This swim session is a great way to work on developing your sustained pace and stamina. This session is perfect for Ironman and Olympic distance triathletes or people doing longer ocean swims.
Each Saturday I will post a Swim Session, most weeks I will load three options up for you to do. Option A is for swimmers who are after a workout between 1,000 & 2,000 metres. Option B is for swimmers who are after a workout between 2,000 & 3,000m and Option C will be greater than 3,000m.
I’ve written these sessions for a 33⅓ metre pool, but a lot of the older style pools are 33⅓ yards long (100 feet), so simply interchange the metres for yards and do the session.
Option A
- 200m WU;
- 1,500m TT;
- 200m CD (1,900m)
Option B
- 300m WU;
- 6x 67m Drill/Swim;
- 1500m Time Trial;
- 200m CD (2,400m)
Option C
- 1,000m WU;
- 8x 67m Drill/Swim;
- 1500m Time Trial;
- 200m CD (3,300m)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A), 300m (Option B), or 1,000m (Option C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Next up is a drill set for Options B and C only. There are six (Options B) or eight (Option C) repetitions of 67m Drill/Swim, where you do a drill for the first 33m of the repetition and then normal swimming for the next 33m swimming. Feel free to use fins whilst doing the drill/swim set. Do the drills below twice through for Option C and the first two drills twice through and the last two only once through for Option B:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
Take the fins off prior to the next set, which is a 1,500m Time Trial for all options. Swim this as fast as possible and record your time, so you can compare it to future sessions to see how much you improve.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 200m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the cooldown (like the warm-up) can be any stroke you wish to swim. You can also stop and rest after any length. I encourage you to stop and stretch during the cool-down.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi Coaching.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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If you enjoyed this workout, I published a similar session 12 months ago.
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