Swimming for Hammers and Spoons

Like Jorgan, that was my season benchmark, too.
Now I’m back home, I’ve rejoined then pool across the road, so will start swimming again.

I enjoy 40*50s working up to it.

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I wonder if Garmin is just slightly to blame, worrying about recording everything for the Internet? Maybe I should just use the pace clock and go off my ‘marker’ and record the session manually…like I did in the old days. Can I do that on Training Peaks too and get a swim TSS?

That way, I could just pummel myself using the clock until I’m missing the send-offs.

I wear my Garmin for swimming but I start it at the beginning and stop it at the end. No laps or splits as I do find fumbling around for the button at the beginning or end of reps a distraction, especially the shorter they are.
Garmin & Strava say I’ve been swimming for an hour but TP only comes out at 40mins or so, so is clearly taking moving time only and gives me a TSS with or without HR strap.

Ive got the calculation for swim TSS , its really easy. The TP and the WK0* versions are done differently, WK0 usues total time and average speed over that, TP uses “swimming” time and doesnt count rests.

work out your critical swim speed I use 400 and 50 but swimsmooth use 400 and 200 so if the former

CSS = (distance 1 - distance 2) / (time 1 - time 2)

(400-50) / (360 - 40) = 1.09 m / sec or 65.6 m / min

then (with no rests inc.)

2000m workout in 40 mins = 50 m / minute which is your NSS

IF = NSS / CSS so 50 / 65.6 = 0.76

then

TSS = (Intensity Factor cubed) x hours x 100 so
TSS = 0.44 x 0.67 x 100 = 29.5

so 29.5 TSS for a 40min 2000m swim when you swim a CSS of ~ 91 seconds

Maybe I should do more kick sets - I only manage about 100m (out of ~15km) in a month and it’s mostly for recovery. The rare times I swim 100/200 events nowadays makes me think that kick sets are not too important. However I might start adding in 200m decent kick efforts in one of my sessions.

it is very important. Id normally suggest a minimum of 10% of a session, although that doesn’t have to be just on front with board and can include fins. There is a reason old swimmers will remember the 3k kick sets of old :wink: One i heard of is 8 * 400 IM kick only :wink: (must have been a punishment set)

I would get out of the pool and go home if a coach set that!
Mainly as I’d drown trying to fly, let alone fly kick only

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I’m taking a fair bit of flack for questioning Kona as venue for WC. Originally a bit of fun, but the more negative response I get the stronger I feel about it. Problem is that I am yet to see a strong logical arguement, all arguements in favour of Kona are emotional… and I am also beginning to feel that the “myth” surrounding Kona is no more than some very successful marketing

After Lanza (Kona???) I think I will be ready to separate from the Ironman brand

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I was always at the back of the lane when the kick sets started! When I do kick sets my cadence is way higher compared to when I’m swimming. In kick sets should it be focused around a shallow but high power kick?

fly kick, think of your knees after 800 BS kick :rofl:

depends on the focus of the set really. If you want to work on ankle flexibility then fast and with fins can help there, power use the sprinters fins, usually shorter but far more rigid. I usually stick to 400 with the juniors and its 200 build in the WU as part of an 800 SKiPS (200 swim, kick, pull, swim) where we start easy then last 50 is essentially 9/10 effort then 200 of kick based drills after, so 0 arms drill, 616, popov those kind of things so they are focusing on other areas of their stroke but the kick gets a good work out as well.

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So, I did the CSS test. Lagging a bit! After 1k various I did the 400, then 4x100 easy pull, followed by the 200. However, the significant negative splits suggest I am a bit rusty at hard efforts, hence the overall tailing off in my swim times I guess. So the times were (halfway in brackets):

6:15 (3:14)
3:05 (1:37)

I went on the top of the pace clock, hence seeing the hallway split and pulling my finger out :smirk:

You’d struggle to make lane 3 with those times. Get in the pool and stop listening to the Carl Jennings show

Where are these ‘Lanes’ you speak of, and who’s actually in them?

Did your lane have a riptide :wink:

It’s actually a ‘slow’ pool, as it’s shallow and the fast lane is against a wall with no guttering; although when in it alone I hug the lane rope. Even at my post-40 best I was 5:5* so I’ve lost about 1s a length; better pacing would probably find 4-5 of those straight away.

When you talk about swim sessions & ‘lanes’ …who’s in what lane demographically?

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It’s the birthplace of ironman and pretty unique as a venue. That should be enough of an argument.

I am pretty much separated from IM now, can’t justify spending any more thousands on it.

for triathlon , juniors we have the “performance” lane i coach and that is 4:15 to 5:10 / 400 then the next lane which is 6min - 6:30 ish although younger so would typically target 200’s and lane 3 is the kiddies of 8-10 or 11. Adults then you’d probably be lane 2, 1 is proper swimblers , 2 is where i was so 5:30-6:30 / 400 and 3 would be 6:30-7:30ish

So you’re yanking my chain, you mutha!

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and if we are talking swim clubs then ojays we have its squads and lanes are just a subset of that, 3 per squad usually. Top squad are targeting regionals and counties, platinum are county standard , then gold which are aiming for county times, silver chrome and abronze are typically kids upto 12 of varying standards in skill development.