Just to give everyone an idea how delusional I really can be: at 47 years of age I keep on thinking to myself, that with just a bit more training and technical improvements, I can start catching the age group swimmers that train at the same time as I do in the early morning. Here I am, just passed the half way point in my life and I am still catching myself doing the "next year is my break-out year" thing. Crazy.
Anyway here is a couple of questions to the great crew here with regards to training:
Anybody out there in the 45 to 50 zone who keeps a training log and would be willing to share it with me? I have absolutely no idea what other guys my age are logging per work-out and week and what would be considered decent pace times. I am currently training mostly short-course meters, but I will be training long-course yards (bizarre old out-door pool) for the next two months. I can manage to hold 1:15 repeats for up to 10 by 100 right now, but my goal is to get that down to 1:10 or 1:05 by summer's end. I want to go like I did when I was eighteen just for a few moments.
How about underwater training? I have really poor anaerobic tolerance; I practically have to breath every stroke (versus the common every second or third). An old acquaintance of mine told me of a Navy Seals session he watched years ago where the SEALS had spent an entire 90 minute session swimming lengths under water to build up endurance. Any value for a swimmer? My lack of tolerance probably explains why I was originally a backstroke specialist when I was a kid.
Sprints. I have taken several member's advice and added numerous sprint sessions to my work-outs now. I am doing them sproradically now since I do not have any meets on the horizon, but I intend to ramp up the speed work as the fall competitive season approaches. One person suggested I keep everything down to 25 meter full out efforts while another suggested that I needed to get my 100 meter repeats down under 1:10 if I was going to meet my 400 meter goal of sub 5 minutes. Do I mix and match? Where do I put my emphasis?
BTW: this site is fantastic.
Parents
Former Member
When you say "hold 1:15 repeats" are you saying that this is your interval time? If so then you are currently going under 5:00 for a 400 free.
M
The 1:15 repeats were actually done last week in a wierd old 50 yard outdoor pool doing pull. With paddles and pull buoy on, I can almost match my teen-age times. The best I have done in a "real" pool (25 meters short course or long course) is 10X100 on 1:20 pull training fresh and rested. I can almost match that swimming at 10X100 on 1:25 if I am fresh. I have always found yards swimming to be a bit of a mystery.
Racing I tend to have performance anxiety. I rarely rest before meets and I often feel like manure from the first length. If I am on, I can be really on. If I am off, well, then nobody should really wait for the end of the race because it is going to be a while.
I notice that you train out of Vancouver, my old stomping ground. I see Graham Wellbourne is still ripping up the pool out there. He was amazing when I trained with him back in the late seventies. Its like the guy does not age.
I am heading out to Vancouver in late July and August. I hope to get my dose of outdoor training down at my favourite outdoor pool: Kitsalano. You should post a picture of that monster here so everyone can froth. One hundred and thirty-seven point five meters of training in one length. Twelve lengths to the mile and you can actually think of doing sprint-swim training within one length and expect to reach exhaustion.
When you say "hold 1:15 repeats" are you saying that this is your interval time? If so then you are currently going under 5:00 for a 400 free.
M
The 1:15 repeats were actually done last week in a wierd old 50 yard outdoor pool doing pull. With paddles and pull buoy on, I can almost match my teen-age times. The best I have done in a "real" pool (25 meters short course or long course) is 10X100 on 1:20 pull training fresh and rested. I can almost match that swimming at 10X100 on 1:25 if I am fresh. I have always found yards swimming to be a bit of a mystery.
Racing I tend to have performance anxiety. I rarely rest before meets and I often feel like manure from the first length. If I am on, I can be really on. If I am off, well, then nobody should really wait for the end of the race because it is going to be a while.
I notice that you train out of Vancouver, my old stomping ground. I see Graham Wellbourne is still ripping up the pool out there. He was amazing when I trained with him back in the late seventies. Its like the guy does not age.
I am heading out to Vancouver in late July and August. I hope to get my dose of outdoor training down at my favourite outdoor pool: Kitsalano. You should post a picture of that monster here so everyone can froth. One hundred and thirty-seven point five meters of training in one length. Twelve lengths to the mile and you can actually think of doing sprint-swim training within one length and expect to reach exhaustion.
