September 2016 Week 4 Session 3

Starting with a positive, at least I know that my Garmin Swim is still water tight after changing the battery. Conversely I found today's session hard work. The goal is for 10 sets at 1:54min/100m pace with easy bits in-between. After Week 1 I realised that this was beyond my ability and focussed on achieving 1:57min/100m pace. So far I haven't managed that either!

Today I did 4 reasonable fast sets and then some others slower than 2:00min/100m. Some of the lengths were great at around 1:55min/100m although as I tired I couldn't manage that. The current in the pool was apparent although whether 2 lengths with the flow has flattered my overall pace I'm not sure as I have the fight against the current to cope with.

A faster pace with the 'flow' is clear on first and third lengths of a set

I am managing to increase my stokes/minute and did a few around 35spm. Although these lacked power at least I was able to move my arms quickly!

April 2016 Week 12 Session 1

I've completed the last 'long swim' in the current block although it'll be a couple of weeks before I go for my next review lesson. Today's pacing was good, both consistent and a little bit more rapid.

There was the usual fatigue but by working hard in the 3rd set it doesn't look too severe. There is some variation in pace as the lanes were a little busy at times and so I was occasionally held up, and occasionally work to accelerate past.

Looking back over the block of 12 weeks there's a distinct improvement in pace although it's uneven and only of the order of 8 seconds/100m from start to finish! Having said that 3.5% gain isn't bad, this article suggests that over 10 weeks an average improvement of 2.5% is reasonable.

October 2015 Week 6 Session 3 - very good work

During today's swim I felt fast and the data shows that I was moderately fast (for me). That's good. I'll accept that occasional good performance doesn't always show the true trend but this afternoon I'm prepared to consider that it does. It's also possible that the absence of a run yesterday might mean that I'm better recovered than sometimes.

I started with the intention not to be feeble in the warm up 200m and so I just did the lengths with no gaps. I didn't make a great effort to be fast but tried to apply myself. That resulted in sub 3minute/100m for 200m (with the sinky-legs). I've manage that in the SwimSmooth time trial but not otherwise. That good start had a good effect on my whole swim average. Then on the usual-effort alternated with 90%-effort lengths I focussed on some effort even when resting and then being faster with good 'feel for the water' whilst working harder.

This approach worked as I managed a number of lengths at 2:05min/100m or better and good averages throughout. Of course I tired towards the end of the session until the final pairs of lengths showed little difference between normal and hard as they were all becoming hard! My first set showed around 22strokes/33m but by the end it had risen to 26strokes/33m. Clearly I was losing hold and merely swinging my arms.

October 2015 Week 6 Session 2

Today I was focussing on effort with the goal of a progression across six 100m sets. As before I mostly failed to achieve this. The pattern seems to be a stupidly slow set, followed by 2 good ones and the a final few that have more strokes but very little better pace. As I tire the lack of gain for effort becomes clearer. Basically it seems that as I increase stroke rate, unless I'm really fresh, there is no net gain in pace.

I did manage a few 100m sets at around 2:21min/100m and no individual lengths at better than 2:15min/100m which isn't great. On the plus side I've looked back at old swimming data and noted that I used to struggle to manage 4min/100m. Now on the warm ups I'm not quite achieving 3min/100m but feel that I could do. I think I need to do a 1000m test with legs (i.e. without pull buoy) to make a fair comparison.

Recently I have suspected that the pool has a distinct flow and in the lane I was in today it was clear that I was working against the pump for the last 8m or so of the shallow end.

October 2015 Week 5 Session 3

Storm Abigail has arrived in Sheffield but it's wet and windy rather than dangerous. After a brief breakfast I nipped down to the Goodwin and completed the week 5 programme by doing the fast/slow routine.

The change in pace is evident throughout the session which is better than some weeks where the distinction became lost as I tired. Part of this might be that I was going unusually gently for the slow lengths, giving me the opportunity to speed up! The quietness of the pool made such messing about possible without inconveniencing others.

Even with such a lovely 'comb' of data my fatigue is evident in the gradual decline of pace. I'd really hoped that I might have managed a 40s length in the first set but was limited to 44s putting me at 2:11m/100m, assuming I could sustain it.

Beginning of week 3 swimming

I've now done the first 2 sessions on week 3 and these have revealed my ongoing problems with pacing. On Tuesday I did 7 sets of 300m (well that was the plan but some shorter and some longer) and despite trying to start gently my pace gradually declined. The first set was done in 6:56 the last in 7:44. By the end I felt really tired and found the waves and buffeting from adjacent swimmers hard work.

Today I was supposed to be increasing the effort within 500m sets so that the pace increased a by  few seconds every 100m. I started gently to give myself a chance and then ramped it up, or so I thought! The first 2 steps I tried to use more power and improve the feel and to a degree that worked. Then for the 4th and 5th blocks I tried to increase stroke rate too.That didn't work and I was simply tiring myself out. Notably, as on Tuesday my performance fell across the sets.

At least trying to increase pace meant that I did maintain it within a set showing that effort has to increase and an apparently slow start is essential. There were't any fast lengths at all today, the best being just under 44s.