The Final "Count-down"

This afternoon I met Jill at the pool to do a nice swim workout. We both had a lot of steam to blow, so the workout I chose was perfect. Here's the workout:

Count-down: swim 1500m as a 500, 400, 300, 200, 100; rest 10s to 20s between each segment. Aim to go faster as the segments get shorter. Over time, aim to decrease total swim time.

With a warm-up and cool-down, here's what our results looked like:
w/u - 275M
500M - 12:15 (avg. 2:27/100M)
400M - 9:25 (avg. 2:21/100M)
300M- 6:15 (avg. 2:02/100M)
200M - 4:00 (avg 2:00/100M)
100M - 1:45
c/d - 275M

Total distance = 2050M

How did it go? I thought it went pretty well. It was hard to know how fast to start out, knowing that each set needed to get faster and faster. Our rests between sets were definitely longer than 20 seconds because we were trying to figure out the length of each set. I look forward to doing this one again, knowing that I could push myself a little bit harder, even from the beginning. I know I said it after my last workout, but Iwill wear my watch next time. It will just be that much easier to keep track of the time/splits.

Quality vs. Quantity

Whether you are trying to improve your running or training for a race, your weekly mileage usually consist of the following runs:

1. short runs that may consist of some tempo/speed/or fartlek type work, and
2. long runs that help you build endurance

I would like to think the same goes for swimming.


After my 3200M in the pool a week ago, I realized that I need to start doing more work on speed and form on top of my endurance swims. Usually I try to swim 2 times per week, averaging 2000M each time. Now it's time to start working more on good form, as well as speed!


It's Quality vs. Quantity.



This morning's workout: Hard-Easy-Hard

Here's the description:

All of the repeats in this set should be the same distance. Swim 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes for the 4 swims including rest), 2x 25m very easy focusing on technique (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 6 minutes), and 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; again looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes) all on 20s-30s rest. At the end of this set, check your heart rate; check it again at 30s, 60s, and 90s. As you get fitter, your fast times should get faster, your speed fall-off between repeats will decrease, and your heart rate should go down faster.

With what I know about my speed and ability, this was my "plan-of-attack"

• 200M w/u
• 4x100M - HARD ( approximately 9-10 minutes)
• 2x100M - EASY (approximately 6 minutes)
• 4x100M - HARD (approximately 9-10 minutes)
• 200M c/d
  

Here were my results:
(these are approximate times, including rests)

• 200M w/u = 4:00
• 4x100M = 9:00
• 2x100M = 4:00
• 4x100M = 10:00
• 200M c/d = 4:00

How did it go? It went pretty well. I reserved myself in the first 4x100M because I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to get through my second set. The last couple HARD 100M's were pretty challenging and I really felt my heart rate go up.

Overall thoughts? I liked this workout. Next time I will wear my watch to get a more accurate picture of my time. It was just enough time in the pool to get in a challenging workout.

What's your favorite swim workout?

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Today's Workout:
Swim -1400M
(Hard-Easy-Hard Workout)

Today's Song:
The Killers - Romeo & Juliet (in sidebar)