I am a relatively new swimmer and have a lot to learn. My question is, how much I should spend on drills and technique works vs. inteval. Currently I swim 3x/wk - 2 of which are on my own for an hour (mainly drills) and 1 is with a tri/swim club for 1.5hour or so which includes lots of interval. My fastest 100yd is 1:17. I can keep up with 10x100 at 1:45 and maybe able to do 1:40 (never tried). I have a two short term goals; one - I would like to break 1:15/100yd. Two - become a better open water swimmer (~2miles).
Thanks for your advice. Swimming has been very enjoyable and helpful as a recovery tool from running!
Parents
Former Member
Well, it sounds like you are well on your way already. If you are doing a 1:17 100 yd now, you are already doing a 1:15 if you were rested and tapered, so the 1:15 is in you right now, maybe not just in practice.
I, too, believe in drills but not for the sake of doing them; make sure they are specific and correct at all times; take your time. Interval sets are crucial to building stamina to withstand 200, 400, 800 swims. And if your goal is distance (how did you know this was my first love?), then once you feel your technique is relatively solid, you can do what we all call engine building. Training for distance is different from training for shorter pool swims. In addition to being able to hold intervals, you must also be able to change gears during the interval (increasing the speed). And a swimmer who chooses distance, must get used to swimming alone for longer periods of time. Some of us find this as "freedom", others find it boring.
donna
Well, it sounds like you are well on your way already. If you are doing a 1:17 100 yd now, you are already doing a 1:15 if you were rested and tapered, so the 1:15 is in you right now, maybe not just in practice.
I, too, believe in drills but not for the sake of doing them; make sure they are specific and correct at all times; take your time. Interval sets are crucial to building stamina to withstand 200, 400, 800 swims. And if your goal is distance (how did you know this was my first love?), then once you feel your technique is relatively solid, you can do what we all call engine building. Training for distance is different from training for shorter pool swims. In addition to being able to hold intervals, you must also be able to change gears during the interval (increasing the speed). And a swimmer who chooses distance, must get used to swimming alone for longer periods of time. Some of us find this as "freedom", others find it boring.
donna
