n + 1 swim challenge

I will start introductions :)

I loved the water when I was little and spent many afternoons growing up playing in the pool, but I never had swim lessons or swam with a team.  I started swimming a little less than two years ago to train for tris. It was one of the most humbling things I have ever done.  I sucked and was completely gassed after 50yds.

Since then I have done a couple of focused swim periods of 6 weeks-2months, and each time I'm amazed at how much it helps.  I am now in my third swim focus, and I have really noticed a new level of comfort and ease in my swimming with increased frequency, hence the challenge :)

I will be trying for 7 swims a week for the month, but I will be taking off one day a week and trying to double on another.  I have never doubled a swim so I am excited to see how this goes.  Full disclosure: I am not biking at all right now, and I am only planning on 30-35mpw running during this challenge.

My 400y time is currently 5:54.

Great!  When you get time, tell me (us?--I think it will end up being more than just the two of us) a little bit about your athletic/swim background.

I'll be in. A swim meet in the middle could make it interesting, but hey, if there is anything to make an exception for would be something we are training towards!

Yay-Ben!

Yes, an exception could certainly be made for a meet :)  What's your n +1? 15?

I'll be looking for 7-8.

I'll use this to motivate me to getting 4 swims in a week.  I'll then be on a 4/4/4 schedule.  This better make me fast!

*coughyou'relareadyfastcough* :)

4/4/4 is awesome, BTW.

I'm in.  Another perfectly timed challenge.  I'll post later about details.  Super busy at work today.

Sweet!  Pops is in!

Daaaaaale!  What's up?!

Yes, flip turns definitely seem like a step in the right direction (though I still can't bring myself to do them). :)

I'm really glad you decided to do the challenge!  This is shaping up to be a great group.

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Did you all see the video Jonnyo posted in the tri-forum? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1KReTEXiBM

Scott and Suzanne had some really helpful follow-up comments too.  Good stuff.

Hey Nancy!

The idea is that this challenge helps get you to the pool more often and as a result you get faster.  If you can generally commit to that idea, this challenge can work for you:)

Pick a conservative number to start with for the first week, and if you hit it no prob, you can go for +1 the next.  Success begets success!

Todd, thank you for posting an introduction.  I think it's a GREAT idea to do a swim focus building into HIM training.  That extra swim endurance will make the whole rest of that day easier!

Hmm, this might work for me.  I'm *supposed* to swim 3x/week but usually only make it to two so I'll make it my target to actually get to all 3 each week.

Good reasoning on joining!

For the overall time, just use the pool time. Then also put in the set as you did into the description below. And in this part is where I'll put send-off times and "in" times (as best I can), where I come in to the wall to finish an interval. How the set is broken down and executed matters a lot. And in this you can tell what was worked on at different points of the workout. Lots of ways to make things "hard", but how it's hard matters towards your body's response and development.

Do you notice a difference in your swim performance when you go from 2 to 3 swims in a week?  How much?  Do you find you often skip the third because you feel that training something else or recovery is better?

I have been wondering about this, especially for the fish.  I know we all have our own best ROI in terms of number of s/b/r per week based on our strengths, experience and goals, but it is a tricky part of the puzzle for me to dial in.  My rationale for this is that maybe I can get some really good technique gains with a brief bump up to 7x/week, and that I can go hold that with 3-4 over the season, but when I see swimmers commenting on how frequency helps them, it makes me wonder how much I'll be able to maintain when I drop down.

Haha--Mike that reasoning walk-through was great!  Welcome :)

FWIW, I log my swims the same way Ben does. 

I usually skip a swim out of laziness.  I find a good excuse to not go out in the cold at 5am!    I've never really felt that swimming more interfered with my other training or interfered with recovery.  

Going from 2 swims per week to 3 doesn't do a ton for me as far as performance in the speed category.  What I do find is that my swim fitness/endurance gets better (which I guess is speed over a longer swim).  There was a time a couple of winters ago where I was swimming 4x per week for a while and that's when I actually started noticing some measurable improvements in speed.

Strong swimmers with good technique that has been imprinted for years can get away with 2-3x/week.  If you are bumping up to 7x/week and it's helping with technique, I think you can drop down to 4-5x/week and continue to improve or at least maintain.  Once you get back down to that 2-3x/week range I think a non-swimmer is probably going to regress somewhat.  

I did a baseline swim this morning.  400 meters - 5:12 which is 1:18/100m.  

I don't think 3x/week will get me any big improvements but I'll see if I can drop it to 1:17/100m.