Swimming Set of the Week - January 15, 2010

 Getting ready for the One-Hour Swim?  Here's a set will help build your confidence and sense of pace.

Before starting this set, it's important to know what pace you can hold per 100 for a long swim (for example, it might be the pace you can hold on the fourth 300 in a set of 4 X 300.   Or, you can go into this set knowing what pace per 100 you want to hold for the one-hour swim.  Whatever this magic, aerobic pace is FOR YOU, let's call it "X."

Here's your set:

40 X 100 on X plus 30 seconds as your sendoff
Alternate 1 X 100 @ X pace and 3 X 100 @ X minus 3 to 5 seconds.

Example:
You think you will swim 4000 yards during the One-Hour Swim.  This is a pace of 1:30 per 100, so your "X" is 1:30.
In this week's set, you will swim 40 X 100 on a 2:00 sendoff (1:30 plus 30 seconds = 2:00 sendoff).
Swim the first 100 in exactly 1:30.  Swim the next 3 X 100 @ 1:25.  Etc.   The set can be shortened to 32 X 100 or 36 X 100.

The purpose of the set is to push UPWARDS the point of your anaerobic threshold.  The set might help our example swimmer to achieve a pace of, say, 1:29 instead of 1:30 during the actual OHS.