[RunningForT3]

I see that a lot of people here, training for a HIM or just for an Oly, post these 2000-3500y workouts, but 99% of the time they're short intervals (50, 100, 200 usually). It's not often that I see someone saying "I swam 2000y continuously". Why is this so different from running or biking? I mean... when you train for an HM, you don't keep doing 15-20mi runs, made up of 800m or mile repeats, you just do a steady runs of around the race distance.

 

[spinandrun]

I think that it might have something to do with the boredom factor. I can't imagine swimming 2000y in a pool continuously without completely losing my mind. Not that I can swim that far, anyway, but hypothetically speaking....Also, how could you possibly count that high without losing track of where you are?

 

[Stitcher]

In swim meets...<br>
they have people with numbers who count for you. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"><br>
Only for 500 yds and higher, though.<br><br>
I'll ask Ann....see what she thinks.

 

[em73]

I only ever just swim. possibly this is why I am so slow. I've started mixing it up with a little paddle work, but I just never know what I should do, so I just swim.<br><br>
(plus I hit my lap button on my watch every hundred, so my watch counts for me.)

 

[LookiLoo]

That would be my first thought - while I do like the long aerobic swim every once in a while, too much of that and I'm completely bored. I love intervals, ladders, pyramids, etc. Keeps it challenging.<br><br>
I'm guessing there's a reason that 'long swims' are not necessary like the long bike and run; possibly b/c once fatigue sets in your stroke becomes sloppy and the workout is less effective. Or something like that....or not.<img alt="confused.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/confused.gif">

 

[dragonsrouges]

Unrelated to swimming workouts but unless you have a special watch, I hear that pressing your watch buttons under water lets in water and decreases the lifespan of your watch...

 

[dragonsrouges]

I asked this question once and got an answer but I don't remember exactly what it was... there's a physiological reason for this un-related to the boredom issue... I bet you can find it on the internet.

 

[3chilipeppers]

I do what my Masters class does. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> I know I can swim the HIM distance tomorrow, so I'm not worried about it. I think the intervals and drills and such are helping me improve my stroke and making me stronger. The stronger you get (through intervals), the longer you will be able to swim with proper form, therefore swimming more efficiently and with less energy (hopefully faster). O.K. I made that up, but it does make sense, doesn't it?

 

[Stitcher]

3cp....<br>
Sounds good to me.

 

[JWcrew]

You still have to do long swims in addition to your interval training<br><br>
I'll take a long swim over intervals any day.<br><br>
If the intervals are not painful, you're not swimming hard enough to improve.<br><br>
Jon<br><br>
oh, and I have pressed the button for my timex under water for years and have never had an issue.

 

[xflbk43]

The intervals let you push yourself and also give you a break during your rest to help you maintain your form. Since swimming fast is 99% form and technique, you want to maintain your best technique through the entire workout. Doing intervals allows you to do this. You do still need to do a long swim, but most of your swims should have lots of drilling and intervals. For my IM program, I am doing 2 days of intervals and 1 long swim day.

 

[26.2]

When I do intervals my rests inbetween are pretty short - usually 15 seconds. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[SpartyGirl]

I typically do one workout that has longer intervals-like repeats of 500 or 600m. The rest time is around 30s when I am doing that kind of distance. I also do nasty swim tests every 6 wks (that I happen to love) of 10x100 with 10 seconds rest.<br><br>
So, one short interval day and one long interval day. Throw in a bunch of drills and pulls for the warm up and call it good<img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[4boysmom]

I do whatever workout my coach has down! Sometimes it's intervals. Sometimes it's long sets.<br><br>
When I'm doing a "free swim", generally I'll do a 2000-2500 steady. I have to break it down into 500's though. No rests. I just can't count any higher than 10.

 

[xflbk43]

That's about right. My rests are all somewhere between 5-15 seconds.

 

[LeftRightRepeat]

I'm with ya' Chris... I don't <i>entirely</i> get it either. And once I move outside (when the water gets warm) everything's long anyway so... I tend toward longer intervals in the pool too too build that endurance. But I do understand the benefit of doing short fast intervals to improve form - I can feel that working for me.

 

[melistic]

His Eagleness,<br>
I just noticed the pic. That's a hoot.

 

[therambler]

I usually divide the swim up so that I'm working on some part of my form for about 1/2 the laps then I do intervals. Apparently I've been doing way more than I thought I was doing. LRR just posted in another thread that a mile=36 laps roughly.<br><br>
I thought It was way more than that, but this is my first season training in a pool so I normally would be OW swimming for training instead and then usually swimming distance for training. I personally don't like the whole pool interval thing. It seems like I just start to get a good rhythm and I have to turn around again. Intervals have sped up my swim though.

 

[dragonsrouges]

We split up the practices into technique days, speed days and endurance days... so on we usually work on one type of system per workout, and the workout is slightly modified depending on the racing distance of the swimmers (sprinters, and distance).<br><br>
Although we do a minimum of technique in every practice... usually in the warm-up.

 

[melonella]

<br>
Mile = 1760 yards or 1609.344 meters, so the number of laps will vary based on on the length of your pool. Tracking your workouts or intervals in terms of meters or yards is much less ambiguous than trying to track them in lengths, laps, or some other such term.