How can I swim a Sub 20 minute in a 1.5K?

Something just doesn't add up. If you are that fast at 100-500 in a pool you should be a lot faster than 22m/1500 or 63m/2.4mi. with a wetsuit on. I do these tri swim leg times and couldn't get close to your 100-500 times. A couple of things might help. Don't ever alternate breathe..a complete waste. Do 1000's in the pool. Last one with a pull buoy always to simulate wetsuit. Swim alone, makes you tougher. Do eye closed swimming to make sure your going straight. Practice sighting every 3rd or 4th length (60-80 strokes) It's the bike and run that determines the winner, not the swim. Finally, stay out of the 60-64 age group.

1500 meters in 20:00 is holding 1:20 per 100 meter pace which is like holding 1:10 - 1:12 per 100 yards wetsuits float, swimmers tend to swim several seconds faster per 100 you probably need to be able to hold 1:22 - 1:24 pace per 100 meters to hold 1:20 in a wetsuit read swim faster faster everything I'd tell you is there www.usms.org/.../showthread.php the gist perfect your stroke technique and train further, faster, more often, with a coach, training partner, or team be patient do pace work, speed work, over distance, and aerobic training Hello all, I'm new here and I have a question that I hope maybe someone could help me with. I've been finding it difficult to improve my swim splits over the longer distances. I've been trying for about 3 years now with minimal improvement. I can swim a sub 30 sec.-50 yards and a sub 1 minute in a 100 yards but cannot hold a fast pace over the longer distances. My best distance splits are: 500yds. = 6:18 (=1:15.7 per 100 yds.) - (pool swim) 1.5K = 22:10 (=1:21 per 100 yds.) - (open water w/wetsuit) 2.4 mile = 1:03:50 (=1:30 per 100 yds.) - (open water w/wetsuit) I've been swimming 3-4x per week about 3,000-4,000 yards per day. Mostly sets like 20x100's w/10-15 sec rest and 10x200's w/20 sec rest and 5x400's w/30 sec rest. My 20x100's are average about 1:17-1:18 per 100 yards, and that's the fastest I can go and still do 20 of them. I swim alone at the pool mostly and I don't lift weights much. I have good form in water and a 2 beat kick. Could it be a strength issue? I use paddles and the pull bouy occasionally. My main goal is to go sub 20 in 1.5K swim in open water, with a wetsuit. What workouts or things should I be doing to do this? Thanks much for your feedback, Terry

I swim alone at the pool mostly ... What workouts or things should I be doing to do this? TerryMy best advice is to stop swimming alone and get hooked up with one of the local coached Masters teams.

. Mostly sets like 20x100's w/10-15 sec rest and 10x200's w/20 sec rest and 5x400's w/30 sec rest. My 20x100's are average about 1:17-1:18 per 100 yards, and that's the fastest I can go and still do 20 of them. so you are doing 20x100 on 1:30 in yards and 10x200 on 3:00 (extrapolating here). I would work on reducing the rest, and maintaining the same pace. A good set might be 20x100 where 5 are on 1:30, 5 on 1:25, 5 on 1:20 and 5 back up to 1:25 trying to keep the same pace for all 20 (say 1:15 to 1:17). This should improve your conditioning. Also, maybe do 10 on 1:20 trying to hold 1:13s or better. IMHO 15 seconds rest on a 100 is too much, especially if you are doing them in a "broken 2000" type set.

My 20x100's are average about 1:17-1:18 per 100 yards, and that's the fastest I can go and still do 20 of them. Bullocks. warm up well and go for 1:15s. Set the pace from the start. DON'T go in there with a "can't do" attitude - sounds like you've already psched yourself out. focus on technique and holding form throughout all 20. if you're having trouble towards the end, really go for the 19th one - cause no matter what you do on that 19th one, that 20th one is still going to hurt. I have good form in water and a 2 beat kick. experiment with building up your leg strength. after my fastest 500, a fellow swimmer was floored w/ the kick he saw on my final 100. I pulled away with the "motorboat," as he put it, that I had back there. a two-beat kick saves energy, but you don't go anywhere, and you're still exhausted at the end from windmilling your arms. may as well kick more along the way and get just as exhausted at the end. thats my opinion at least. have you been doing the same routine the last three years? maybe you need to switch things up a little bit. some other tips... in the pool: Rob has a great point about joining a team do more fly and IM sets to work some more musles, build up fitness and get a more complete workout SDK off the walls bilateral breathing experiment with race strategery do some technique work (w/ a team and/or coach) build up a good base now; then add 1 extra practice a week for the first 3-4 months of 2008 out of the pool: crosstraining - start running or biking. be careful if you start playing hockey :doh: nutrition - watch what you eat, and eat things you can use in practice for energy dryland - are you doing any stretching, yoga, med ball, exercise ball stuff?

I am sort of the reverse of you: I have never gone under 1:00 in the 100 free in my entire life, but I can go under 6:00 easily in the 500 and under 20:00 on a decent day in the 1650. Some of that difference is surely just how our bodies are made, but here are a few differences I see between your training and mine. 1. You swim a little less than I do, but not much. But I also do other workouts. When I was in my best adult distance swimming shape I ran 3-4x/week (15-18 miles total) in addition to swimming 3-4x/week (12k-16k total) and I lifted twice a week or so too. (I was in professional school then so I had a lot of discretionary time.) Now I can't run but I go to an hour-long spin class 2x/week. If my skin and shoulders could handle doing all that cardio in the pool I might swim more instead, but they can't so I cross-train my heart. 2. I swim with a team and I always have. Coaching and workout partners help me get the most out of every visit to the pool. 3. I use shorter rest than you do for short-rest interval sets (and longer rest for sets aimed at improving power and turnover). If I were doing 20x100 I would do them on 1:15 or 1:20 and I would get 3-8s rest. If you can bring them in on 1:17 with a 1:30 sendoff then it's time to switch to a 1:25 sendoff.

Do eye closed swimming to make sure your going straight. Practice sighting every 3rd or 4th length (60-80 strokes). Of course. Terry, how's your OW technique? (How does your OW 1500 compare to a pool 1500?) You need to be sure that you don't make your course longer than it has to be by weaving. But you also have to minimize sighting, which slows you down at least a tiny bit no matter how efficiently you do it, because it requires a less-than-perfect head position. Work on a sighting technique that involves just the barest head lift as you breathe, and then use it sparingly. I prefer bilateral breathing because it keeps me going straighter but if it's awkward for you just work on keeping straight while breathing to only one side. Also, if your vision isn't that great consider corrective goggles. The improved clarity is worth it for me when I am just getting a fleeting glimpse to keep myself on course. a two-beat kick saves energy, but you don't go anywhere, and you're still exhausted at the end from windmilling your arms. may as well kick more along the way and get just as exhausted at the end. thats my opinion at least. Respectfully, my opinion would differ. If I were advising someone who said, "I can swim a sub 20:00 1500 but I would really like to go under 1:00 for 100," I would absolutely advise switching to a six-beat kick for the shorter race. But if a two-beat kick works for you most of the time, it's probably your best kick for 1500, especially if you are going to follow up that 1500 with a 40K bike and a 10K run.

you need to train for a 1.5 swim by doing "broken" swims., that is, 15x100 on low rest (5 sec or so). this simulates the exertion required to do a 1500 with some recovery built in. if you take 15 seconds per 100 to rest, you are training more for a 100 swim.

A 1.5K swim (.93 miles) is the beginning event in the triathlon. I swim now 22 minute for this distance and I need to go under 20 minutes for that distance. I attended a Master group this morning, however, it's a small group no one in the group is able to push me on the swims. The Coach has an outstanding background, however. Can this Master group still be beneficial or should I look for another? Thanks, Terry I suppose then that my cross-training suggestion was not on point. :blush: I swam for a while with one group in which I was the fastest, and I still got a lot of benefit from the group and the coaching. As long as you can go the pace you need to go without interfering with slower swimmers' workouts, the group could be helpful in your swim training (and you might help some of them get to their next level too). On the other hand, if a faster group is also available to you, you might try that group out and compare.

Even if the Masters group can't push you - swimming with a good coach could be very helpful. First - they can correct your stroke. Second - they can encourage you or push you when you need it. I'd just say that do not slow down because of other swimmers slower than you. I think Ande makes an important suggestion. Examine and improve your stroke. Perhaps what will benefit you the most is a 5% improvement in stroke efficiency. Video tape your swims and take a good look at it. Try a swimming snorkel to improve stroke balance. Etc.... Most triathletes I know try to save their legs for the bike/run so you may not want to exert any more with your legs. But you may be dragging them too much. Maybe a reliable, smooth 2 beat kick is the answer.