1st Swim Training
Swam 2500 yards today, the first time I’ve been swimming in about three months (I think). I was trying to keep a very steady pace that I thought I could keep for 45 minutes without being too exhausting. Swam the first 1000 yards in about 19:45. Swam the first 66 lengths (just over .932 miles — the length of the swim leg of the Olympic triathlon) in 29:25. I swam the entire 2500 in 45:30 — 27.5 seconds per length. It wasn’t very fast, and I noticed most of the other people doing laps around me swimming faster — some swimming quite a bit faster (although most of them were starting and stopping and I did not stop for the entire 45 minutes). My form is obviously mediocre, and I was slowed down by the fact that after the first 15 lengths or so I got lazy and stopped doing flip turns.
My goal is to finish the swimming leg of 1.5 K or .932 m in under 25 minutes. In a pool that’s a pace of 22.7 seconds per 25 yard length or about 26.8 minutes/mile. If I can get my 1 mile time down to a 25 minute mile (21.3 seconds/length), then I can swim .932 miles in 23:18. Since I swam 1.42 miles at a 27.5 sec/length pace it seems reasonable that in six months with intensive training I will be able to swim one mile at a 21.3 seconds/length pace. I will have to discount for (a) the fact that in a triathlon I cannot swim the swim leg all out, and (b) the swim leg will be in open water surrounded by a few hundred other swimmers thrashing about. On the other hand I tend to perform much faster in a race than I do in training (well, based upon a grand total of two running races). If I can swim one mile in under 25 seconds in the pool then maybe I can swim .932 miles in 25 seconds in the triathlon leg.
After the swim session, I put on my gym gear, headed over to the gym, and, notwithstanding feeling a bit light headed from the swim, spent 15 minutes on the stationary bike. I kept it at level 11 (185 watts), and my HR was pretty steady at 135. I think I’ll be able to start making some calculations about my fitness level and what I need to do to attain my race time goal in June. I will need to figure out max HR. I assume it’s around 180 or so but I’ve never tested it.
Today I realized that I hit my March 31 goal for the squat yesterday. My goal was a 1-rep equivalent of 260, and my 12 reps at 185 was good for a 1-rep eq of 267. So it looks like my goal wasn’t ambitious enough. I’ll up it to 300 for February 28. By the end of February I am not going to be focusing on weight lifting goals but will be focusing on endurance training instead. At that point my weight lifting will be in maintenance mode.
I’m going to focus on trying to put together a training plan for the first half of 2008, with goals (to achieve by my 44th birthday on June 8 ) of (a) beating 2:30 in the Olympic triathlon, (b) getting bodyfat to about 12%, and (c) reaching all my not-that-ambitious weight lifting goals.
December 22, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Your first swim workout was amazing. You’ll see significant gains as you improve your efficiency and technique. Your goals are ambitious, but I think they are doable. Good luck. Enjoy the journey and stay healthy.