Sub :20 MIle Swim

Any chance there's a Masters Team nearby that swims in a saline pool?

ETA:  Sorry, I missed the part about no salt water pool within driving distance.

If the water is your limiter, then...lat pull downs, tricep extensions, upright rows, and a bunch of ab work.

To go from 1:25 to 1:08 for a mile on 45 minute long sessions?  That is going to be tough.   (just as a reference, not as a horn tooting) I can hold 1:25 for a mile fairly easily, I can do 1:08 on an all out sprint, and I do approx 300K yards a year.  I would say you are looking at at least two seasons to get close, probably more like 3 or 4.  That is a huge drop at that speed.

Definitely swim with a masters group if you can, and try at least once a week to swim in the next fastest lane.  After all, if all you do is swim in the 1:30 lane, you don't really get any faster than 1:30.

BTW, just did an open water swim race where the top Olympic 10K swimmers were doing a 12 miler.   They were holding a 21/mile pace

To clarify, are you asking about going from 1:25 to 1:20 per 100m or going from 25 minutes to 20 minutes total elapsed time for the mile?  Depending on which question it is, you will get very different answers.

To drop 5 seconds per 100m based on your current 45 minute workouts you should be able to do it with more time swimming to build more strength and endurance.  Maybe get a thick wetsuit to lengthen your season in the open water.

He wants to increase his pace from ~1:34/100m (25 Min 1600) to 1:15/100m (20 Min 1600)....Basically the same thing as going from a 2:30 HIM bike split to a 2:00 split....and being allergic to the tires on your bike.

ETA....the only people he wouldn't beat out of the water at any Tri are probably Andy Potts or Dustin Mclarty at that pace

I preface this with the fact that more time in the water is the answer; BUT with your limited time in the water, I would say swim harder in the practices.  I am not being sarcastic.  Most novice swimmers swim slower in practice then they could/ or should if they want to improve, as much as they can. Honestly push it harder than you think you can.  You will surprise yourself. 

Ok.  I read it that way at first, but then thought it slightly crazy... or should I say "optimistic."  At a 1:25/100m pace dropping 5 seconds per 100 is a more realistic goal in the short term.

Not with that attitude

OP, if you figure it out, let me know, I'd like to do similar.

just knocked off a 25:11 which included part of the run up the beach and didnt swim that hard, albeit in a wetsuit and ocean.  Never had any coach (other than TI tapes) and no swim background. I agree its a big stretch, just wondering what it would take, other than a river swim  

Of course, the dedication necessary to achieve it would take away from bike/run which are relatively more important to my "improvement".  I'm already top 30% in most swims, so the overall gains would be minimal in terms of time.  However, the reality is i'll never be competitive in my AG, but FOP in something would be cool and swim is my best bet. 

Ha!  VG

I do need to get swim cords, that will probably help.

gsmacleod - 2011-08-23 8:03 PM

Fastyellow - 2011-08-23 8:18 PM ETA....the only people he wouldn't beat out of the water at any Tri are probably Andy Potts or Dustin Mclarty at that pace

Or the entire field in an ITU race For the OP the 45 minute limit adds an extra layer of challenge to what is already a very daunting task however if you want to do it, you will need to commit to lots of swimming. I would suggest being in the water for 7-10 sessions a week with lots of time spent working at Tpace on short rest. Assuming you can get in ~2000m in 45 minutes, then you would be looking at 14-20km a week in the pool and should start to see some serious improvements in pace. Test your Tpace every 3-6 weeks and adjust your workouts accordingly so that you continue to push as your pace improves. If you can do this for a couple of years, you should have a shot at hitting your goal. FWIW, I went from ~25-26 1500m swimmer to a 22:30 in a year of 3x/week. Shane

what did your 3x/weeks sessions consist of to accomplish that?  A typical session for me is about 2000 yrds including warm up and cool down: 400 warm up, ~200 of drills, a main set of 12-1400, 50-100 cool down

Most ITU elites are more like :18-19 with no wetsuit.  That wetsuit is a pretty big advantage.

Bryan - 25-27 in a pool, no flip turns

ChrisM - according to RD it was 1 mile, which is what got me thinking about this.

what is the logic/benefit to such a long warm up/cool down? 

Five minutes.

IMO, it's very hard to do anything (swim, bike, or run) at or above threshold levels without about a 15-20 minute warmup.  800-1200 may sound like a lot to novice swimmers...especially triathletes who don't swim nearly enough.  But that's basically what it amounts to...a 15-20 minute warmup.  Same with the cool down.  When I do tempo runs, I always end with 1-2 miles of easy running.  When I do intervals on the bike, I end with 10 minutes of easy riding.  It shouldn't be any different for swimming.