Tri related splish splash notes

interested · 04-01-2010 10:03am #1

Purpose: an online log of triathlon specific swim training that I do.

what it is: a personal log of swim training sets during 2010 - with the objectives of improving swim times throughout sprint, oly, HIM and IM swims. It'll present sets and record volumes and split times that may or may not be of interest to people - it may not always include any comments or explanations of any short hand... but if anyone gives a hoot Ill elaborate.

what its not: its not a swimmers log book, it wont refer to bike or running training either so its someone where in the middle of tri and swimming if that makes any sense .... and it wont include any one elses sets ... since they'll be of my own making so I dont need to worry about offending anyone. It more than likely wont refer to stroke or technique since I do little or none these days - but there might be some thrown in from time to time.

Background: Former age group and senior competitive distance swimmer that took about 12 years off after competitive swimming to undertake a serious career at the bar. After 3 years of tri (from aquathlons and sprints to a couple of IM) I decided to look at where and how I spend my time training - especially swimming since Ive been drifting through time in the pool up until the last couple of months. My objectives are still to enjoy training rather than compete at any level but Id still hope to go faster ... old habits and all.

1500/400 swim p/bs from a previous life are: 16.14 and 4.03 respectively.
Fastest 1500/3.8km swim during triathlon are: 26 / 56 (beast of the east / challenge barca)

Ive had enough experience of triathlon to know that swim is probably the easiest part of the day for many but the most terrifying for an equal number. People put different emphasis on each of the disciplines. Im hoping to avoid opening up any can of worms. The training recorded in this log is geared towards swimming as fast as I can in a triathlon - of any distance and even aquathlons - with the objective of doing equally well on the bike and run based on my own personal abilities. For me, it wont be possible to swim p.b's and still do a p.b for the triathlon without the necessary effort across the other disciplines...

... anyhow ... since its my first time out with an online version of a log please pass along any suggested features ...

interested · 04-01-2010 10:07am

02/01/10

1000 f/s warm up
10*100 f/s 2, desc 1-5, in on 1.20/1.25
5*200 pull&drag on 3.30 in on 3.10
6*100 IM on 2
6*50 f/s kick on 1.10
300 f/s swim down

Felt surprisingly fresh after a week out of the water - increased pace thro. warm up - 100's a little faster than required - 200's pull tough with drag belt - position of kick set should have been before IM but wasnt sure on what time id have in pool.

MCOS · 04-01-2010 10:07am

already my favourite log because of your unique approach

interested · 04-01-2010 10:11am

04/01/10

1000 f/s warm up
12*100 f/s on 1.40 - 1-10 drag&pull coming in on 1.25, 11&12 f/s swim 1.16, 1.12

40 min morning session.

Felt strong in water during warm up, left arm pull feels better - potentially down to paddle work recently or just more relaxed stroke in empty pool. Solid 100's - 1.25 felt easy - need to reduce times down to 1.30 for pull and do final 100's off 1.25 but plenty of time for this. Reasonable good morning since first swim back since before the christmas break.

interested · 04-01-2010 10:12am

MCOS wrote: »

already my favourite log because of your unique approach

Damn that was fast dude

catweazle · 04-01-2010 10:35am

I will look forward to this log too, I know its not a swimming log but it will be the closest thing to one on here. Already more done in one session than I would get done in a fortnight

interested · 04-01-2010 10:46am

catweazle wrote: »

I will look forward to this log too, I know its not a swimming log but it will be the closest thing to one on here. Already more done in one session than I would get done in a fortnight

... and this was why I deliberated about posting this til now. In no way am I criticizing the use of logs or the new challenge for 2010 logging distances btw but ... what id say is that distance is all relative. My background is swimming but my time in the pool these days is limited. As a result for me the distances are very small but Im trying to get the most out of what im doing in each session - by recording them Ill have to become more creative in what Im doing so that I dont drift through the time in the pool I have.

My advice - ignore distances until your stroke and body position are where they should be - of course time in the pool counts since youre practicing good drills etc but its not all about how many metres someone does.

Best of luck with your training.

interested · 05-01-2010 9:38am

05/01/10

800 warm up
5*200 f/s pull with paddles** on 3 min - 2.48,2.50,2.250,2.51,2.47
60 seconds
4*100 f/s on 1.30 - 1.20,1.20,1.19,1.17
100 easy swim down

2300

sore shoulders after clearing ice for an hour last night didnt help. Used pull set to focus on long stroke and increasing the pace through the stroke. Right arm catch at start of stroke felt right with paddles - need to do that set of 200's again with drag belt and adjust time if necessary - would be nice to still do them on 3.
100's were solid - over the next 8 weeks need to think about doing them off 1.25 coming in on 1.15 -> less rest/faster times for early 750 swims but its still about 4 - 6 weeks early for those sets.

**paddles = if you've ever had a shoulder injury avoid using paddles - if you do want to use them to build shoulder strength there are more benefits gained by avoiding sprinting with them on imho.

metamorphosis · 05-01-2010 10:07am

While your log will indeed be double dutch to me, i will continue reading. Might one day pick up some of the lingo and understand it if i ever decide to get into the pool.

Where are you based?

interested · 05-01-2010 10:46am

ULstudent wrote: »

While your log will indeed be double dutch to me, i will continue reading. Might one day pick up some of the lingo and understand it if i ever decide to get into the pool.

Where are you based?

Dublin - let me know where to start with a gloassary - Im not intending to be vague or crpytic so if I can help I will.

MCOS · 05-01-2010 10:47am

ULstudent wrote: »

While your log will indeed be double dutch to me, i will continue reading. Might one day pick up some of the lingo and understand it if i ever decide to get into the pool.

Where are you based?

LOL

I still have to read swim set instructions 2-3 times. For morning swims the set would be pasted onto the back of a float board and you would see a group gathered around scratching heads!

interested · 05-01-2010 10:56am

MCOS wrote: »

LOL I still have to read swim set instructions 2-3 times. For morning swims the set would be pasted onto the back of a float board and you would see a group gathered around scratching heads!

yeah - I remember that myself

and thats when you can do things like 'ahh, I thought it was just 6*200's and not 16' -

As above - theres no attempt to be cryptic - Ill happy explain anything confusing for anyone.

catweazle · 05-01-2010 11:07am

Forgive my ignorance but are the paddles the webbed typed gloves. There is a pile of those gathering dust on the poolside of my gym, I have been thinking of trying them out but what benefits will I get from them, is it a feel thing, with the paddles you know you are not pulling right???

MCOS · 05-01-2010 11:08am

We usually have the high performance kids (Grainne Murphy etc...) flying up and down the lanes next to us doing all sorts.. I'd shudder to think what their set instructions look like! Fascinating to watch sometimes when I'm half asleep and just follwing the group. They do one weird one where they float almost still on their back and propel themselves forward feet first using only their hands

Or you might see them doing random dives or jumps in the middle of a length... I suppose they have to make 3 hour morning swim seesions interesting in some way!

The least fascinating thing about them is when you are working hard on a fast 100m and they seem to drift past you just kicking with a paddle board :cool:

interested · 05-01-2010 11:16am

catweazle wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but are the paddles the webbed typed gloves. There is a pile of those gathering dust on the poolside of my gym, I have been thinking of trying them out but what benefits will I get from them, is it a feel thing, with the paddles you know you are not pulling right???

No, Ive never tried the web style gloves - its a similar principle and the web gloves in theory may be less harsh on shoulders than the solid version Ive used.

These are the paddles I use. I used to have larger paddles like these - Id a grey pair but they dont do them anymore - and I cant find my old ones.

If using paddles most people wont need paddles any bigger than the size of the their own hands - the bigger they are the more strain on the shoulders - they have been used before to help iron out ambiguities or kinks in the arm stroke - particularly on hand entry.

If you've the gloves already - use em - if you find your shoulders are fine after a few weeks of using them during sessions then considering spending the cash on a pair of paddles - but as before - watch for twinges in the shoulders.

interested · 05-01-2010 11:38pm

05/01/10 PM

1000 warm up
5*200 f/s pull with paddles on 3.15 min ~ 3 mins
10*50 f/s kick on 1.10
10*50 f/s pull without paddles on 1.00
100 easy

3100

Shorter session that normal on Tuesdays due to run earlier. Probably down to not enough water before run but cramping from time to time turned this into a pull session pretty quickly. The 50's kick were designed for active recovery of quads and ITB. Nothing too pacey but enjoyed the swim.

interested · 06-01-2010 9:13am

06/01/10

1000 warm up
10* 100's pull set - 2*(5*100 f/s pull desc 1-5 on 1.40) 60 seconds between
200 swim down

2200

Usual wednesday morning tiredness - decided on a pull set during warm up - and in an attempt to keep me drifting through this to desc times 1->5.
First set of 5 started out too fast and went from 1.27 to 1.24 suffering a little. Second set was a bit more sensible going from 1.30 to 1.24.

interested · 07-01-2010 3:41pm

07/01/10

1000 straight

An unusual lunch splash before heading home due to crazy weather. Gear had been in car overnight - wet towel and toggs were ... frozen solid and took a bit of separating believe it or not. Not the best experience donning damp, semi-frozen toggs but there ya go.

mloc123 · 07-01-2010 4:14pm

Nothing worse than that 'slimey' feel wet togs left in a bag for a few days develop.. ugh

interested · 07-01-2010 4:24pm

mloc123 wrote: »

Nothing worse than that 'slimey' feel wet togs left in a bag for a few days develop.. ugh

agreed - but believe it or not ... sections of the material were frozen .. it certainly didnt make the familiar sensation of cold wet toggs any better

interested · 08-01-2010 9:16pm

08/01/10

1000 warm up
5*400 f/s pull with paddles on 6.20
16*50 f/s on 50
200 swim down

4000

tried to pick up stroke rate during second half of 200's - rep'ing on ~ 5.50
50's easy ... concentrating on long stroke

interested · 10-01-2010 8:33pm

10/01/10

1000 warm up
pull with paddles set:
2*400 f/s on 6.20
4*200 f/s on 3.10
8*100 f/s on 1.35
200 swim down

3600

Similar objectives to previous set - focus on increasing stroke rate on second half of swims keeping good stroke lenght. 8 * 100's coming in on or under 1.20 was pretty good despite feeling tired at that stage. Good consistency and feel for water this early in year.

interested · 11-01-2010 9:06am

11/01/10

1000 warm up
6*200 f/s pull with paddles on 3.10 - coming in on 2.50

2200

Temperature of pool went up by at least 2 or 3 degrees over the weekend - very uncomfortable. Stuck with pull with paddles set of 200's.

interested · 12-01-2010 9:07am

12/01/10

800 warm up
12*100 f/s on 1.30
200 easy swim down

2200

always get like this tues morning - kinda know whats coming tues night so tend to subconciously struggle with what to do. The shorter warm up and consistent set of 100's won out. Not too fast and not too slow and not something I could drift through. Most were on or around 1.25 - it would be nice to be rep'ing around the 1.20 but its early and Id no intention of going anaerobic.

interested · 12-01-2010 11:31pm

12/01/10 PM

500 warm up

30 seconds rest between each unit in pyramid
2*400 fs on 6
2*300 fs on 4.30
2*200 fs on 3
2*100 fs on 1.30
2*100 fs on 1.30
2*200 fs on 3
2*300 fs on 4.30
2*400 fs on 6

100 easy swim down

Total: 4600

Usual long tues session 70 mins
All pretty controlled - felt stronger in the water than prior to christmas. Holding sub 1.25 pace throughout - pushing second set of 200's coming in around 2.40 / 2.45. Came in on 5.40 on the 400's.

interested · 13-01-2010 9:06am

13/01/10

1000 f/s warm up
12 * 100's on 1.45
4 * 100's f/s pull with paddles
4 * 100's f/s
4 * 100's f/s pull with paddles

Total: 2200

Tired this morning so decided to break up set of 12 100's to avoid just swimming through them ... 100's in the middle were around 1.22 pace ... still sluggish but thats to be expected since there's been little or no pacey work done to date.

MCOS · 13-01-2010 10:34am

interested wrote: »

12/01/10 PM

30 seconds rest between each unit in pyramid
2*400 fs on 6
2*300 fs on 4.30
2*200 fs on 3
2*100 fs on 1.30
2*100 fs on 1.30
2*200 fs on 3
2*300 fs on 4.30
2*400 fs on 6
.

Holy Sh!t :eek: Thats some main set and the fact that you were strong throughout and made the RTs with something to spare is savage!

interested · 13-01-2010 10:54am

MCOS wrote: »

Holy Sh!t :eek: Thats some main set and the fact that you were strong throughout and made the RTs with something to spare is savage!

cheers but its all relative ... and kinda based on something I mentioned a while back somewhere else - the repetitive sets of 100's and 200's and 400's etc are designed to keep you focused on a target pace. Target pace is obviously based on desired swim time for a particular distance - Ive been regularly and comfortably doing 100's off 1.30 coming in with around 10 seconds rest - so the time associated with each block of the pyramid was based on that pace.

A small flaw in the set itself lies in the fact that each block contains too few units ... but this was based on the time in the pool I had last night.

Something like:
3*400
3*300
3*200
3*100
3*100
3*200
3*400
would have been better - the 30 seconds rest between 2 of each gave me loads of time to recover.
Given more time something like
3*800 on 12
3*400 on 6
3*200 on 3
3*100 on 1.30
3*100 on 1.30
3*200 on 3
3*400 on 6
3*800 on 12
would be ideal (although a 9km set) - as long as the 800 times are watched carefully - clock positions in a pool are kinda key for this paced training - I really do wish the minute clocks were at eye level from a swimmers point of view at either end of a pool so its possible to watch your own splits .. but its very rarely the case.

Anyhow ...

interested · 14-01-2010 11:29pm

14/01/10 PM

1000 f/s warm up
4 sets of
6 * 100 f/s pull with paddles on 1.40
90 seconds rest between each set.
200 easy swim down

3600

Strange sometimes how things turn out. Id done another dreaded turbo session after work and was in no mood for a splash. Once persuaded by the better half to head to the pool a set of 24 * 100's was devised post warm up. The idea of splitting the set into groups of 4 was to ensure that as much effort could be given to maintaining a target pace throughout. Happy with sub 1.20's for all 24 hundreds ... controlled 1st 2, holding 1.16's/1.17's then just held the middle two focusing on keeping recovery of stroke pacey but pushing each stroke all the way through - last 2 were all out and were averaging 1.15/1.16's.

Much more entertaining than the turbo but happy to have done them back to back. Weekend cycling is out for at least this weekend so it'll be case of getting on with it.

interested · 15-01-2010 9:00am

15/01/10

1000 warm up
8 * 100 IM on 2
4 * 100 f/s pull with paddles on 1.45

Total: 2200

Decided on an IM set during warm up to break things up and bit - coming in on 1.35's with a good bit of rest. Intention of 4 1's at the end was for a stretch to see if there was any lasting soreness in either shoulder after the week - thankfully no problems.

pgibbo · 15-01-2010 12:07pm

LOL

Just reading this log now for the first time and all I can say is WOW. Excellent log. Your times and distances are unreal. Take your points regarding your background and not getting caught up in distances.

Have you ever used any of those tempo trainers that clip on to the goggles to get more accurate/consistent splits or are they a gimmick. My pacing is awful and I need to address it pronto. Cheers.

Tri related splish splash notes

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