In my earlier post on benchmark workouts I talked about the importance of measuring progress in consistent ways. I’ve been keeping track of my 500 yrd freestyle swim to make sure my training is indeed working.
Last week I tested my 500 freestyle and dropped ten seconds of my best time I had posted over the summer. Over the summer I was training for a 10K open water swim. I was swimming about 4 days a week 2-4 miles each workout. My 500 time was just under 7:0o min. Last week I went a 6:49. Considering I’m not swimming 10 miles a week like I was over the summer I’m pretty happy I’m faster than I was then. Here are some thing’s I’ve been doing to help.
Intermediate swimming class. It’s only an hour on Mondays and Wenesdays but the workouts are different from what I’m used to doing. There is a lot of speedwork and not too much endurance work. Probably the biggest help is the guy I share lanes with. He is about 5% faster than I am so the difference isn’t so much that we can’t swim together but I have to kill myself to almost keep up.
I’ve been swimming outside of class once or twice a week and focusing on longer endurance sets. One workout I did recently was 5X200 on the 3:00 minutes. A year and a half ago I would have really had to work to get one 200 under three minutes. I was finishing the 200′s with about ten seconds to spare.
I’ve altered my form a bit. I’ve dug my arms a little deeper in the water and rolled my shoulders a touch more. When I count strokes for a 25 it used to be around 15 now it’s closer to 14 and as low as 12. I did a 100 freestyle in 1:12, a fast but not max pace, and my stroke count was 48. That means even when I’m nearly sprinting my stroke count stays pretty low. Don’t assume that rolling more and digging my arms a bit deeper will work for you because it worked for me. I’m going on what I felt and what the long distance swim coach told me to do (I’ll ask for pointers every now and then when the swim team is getting ready for their workouts).
I’ve been weight training consistently and I feel that it helps. When my arm’s are sore after a hard swim it’s not a cardiovascular issue but a muscular one. If you’ve read my posts on weight training you know my philosophy. I’ve been getting stronger from lifting but with minimal weight gains.
I’ve noticed that as I’ve changed my stroke some I swim better but can’t hold it as long. This usually happens when you make a change to your form. You’ll have to give your muscles some time to get used the the slightly different movements you are making them do.
Last year my best swim was 22:15 for a 1500 meter in open water. I’m hoping to be about a minute faster than that this year. Last spring my best 500 was a 7:05 so I should be able to go about 45 sec faster now; by the time race season comes my swim will be pretty awesome.
