Hi, I am very far behind with swimming. I have a race on April 5th and it starts with an 800 meter swim. I have had a million suggestions to buy the Total Immersion book, so I have and I started reading yesterday and should be done by Wednesday. Today, my workout was like this… 6 x 50 Free (warmup), 10 x 50 Free (30 seconds rest), 3 x 75 Free (30 seconds rest). I know this is not at all at the level I need to be at, but I am improving. What I am looking for is a suggestion as to what my workouts should look like for the coming weeks if I want to be able to complete the 800 M swim in my race??? Keep in mind I have pool access seven days a week. Thanks for all the help…
It really depends on your level.
Are you able to complete 800M straight in a pool?
Is the swim in your race in a pool or in the open water?
Not knowing the answer to the above, I would say practice the drills in TI followed by a “long swim”…maybe start with 100, then the next time 150, etc. Go often to ensure you have a good feel and comfort for the water. Also, continue with the 50M sets, but try to reduce the rest in between. I’m assuming you’re VERY new to swimming, so at this point speed is irrelevant, just doing the distance is key.
By the way, you already completed more than 800 in the session you described…so at least you know you can do the distance when broken up. Now you just need to put it together.
I now defer to some proper swim coaches…
So you are saying… I should start with my TI drills, then do a “long swim” (long for me of course), then do my 50 repeats with less rest? Like next week should I progress to 75 repeats?
TI drills
50 repeats (thinking about what you just did in TI drills) do a few at 30sec rest, then ty 15 sec
“long” swim
.
This is how I structure a swim workout:
Warmup (usually 400-1500 yds, with say every 4th length kick or drill). I tend to mix strokes through this.
Drills, pulling, kicking. More warmup 
A set might be, 12 x 75 kick drill swim by length.
Pull set might be 600 pull every 4th length fast
Kicking might be 8 min or so of kicking with some random 15-30 seconds fast, or 200 easy kick + 8 x 25 fast kick
Other drill things might be 4 x 100 middle 50 drill
Transition set - might be 3 x first set build, second half length sprint, third set easy/fast. Then maybe 3 x 100 desc or something
Main set… oh, think of the possibilities.
Cooldown 
see “warmup”
FOR YOU:
Warmup
DRILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL sets alternated with working on building your distance, like drill sets alternated with 5 x 100 swim.
Yeah, rest less. Swim slower if need be but try to rest as little as possible between 50’s. The more time you spend swimming and the less time you spend hanging on the wall the better.
You could do max 50’s with heaps of rest and you’ll get next to nothing done each session and you’ll be nowhere come April.
OR… you could work up from doing moderate 50’s this week to 75’s next week and 100’s the week after etc. Try to take no more than 10-15 seconds after each one to catch your breath. Your endurance will improve rapidly and you’ll be much better by April. If you can get a coach to give you a few tips and things to think about while you’re swimming, all the better (MUCH better).
Today in a 50 pool my workout was 4 x 50 warmup, 6 x 50 (30 sec. rest), and then 4 x 100 (with pull buoy), and 2 x 50 cool down.
My biggest problem is that midway through a 100 (not with the buoy), I can’t keep my form and stay breathing correctly anymore so I slow down and start to break down… Any suggestions? I do feel like the times when I am swimming strong though, I am swimming “better” at least…
At your level getting distance under your belt is far more important than trying to push speed. When you’re swimming 1km sessions IMO acclimatizing your muscles to going through the motions correctly is much more important than trying for speed.
So, try swimming the 100’s more moderately. If you set out more slowly can you get through 100m without your form going to hell? If not, how far are you getting?
With the 50’s with 30 seconds rest, could you take less rest if you swam a little more relaxed? If so, I’d also try that.
ps. If you can the local coach (every pool has one right?), or a swimmer friend, to check out your stoke and give you some pointers to think about when you’re training, it will be invaluable.
I was reading another thread and this guy said EXACTLY what my problem is…
“I force myself to swim, but I don’t feel I’m enjoying it while I’m doing it. I have bigger thighs, which I believe leads to floating issues. When I swim, my legs are not horizontal, but they make an angle downwards. I can correct this if I push my upper body/head down into the water lots, but that leads to other float issues when breathing”
Now what?!?
Big thighs shouldn’t really be a problem. I’ve got pretty big thighs. More likely you’re not kicking properly and/or don’t have correct head/chest/body position.
Kick wise, if you’re not pointing your toes it creates drag and often goes hand in hand with excessive knee bend. This will cause your legs to sit lower in the water and can contribute to wallowing from side to side and trouble getting efficient breath in. With your kick I’d focus on using as little energy as possible. Point your toes, keep your legs pretty straight and kick small and consistently. This will get your legs up and shouldn’t use much energy. It will also help you keep a tight core which is essential so that the energy you expend with your catch/arms moves you in the desired direction rather than waggling your hips from side to side.
There’s a bit of disagreement on ST regarding head position. If you’re a pool swimmer you want to swim with you head in a neutral position (eg. the same way you would when you walk). In other words you should be looking more or less straight down or only very fractionally forward. The reason you do this is as soon as you lift your head it forces your hips down which obviously creates drag. Note, when I say “lift your head”, I’m talking about the angle of your face. Ideally a pool swimmer’s face is close to parallel with the bottom of the pool. In this context “lifting your head” means to angle your face higher. So, rather than facing the bottom, your face is more towards the end of the pool.
Of course you’re not trying to be a pool swimmer and there is an valid argument that for open water swimming it’s advantageous to have your head position higher. At the very lest it’s undeniable that wetsuits and salt water mitigate the effects of having your face up more. The major point though is that in open water swimming a higher head position has the advantage of letting you see where you’re going (no line to follow). Personally I still try to keep my head down and I just lift it to sight turning bouys but others prefer to hold their heads up a bit and sacrifice some hydrodynamics for better vision (just realised that it’s a little like the head up or head down cycling aero debate).
No matter what you’re doing with your head it shouldn’t be pushed down like a turtle, your chest should move with it.
Hope that makes sense (ask if that’s just gibberish and you want a better explanation).
Oh, also, if you get your catch right it will help your position. Of course you can’t really get your catch right with a bad position. It’s a bit chicken / egg
My biggest problem is that midway through a 100 (not with the buoy), I can’t keep my form and stay breathing correctly anymore so I slow down and start to break down… Any suggestions? I do feel like the times when I am swimming strong though, I am swimming “better” at least…
Statement of the obvious but it might make a difference: when your head is in the water, you should be breathing OUT. I think a lot of people have trouble with breathing because they don’t blow enough bubbles when their face is in.