I'm getting ready to do a 4.8 mile swim in a month and I'm trying to get in some 5000m (and up) pool swims. I usually max out at about 3500 yards so I'm struggling to come up with some workouts longer than that. Does anyone have any good suggestions for sets? Last week I did a main set of 10x200, so I'm fine with swimming some slightly tedious stuff.
I always like a pyramid:
1 x 500
2 x 400
3 x 300
4 x 200
5 x 100
Total: 3500
Add another step to the pyramid:
1 x 600
2 x 500
3 x 400
4 x 300
5 x 200
6 x 100
Total: 5600 (if I'm doing public math correctly)
Last week I did a set of 1000s in the outdoor pool, which was pretty enjoyable. I mixed it up by doing the first one as a straight swim, the second with fins, and the third with buoy and paddles. All three were broken up mentally as easy 100 / hard 100.
One of my favorite sets is a Tall Paul set:
15 min Warm up
800 negative split (get 400 split) @1:00 rest
6 x 100's @ 1:20
400IM
100 kick for time
400 negative split (faster than 2nd 400 of the 800, get 200 split) 1:00 rest
5 x 100's @ 1:15
200IM
100 kick for time (different stroke)
200 negative split (faster than 2nd 200 of 400)
4 x 100's @ 1:10
100IM
100 kick for time (different than first two)
500 cool down
I used this several times last fall when I started swimming Masters. By the time I got to NE SCM Championships last winter, I was finally doing these intervals. Check out his thread, there's other good distance workouts there.
You might want to check out my blog, too: forums.usms.org/blog.php
I've been doing lots of distance oriented workouts this summer.
Don't be afraid to do really long sets. Things like 5x1000. They seem daunting at first, but you'll get used to it. Mix this up with more pace oriented stuff and you'll be well prepared for your long swim.
I like sets of 200 free with active rests between sets:
250 warm-up (mixed strokes or drills)
4x200 (I leave every 4 minutes)
200 rest (easy back or ***)
4x200
200 rest
4x200
200 rest
4x200
200 rest
4x200
200 rest
250 cool-down
The 200s in the main sets are pretty tough and add up to 4000 yards of really hard swimming on SCY; the active rest laps add another 1000 yards... with the warm-up and cool-down it's exactly 5500 yards or 5k. You could do 4 sets of 5x200 instead of 5x4x200; I'll probably try that next time I do this workout to speed it up a bit.
You can also just do straight 1000's, or 2000, or 3000 (whatever distance your want) and at each 50 or 100 have to get out of the pool and do 5-10 jumps, push-ups, pullouts (like climbing out of water and back down, like a pull up), sit-ups, or just climb out, walk around the block and dive back in and keep going.
We used to do lots of these at the beginning of the season after coming off our short break after Nationals or whatever as age group swimmers. Its good for strength, endurance and keeping your heart rate up without actually swimming at race pace.
