The “descending” sets should help with backend pace and handling that fatigue! Do similar twice a week when swimming 5+ sessions.
Good progression is to try it with 150 or 200 reps, or even build to that with some 1.30 100s and increase distance in second half to say 200 and try to hold same pace.
Why only whole numbers, did you not suss out the other mode to get 0.01seconds?
Yes the other mode is much better, as is stroke rate. I never used the whole number setting.
I haven’t been tried yet & kind of like the simple torture of the whole numbers - finding it is such an effective bit of kit for building pace awareness even in blunt mode like this
Swim volume. Swim consistency.
Oh man, I am hopeless!
I’m just planning around whether to do a training plan two or three times a week so I looked back at my Garmin stats over the last four years…I barely swim at all! There is one single month in 2021, June to be precise, I’ve hit 11hrs 40min in a month, and that an outlier by a long way. Like three swims a week for four weeks once. Once! Four years ago!
Last year the max I made was 5hrs 43min in a month! A month!
I’m not sure this rant is over yet but…
Even in ‘23 when I got some good pool PB times I had my slowest IM swim
So is there any point in planning for three swims a week when the reality is two would be double most years?
Swimming is logistically challenging isn’t it? think if you can solve the puzzle of easy pool access at convenient times, that’s 80% of the battle.
I know that when we come back to UK I’ll probably slip back to swimming 2 or 3 times per month, just because of the hassle factor.
In my head I thought I had, when I took a job next to the London aquatic centre, but clearly it’s not as simple as that.
WFH does not lend itself well to structure either, you have to be very disciplined. Or very work shy. Unfortunately I’m as obsessed with my work as I am with tri 
Or maybe give up WFH and swim five times a week…bike commute everyday… 
I just can’t believe 12000m was my biggest month - that’s nuts! I could do that in 4x 1 hours.
El Niño swam 9km yesterday in 2 session, 1.5hrs at 6am, and 2hrs at 6pm
Add tonights 2hrs and hes swam about 14km in 2 days (and a lot of intensity in that as well)
I’m wondering if Garmin Connect is broken or something. In horror, I looked at every record in 2021 for duplicates. Maybe I’ve not recorded some and forgotten. I’ll go through my Form records next but that was only 2023.
Oh and the point Im making badly is, a regional-national level 15year old swims more in 2 days than many triathletes do a month, then all i hear in some circles is "im not a swimmer, i never improve … 15k a week, focused,would see big gains just with the body adapting itself to its surroundings, even without the benefit of a decent coach. But even with a decent coach, 5k a week will keep you levelled at the most.
Obviously you’re correct but as I have said before the public sessions at pools don’t allow for that sort of volume. At least around here, especially since covid when almost each session is shorter than it was previously.
And that is fine, but people have to come to terms with a lack of real progress past holding say 1.30 - 1.40 a hundred at best. Joe for instance is stuck around mid 1.30s iirc, for that to take the next step needs a bigger time investment. You wouldnt be a close to FOP tri runner/cyclist on a couple hours a week. And sub 1.30 (22.30min 1500 or 57min IM) will have you front behind the ex swimmers.
That’s just plain cheating 
Has he shown any interest in Tri at all? Or a pure swim machine
Yeah, but I’ll try to take my own advice on volume and find what’s achievable rather than beat myself up with an impossible goal.
I know it’s a broad brush but how much volume would you guess at to get to 1:30 threshold?
Technique/power focus today on a short one. SCM paces feel a bit fake for some reason, not being fair on myself again. Working on peak head roll.
Nice feeling again having got it done before work. 
Did a number of tris last one was a couple of years back though as he wasn’t riding bikes anymore. Last he did he hadn’t ridden for 3 months, was 2nd on swim, 3rd or 4th on run and only about 10th on bike, which was his best discipline prior. This was a race with some of the regions best athletes and he came 6th OA. He does have real tri potential, not Elite ITU as hes not that level runner and potentially too tall now, but ran regionally and has a 2:19 800 pb and 1500 was around 4:49 iirc which is decent club runner but not national level which tri needs to be. To get in the regional academy, the figures I have are pre covid but Gold + would require a 4:40 400 give or take and a 9:21 3k for a 15/16 youth although i have heard gold or even silver would get you in these days so closer to 5min/10min.
a little bit more than last week is a win!
broad brush but in my experience most AOS who have put in a reasonable effort over a few years, as you did, gets you stuck at 1:30-1:40. I’d say a commitment to do 3 or 4 sessions a week may be enough to break that plateau of 9-12k, but key is to be consistent 3 times a week, which is largely the problem with most of us; as Fruity alluded to, unless you have a nice 25m pool in your garden as he does, a 3k swim is taking 2 hours out of your day and is usually marred by old people doing heads up breaststroke. and is not practical for most. I’ve said before but Pre Covid I could leave home on the bike at 6, pool opened 7, till8, in work by 8:15 and could run lunchtimes also, want a lay in, 1.5hr lunch break no problem for a 3k swim. Now with WFH its a lot of grief to go for a swim when 1hr is a lot of running time, door to door.
Are there no Masters or similar swim squads local enough to you? I would say this is key, find the proper sessions meet your training needs, at least 3 a week then plan that into your diary/schedule & stick to them. You can then add in a 4th pool visit for a bit more volume that’s not so critical.
Alastair wouldn’t have got into an academy today…
Alex struggled because of his swim.
which begs many questions.
alastair also struggled because he hated short time trials…
