Next year's goal: Sub 5 minute 500 free

Nice swim! Congrats! Seconded. That's fast for right now.

Hi Ande, Here's a link to one of my typical 500 free splits: www.usms.org/.../swim.php In my opinion, my biggest weakness is that I don't have much in the way of raw speed. On a good day, I can go around 1:56-1:57 in a 200 free, and about :55 for a 100. On the other hand, I have pretty good endurance, with a 1000 free time of 10:48. I train 4-5 times a week, about 4000-4500 yds each workout. I also lift weights 2-3x per week and do a lot of running and cycling. swim 5 - 6x per week, do 4500 - 5000 per practice, do some speed work, going under 5:00 in the 500 would be way easier if you could go 51 or 2 in the 100 here's your splits 01 27.75 02 57.61 29.86 03 1:28.38 30.77 04 2:00.14 31.76 05 2:31.98 31.84 06 3:04.18 32.20 07 3:36.52 32.34 08 4:08.66 32.14 09 4:39.97 31.31 10 5:10.63 30.66 2:31.98 2:38.65 6.67 difference (try to get it closer in future races, like under 3 or 4) No 31's or 32s What sort of suit did you wear? Improve your kick, it would help if you could turn on a turbo 6 beat kick for your last 50 or 100

Quote: That sounds really painful. I like it! Like you, I pretty much swim "full speed ahead" all workout, trying to get as much quality yardage at race pace as I can, while focusing on technique. That's why I love the USRPT. I'll have to give the 12x200s set a try sometime once I'm more recovered. I don't think I could finish that set right now without pain in my left tricep (evidently the tricep attaches to the shoulder blade and I happened to fracture mine right at the point of attachment of the tricep, so it will bother me right now if I swim too many yards too hard). On the "all out" 200s, do you give yourself more rest? I can comfortably "cruise" a 200 at about 2:20 or so. When I work hard, I can get down in the 2:12-2:14 range. And when I go all out from a wall push, I can probably go somewhere around 2:05 or 2:06. Knowing these times, what interval would you suggest for me? Those workout times you're doing are pretty close to mine. I'm usually 2:03-2:05 for the all-outs, from a push start. Don't give yourself any extra time on the fast ones, as the idea is to practice going all out when you're tired. You should be fine with a 3:15 interval. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if you go around 9:40 or under in your 800. Your 200 times look pretty solid!

Those workout times you're doing are pretty close to mine. I'm usually 2:03-2:05 for the all-outs, from a push start. Don't give yourself any extra time on the fast ones, as the idea is to practice going all out when you're tired. You should be fine with a 3:15 interval. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if you go around 9:40 or under in your 800. Your 200 times look pretty solid! OK, sounds good! I'll try the workout with a 3:15 interval. Hopefully I get healthy enough to try it in the next few weeks. 9:40 for an 800 SCM sounds like a long shot to me, but I'd love to do that! I went a 9:59 LCM when I was fit and healthy in May. Just checked and that converts to a 9:48 or so. But I am really bad at SC. My turns and breath control are pretty dismal. Only thing I have going for me is endurance and a pretty good, powerful, clean stroke. I'm working on my turns and breath control, and they're getting better. Considering I only learned to do flip turns a little over 2 years ago, I'm hopeful that I still have a lot of room for improvement, especially in short course. I'm definitely still learning!

Thanks! Really starting to like doing the 800. Not as brutal as the 1500, but more interesting than the 400. It was the very first event I swam when I got back into competitive swimming, after a 22 year break. Best of luck with your 800. Just don't overdo it if you're still recovering from an injury. I really like the 800 too. Like you say, at a 10 minute effort, it's challenging but more manageable than the 1500. I'm definitely getting back into things slowly since recovering from the bike wreck I had. Been mostly kicking for the last 2 months. I'm finally getting my arms back into the mix now and swimming about 2000 yards each day while kicking another 1000 or so. Impressive how much you're swimming and how much ande suggests you swim. Even when I was healthy, I was rarely getting in 4500 to 5000 yards a workout. What kind of sets are you doing right now?

I really like the 800 too. Like you say, at a 10 minute effort, it's challenging but more manageable than the 1500. I'm definitely getting back into things slowly since recovering from the bike wreck I had. Been mostly kicking for the last 2 months. I'm finally getting my arms back into the mix now and swimming about 2000 yards each day while kicking another 1000 or so. Impressive how much you're swimming and how much ande suggests you swim. Even when I was healthy, I was rarely getting in 4500 to 5000 yards a workout. What kind of sets are you doing right now? Funny thing is, these good races I've been having the last few months are coming at the end of the worst year, swimming-wise, that I've had since I started swimming master's 4 years ago. What's changed is that A) I've started paying more attention to general health/diet; B) every set I do in practice is with a purpose, meaning no junk yards. And C) paying more attention to focused weight training. On the health issues, for as long as I can remember, my blood tests have always showed me to be at the low end of normal for iron. Never thought much about this, until I had a physical after my horrible performance at SC Nats. Turns out that I had full-blown iron deficiency anemia. I've started taking an iron supplement (Proferrin ES) and that seems to have made a big difference in my endurance. The real benefit from the extra endurance is that now you can workout harder for longer. As for workout quality, a lot of my past workouts where spent swimming hard to make the intervals, but worrying too much about having enough energy to finish a set. My approach now is sort of a "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" on everything, except something that's supposed to be a recovery/drill set. And even then, focus on quality/technique. Also, our coach quit a few months ago, and we've been having some of the lifeguards at the pool fill in. They all have college swim experience, so they have been giving quality workouts, but we all seem to work a lot harder because we have to prove to these 20-somethings that us late-40 types can still kick their butts! One workout that we've been doing, that I got from sunruh, is 12x200's, broken into 4 sets of 3. First set is descend to all out; second is easy, all out, easy; third is all out, easy, all out; and the last is 2 all out, one easy. Do them on a 3 to 3:30 interval, and remember that the all-out ones are really all out. For weights, I do that 3-4 times a week, and remember that "triceps are the Gods of swimming, so worship them". Strong tri's enable you to get the most out of each stroke. Notice that when your tri's get tired, your stroke gets very choppy and you feel like you're slapping the water. Let us know how your 800 free goes. I'm doing a 1650 and 500 free on Nov. 9th. Hoping to break 18 on the 1650.

Funny thing is, these good races I've been having the last few months are coming at the end of the worst year, swimming-wise, that I've had since I started swimming master's 4 years ago. What's changed is that A) I've started paying more attention to general health/diet; B) every set I do in practice is with a purpose, meaning no junk yards. And C) paying more attention to focused weight training. All of those things make sense and sound very similar to my path these last couple of years. I too change my diet, started trending away from junk yards and paying more attention to weight training. My times, in just a year, saw a significant drop. On the health issues, for as long as I can remember, my blood tests have always showed me to be at the low end of normal for iron. Never thought much about this, until I had a physical after my horrible performance at SC Nats. Turns out that I had full-blown iron deficiency anemia. I've started taking an iron supplement (Proferrin ES) and that seems to have made a big difference in my endurance. The real benefit from the extra endurance is that now you can workout harder for longer. Interesting. I've not had blood tests done in perhaps a decade or more. I should probably get a check up and see how things are with me. I feel great, in general, so I don't know if I have anything such as an iron deficiency, but without a blood test there's no way to know for sure. As for workout quality, a lot of my past workouts where spent swimming hard to make the intervals, but worrying too much about having enough energy to finish a set. My approach now is sort of a "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" on everything, except something that's supposed to be a recovery/drill set. And even then, focus on quality/technique. Also, our coach quit a few months ago, and we've been having some of the lifeguards at the pool fill in. They all have college swim experience, so they have been giving quality workouts, but we all seem to work a lot harder because we have to prove to these 20-somethings that us late-40 types can still kick their butts! One workout that we've been doing, that I got from sunruh, is 12x200's, broken into 4 sets of 3. First set is descend to all out; second is easy, all out, easy; third is all out, easy, all out; and the last is 2 all out, one easy. Do them on a 3 to 3:30 interval, and remember that the all-out ones are really all out. That sounds really painful. I like it! Like you, I pretty much swim "full speed ahead" all workout, trying to get as much quality yardage at race pace as I can, while focusing on technique. That's why I love the USRPT. I'll have to give the 12x200s set a try sometime once I'm more recovered. I don't think I could finish that set right now without pain in my left tricep (evidently the tricep attaches to the shoulder blade and I happened to fracture mine right at the point of attachment of the tricep, so it will bother me right now if I swim too many yards too hard). On the "all out" 200s, do you give yourself more rest? I can comfortably "cruise" a 200 at about 2:20 or so. When I work hard, I can get down in the 2:12-2:14 range. And when I go all out from a wall push, I can probably go somewhere around 2:05 or 2:06. Knowing these times, what interval would you suggest for me? For weights, I do that 3-4 times a week, and remember that "triceps are the Gods of swimming, so worship them". Strong tri's enable you to get the most out of each stroke. Notice that when your tri's get tired, your stroke gets very choppy and you feel like you're slapping the water. I totally know what you're saying about slapping the water. Luckily, I'm genetically gifted with relatively large and strong triceps for my body size. Perhaps that's why I took so well to swimming as an adult. This recent injury has really set me back on my left side, but I'm finally back in the gym now, as of this week, and I'll regain the strength fairly quickly I think. During my lifting, I tend to focus on triceps, deltoids, abs and lats for the most part. I also always do rotator cuff exercises. Those seem to be the primary muscle groups I use when swimming. What other muscle groups do you work on, or what is your weight lifting routine like? Let us know how your 800 free goes. I'm doing a 1650 and 500 free on Nov. 9th. Hoping to break 18 on the 1650. I will! And let us know how your 1650 and 500 go. Good luck breaking that 18 minute barrier. I'm sure you'll do it, given how well you're swimming right now. I just got under 19 minutes for the first time at Spring Nats. I'm trying to figure out what a new goal for the 1650 might be for me this SCY season. I can probably more accurately predict what I'll be capable of after the 800 free in a few weeks. It might be just getting under 19 again, considering the huge setback I had this year. Even that may be a tall order!

Kind of mixed results from the meet today. Went a Master's PR in the 1650 (18:12), but was a bit off in the 500 (5:19). I suppose I shouldn't have expected much in the 500, seeing as it was about an hour after the 1650. Glenn, it was nice to talk to you in person. Always an honor to swim next to a world-record holder!

Thanks Jonathan. I enjoyed talking with you as well and swimming next to you. Your 18:12 was a good swim so don't worry about the 500. The 1650 takes a bit out of you! I didn't hit the time I wanted either. I was out a bit too fast the first 200 so it caught up to me on the last 200. It is sometimes tough to slow down enough at the beginning of a race when you are feeling great, to even split. That was my problem today. Luckily there is always another race to look forward to. Maybe I'll see you at Pierce College next week.

Kind of mixed results from the meet today. Went a Master's PR in the 1650 (18:12), but was a bit off in the 500 (5:19). I suppose I shouldn't have expected much in the 500, seeing as it was about an hour after the 1650. Nice swims! Great 1650 and the 500 was a solid effort, even though it wasn't what you wanted, given how close it was to the 1650!