So what does this runner do to clear away the no running blues? Well with all this awesome weather it's tough, but I just logged onto SwimOutlet.com and ordered two grab bag competition bikinis to get ready for the outdoor pool workouts that will be coming up soon! Looks like I will also be adding core workouts into the new cross training regime ;) Hello P90 X!
Todays workout was brought to me by one of my gal pals who took pity on me after reading yesterdays post. She sent me a plethora of new swim workouts assigned to different training "systems." So I grabbed a random "Aerobic Endurance" workout and hopped in the pool. This should be great for changing things up a bit even after I am back up and running.
Unfortunately time is limited in the morning and I misread the total meters on the workout so we didn't even get half way through the first main set which was supposed to include a 600 meter swim that I was looking forward to seeing how fast I could do. But it was still fun to change it up a bit and do something "new."
Daisy joined me and because the workout had plenty of kicking we got to chat (aka vent) a bit while burning the heck out of our hip flexors.
Warm up:
300 swim
200 kick
Main Set
4*300 - 100 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim with 30 second rest between each 300
Cool Down:
300 swim
A total of 2000 meters with 600 meters of kicking and my hip flexors were feeling it, in a good way. Daisy wore her zoomers today so I had to keep the effort honest.
And one more positive note to wrap it up, the cough finally seems to have gone away!
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
4*200 meter, 20 second rests
Well if I can't run I figure I better HTFU and actually push the swim workouts. Since starting back up swimming I have mostly just been getting in easy meters to loosen up the legs for the next run, maybe a few 100 meter sets to feel like I actually worked, and I have been adding in a good dose of kicking to strengthen my hips, but I haven't really pushed myself that hard. Since I won't be on the track tonight I decided I should up the effort this morning in the pool and try to simulate a hard track workout a bit, at least aerobically if I can't simulate the physical pounding. I've done some googling to try and find good swim workouts for runners and I have to say I haven't found much. I think a Runners World article quoted the following two workouts for runners:
1. Swim 4 to 6 x 25 meters hard, with 30 seconds of complete rest between repeats. Build up to 6 x 50 meters. Always finish with several minutes of easy swimming.
2. Swim 2 x 100 meters hard, with a 2-minute rest between repeats. Eventually work up to 2 to 4 x 200 meters.
Seriously? The rests are incredibly long and the distance is a bit weak. I guess if you never swam before this might be sufficient, but in my head I am thinking if I want to simulate 15-20 hard minutes of track work I need to do 15-20 hard minutes of swimming.
Way back in 2004 is when I got started with the endurance sports via Team in Training. Our coach was an excellent swimmer so I got plenty of workouts to do. Now I am making it up as I go, but I remember I never had any trouble cranking out sets of 100s on minimal rest, but as the distance got longer I tended to fall off. So I decided this morning to do some 200s and see what I could do.
800 meters of warm up: 2* 200 swim, 100 kick, 100 pull
Timed the 200 meter warm up swim to get an idea of what I do with a moderate effort and it was 3:35ish
Then I did a main set of 4*200 meters with 20 second rests. The interesting thing about the pool is I have no feedback like I do on the track, no Garmin to tell me if I am "on pace." But for some reason I do well with this. First 200 I go by effort, I work hard, check the time when done, and try to give the same output or harder the following set. A lot of times in the pool it feels like I must be going slower as I start to go anaerobic in the later sets and my breathing goes from every 5th stroke to every 3rd, but I have found that typically I actually get a little faster. Today was no different. 3:20, 3:20, 3:15, 3:13. I was breathing heavy and definitely working hard, but it felt good to push myself and I would say the effort was equal to my 800s or 1000s on the track.
Followed the main set up with a cool down of 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim, 50 breast, and 50 back to round out 2000 meters in about 45 minutes.
It's a start. Way back in the day when I was in a swim club I know we used to spend several hours in the pool. Not sure if I have the mental fortitude (or the drive to get up early enough) to get in 5000 meter workouts by myself several times a week, but we will find out!
Ideally I would be doing pool running to replace any running I can't do, but the pool at my gym has no deep end and the tendon is irritated on push off so I don't think that is an option right now. I find it hard to believe that there isn't more information out there on actual swimming as a substitute for running with some sort of equivalent workouts. I realize it is inherently different. Swimmers have to do a lot more technique work and the workouts are inherently more interval based, but you would think that there would be some information on what type of workouts would work best if you simply can't run or do any weight bearing. Right now I am thinking perhaps a few days of hard intervals and a few days of longer steady swims. We'll see. Hopefully this is a very short term problem!
1. Swim 4 to 6 x 25 meters hard, with 30 seconds of complete rest between repeats. Build up to 6 x 50 meters. Always finish with several minutes of easy swimming.
2. Swim 2 x 100 meters hard, with a 2-minute rest between repeats. Eventually work up to 2 to 4 x 200 meters.
Seriously? The rests are incredibly long and the distance is a bit weak. I guess if you never swam before this might be sufficient, but in my head I am thinking if I want to simulate 15-20 hard minutes of track work I need to do 15-20 hard minutes of swimming.
Way back in 2004 is when I got started with the endurance sports via Team in Training. Our coach was an excellent swimmer so I got plenty of workouts to do. Now I am making it up as I go, but I remember I never had any trouble cranking out sets of 100s on minimal rest, but as the distance got longer I tended to fall off. So I decided this morning to do some 200s and see what I could do.
800 meters of warm up: 2* 200 swim, 100 kick, 100 pull
Timed the 200 meter warm up swim to get an idea of what I do with a moderate effort and it was 3:35ish
Then I did a main set of 4*200 meters with 20 second rests. The interesting thing about the pool is I have no feedback like I do on the track, no Garmin to tell me if I am "on pace." But for some reason I do well with this. First 200 I go by effort, I work hard, check the time when done, and try to give the same output or harder the following set. A lot of times in the pool it feels like I must be going slower as I start to go anaerobic in the later sets and my breathing goes from every 5th stroke to every 3rd, but I have found that typically I actually get a little faster. Today was no different. 3:20, 3:20, 3:15, 3:13. I was breathing heavy and definitely working hard, but it felt good to push myself and I would say the effort was equal to my 800s or 1000s on the track.
Followed the main set up with a cool down of 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim, 50 breast, and 50 back to round out 2000 meters in about 45 minutes.
It's a start. Way back in the day when I was in a swim club I know we used to spend several hours in the pool. Not sure if I have the mental fortitude (or the drive to get up early enough) to get in 5000 meter workouts by myself several times a week, but we will find out!
Ideally I would be doing pool running to replace any running I can't do, but the pool at my gym has no deep end and the tendon is irritated on push off so I don't think that is an option right now. I find it hard to believe that there isn't more information out there on actual swimming as a substitute for running with some sort of equivalent workouts. I realize it is inherently different. Swimmers have to do a lot more technique work and the workouts are inherently more interval based, but you would think that there would be some information on what type of workouts would work best if you simply can't run or do any weight bearing. Right now I am thinking perhaps a few days of hard intervals and a few days of longer steady swims. We'll see. Hopefully this is a very short term problem!
Lake Erie 2 Mile Open Water Swim
Yeah so in case any one's forgotten or didn't hear I'm doing this little series this year called The Beast. Funny how the idea sounded so great in January during the middle of winter when these crazy ass endurance events were months away. "Sure I'll be able to do 8 of these, I'll have plenty of time to get in some swims, and get my bike mileage up, oh yeah while I am simultaneously trying to almost double last years run mileage..." Hmm thinking logically isn't always my strong suit. So yeah considering I can count on one hand the number of times I swam in the last three months, and that the longest bike ride I have done all year was 18 miles in a Duathlon, I woke up this morning quite a bit overwhelmed by the two events staring me in the face this weekend. (Oh and just to make sure I really am stretching myself thin I am also headed out to mark 5 miles of the burning rive course this afternoon. No worries I am sure that won't play a factor in the century ride I have to do tomorrow) :) WHAT WAS I THINKING???
So yeah this morning I was a nervous ball of energy. I wasn't sure if I was going to spontaneously combust, throw up, piss myself, or some combination of the above. I have never swam more than 1.2 miles in open water, and that experience is not one I remember fondly. (Longest Swim of my life I was so ready to be out of that water!) And oh yeah I was completely prepared for that having swam 2-3 times a week and got to wear a wetsuit to boot :)
Chatted up a bunch of my CTC friends as we watched them haul out the buoys for what was supposed to be an equilateral triangle based on the nice drawing they provided. Well we proceeded to watch as those buoys floated further and further east turning the course into an obtuse triangle. Not very good for the morale let me tell you! Oh and for the 2 mile you had to swim that thing twice, so if they didn't mark this thing accurately that was going to mean double the extra! Before we knew it it was time to get our asses in the water. We had to swim out a good 100 yards or so to get to the start buoy. My ankle chip holder felt loose (I have tiny ass ankles and the inside flap always seems to get loose since it isn't velcroed to anything) I was getting ready to adjust it when the horn went off signaling for us to start. Shit, forget the chip and get on your way!
I just wanted to swim comfortably. I knew I was in for a minimum of 60 minutes in the lake which seems like an eternity out there usually, so I relaxed and calmly made my way to the first buoy (the only one that seemed like a reasonable distance away) I was convinced I would be zig zagging all over the place with the long stretch between the 2nd and third buoys. But once we started I felt fine and actually really comfortable. I didn't push the pace, I just swam comfortably and sighted every so often, surprised that I was swimming in relatively straight lines.
A bit of confusion at the second buoy. In order to keep it from floating away they tied it to a sail boat. I intended to go around the boat but the closer I got I could see the boat was spinning and getting broadsided by a sail boat seemed like a bad idea to me so I swam to the buoy and slapped it then headed to shore. That third leg seemed a lot farther than it looked. Your depth perception gets all screwy out there. By this time I had gotten passed by a few swimmers from the one miles waves which started 5 and 10 minutes behind us. Man I would have a good deal of work ahead of me if this was my sport! But I had passed a few green caps from the wave before us and despite feeling like I was last I knew there were at least a couple of caps from my wave behind me.
Rounded the starting point and decided to glance at the watch. 31 minutes. Pretty pleased with that and figure at that point that despite the buoys obviously not ending up where they intended the course was legit. I had been swimming behind the same guy for most of the race and if I was a smarter gal I would have tucked in behind him to draft but I was content to swim at my own pace and not risk ramming into anyone. And as it turns out when we rounded the first buoy he looked like he was headed to Canada so I am glad I didn't follow him :)
Second time I almost reach the boat and I am looking to try and see if any swimmers are going around but I don't see any so I decide to slap the buoy again. A minute or so before I reach the buoy I hear engine in the water zipping around. Look up to see three jet skis racing right through the swim course. Freaked me the hell out. Certainly not how I want to go, ripped apart by Jet Skis? Not in the top ten most peaceful ways to die that is for sure. I had decided to push the pace from the boat til the end in hopes to even split the race so between upping the effort and freaking out about the jet skis I think my heart rate got pretty high. Definitely was sighting way more than needed this stretch because I was terrified of getting taken out by one of the jet skis.
Thankfully they ended up over to the west and away from the racers so I was able to focus on the next two caps ahead of me and push myself to try and catch them by the finish. I passed the green cap relatively easily but it was coming down to the wire with the pink cap ahead of me, I swam a bit to her right directly towards the finish chute and figured if I could get to the shallows before her I could out sprint her on foot to the finish. Unfortunately she spotted me and realized we were in the shallows before I did and got a few seconds head jump on me and I reacted two steps too late, running through the chute just behind her at 1:04:20something. We laughed and I thanked her for pushing me the last stretch, I know she was glad she saw me coming, girl was hauling ass when she got on her feet! Bridget said most of the other swimmers walked out of the water to the finish :)
So I am happy to be alive, and very grateful to know that I can swim 2 miles in open water without wearing myself out. Got my ass handed to me by those serious USMS swimmers, but not such a bad time considering the lack of training and no wetsuit. I'm very happy with the morning. Now if only I felt more confident about that century ride tomorrow! I can fake a 2 mile swim effort sans training but I have serious doubts about how I will fare tomorrow.
Now I am off to mark the burning river course!
So yeah this morning I was a nervous ball of energy. I wasn't sure if I was going to spontaneously combust, throw up, piss myself, or some combination of the above. I have never swam more than 1.2 miles in open water, and that experience is not one I remember fondly. (Longest Swim of my life I was so ready to be out of that water!) And oh yeah I was completely prepared for that having swam 2-3 times a week and got to wear a wetsuit to boot :)
Chatted up a bunch of my CTC friends as we watched them haul out the buoys for what was supposed to be an equilateral triangle based on the nice drawing they provided. Well we proceeded to watch as those buoys floated further and further east turning the course into an obtuse triangle. Not very good for the morale let me tell you! Oh and for the 2 mile you had to swim that thing twice, so if they didn't mark this thing accurately that was going to mean double the extra! Before we knew it it was time to get our asses in the water. We had to swim out a good 100 yards or so to get to the start buoy. My ankle chip holder felt loose (I have tiny ass ankles and the inside flap always seems to get loose since it isn't velcroed to anything) I was getting ready to adjust it when the horn went off signaling for us to start. Shit, forget the chip and get on your way!
I just wanted to swim comfortably. I knew I was in for a minimum of 60 minutes in the lake which seems like an eternity out there usually, so I relaxed and calmly made my way to the first buoy (the only one that seemed like a reasonable distance away) I was convinced I would be zig zagging all over the place with the long stretch between the 2nd and third buoys. But once we started I felt fine and actually really comfortable. I didn't push the pace, I just swam comfortably and sighted every so often, surprised that I was swimming in relatively straight lines.
A bit of confusion at the second buoy. In order to keep it from floating away they tied it to a sail boat. I intended to go around the boat but the closer I got I could see the boat was spinning and getting broadsided by a sail boat seemed like a bad idea to me so I swam to the buoy and slapped it then headed to shore. That third leg seemed a lot farther than it looked. Your depth perception gets all screwy out there. By this time I had gotten passed by a few swimmers from the one miles waves which started 5 and 10 minutes behind us. Man I would have a good deal of work ahead of me if this was my sport! But I had passed a few green caps from the wave before us and despite feeling like I was last I knew there were at least a couple of caps from my wave behind me.
Rounded the starting point and decided to glance at the watch. 31 minutes. Pretty pleased with that and figure at that point that despite the buoys obviously not ending up where they intended the course was legit. I had been swimming behind the same guy for most of the race and if I was a smarter gal I would have tucked in behind him to draft but I was content to swim at my own pace and not risk ramming into anyone. And as it turns out when we rounded the first buoy he looked like he was headed to Canada so I am glad I didn't follow him :)
Second time I almost reach the boat and I am looking to try and see if any swimmers are going around but I don't see any so I decide to slap the buoy again. A minute or so before I reach the buoy I hear engine in the water zipping around. Look up to see three jet skis racing right through the swim course. Freaked me the hell out. Certainly not how I want to go, ripped apart by Jet Skis? Not in the top ten most peaceful ways to die that is for sure. I had decided to push the pace from the boat til the end in hopes to even split the race so between upping the effort and freaking out about the jet skis I think my heart rate got pretty high. Definitely was sighting way more than needed this stretch because I was terrified of getting taken out by one of the jet skis.
Thankfully they ended up over to the west and away from the racers so I was able to focus on the next two caps ahead of me and push myself to try and catch them by the finish. I passed the green cap relatively easily but it was coming down to the wire with the pink cap ahead of me, I swam a bit to her right directly towards the finish chute and figured if I could get to the shallows before her I could out sprint her on foot to the finish. Unfortunately she spotted me and realized we were in the shallows before I did and got a few seconds head jump on me and I reacted two steps too late, running through the chute just behind her at 1:04:20something. We laughed and I thanked her for pushing me the last stretch, I know she was glad she saw me coming, girl was hauling ass when she got on her feet! Bridget said most of the other swimmers walked out of the water to the finish :)
So I am happy to be alive, and very grateful to know that I can swim 2 miles in open water without wearing myself out. Got my ass handed to me by those serious USMS swimmers, but not such a bad time considering the lack of training and no wetsuit. I'm very happy with the morning. Now if only I felt more confident about that century ride tomorrow! I can fake a 2 mile swim effort sans training but I have serious doubts about how I will fare tomorrow.
Now I am off to mark the burning river course!
Pool Time
So I made my fourth trip to the pool since joining the gym mid October yesterday morning. It has been nice to finally add in some cross training. I might be a triathlete yet some day ;) Oh wait that involves getting back on the bike...
I've mostly been goofing off and just getting in some laps and drills. Yesterday I finally got my ass in gear and did a short interval set. I ended up with 1400 meters and was really pleased with my effort on the set of 7*100. I've never done my workouts in meters so I can't compare to my yard splits but I don't think I have lost too much this summer and fall.
Warm Up:
200 free
200 pull
100 kick
50 catch up drill
50 slow arm recovery drill
Main Set
7*100 on a 2 minute send off (1:48, 1:49, 1:48, 1:48, 1:46, 1:44, 1:40)
Cool Down
100 Free
I decided the set on the fly. I wanted a 30 minute work out so I just did as many 100s as I could until time was up. I was aiming for steady effort, not too hard and only pushed it on the last 100, I was very pleased with the workout. It was a great way to start the day!
Finished the day with a 6 mile run in what looked like it was going to be miserable weather. We're talking all your running buds calling you to see if you are still going weather. But when we arrived the wind and hail died down and other than being a bit slick and extremely dark the weather was pretty good. It will be hard to settle for four easy miles next week at this run as I am really starting to enjoy my hilly paced efforts.
I've mostly been goofing off and just getting in some laps and drills. Yesterday I finally got my ass in gear and did a short interval set. I ended up with 1400 meters and was really pleased with my effort on the set of 7*100. I've never done my workouts in meters so I can't compare to my yard splits but I don't think I have lost too much this summer and fall.
Warm Up:
200 free
200 pull
100 kick
50 catch up drill
50 slow arm recovery drill
Main Set
7*100 on a 2 minute send off (1:48, 1:49, 1:48, 1:48, 1:46, 1:44, 1:40)
Cool Down
100 Free
I decided the set on the fly. I wanted a 30 minute work out so I just did as many 100s as I could until time was up. I was aiming for steady effort, not too hard and only pushed it on the last 100, I was very pleased with the workout. It was a great way to start the day!
Finished the day with a 6 mile run in what looked like it was going to be miserable weather. We're talking all your running buds calling you to see if you are still going weather. But when we arrived the wind and hail died down and other than being a bit slick and extremely dark the weather was pretty good. It will be hard to settle for four easy miles next week at this run as I am really starting to enjoy my hilly paced efforts.
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