Training for the 1500/1650: Suggestions?

Thanks for the great responses. A couple of questions: How much aerobic (En1) swimming should I be doing outside of the warm up and warm down? And how long should the anaerobic threshold (En2) sets be? One immediate question that pops in my mind is : Do you really want to turn yourself into a distance swimmer? (or do you - just like me - want to keep and maintain a sprint edge as well) A second question would be : Out of curiosity, have you ever heard about the SweetSpot training principle? (It has been discussed over and over in the cycling world)

Starting about now when I swim solo I do 16 X 100 on descending intervals grouped in 4's starting at 1:50/1:45/1:40/1:35. I try to keep the repeat time at my goal 1600 pace time. You were have to speed your intervals up I'm sure but the concept might work. I usually do 4 X 200 warm-up with various stroke/drill combinations. I finish up with 50's and 25's stroke too.

One immediate question that pops in my mind is : Do you really want to turn yourself into a distance swimmer? (or do you - just like me - want to keep and maintain a sprint edge as well) A second question would be : Out of curiosity, have you ever heard about the SweetSpot training principle? (It has been discussed over and over in the cycling world) Not familiar with the Sweet Spot training principle. I never have been a sprinter; I have always considered myself a middle distance swimmer (swam the 500 and the 1000 in college). My coach, who was himself a miler, called the 500 a sprint.

Sweet Spot Training here is a graph

Since you are apparently terraphobic and have a job, I will suggest that you do exactly what Kurt says, it's a good program. I also think descending interval sets are great for this type of training, which echos Elise.

Curious to know your thoughts on this set I like it. I do plenty of stuff on descending intervals, too. If the intervals are right you might be able to push the first set pretty hard, then just try to make the final group. George's set is good, but I wouldn't expect to be able to be able to hold your goal mile pace with only 10-15 seconds rest between repeats. I can barely do it with 30 seconds rest.

So I have decided to focus on the 1500/1650, partly because I seem to have misplaced the three fast twitch fibers I once owned, and partly because guys named Smith are now swimming the 500 and even the 1000. Geek suggested that I build my endurance with dryland work, but unlike him I have a job and limited time to train, and I don't really want to give up pool time. Any suggestions? Having spent a little time in Austin, I remember the great running around Town Lake (I seem to remember there being lighted paths, but I could be wrong). I also remember visiting Barton Springs for a 'cool down' swim after a couple of our longer runs. Running is a great endurance booster and a 45 minute run will certainly get (and keep) your heart rate up. Damn Smiths swimming 500s and 1000s!

I did a set last year that I thought really helped with distance pacing. The first week I did both 4x50 on :45 trying to hold my 500 pace and 4x100 on 1:30 trying to hold my 1650 pace. Then the following week I did 6x50 on :45, and the week after that 6x100 on 1:30. I kept adding two repeats until I got up to 20x50 and 20x100. Then I skipped a week, then the final week (probably two weeks out from Nationals) did both 10x50 and 10x100. So the only weeks you do both the 50s and the 100s are the first and last weeks. All the other weeks you just do one or the other. The sendoffs worked out for me to give very close to a 2:1 swim to rest ratio. That first week you'll think to yourself "there's no way I'm ever going to make 20 of these," but by the time you get there you'll realize you can. That was the beauty of this progression to me: it helped both physically and mentally. Other than that I recommend trying to do a set of 3,000 yards or more without much rest at least once per week. Personally I'm not a fan of long swims in workout. I think pace stuff is more rewarding and far less boring. I also do very little dryland. Not to say dryland can't help, but I don't think it's essential. Kirk - I give a few private lessons to some triathletes training for Olympic distance tris. As you know, the swim is 1500 meters. Curious to know your thoughts on this set: 10 x 100 on 1:30 2 minutes rest 10 x 100 on 1:25 2 minutes rest 10 x 100 on 1:20 Also, I used to train with a triathlete that enjoyed this set: 80 x 25 on :25. This was actually pretty fun and would go by fast.

I am seeing way too many 100 sets being suggested -- this is a mile, you can do 15-20 race pace 100 sets closer to the meet - but in general, I would suggest some longer distance sets - 200s to 500s or ladders. Threshold - twice a week 35-40 min set - go for best average, no big descending - if you do nothing else, do those 2 sets. En1 - as much as possible as long as you are fresh for the 2 threshold sets. Dryland - great to lose weight, but nothing else Walls / Turns - if you are going short-course, make sure you work on your turns and transitions. I don't train for the mile - but I did one 10 days ago - my legs were actually the first thing getting tired from trying to get good streamline push-offs. Mile speedwork - sounds a little strange, but also keep in mind your 500 time "required" to go fast in the mile -

I think you are only seeing 100s. When I swam in the marathon races I did not only do 100s. The 100s were only one part of training as I said, do them once or twice a week. I did the 100s twice a week. Never did 200s or 400s but lots of 1, 2, and 3 hour swims. sometimes twice a day. 100s were easy to hold at race pace.