Swimming for Hammers and Spoons

You’ll not make any more friends on IMJ like that :rofl:

1500 again, honed the routine down sonIm back in time for taxiing the kids to school next week

200 easy
100 breast
12x33 sprints
8x100 sub threshold…well I say sub threshold but probably threshold at the moment

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back in the pool - 1st time in over 15 months.

1st 25m actually felt great, then everything turned into a noodle.

800 sloppy m of 25m repeats and probably 40minutes later I got out of the pool. My triceps (I think) seemed to totally fail after about 3 lengths. (odd, as this was felt in the first 1/2 of the stroke but definitely my outside upper arm)

It’s going to be a long journey back, and has highlighted how reasonable even a bad day was before.

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20 x 100m off 2:00 (making 1:34 or below)
500m snorkel and fins working on hand entry and catch
1km pull and paddles

100s felt better with the added rest, but 20 was the limit

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Very consistent :+1:

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Eurgh. 400 repeats would be vile this early back!

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I wouldn’t say they were “repeats” in the true sense of the word!
More just 400 pull then 400 paddles then a descending 400 free (mod-easy to cool down pace)

Funksters 8*500m with 5s rest yesterday was :exploding_head:

I remember when I was coming back in 2018/19 and felt that 400m was “long” and subsequently avoided those sets.
So I got very good at 50-200m, but my 400m, whilst easily under in 6mins, was awful (start at 1:22 finish at 1:40 ish :rofl:)

Therefore, I’m keen to avoid that this time.
I’ve got Southport next month…the lake looked BALTIC last weekend.
Then IMUK, so just gotta keep my eye on the 3.8k in <65mins.
I’m not gonna bust a ball bag trying to dip under the hour for •kudos•
I can make that back up in T1.

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Impressed with that. I’m back in the pool this evening. I think I’ll stick with 100s for the time being!

Im back down for 2nd session at lunch.
What gets me reading alot of updates from you guys, I dont find “easy” - easy. Im not the fastest anyway, but if start backing off what little pace there is - I’ll sink more, get more drag, go even slower and everything is just as hard to drag through the water as if I was doing moderate efforts in a better swim position.
Can’t say I’ve missed swimming at all :grinning:

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I’m not the quickest either. I’ve genuinely missed it though. Really enjoyed being back in the pool on Monday

Swimming to music innit

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Ive linked it to breath rate, so I’ll normally breathe every two (ie every right side) for my threshold or just below, a bit easier for breathing alternating sides, and easier again for a breath every four. A lot of it is just reaching a bit more and kicking a bit less.

At the moment the difference in pace is small maybe 1:50, 1:55 and 2:00, but RPE is clearly different.

You tried bilateral breathing?
3s and 5s?

Worked wonders for me!
If I’m breathing on 2s, I know I’m trying too hard.
7s and I’m hypoxic and need a wee!!!

Is with fins ok?

I don’t have the time to spare floating down the lane on the currents like an IMJer to put in miles of kicking. But with fins I’d have a chance at your 10% target. :slight_smile:

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fins are good to use; like any tool sparingly. I like swimming with them full stroke as well, makes you go fast and you look like a legend on Strava :wink: but seriously it can help focus on other parts of the stroke like breathing as well

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You know us so well😅

I was bilateral for years - then a coach actually advised me to switch (cant remember specifics, but he thought I was rushing the stroke or something to catch my breath - but slowing stroke down to 2 sorted a number of things out).

Felt much better today - despite the normal manky shoulder giving up about halfway… pace looks dire, but didnt feel like I was fighting or drowning.
Pull on 200s and 400s.
image

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What is it with swimming and getting the munchies? Is there a direct scientific link?

Arguably cold water thermogenesis

Good for them! Most coaches always bang on about biltaeral! I hate it. I do occasional drills using bilateral but that’s about it. Also I’d say most top swimmers breath on the same side, random video evidence of a 1500m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5FlDy3YmDQ but also Phelps, Thorpe, Ledecky.