Set of the Week - April 20, 2007

The goal of this week's set is to add thought and focus to a set that would otherwise be kinda boring. The goal is to keep the athlete engaged from the first pushoff to the final touch at the wall.

As swimmers, we NEED yardage, so we frequently need to do long sets. The danger in these sets, however, is that they can introduce drudgery to our sport. One way to avoid boredom is to set goals prior to starting the set. This gives the athlete a target (or several targets) and something to focus on before every pushoff.

30 x 100 on 1:15 descend 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 (on each set of 10), with a planned time target on each swim.
1 to 10 are swim, then a 30-second break to put on pull buoy and paddles.
11 to 20 are pull, then a 30-second break to take off pull buoy and paddles.
21 to 30 are swim.
The goal times for the 100s are:
1 - 1:10
2 - 1:09
3 - 1:08
4 - 1:07
5 - 1:06

With the descend goal times being so incremental, the swimmer will need to focus on little things he/she can do to go just a bit faster, without overdoing it. With the interval being considered more along the lines of "short rest," the swimmer also has to manage those little things while becoming more and more fatigued.

Either way, it's a quick 3 grand that becomes a fun game when the swimmer tries to hit the exact times.