Some recent training sets

The set pictured below is one that we did a few weeks ago at Thorndon Pool (which is 33 1/3 yards, or roughly 30.5 metres long). I think it was on Saturday 6 March. It took a little while to do but was varied and interesting. We had a great group of people for this set, and took over a whole lane. It was fun, and the set included (I hope) something for everybody.


~~~~~~~

These are two sets that I've done a few times at Freyberg recently on Wednesday or Friday mornings after the prelude of a lighthouse swim (2.6km). For reference, Freyberg is 33 1/3 metres long, so 3 lengths to 100 metres.

1. 4,400 metres

1200m warm-up as 66 fr/33 bk

400 as  4x(33 kick/33 drill/33 swim) w/fins
400 as 4x(33 sculll/23 swim) w/pullbuoy 

3 x 200 @ 3.05  pull/paddles
200 easy/choice
2 x 200 @3.05 pull/paddles
200 easy/choice
1 x 200 @3.05 pull/paddles
200 easy/choice

9 x 33 strong @ 00.40 fins/paddles

300 warm down


2.  3,400 metres

Warm-up is  6 x (100 kick/133 IM) with fins  

6 x 100 @ 1.45 pull, no paddles
200 easy swim
6 x 100 @ 1.40 pull, with paddles
200 easy swim                                                 

6 x 33 kick (fins) @ 0.40

200 easy swim

~~~~~~

 For a few weeks, I was staying in the pool after our Tuesday morning squad to do some extra metres. One set, I did about three times involved maintaining a steady but strong pace, and focussing on a particular element of technique - such as breathing every four strokes, or always breathing towards the clock. The squad session generally involved 3.2-3.6km, depending on the theme of the week, so I'd try to get up to 5km for the morning's total swim.


3. 1,500 (in a 25m pool)

10 x 75 @ 1.10 or 1.15 (depending on who I was with, and/or how tired I was. If I was by myself, I went for 1.10, just to maintain the pressure) as pull/paddles

10 x 50 @ 0.55 as pull/paddles

10 x 25 @ 0.25 as paddles/fins 

Whatever warm-down would get me to 5km for the morning (or 4.5km if I was in a hurry....)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A beautiful day in the south — swimming to Rakiura

Image
Looking towards Rakiura with not far to go. It is now two weeks since I was lucky enough to enjoy a beautiful swim across Te Ara-a-Kiwa/Foveaux Strait to Rakiura/Stewart Island on Saturday 1 April 2023. For many reasons, this was a lucky swim, characterized by a series of beautiful coincidences and experiences that I wasn’t sure how to do justice to. With every swim they complete, our local swimmers write ever more perceptive and vivid blogs, so there is some pressure to match their originality and eloquence. Just this week I've read Adriana's evocative account of her Taup ō swim, and Gr á inne’s thoughtful response , written from the perspective of a support person during the swim (as well as her stories of swims here and abroad). Then there’s also Rebecca’s story of a record-breaking swim in Lake Wānaka , Mike’s day in Taupō , and John’s long-awaited crossing between our north and south islands. Their candid reflections make it harder and harder to find a perspective and t...
Read more

Guest Blog: Swimming Foveaux, Te Ara a Kiwi

Image
Thursday 10 March 2022 was a big day for marathon swimming in New Zealand. On the same day, there were four swimmers in the water, two crossing Te Moana-o-Raukawa (Cook Strait) and two crossing Te Ara a Kiwi (Foveaux Strait). On this particular day, both stretches of water offered some challenges, but ultimately all four swimmers made successful crossings. One of these swimmers was Gráinne Moss, whose account of her 2021 Lake Taupō can be found here . I'm honoured to host the story of her most recent swim, with which Gráinne completed the 'Triple Crown' of NZ's ultra-marathon swims.  ******* Swimming Foveaux, Te Ara a Kiwi – 10th March 2022 The Playlist Blog Among our Wellington Swim Group, the “Spud Buds” there is an accepted tradition that you not only do your open-water swim challenge – you also write a blog about it. Welcome to my blog about swimming from Stewart Island to Bluff, one of ocean swimming's  Toughest 13 . I have structured this blog around a playlis...
Read more

Guest post: Victoria swims Lake Taupō

Image
On Saturday 22 January 2022, my friend Victora Pinarello joined the 40.2 Club by swimming the length of Lake Taupō. It was a privilege to be part of her support crew for this swim. I had huge respect for Victoria’s background in Ironman and other extreme endurance sports, and her attitude to training for this swim during 2021, demonstrating an incredible work ethic, was humbling. Then, the determination Victoria showed during a long swim that had some challenging moments gave me a new perspective on what ‘endurance’ can mean.  Therefore, it’s an especial pleasure to host her swim report on Goggles at Dawn. ******* Total time: 18 hours 26 minutes 18 seconds; expected time 15/16 hours Total distance: 40.9km; expected distance 40.2km * 24 hours awake * 25 SiS gels * 4 bottles of electrolyte * 3 layers of sunscreen * 1 driver – Emma * 2 supporters on the boat – Alicia and Corrina * 1 Phil * 1 Hana I'm told of the tradition to write a blog post-swim, to impart my wisdom and share my ...
Read more