Every time we get going in a swim thread, inevitably the advice turns into something along the lines of “swim faster, more intensely, HTFU” etc., etc. OK, that’s cool.
Now, if you are like me, and a firm believer in 2x weekly Z4 (or higher) bike workouts, and maybe even a 3rd mixed into a long ride, this starts to get tricky. Or at least tiring :-).
How do you fit in 2 or 3 intense swims AND 2 or 3 intense bike sessions? I’m not even addressing running here.
Is this a “pick 3 days total for intensity across swim and bike” or does swimming intensity somehow not count because of the oft-mentioned zero-impact nature?
Part of your problem may be that you are doing too much intensity in the other sports. Just a thought.
You can swim first, then ride later in the day to help solve that problem. Or space your workouts AM/PM.
I’ve adopted a swim until i cramp and can not swim strategy on days that I do two or three workouts and swimming is last.
You may be right, that it adds up to too much intensity. I hope not, because I’ve proven that I respond much better to intensity than volume on the bike, so giving that up would suck. And I haven’t run in 6 months.
The swim til you cramp sounds painful!
I don’t have the luxury of splitting up my weekdays (in to work before pools even open, etc). I’ll have to work something else out, like double up on weekends, etc.