I’m trying to improve my swim time for the triathlon this year, and this morning I wasn’t as fast as I hoped I would be. I want to swim the 1.5k in under 20 minutes, and at the moment I’m just over, at around 20 minutes 30 seconds. Well, that was when I timed myself in January in Japan so I should be faster than that now (this was in a pool without a wetsuit mind you).

In order to beat that time, I’m swimming three times a week, with each session slightly different to the next, and each focusing on quality over quantity (although it may be an idea to have one focused on quantity, will think about that).

Mondays I normally do 12x100m at 1’25 pace, and then I do 4x100m medley at 1’40. To swim 1.5k in under 20 minutes, I need to be doing 1’20 100s. So, on Wednesdays I’ve been doing 4x 4x100m at 1’20 pace and an easy 100m. Fridays are my long swim where I do 2x800s on 11:20 (that’s 1’25 pace).

As you can tell, only part of the Wednesday sessions are at the pace I want to swim. So, to try change that, this morning I tried doing 2x 6x100m on the 1’20, with a break in between. I was able to keep pace for the first 3 100s, actually the first 100 I did on about 1’13. I had originally planned on doing 3x 4x100 on the 1’20, but I thought I’d be able to do two lots of six, which failed.

I guess this means that next week I’ll do the 3x 4x100 on the 1’20 with a break between each set. I now know that I have to slow down a bit at the start, I guess I need to get used to 1’20 tempo, which I’m not at yet.

Wednesday’s sessions can stay the same, but Friday’s I will need to also speed up a bit. I’m not sure how best to do that because it is so long. Perhaps I can start by doing them on the 11’ (10’40 is the pace I need). Last week I think I struggled with the second 800m because I went too hard in the first. I also don’t think I’m fast enough to make up that 20 seconds yet, but this is also a matter of pacing.

So, as with everything, it’s a matter of tinkering with what I’m doing at making slight adjustments all the time. It’s hard to know if I’m on track, but I still have three months to train, so I guess that’s a good thing to keep in mind. Keep it up bro!