Finally back in, at the low desert hot pool. Only 85+ today, but still 85 outside too. 5 days out and felt tapered, but took it easy as I could to just get reacquainted:
3x(6x100@1;40/4x100frog@2;00) buoys(1;26 to 1;21) tiny paddles(1;19 to 1;17) big paddles(1;16+ to 1;14) frogs(1;56 to 1;49’s)
2x(2x50p@1;00/3x50 kick@1;30) pulls(37/35/36+/34+) kicks(66 to 55)
3500SCY in 67 minutes
Thanks for kicking off the month. Ready to be inspired by some super fast NCAA swimming in a few weeks.
3500 SCY
500/400/300/200/100 with 30 sec between each 200K
10x100P@1:30 (1:16-19)
200K
8x50 stroke @1:00(39-50)
8x25 stroke @ 30(19-23)
I’m keen to see some of it too. Today a 3km as 2k mixed not hard just swim through and 1km strength builder on 13:28. Strength has a lot of building left
Had an incredibly pleasant wind riding home, just the right level of intensity so that it was like a pleasant washing and buzzing around my face and ears. Some people say that they listen to the bubbles when they swim but I’ve never found swimming to be a particularly audible experience- I definitely find it to be sensory on the hands, feet and face but not audible
There’s been plenty of it in the past 2 weekends at conference championships.
Been getting the hang of the paddles w buoy. But tbh it doesnt even feel like swimming.. (it feels awesome but no correlation to real feel). I’m just going to use it as a strength building exercise.
Some fly work today, 3R-3L-3Full 50s and 4 stroke breakout 50s, I think the tempo carried through OK to a couple full 25s at :15. Then just a horrificly boring 8x125 FR on 2:00, had to be done, not spectacular, but necessary.
Well paddles and buoy are for strength building, so glad you are getting it down. At some point you will learn to swim faster with them, so working as hard as normal you can do faster repeats on a faster interval. When people say they are easier than hand swimming, they are just not going hard enough..
had this pop up today, it was the last time I was able to do my birthday set on the 1;15. I did make it that day, had to level up in the lane twice though(so 2 on the 1;10 to catch up). Was training with dan to do something big here soon, but he has been getting sick a lot, and I have had some interruptions. But I think I will go for something here in a few weeks, sure with I had some lane mates to get me through. Last big one was my real leap year birthday, turned 17, so did 17x200 IM’s on the 3;40. Think I held low 3’s for the set. Thinking about 70x100’s, just don’t which interval to attempt at the moment..
And man I thought I was old back then, where did all that brown hair go!! I’ll tell you, my new wife at the time was carrying our first child, then two more twins, that’s where it all went… (-;
23x100 1:30
23x100 IM 2:00
23x100 1:30
1x100 FLY block start for time 
got my tempo trainer out on stroke mode today, my rate was about as low as i thought it was! so even getting it up to 60 strokes per min required some concetration
1km warm up mix (cannot remember what)
100 free 100 free / back 2x100 free 2x100 free / back 3 … 4… do bilateral braething on the free componenet, one sided breath on free in free back part
6x50 25 increasing speed, 25 float
100 200 300 100 400 100 200 200 (tempo trainer to hold 40 secs per 50)
100 easy
That would be an interesting bday set, and it guided somewhat I did today. Not ready to hammer 70x100’s of anything, so will do some longish workouts to get my arms ready.
4x(3x100buoy@1;40/100IM@2;00) buoys(1;27 to 1;23) IM’s(1;35/32/31/30/29) 500 frog@10;00(9;34)
4x(3x100p@1;40/100IM@2;00) pulls(1;20/19’s) IM’s(1;29/29/28/26)300frog@6;00(5;51)
5x50p@1;00(40/39/38/37/34)5x50frog/dolphin@1;20(62/61/50/59/56)
4500SCY in 73 minutes
Sounds about right.. 60spm seems to be the comfort zone for pace swims. I would really like to move towards 65-66, that’s about .2spc faster - obviously holding the same stroke count. But it equates to a bit over 2s per 50 faster.
3500 SCY.
400S (5:51), 200K
3x200@3:30 (2.48-53),3x150@2:45 (2:07-2:09),3x100@1:45 (1:23-4),3x50@1:00 (35-7)
200k
Pull set : 2x200@3:00 (2:41-2),2x150@2:15 (2:02s), 3x100@1:30 (1:20-1), 4x50@1:00 (35-37)
I don’t track/measure SPMinute or SPLength. Is there a goal or optimization plan to swim faster with less effort by doing that? (PS my swim training knowledge is from the 1970s).
Yes.. it is exactly what we are all trying to do daily in the sport of swimming. Hold more water, take fewer strokes, but do those strokes faster
But seriously, for sure it’s what every club, HS, and college coach is trying to get swimmers to do, and today with UW video and loads of resources everyone is getting better at it. And it seems to be way easier to get the kids to do it than get one’s self to do it. Age and all that nonsense.
PP - in other words, being more ‘efficient’, whether that means you then go faster or just can hold your pace better / less effort. All the variables that flo mentions being the factors / index of that (plus others).
I try not to get too bogged down in it and just think, oh, that is what my strokes are per length or rating. I was getting obsessed with doing like 29-31 strokes per length in a 50m and it was just not good for my OW swimming at all, even though it may have ‘looked better’
Yesterday did 8.5KM in two sessions
this morning did 5km and what I can remember as
2km mix of things then
6x200 good steady
200 easy
100 400 100 4x100 good steady
500 easy
3x100 solid effort (just a bit below 400 style pace )
A couple 3000y days (i only have an hour though that may change once a week soon here).
Thursday sets kind of 200 focus..
2x[5x50 :50, 100 same pace as 50s]
4x[75 build 1:20, 50K fast 1:20, 50 fast, 25 recover on 2:20 total]
Today boring 12x100 1:40 alt buoy/swim.. buoy for tempo, swims went from 1:12 down to 1:08.xx. Not efficient, just tried harder, haha.
I went with some motivation today, watched the NZ ironman swim and then headed out. Decided to just start out with 1;30 base, used tiny paddles for first 20. Pool temp was ok at about 83.5, so punched out 5k in 82 minutes with 1200 of that kicking..
20x100@1;30 tiny paddles(1;24/23/22/then all 1;21/20’s)500 frog@10;00(9;29)
10x100p big paddles@1;30(all 1;18’s)300frog@6;00(5;42)
4x(2x100p@1;30/100frog@2;30) pulls(1;19/18’s) frogs(1;53’s)
5000SCY in 82;30 minutes
Was going to do 20 and 20, but arms were getting tired and I decided to hold pace with more rest, rather than just fade down..
200 easy 200IM 500 snorkel and technique
6x100IM mostly high 1:50s oy, 100 hard 1:17 oy, 5x50, 500 snork for 1hr 2350yd.
stiff sore slow sluggish. I had such nice swims in Grand Marais with all that extra oxygen, and now back to slogging.
got into the Tour de Wyoming so will need to focus on the bike now for a bit..
Your set here stuck in my head, was at my hot low pool so adjusted it just a bit. Did 10x100, odds pull@1;30/evens frog@2;30. Had to get my head out of the water to cool down, but that extra O2 felt great. After yesterday’s 5k slog, wasn’t sure how I would feel, but I could have swam a meet today!! Goal was to be under 1;10’s, crushed that;
3x100buoy@1;40(1;27/25/22)3x100frog@2;10(1;57/55/52)3x100p@1;30(1;17/15/13)100IM kick(1;53)
10x100, odds pull@1;30 for time/evens frog@2;30 strong recovery–pulls(1;07/1;06/1;07/1;07/1;05) frogs(1;53 to 1;51’s)
3x(3x50p@1;00 descend/100frog@2;30/50swim fast@1;30) pulls(38/36+/36–36/36/34–36/35+/33)frogs(1;53/51’s) swims(31+/31/fly-35)
5x50tiny paddles@1;00(39 to 34)100 kick
3300SCY in 66 minutes
Felt great today, think I can now start with some stroke fast stuff and get ready for a meet soon. Only coughing about once an hour, so that dam cold is almost all the way gone..
3600 SCY
600/200K
10x100@1:45(1;22-4), 200IM K
Pull set;4x100@1;30 (1;18s),5x75@1;15(57-8),4x50@1:00(36-7),4x25@30(17s)
200IM K
8x50@1:00 stroke (42-49)
My watch says 29.4 strokes per minute for the workout. Will start looking at this metric now
TYR Pro Swim series had some good swims. NCAA season taking out some of those swimmers, but still fun. Sam Short swimming fast in the 800/1500.
Really good Social Kick podcast with the Wiffen twins also.
Missed on out on a local meet after mixing up the registration deadline. Have felt pretty stale in the water, feel like its a combo of too little sleep, and lots of extra work/life stress. Have backed off on intensity the last week. Swam solo today:
w/u - 1000 (400 swim w/fins mixed, 200 kick fins, 4 x 100 buoy
Main set:
I was watching this meet on Peacock, and yes a couple good swims. But most folks are swimming really tired, you can tell by the big fades and slow times from everyone except a few. And yes Sam Short seemed like he was a little tapered to swim that well, and from the gun to the finish. Gretchen of course always looks good, and was fun to see Reagen Smith do the 400IM. Talk about a big 1st half!!! Marchand looked like he did a morning workout before the meet, as well as Bobby Finke!!