Level 3. Whatevs.
no issue there, if i give a sample of an in season elite junior triathlete set
I typically use the same WU and build every week, might have a varying WU but always similar breakdown
main set in season is replicating fast starts into TRP also. I will typically give the juniors ownership here of length and number of reps, if they want to do IM etc. although i may direct them somewhat I do always encourage IM or IM drills as i believe it really helps develop their overall swimming which in turn helps their freestyle. If i only had them once or twice a week it would be mainly freestyle though but most swim 4 or 5 times. Off season will still have sprinting but some longer easier stuff also. As always YMMV and its really very dependant on goals and the amount of swimming thats done. Dont sweat the little things, JFS!
WU
800 SKiPS (200 Swim easy, 200 kick (choice with board, side, fly kick, torpedo kick, back kick), 200 pull focus DPS catch and pull, 200 Swim increase effort every 50 to target race pace 8/10, sub 35seconds last 50)
Build
16x25 off 30 holding speed and DPS (15sec 15 strokes through 17/17, athlete dependant)
Main
This is an example, always hard and steady
8*50 sprint 12.5m into easy OR 8 50 IM 25 stroke into 25 free off 1min
6200 50 hard into 150 at TRP off 2.45 or 3 holding approx 2:20 (2:30ish girls)
then finally
30mins of basically 1 to 2 coaching over 3 lanes with 3 coaches. The athletes typically know an area and they are encouraged to take ownership of their development here so may be broken 800, tempo work or pull paddles, or if fatigued some drill work.
Only reason i do it that way is because the younger kids only do an hour so we have half hour “free time” at the end to really help develop the junior performance squad (6 athletes)
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No I like those kind of sets, and my coach would assign them while swimming seriously too.
I don’t think it’s a case of doing both achieves neither, but instead teaches to vary and be aware of pace, makes enjoyable, and enables appropriate stress on different energy systems.
We also tended to do them descending as you suggested when focus was on speed at the end of a race when tired, but for triathlon I think going the other way can be useful to cope with what can be a faster (or at least stressful) start and then be able to settle down after and maintain good aerobic pace despite fatigue.
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You’re starting to sound like me during the first year after I got back from living in Bavaria 
Tried 1500m as 1/2/3/4/500m today.
Just 20s RI to keep it spicy. 1:34/3:14/4:55/6:33/8:15
10s rest per 100m is about the “right” recipe.
I find that I tend to need the bathroom if I have anything spicy before swimming, so out-of-date taco’s would be a massive no for me (see emergency exit swim at Northampton for details 
)
But 10s/100m rest would have made it too easy I think. They were tortillas btw.
I wrote a song about a Tortilla; actually it was more of a wrap 
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Might have helped you keep it around 6:25 and 8:05 for the longer ones though.
Dunno, my 4x400 were all 6:33-6:29 with 40s RI
Don’t do it very often, but tonight did a 2.5k continuous swim…
Decided to stick my tempo trainer in my swim hat, and did the entire thing at 66spm, which is perhaps 8 spm more than I have settled into previously… maybe got a bit scrappy in the last 300m or so, but generally felt like I held the rate ok… SPL increased a bit, so DPS must have dropped a little (unsurprising at that distance with a higher spm than i’m naturally swimming with), decent(ish) pace overall for me, and am sure that it will help in cementing a higher stroke rate.
won’t be making it a regular thing though, as i’m sure its not the best way to improve!
We do a lot of descending stuff , but also like to mix it within each rep so in an example of 100s in batches of 4s would be 1st 25 hard, rest easy, 2nd 25 hard rest easy, 3rd etc. Its all about stressing the body in different ways. Also add silly things Br arms FC legs etc
I couldn’t face a flat out 400 yet, I’m working my way there! I did do a flat out 200m today and I have to say it was not pleasant! I felt like I was running out of air for quite a lot of the second 100, probably should have gone to breathing every 2 rather than every 3 strokes.
Came out with 3:07 which is way faster than I’ve managed before - 50/100/150 splits were 45s, 1:30, 2:18 so definitely died. Couldn’t keep the high cadence after the first 100 and SPL increased from around 20 to 22/23 by the end.
My lats were in bits after that - feels like I’ve been in the gym!
Just swim the first 100 tempo, then flat-out for the remainder; that should ease you back into it without dying too much.
Another 16x100 on 66SPM this evening, with focus on keeping the pull nice and long and not getting ‘choppy’… held the stroke rate comfortably, and finding that i’m easily hitting about 4 or 5 secs per 100 faster than just 5 or 6 weeks ago…with enough swims to see a trend now.
V happy with the progress. Will keep trying to establish new, faster stroke rate as standard, and not skip on DPS or catch and pull…
its great to see progress following @Hammerer ‘s advice …its motivating!
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Well, I’m not getting any better.
Ever since I started thinking about things, I’ve gone backwards.
Surely, just swimming 10-12km per week means I get quicker, via pure muscling through, right?
In saying that, I’m doing decent volume for UK winter. So I’m also fatigued. Need a mini-taper to smash out another CSS, I think.
This. When was the last time you were consistently at 16 hours/week?
Although it does seem very tame in comparison to Hammers sets, last night at training we did 50 x 25 off 25s - without doubt the hardest swim I have ever done, however, I did make each 25, I think that each 25 was in the range of 21-23s
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I’m not consistently at it now:
Past five weeks have been 12, 10, 15, 11 and 16.
Don’t think I’ve ever done consistent hours per week.
what was the goal of that set? They are very tight turnarounds so my concern would be that you add a lot of fatigue and enforce a poor technique later on as you struggle to hold form.
I’d probably just do a flip turn rest, and do them in 25s 