at that limit. It works out to my 1/2 IM run pace it seems.

Occasionally will of course pick it up based on intuition. For example wednesday came of a 42 mile ride with 2800 feet of climbing. Because I felt like it, did not MAF the run, but ran 2 miles with the Garmin set at 200 meter laps. The idea is to go hard, then recover, then hard. But it is all anaerobic the whole way. THe only difference is the slow 200s are at a lower anaerobic level. Averaged 147, with a max of 161. According to the formula for my age, my max ceiling is 170. The pace came out to 7:02, much faster than my off-the-bike 10 K.

Hope your training is going well.

Ah, Maffetone isn’t a training program/philosophy I’m familiar with.

My training is going well, thank you. I am impressed with how many three-a-days you do.