As I crawled back into the pool today fat and out of shape, I wondered: Don't sprinters need some minimal aerobic work? I see that Ande is doing none whatsoever and Paul advises not "fighting fat" in the pool. I do a lot of race pace training and cross training. But still, is just a little aerobic work called for? I can tell I don't need any for 50s, but my 100s could use a little something. I don't think I have the substantial swimming aerobic base that people like Ande have because I was out of the pool for so many years .. So I'm either taking my 100s out too slow for fear of dying or actually dying. Does aerobic work help counter this? Or do I need more lactate work such as doing 100s with huge amounts of rest?
The fitness aspect of cycling/spinning or running is unquestioned (as well as for weight control). But is it really so hard to do the same in the pool? The 1-hour postal swim hurts just as bad as a 40 km bike time trial, after all, and probably has a similar affect on HR.
It would be for me. I think shoulder-wise I max out at 17,500 yards or so per week, in four sessions lasting about 5.5 hours total. Along with dryland strength training for core and limbs, that amount of swimming might be enough for my best performance in short events, but I have other goals as well. (Last year my OW swimming won me a spatula, a potholder, and a plate! Just a few more years and I will be able to bake a cake!)
As an aside, my triathlete/cyclist friends always marvel about -- and don't quite understand -- swimmers training for hours for events that last mere minutes.
Do you know anyone who trains for track events in cycling or running rather than for road racing? I think long distance OW swimming is a better comparison for triathlon or road cycling, and track meets are a better comparison for swim meets. A 40-ish classmate in professional school ran track but I never quizzed him about training regimens. Maybe rtodd or someone else with a track background can enlighten us as to how 45-year-old 400m specialists train?
The fitness aspect of cycling/spinning or running is unquestioned (as well as for weight control). But is it really so hard to do the same in the pool? The 1-hour postal swim hurts just as bad as a 40 km bike time trial, after all, and probably has a similar affect on HR.
It would be for me. I think shoulder-wise I max out at 17,500 yards or so per week, in four sessions lasting about 5.5 hours total. Along with dryland strength training for core and limbs, that amount of swimming might be enough for my best performance in short events, but I have other goals as well. (Last year my OW swimming won me a spatula, a potholder, and a plate! Just a few more years and I will be able to bake a cake!)
As an aside, my triathlete/cyclist friends always marvel about -- and don't quite understand -- swimmers training for hours for events that last mere minutes.
Do you know anyone who trains for track events in cycling or running rather than for road racing? I think long distance OW swimming is a better comparison for triathlon or road cycling, and track meets are a better comparison for swim meets. A 40-ish classmate in professional school ran track but I never quizzed him about training regimens. Maybe rtodd or someone else with a track background can enlighten us as to how 45-year-old 400m specialists train?
