n + 1 swim challenge (Page 2)

Finally at the tail end of a tough week at work and can now get back to the important stuff.

January is when I usually start into an HIM plan.  I try to do 4run/3ride/3swim per week.  This year I went on an epic run focus through the winter and am having a hard time incorporating my bike and swim sessions in.  The gains I have made running (6-7 times a week) are still continueing and running is my first love.  I have been able to squeeze in one swim a week and two rides though because I still want to be in a position to ramp up the whole program soon.

Even though I've continued to only swim once a week I'm really swimming pretty good all things considered.  Last summer I went through a series of video training sessions with a long time Division I coach and the things she helped me with continue to be the focus of my stroke development.  Some things have really clicked and I think I am as fast as I've ever been.  Not fast like some of you but fast for me.  My swim sessions are during my lunch hour so I'm limited to about 1500-2000 yards per session.  I don't like time trials but my current pace is like 1:25 for 100's at about 90% and 1:35-1:38 for longer sets like 300-500.  I think I can drop a few seconds from that with more time in the water.  Lastly, I'm currently fighting a Lava pant addiction.  I got a pair for Xmas and the extra speed in the pool is remarkable.  They are my pool crack.  I've had a lot of thoughts on their use but enough for now. 

My goal for this challenge will be at least two sessions a week.  Look forward to sharing this month with the other fishies.   

Nice intro Steve.  Thanks :)

I want to hear more about those Lava pants.

Mikey, that sounds like a very solid swim and that you learned some good stuff.

Bilateral breathing is something I need to work on too. 

I like having a plan when I go to the pool.  I find it makes all the difference in my mental game.

Nice job today :)

Yeah, that's basically what mine look like. Exactly so when on my own as I don't have a clock to use. At Masters sessions I'll put the send off in parenthesis kind of how you did for the one and usually put "in" times down below.

Nice TT Todd. 

Here we go!

Alright Nancy--3 it is!

So BigN-- 3x/week for you then?

Welcome :)

I guess since we started the challenge officially yesterday, Saturday will be the start of the week, unless that's just too weird for everyone. I can be flexible if everyone would rather start our week counting on Sundays or Mondays.  Just let me know.

2200 today. 1/7(goal)

Purpose: recovery.  I had a long trail run yesterday and my legs were definitely feeling it.

Repeat 200s Pull, w/ 50 EZ kick between.

There was a real swimmer two lanes away at the pool today,  Her turnover was so quick, and her timing was so smooth. So pretty.

4500 at masters last night. Main set had a number of things on 1:25 based intervals. And it actually wasn't too bad.

Why don't we all just start our week whenever it makes sense to us?  Just let us know what swim of the week it is for you and what your goal is.  That way we can give appropriate kudos and nudges as needed.

There is lots of different lingo used in swimming.  How I typically write things down is like this.

10 x 100 on 1:30 holding (or coming in on) 1:20.

What that means is that I am doing 10 x 100 and I start each 100 every minute and 30 seconds.  I finish each 100 in 1:20 so I get ~10 seconds rest.  You will hear it worded like that, or as a send off time or a repeat time.  They all mean the same thing.  The "in" times is what I refer to as holding or coming in on.  If I consistently hold a time for the whole thing then I just leave it like that.  If it needs a little more detail I might add notes at the end.  For example, I might say that the first 3 times were 1:20 and then times got a bit slower or faster etc.

Clear as mud?  

So, I'm starting the n + 1 challenge as n - 1 instead.  I tweaked something in the hip flexors of my left leg during my long run yesterday and it's a bit tender so I skipped my swim this morning.  

I told you I was good at finding excuses to not get to the pool.  

yeah, that's basically it. Hadn't heard the "holding" time yet.

This is what I did last night:

12 x 25 k (:40)
12 x 50 p (:45)
12 x 25 fartlek (:30)
R60
3 x 200 (2:50)
3 x 100 pace (1:40)
3 x 300 (4:15)
3 x 100 desc (1:40)
6 x 50 !/ez by 25 (1:00)
300 c/d

The early 50's were all :37, which is good both in pace for me and I'm not always as steady as Arend will be. The 200's were 2:30-2:32. For the 300's, just noting a bit under 3:50 was good enough for me. Held up a touch by the guy in front. First set of 100's were all 1:12. Second set were 1:14, 1:12, 1:10. The other things had big changes of pace, so I don't know. What I wanted to see was a pace of near 1:15/100 on the larger things, and faster than that for 100 or less. So knowing I was tired from the morning work going in, this was a good swim as things were still at 1:16 (1:15 was a challenging goal). And I was able to go faster than that when attempting to. Even controlling it well too.

On something that's like 8 x 100 or more repeats, I'll just note a usual time of say 1:15 and note how well I could hold that. Adding say a couple were just over or under. Or if I was able to descend it (or fall-off on late ones). I could get all of them, but don't really need to. On a set of descending intervals, I might just note the high and the low, and then comment on how steady I could could keep dropping times. Usually it's by a fairly steady increment. So for last night's set, a 1:16, 1:15, 1:10 would not have been very well balanced.

It can take some practice to get the hang of it. You'll be doing very well with it if you can at least tell that your pacing was "good" for the various types of sets, even if you can't remember all the splits afterward. Over time you'll learn about what they should be and that makes it easier to remember.

What's a fartlek in swimming?