Swimming Set of the Week - August 12, 2011

An IM set this week, but without swimming a full IM.  

Swim three rounds of the pyramid described below (ambitious swimmers can do four rounds).

On the Masters team that I coach, we did three rounds, on a 30-second base per 25 yards.   Faster lanes/teams could adjust the sendoffs, e.g., 25s on a :30 sendoff, 50s on :50, 75s on 1:15 or 1:20.  

25s are ABF (Anything But Freestyle) on :30.  (Kick is OK as ABF.)
50s are freestyle on 1:00
75s are butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke on 1:30.    (It's OK to drill the fly.)
Take an extra 30 to 60 seconds between rounds.
It's OK to use different equipment on each round.
Each round = 500 yards/meters

1 X 25
1 X 25
1 X 50
1 X 75
1 X 50
1 X 25
1 X 25
1 X 50
1 X 75
1 X 50
1 X 25
1 X 25

What I liked about the set is the randomness of the rest intervals.   The different distances and rest intervals keep the swimmer just a little off balance and out of their comfort zone.