Question to Coaches - EnduranceHopefully I won't lose anyone here, this might get long winded as I try to "build" my question. I am 50 years old and have gotten back into competitive swimming after a 30+ year layoff. Initially my local YMCA offered a masters swim practice in the evening, due to what the YMCA considered "low" participation this practice was scrapped so now for the past 2 years I pull my workouts off the forum pages and train solo.... Occasionally I can participate in the afternoon practice that is still offered and get some feedback from the masters coach....he is also the age group coach for the YMCA swim team. Over the past two years I have competed in 1 mile open water swims with decent results and times. This year (2015) I have competed in two "low" key swim meets in an attempt to see where I am and how much more improvement I still need to be competitive. My first meet I swam 200 free(2:16.45), 200 IM(2:31.22) and 100 ***(1:18.18)...all times are for yards...this past weekend I swam my second meet swimming 200 free(2:13.) and 200 IM(2:26)...while I feel good about lowering my times I was realized a few things....mainly my endurance isn't there. In the 200 free I was even or ahead at the 100 but destroyed on the second 100, in the IM I was ahead until the 125 mark....subsequently fell behind anywhere from 5 - 10 seconds approximately.... As I see it my endurance level leaves me gased to the point I can't keep up...and admittedly my kick could use some work as well....My typical week of practice is 6,000 - 9,000 yards depending on work schedule along with a few cardio classes and some strength training. How can I build my endurance up so I be more competitive...my goal is to be at 2:00 minutes or lower in 200 free and sub 2:15 for 200 IM....other motivation is the USMS Spring National Championships next year in Greensboro, NC.
Thanks in advance for your input and suggestions!
Tim Johnson
Lynchburg, VA.
Tim,
First off, it is a great choice to target Greensboro. Not only is that an AWESOME pool (I had one of the top 5 meets of my life there), that gives you plenty of time to get ready for fast racing. I think it is also good that you target the 100/200 distances as that can give you more focus to your training.
My quick thoughts:
Try to bump the overall volume you are training each week. For me, the sweet spot to race up to the 500 distance is about 15,000 yards per week, usually split across 5 to 6 swims a week. For a focus on 200s, I think you can probably achieve your goals by aiming for 4-5 swims each week of about 2,500 to 3,000 yards each time.
Secondly, limit the "garbage yards" from your workouts. I'd aim for each workout to be structured as:
Warmup sets of around 1,000 to 1,500 max
The key here, though, is that your warmup shouldn't be a lot of easy swimming.
After a short, easy swim of about 300 to 400, you need to get into sets of descending or build swims to get your heartrate up.
I usually do an easy 300 and then mix together sets like the following to get me warm:
3 x 100: descend free
4 x 75: kick, descend
6 x 50: options
descend single stroke in 3s
odds easy / evens build to fast
12 x 25: options
in sets of 4 - build to fast, start fast and get slower, easy, all fast
odds easy / evens fast
Main sets totaling about 1,500
The key here is that much of this should be fast and at race pace
Earlier in your training cycle, you can go longer repeat distances, but I wouldn't go above a 300 straight (e.g., 3 x 300) or else you'll probably migrate to slower swimming speeds
Be creative with mixed distances and broken swims (e.g., a broken 200 done as 125, 50, 25) on both short rest and long rest
Minimize the easy swimming in this part of your workout
Cool-down with about 250
Race EVERY chance you have to get to a meet and play around with different strategies.
The 200 free is a hard race to figure out
Some people perform very well with a "blast it and hold on for dear life strategy" (e.g., Joao de Lucca).
A more balanced approach is to have your last 3 50s to be all approximately the same - the key to this strategy is to understand that, even though your splits might be similar, the effort won't feel that way.
Try to have a friend or ask innocent bystanders to get your splits.
Of course, if you can get technique advice from a coach and ensure that your turns are fast and streamlines are tight, that would be great.
And, if you ever get the chance to be in Richmond, go train with the morning crew at NOVA - unless something has changed, they have a very race-pace oriented approach to training.
Tim,
First off, it is a great choice to target Greensboro. Not only is that an AWESOME pool (I had one of the top 5 meets of my life there), that gives you plenty of time to get ready for fast racing. I think it is also good that you target the 100/200 distances as that can give you more focus to your training.
My quick thoughts:
Try to bump the overall volume you are training each week. For me, the sweet spot to race up to the 500 distance is about 15,000 yards per week, usually split across 5 to 6 swims a week. For a focus on 200s, I think you can probably achieve your goals by aiming for 4-5 swims each week of about 2,500 to 3,000 yards each time.
Secondly, limit the "garbage yards" from your workouts. I'd aim for each workout to be structured as:
Warmup sets of around 1,000 to 1,500 max
The key here, though, is that your warmup shouldn't be a lot of easy swimming.
After a short, easy swim of about 300 to 400, you need to get into sets of descending or build swims to get your heartrate up.
I usually do an easy 300 and then mix together sets like the following to get me warm:
3 x 100: descend free
4 x 75: kick, descend
6 x 50: options
descend single stroke in 3s
odds easy / evens build to fast
12 x 25: options
in sets of 4 - build to fast, start fast and get slower, easy, all fast
odds easy / evens fast
Main sets totaling about 1,500
The key here is that much of this should be fast and at race pace
Earlier in your training cycle, you can go longer repeat distances, but I wouldn't go above a 300 straight (e.g., 3 x 300) or else you'll probably migrate to slower swimming speeds
Be creative with mixed distances and broken swims (e.g., a broken 200 done as 125, 50, 25) on both short rest and long rest
Minimize the easy swimming in this part of your workout
Cool-down with about 250
Race EVERY chance you have to get to a meet and play around with different strategies.
The 200 free is a hard race to figure out
Some people perform very well with a "blast it and hold on for dear life strategy" (e.g., Joao de Lucca).
A more balanced approach is to have your last 3 50s to be all approximately the same - the key to this strategy is to understand that, even though your splits might be similar, the effort won't feel that way.
Try to have a friend or ask innocent bystanders to get your splits.
Of course, if you can get technique advice from a coach and ensure that your turns are fast and streamlines are tight, that would be great.
And, if you ever get the chance to be in Richmond, go train with the morning crew at NOVA - unless something has changed, they have a very race-pace oriented approach to training.
