preparing to compete post heart attack--mini-taper advice?
Former Member
I have taken the plunge. Approximately 20 months following a heart attack (four stents) at the bizarrely young age of 44, I have gotten my masters card and am preparing to swim in my first meet in 28 years. I had to negotiate with my cardiologist to do it, but I'm clear and set to go. I had been working out at about 10 to 12k a week with intermittent breaks for the last year or so, then shifted to going 5x a week for a total of 15k, and for the last month I'm up to close to 20k a week.
Here's my question. I am going to swim at a local meet in about 10 days (Ozark championships in St. Louis) then also (I hope) at the Breadbasket Zones in Iowa a month later. I am focusing on 50 free, 100 free, 100 IM, and 50 fly. I may swim 200 free and 200 IM at Zones--we'll see. Starting modest. I would like to be a little rested for the local meet in 10 days, but would like to "taper"--at my yardage level not sure the term has much meaning--for the Zone meet 5 weeks from now. Any advice, general or specific, on how to plan my workout schedule for this next stretch?
Many thanks in advance for the input.
Gull, if you are out there, I want to thank you for encouraging me to keep going late last year--it really helped.
Best
Red
Parents
Former Member
Congratulations to you on such a valiant comeback. What an inspirational story.
I don't know what to say other than maybe doing some swimming at a pace which will simulate the race experience. If the base training you've done isn't significant enough to taper from...then doing some speedwork may be the most appropriate preparation.
(Honestly there are many masters swimmers who don't surpass your 20K a week yardage.) You should be able to achieve a fairly good rest from that kind of work load.
Best of luck to you.
Congratulations to you on such a valiant comeback. What an inspirational story.
I don't know what to say other than maybe doing some swimming at a pace which will simulate the race experience. If the base training you've done isn't significant enough to taper from...then doing some speedwork may be the most appropriate preparation.
(Honestly there are many masters swimmers who don't surpass your 20K a week yardage.) You should be able to achieve a fairly good rest from that kind of work load.
Best of luck to you.
