I got the Zone3 3:5 ones - for £50, I might send them back, as they aren’t doing what I wanted from them:
Assumed I’d be quicker. I am not.
Assumed it’d be easier. I am finding I need to kick harder.
They are similar to a pull buoy, IMO.
I have the same ones. Got them for about £15 in the sale however!
On the above, I find them way better than a PB. All the upside, none of the downside. Although PB still has a place for certain drills
Buoyancy shorts are like heroin; do not get hooked.
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Yes. I recall you saying the same thing to my prey, @chickenboy
Turns out Wiggle don’t offer the same returns policy as Nike 
I’ll probably use them at the lake for a laugh when it’s warmer. But I don’t like them in the pool, really.
It sort of goes back to how I’m slower in a wetsuit and open water, than in the pool?
I’ve swam one 4Km TT and squeezed under the hour, but have never replicated that in open water.
This thread is like my own personal echo chamber…am I the only one swimming over winter?
Pretty sure triathletes cannot swim…
…anyhow…
…I get magazines certain magazines for free (same building as a publisher, blah blah blah) and Adam Peaty is in this months Mens Health. Turns out he didn’t start swimming (AT ALL!) until he was 14 - so you can become a WR holder in a mere 6 years 
Cranked out my most unfavourite session this lunch time - the dreaded 20 * 100s, I am building back up to doing 20 straight, but for now, they’re broken up.
My CSS test a few weeks ago had me at 1:36/100m, but I was knocking these out under 1:26.
Usual aim is to do them on 1:30 off 1:45, as that makes clock watching nice and easy!
As usual, my pacing is abysmal:
Warm up
100m pull
100m pull and paddles
100m paddles
Main
3 * (5 * 100m) in:
1:22, 1:26, 1:22, 1:26, 1:26
1:26, 1:25, 1:25, 1:25, 1:25
1:24, 1:26, 1:25, 1:26, 1:22
Cool
100m pull
100m breast and back
Any ideas on how to pace myself a bit better, without spending cash?
Also, why is my CSS about 10s/100m above what I can consistently knock 100m out in?
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If it’s a CSS set I thought the idea was only 10s rest. If you come in quicker, still 10s from when you come in, not what you planned to come in on.
Its just those 1:22s you need to eliminate. You’re right about your CSS; it can’t be right if you’re swimming the reps in those times. When I could swim 20x100 off-the-bat in 1:30 (off 1:45) I was always around 1:30 and my flat-out 400 time was low 5:5x.
Something isn’t adding-up. You obviously didn’t swim your CSS test hard enough.
I don’t think the pacing is bad at all. Ignore the first one as you’re feeling fresh and it’s probably all in the first 1 or 2 lengths, ignore the last one as there’s light at the end of the tunnel and you put it all in. That leaves them pretty consistent. It’s easy to be a second or so out just on catching the button on your watch.
Agree re CSS pace though, what were your actual 400m & 200m times?
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As above, CSS test likely slightly inaccurate, but don’t get caught up in one or two seconds here and there, it’s a guide on what you should aim for but only a guide. The real benchmark is what you do in your key sessions, like this one. But yes you’re also faster because only doing 500m at a time, and doing off high rest for “CSS”. I’d decrease turnaround to 1:40 which is still easy logistically, and decrease the break at 500m.
Nothing really wrong with the pacing other than first 100m when got excited feeling fresh, and that’s not the worst thing for triathlon anyway. You’ve then settled down in consistent pace. Best way to improve pacing is regular swimming and awareness of pace, rather than relying on gadgets.
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Cheers folks!
CSS Test was done 3rd October when I was feeling “fresh”…though it was my 5th swim in about 2 months, I’ve swam about 20km since then.
400 was 6:04 and 200 was 2:52.
I follow a proper protocol, with the fast 50s, rest times and all that jazz.
OK - so the pacing is fine, just the first and last ones are out.
This isn’t a “CSS” session, as such, just a session I’ve been doing a long, long time.
It’s a great marker session for me, like @Chriswim says, I reduce the break between the 500s slowly slowly, until the gap is 15s (not 1:45, which is where it was today)
Key is, I slowly build up to doing 20 of them, usually by April.
If I can do them all off 1:45 in 1:30s, then I can swim 29/59 for HIM/IM…if only I could swim in Open Water
This is a fortnightly session (apart from when I replace it with a CSS test), so I’ll try going off 1:40 next time around.
Cheers 
Current swim template is three solo swims, three times per week with the squad.
When I am solo, I do the following:
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That’s a 6% drop-off between your 200m pace & 400m pace. Swimsmooth recommend it shouldn’t be more than 4%. That gives you a relatively slower CSS pace to work on endurance rather than top end speed - they call it becoming a diesel.
Cheers for sharing those sessions. I always find myself lacking for inspiration on what to do in the pool. Will give some of those a go
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Eh? Pardon, sorry what?
What does that mean?
I can go “triathlete fast” for the short stuff, but my endurance speed is way, way off the mark?
I was crying about that 400m split, btw.
Print it out, laminate it to A5, boom
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When I first looked at it I thought - that’s one long session. Before I realised it was all 3 sessions for the week!
Well Poet is mad keen on his swimming atm 
Yeah, when I plugged in @Poet CSS Test times, his CSS came in slower than mine! (1:35 vs 1:37 for him) despite swimming them both faster.
Basically, your Test swim set was skewed by your sh!t pacing
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This used to be on the SwimSmooth website but it seems to have gone now so I can’t link it but copied it for my club a while back.!
Hopefully you’ll be able to zoom in and read it. If not pm me an email and I can send over.
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NICE ONE