Reply To: for those that have distance swimmers
Kevin,
I’m currently using 75’s, 100’s and 150’s. The 75s for 400/500 and set pace using the average of the last two 100s. Then break it down to m/s, then into 75 time at 3% to 5% over race speed. In fact we just did 14 x 75 on 1:10 tonight @ 500 pace, that’s 1050 yds at 500 pace and of the 5 kids that did that set 4 made all 14, 5th made 11. 100s I’ll use them “universally” sometime I’ll use them for the 500, 1000 and occasionally the 1650. 150s, I’ll use for the true 1650 kid. I think they hold better speed and technical skill. There’s just something about repeat 200s that just buggers them. Not sure why.
The cycling of these gets tricky. Just because they also swim 100/200s of stroke and 4IM and you have to make sure they get enough stimulus each week. Right now we do 2 mornings (LCM) and that is strictly dedicated to 400/800/1500. During the week I’ll try and get in one more set in the afternoon. So 3 x per week of pure distance free work. It’s a real pain because they still have 25s fr & stk, 50s 2′ fr & stk, 50s 1′ fr & stk. They are holding up really well.
Sample set: THEY STOP AND REST IF THEY MISS PACE. RULES APPLY! I think this is where A LOT of coaches make the mistake and really wear down swimmers and then wonder why the kids get slower. Volume will not make them faster.
8 x 100 on 1:20/1:30 @ 800 pace
12 x 50 on :50/1:00 @ 400 pace with tempo trainer set at 400 tempo.
They will do 2 rounds. Thought process was to get them to be able to “shift” gears at the end of a race. It’s not a lot of fun. But they do a real good job on that set.
Your sets are viable. IF YOU LET THEM STOP WHEN THEY CAN’T HOLD PACE. You have 3 workouts already done. Just some thoughts here.
workout
150s/200s at 1650 pace
Technical skill/recovery
50s at 500 pace
Technical skill/recovery
25s on 1′ stk
workout
50s/75s at 500 pace
Technical skill/recovery
100s at 1000 pace
Technical skill/recovery
50s on 1′ stroke
I always try and rotate the first set so that they have a chance to improve on the numbers done.
Remember they are distance swimmers. They are use to “boredom” and don’t have to be “entertained” like sprinters 🙂
An interesting article I’ve been rereading is ” Interval Training for Performance: A Scientific and Empirical Practice. It’s by Dr. Billat, about training middle distance runners. (Use Google Scholar) But if you understand physiology you can get some insight and makes you think.
Hope this helps,
Doc
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