How much endurance training?

Obviously somethings that work for one person don't work for another. I think I was the one to first use mindful in the forums and I'm certainly not TI. I enjoy trying to think about what I'm doing pretty much all the time when I swim.If what you are doing works for you keep it up. If it's getting stale or you've reached a plateau try something else. Paul I am spying on you to learn how to sprint free since everyone is changing to breaststroke now.

I utilize endurance training for both my sprints and my 500s... my feeling is that the longer you can swim at top speeds in practice, the easier those 50s and 100s will come in meets, especially the back half where you keep turning on the afterburners. And then applied to the 500, pick your pace and keep going fast! and then feel like the horse afterwards. :dedhorse:

Thanks Allen, That makes sense and the direction i have been starting to take. but i feared that my endurance was going to take a hit if i knocked out the longer yardage and swims (300s+). however given that my stroke gets pretty ugly at the end of long sets, i think i need to work my way up with a prettier stroke.

I've been thinking some more about the mindful question. I do relatively short sprint/breaststroke oriented workouts. Before my wife got into Martial Arts she used to love distance swimming.She said she got into a reverie and found it very relaxing. Anytime I do over a 400 I find it boring. Different strokes for different folks.

How important do you think it is to try sets with the "shortest-fastest" intervals, something many of us did on a regular basis at one time?

I think it is easier to not have to think about what you are doing in the water if you start at a younger age. When starting as an adult, nothing is natural, water is a very foreign element. I find if I don't think about what I am doing every minute in the water, then things go downhill fast. How do I know? Because I don't think about what I am doing in the water every minute! Anyway, this thread is about endurance training and building up to nationals in 18 weeks.....back to topic.

How about focused? Present? In the moment?............too zen? He, he, he. Are you guys doing mindful yoga up there in New Paltz too? I guess "focus" or "concentrate" is OK. Just change it up a bit;constantly being told to be "mindful" is a bit preachy to my ears that's all. "In the moment" is kinda "zen" for me, I'm guess. Is "zen" a TI word too? I know "art" is. Different strokes for different folks, as Allen said. I see the benefits of zen, and I'm sure I'd live longer if I was more zen and meditated more, but I'm generally too hyper. I sure wish I could be more "zen" amidst chaotic traffic, which I'm about to go encounter on the way to my allergy shot ...:coffee: I will try to "focus" on my stroke mechanics a bit while I am doing a bit more endurance work this afternoon. I'm sure my mechanics have gone to hell this last month. And since I'm supposed to be working on breaststroke, I'll have to really focus or I'll go so slow that I fall asleep ... I'm going to break out my new monofin too, so I'll have to concentrate on that. I'll probably be exhausted after all this intense focus .... I would just like to add that I do have a book on ashtanga yoga and have been known to do poses around the house to the great amusement of my children. However, they are not more flexible than me, so I do not take much crap.

I find that for me, I need to be "mindful" or "focused" (or whatever word you want to apply) while I swim or my stroke gets sloppy. But I don't have a lot of years of swimming experience to imprint the proper stroke mechanics. In fact, I sometimes think I'm more like the age group swimmer that started at 6 or 7 and going into the teen years is just starting to "come around". Perhaps that's why my 14 yr old son and I are at about the same level, since we started together.

In my first 30 years of swimming I did too much training-to-train-more. My focus since age 50 has been training to race well. In recent years I've learned I need to be far more conscious of recovery-oriented training to be physically prepared for sets that simulate the stroke length and rate at which I'd like to race. That actually takes more discipline and restraint than does pushing myself. This is well and good, but it is mentioned from the point of view of a person over 50. Younger people can train much differently. Swimmers in their 20s and 30s and even 40s may not need to swim mindful with emphasis on restorative swims. They may have the physical capabilities to reach for the sky, so to speak. For many, not all, age becomes a factor so discipline is more important than being able to train as a younger swimmer might. And to Slowfish, I have been swimming the one mile triathlon swim for, now, this will be my 6th year and I am almost 59. I never look at it as a one-mile swim, I break mine down into 4x400 swims and train accordingly. If a swimmer can do repeat 400s or even 200s relatively quickly with minimum rest, then the mile will more seem like a pleasant experience. But you have to train at lower yardage and higher intensity with rest, of course, to get there. Swimming a mile does not necessarily produce a fast mile. And when I had a great 800m free back in the Masters Nationals some 11 years ago or so, I had never swam the 800 free in total; I always broke it up into intervals. So, I think and it is my opinion only, that endurance is necessary, but to produce a solid swim of a mile or less at a faster time, interval training is a must. A swimmer must get used to swimming fast in training because when race day comes about, they are better prepared if they choose to "take it out." Donna

Dave: I can't use an MP3 in the water. I already have wandering mind problems and have trouble keeping track of lengths over 200 or so ... I try to be "mindful," and I do a lot of drills, but I too prefer a different word than "mindful," which has become a tad over familiar and cliche. Do you have a new word? How about focused? Present? In the moment?............too zen?