07/25/06 OK, So I Tried It: "Satan Set"

There was a post recently on this site from a coach who described several examples of true SPRINT sets. One was something called "Satan Set," which he described as:6 X 100 @ 6:00 within 6 seconds of personal best or it doesn't count. If more than 9 seconds of PB, add another. I've wanted to try this set for a while, so I figured what better opportunity than 12 days out from my first event at FINA worlds. I was pretty nervous during warmup -- anticipating a bunch of pain that was coming up -- but once I got started, it wasn't too bad. Being an old geezer, I adjusted the set slightly. I'd really recommend this as a taper set. Because your stroke and turns always feel different and kind of "off" when you try to go fast, this set pointed out some things I need to work on during the next 12 days. It also gave me a sense of how fast I can take out my 100 breast and not totally die on the last 25. So it was a good set, and good for boosting confidence and awareness. Might do it again next week.WARMUP: 1000With Zura Alpha fins:100 dolphin on front100 flutter on back100 dolphin on back200 free/back200 breast kick with Zura Sidekick, alternating regular kick, eggbeater, and single leg.With Zura Alphas and strapless paddles:8 X 25 breast with pulldowns, focusing on hand position during the underwaters.100 EZ free (procrastinating here)SATAN SET: 600 of effort + 1200 of EZ pulling6 X 100 breast from the blocks, trying to hit a time that is within 6 seconds of my Masters PB, which is 1:17.79. I didn't assign do-overs or extras if I missed my target time. After each 100, I did an EZ 200 pull, alternating free and back. For a sendoff, I figured that I would wait until my heart rate returned to 80 or 90 before starting the next 100. On the first 3 X 100, this took 7 minutes. On the final 3 X 100, this took 7:15 then 7:30 then 8:00. Heart rate after the swims was 150 to 165.Times on the set were 1:27...1:25...1:23...1:24...1:23...1:23.WARMDOWN: 100 EZ swim after the final 200 pullTotal Yardage: 3000