February 2017 Week 6 Session 3

I put a bit of effort in this evening and was rewarded with 12/12 'fast' sets being at 2:00min/100m or better. A few of these were around 1:52min/100 which I'm happy with. Unfortunately my closing 100m set didn't achieve the threshold pace of 2:00min/100m but I was quite fatigued by then; indeed each of the 3 lengths was distinctly slower.

February 2017 Week 6 Session 1

I was tired from the minute I first got into the water, the slowest warm-up set in months! Anyway, that slowness might have worked out as I managed 20/21 'fast' lengths at better than 2:00min/100m. Really I should have done 20 so actually that could count as 20/20. None were close to a PB, mostly 36s or more per length.

SPL looking good too at 21 as a maximum even for the faster lengths near the end of the session. I am getting that I can put more force into the water and not just splash as I try harder. I think that I slightly shortening my reach but for SPL is constant or dropping there can't be much of a shortening. It does feel to me as though this slightly shorter stroke is giving me more feel and a bit more speed.

February 2017 Week 5 CSS time trial

Today's swim was off the programme as I didn't have time for a long swim and shouldn't be doing fast intervals. So it seemed perfect to do a CSS time trial. That needs good effort for 400m and 200m. So it would be interesting go see if I could beat 8:00 minutes.

After the warm up I set off straight into the 400m with an excellent, possibly too fast pace. For the first 300m I was clearly faster than 2:00min/100m but then slowed. It didn't help that I lost track of lengths and so did 2 extra, which also meant that mentally I saved energy more than needed. The last 3 lengths were slow and so I completed in 8:00.5 minutes which is a personal best but still not better than 8:00 minutes!

After a brief a breather I did 200m in 3:58 minutes. Using the swimsmooth CSS calculator  I should aim to train at 2:01min/100m.

So for my long session the theory is that I should aim to include 1200m, across a few sets, at this pace to work close to lactate threshold.

February 20147 Week 5 Session 3

Not too bad today, a sub 5:00 minute warm-up and then 66m intervals. Of these 9/11 'fast' intervals were better than 2:00min/100m and the other two were very close. It was great to see that I achieved 1:50min/100m for one set. My 'steady' sets faded as well as the faster ones but even at the end I was at 2:14min/100m.

Looking at SPL is positive too as I managed between 20 and 22 SPL for my fast sets, naturally more towards the end of the session. Over the last year I've certainly knocked a stroke or two off each length whilst maintaining g, or possibly improving, pace.

February 2017 Week 5 Extra Session

I had a little gap in my diary in which I could fit a 20 minute swim (plus changing) and thought it would be an opportunity to do some medium intensity lengths. I'd not got the pull buoy so it would be hard work.

I swam a total of 800m as 400m, 200m and 200m sets and it went very well. The 400m was done in just over 10 minutes and excitingly even after that, I managed 200m in 4:51 minutes which is a PB for that sort of set. The final 200m was only just over 5 minutes too.

Irritated my right ankle...again

So for many months, maybe a year, I've been letting my right ankle settle down. I've not worn hiking boots, avoided shoes with work heels, done limited strengthening exercises and gradually become accustomed to zero-drop shoes. The pain around the lateral malleolus seemed to have disappeared.

Earlier I went for a walk in the woods and wore new Vivobarefoot hiking boots. Within an hour my ankle was sore and by the time I was home at two hours I was contemplating walking in really barefeet. This is disappointing and concerning. Disappointing as I'd hoped the problem had resolved and concerning as I've entered a long distance walk in a few months time and I don't want to be recovering from injuries.

February 2017 Week 5 Session 1

A good swim this morning. Sub-5:00min warm-up and then 20/20 'fast' lengths at 2:00min/100m or better. I tried a final 100m set but I was tired and could only manage 2:08min/100m.

In terms of style, I thought about extending my left arm, but apart from that I accepted being rougher. For some early sets I experienced with a different feel; rather less reach and a bit more of a 'scoop'. I think it was a bit faster. I wonder if this style helps keep my elbow high?

February 2017 Week 4 Session 3

I had a rucsac full of stuff today so didn't carry the pull buoy into work. I also had a limited time between work and a work-related evening meal so those factors set the scene for a modified session using paddles for my 'fast' lengths and a substantially reduced session.

The warm-up took 5:01 minutes, so faster than I've managed for the last few swims. Using the paddles was hard work and after 6 sets of 66m I felt my arms had taken enough load so my seventh set was done merely 'fast'. With the paddles I was working at 2:20min/100m pace and without around 2:30min/100m. Clearly the paddles didn't compensate for my sinking, anchor-like legs. I was pleased that the final fast set (well 2x 33m lengths with pause) without paddles averaged 2:16min/100m so I was clearly still putting in some effort. I felt that I was keeping my legs fairly high as even at the end I heard them breaking the water every so often. I tried a legs-only length which was very slow. I've not really been working on leg based propulsion even though I know their position is improving.

Currently I can't see myself using paddles for more than a few training lengths as my shoulders just aren't strong enough.

February 2017 Week 4 Session 1

Perhaps I started today's swim not quite as tired as usual as I only managed half a run yesterday afternoon. Whether that was really the cause, I managed to get a good pace throughout the session. All 16 'fast' lengths were under 2:00min/100m and 12 were better than 1:50min/100m. I've tried a final 100m set 'just to see' in previous weeks and repeated it today. Even though I'd already swum over 1km I achieved 1:57min for a 100m set. I'm pleased with that.

I did think about my stroke slightly differently today. I still aimed to reach with the left arm and aim for 1 o'clock with my right arm but perhaps not quite as far. I also thought about a high elbow, but not sure whether I achieved that! For the fast lengths I was around 68 SPM so I might have gained more by being bit more cautious there.

I think I might have a new PB with a length at 33.1seconds.

February 2017 Week 4 Session 2

So I've not done session 1 yet for this week but that I overlooked that and went straight for an hours swim without the pull buoy. It was slow but this was partly because I was in a lane with even slower people! Many times I caught up and had to slow down dramatically and then wait at the end for a few seconds for them to move off. Also, on two occasions I stopped mid-length and turned back to break my position in the slow convoy.

I set off well at a 2:40min/100m pace but slowed to around 3:00min/100m through the 2km. Of course SPL crept up too. On the positive side, I felt less fatigued than previously, even though my final pace was a bit better. Progress again?

February 2017 Week 3 Session 3

Today's fast workout comprised alternate sets of 66m at 70% and 90% effort. Due to time limitations I only completed 11 of 12 supersets but those went well. Until the last set I exceeded my critical pace of 2:00min/100m, my best pair of lengths being completed at 1:48min/100m.

Looking at stroke rate I may have gone faster than ideal as on the fast sets I was at a SPM of 64, in slow sets I was around 52. At my training session 58 seemed a better goal. Looks like the TempoTrainer must come out again.

February 2017 Week 3 Session 2

I didn't take my pull buoy into the pool today so was committed to my long swim being hard work. I set to do 2000m but ended up a bit over that, which is fine .Perhaps my longest swim without a helper (2166m)? The first 1000m felt comfortable and was done in 26:09 minutes but I started to fade after that. Incidentally that initial pace was slightly slower than I managed in February:

05/03/17 2:42 min/100m
06/02/17 2:38 min/100m
04/01/16 3:02 min/100m

My performance wasn't exactly strong though.

Each length needed more and more strokes in the latter half until the last few lengths were really feeble, and slow.

To Norfolk Arms

As it was going to stay light for this evening's 12km run I went via the woods and Limb Valley. I put a fair bit of effort in and this this rewarded by a reasonable time. Some of my PRs from 2013 and 2014 look as though they'll be unachievable again. I can't train as fast as I'm growing older I suspect. It was quite wet and boggy underfoot, which as an excuse to be a little slow.