I’ve been working hard on my swimming over the last year and
have made some good progress. At today’s masters practice, we
did a set of 8x{50/75/100/25}, each on 1:15 that was focused on doing
the 100s fast and getting rest on the others. I was able to do the 100s
at 1:10ish (about half 1:09, half 1:10). I suspect that last year I would
barely have been able to manage 1:20s. The woman I shared the lane
with was doing 1:02s, which got me wondering what it takes to get from
where I am to where she is. Any suggestions?
good parents?
Years and yards.
You’ll need to swim ~8s faster per 100yds.
Any ballpark ideas. So for me, it was roughly 1 year at ~10,000 yards a week to go from
that ~1:20 to ~1:10. I assume that its harder to get that next 5-10 seconds. Can someone
who is at (or who has been at) <1:05ish range chime in with the years and yards to get
there?
1:05ish for a workout like you did isn’t end of the world fast. You should probably get up over 15k/week for starters. Longer workouts, i.e. 2500-3500 main sets with ~4-5k total each workout 4-5 times a week.
good parents?
I’m sure that would help, but its not very good advice. 
I’m not asking how much work it would take to get to the Olympics, in which
case I’d take the “good parents” as a reasonable response. I assumed that
1:02 SCY 100s is pretty attainable for most of us regular Joes if we put in
the right time and training. If not, I guess I need to give more props to my
lane mate.
Do you wear a dragsuit…Those tend to add about ~5 seconds per 100 depending on how much of a suit it is. Also flipturn efficiency can help speed up the pool sessions. As another poster mentioned years and yards…it sucks but it’s true. My first year swimming was at 17-20k a week for the year, and I wasn’t even at the 1:05 mark. I’ve gotten much better this year but it’s mostly due to smoothing out my stroke and figuring out what needs to be done.
I have no idea, bc I’m slower than you. But when you find out, please post again…
Are you talking about swimming 100 scy in 1:02 or holding a 1:02 pace in some kind of interval?
Here’s my observation about “non-swimmers” and relatively fast pool times. For those without a swimming background, getting to a point where you can do 1:10s on a 1:15 interval is very doable. I have a bunch of friends who are there now without the swimming background. These guys can go a few minutes under 1:00 in the IM swim, but it is much harder for the next level. The next level is probably less about the volume of work and more about swimming specific strength and a certain feel for the water. The next level: 50-55 min IM swims, 1:00-1:04s on a 1:15 set may never come… no matter how much work you do. Basically, if you go to a Master’s workout, or check out IM swim times, those types of times are usually only former swimmers, or, in quite a few cases, pro triathletes, who have great engines, pretty good stroke mechanics, and a lot of time to put in yardage.
Are you talking about swimming 100 scy in 1:02 or holding a 1:02 pace in some kind of interval?
I described the set I was talking about in a pithy bit in the original post. Basically we
were doing a 50 on 1:15, a 75 on 1:15, a 100 on 1:15 and a 25 on 1:15, repeated 8
times. The focus was supposed to be on the 100, with active recovery and a bit of
rest for the other parts. Given the amount of rest, it was probably pretty similar to
doing 8x100 with plenty of rest.
Any ballpark ideas. So for me, it was roughly 1 year at ~10,000 yards a week to go from
that ~1:20 to ~1:10. I assume that its harder to get that next 5-10 seconds. Can someone
who is at (or who has been at) <1:05ish range chime in with the years and yards to get
there?
First - screw you for being that fast on 10k.
Second - You’re already a good enough swimmer to know what to do… hint = 15k +
Here’s my observation about “non-swimmers” and relatively fast pool times. For those without a swimming background, getting to a point where you can do 1:10s on a 1:15 interval is very doable. I have a bunch of friends who are there now without the swimming background. These guys can go a few minutes under 1:00 in the IM swim, but it is much harder for the next level. The next level is probably less about the volume of work and more about swimming specific strength and a certain feel for the water. The next level: 50-55 min IM swims, 1:00-1:04s on a 1:15 set may never come… no matter how much work you do. Basically, if you go to a Master’s workout, or check out IM swim times, those types of times are usually only former swimmers, or, in quite a few cases, pro triathletes, who have great engines, pretty good stroke mechanics, and a lot of time to put in yardage.
Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid that might be the answer and does seem pretty
accurate. I’m one of those non-swimming background folks. “Fast” to anyone
who doesn’t swim and pretty pokey compared to the folks who grew up doing it. I guess
it will be an interesting challenge…
I have no idea, bc I’m slower than you. But when you find out, please post again…
Did you mean this for the op?
Last year, I was about the same - pulling off 1:10’s or so in 1:30 repeats. Now I can, if I really really** push, hold close to 1:00, or at least under 1:05, sometimes under 1:00.
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to increase my yardage much - which one could assume would make you stronger/faster, so I turned to self analysis of my stroke. I figured I didn’t really need to get stronger, just more efficient - getting more from my stroke. What I came up with has worked for me, but it may be counter to what others say to do and may not work for you. I’ve shortened my stroke and increased turnover. I enter my hands wider and pull further away from my body centerline, as well. By shortening, I do not extend my reach as far as I used to. This allows me to begin the pull by rotating my shoulder as my elbow bends towards 90 deg, then using my lats and pecs to do the major work (by pulling wide - away from centerline). I also don’t extend the pull on the backside as much - starting recovery right around my beltline rather than pulling past the hip and 'brushing my thumb on my thigh." My philosophy is: The beginning and end of the pull are the weakest parts, so eliminate them and get the arms quickly back into the strongest part of the pull (increased turnover).
Do you wear a dragsuit…Those tend to add about ~5 seconds per 100 depending on how much of a suit it is. Also flipturn efficiency can help speed up the pool sessions.
I don’t think I get those free speed bumps. I wear regular jammers which I would guess don’t add any notable drag.
I am a good bit faster if I put on my wetsuit, but that seems a bit frowned upon to wear regularly at masters
While I’m sure my flipturns aren’t world class, they are pretty much the only thing my masters coach ever saw me
do that she said looked “pretty good” when I started.
Like some others said it just takes time and more yards. I made a bug drop going from 8k to around 10-12k per week about two years ago. I just joined a masters team and doing more yardage with actual coaching so I’m expecting to drop even more time.
1:05ish for a workout like you did isn’t end of the world fast. You should probably get up over 15k/week for starters. Longer workouts, i.e. 2500-3500 main sets with ~4-5k total each workout 4-5 times a week.
Any preference for frequency vs. duration: 5x3K vs. 3x5K?
I’ve personally found more success with less frequency and more volume. Used to be 5/6 x ~2K and this year it has been 4x4-5k and it has been vastly different in terms of my progress. I’ve also swam a lot more harder. Meaning that within that 4-5k is a good deal of hard swimming. ~1000 worth of wu and 1-200 worth of cd.