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Didn’t entirely feel like going swimming today thanks to general tiredness and a bit of stiffness in my back, but I dragged myself along to keep the momentum going. This was my second attempt at:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 53s, rest interval 22s
200m front crawl swim down

I was surprised when without apparently trying particularly hard my first two reps were below 47s, and the first ten were all below 50s. I had a few excursions into the 50s after that, but kept below 51s for the entire set and even my last two 50s when I was feeling quite tired were still in the 49s, so overall I was very pleased with how things went.

I suspect the improvement in speed may be to do with getting my hips and legs a little higher in the water so they’re creating less drag. When I focus strongly on doing that my times seem to drop even when I’m getting tired, and there’s a definite change in the feel of the water as it flows around me, almost as if it’s slipping around me rather than me having to push through it.

Tomorrow is a short public session and often further reduced by a school session not finishing on time, so I think I’ll have a technique session tomorrow and then get back to a new set with a 52s target time and 23s rest interval next Monday.

USRPT distance this year: 65,700m
Total distance this year: 158,900m

My set today:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 53s, rest interval 22s
200m front crawl swim down

This all went pretty well. I had one rep slower than 52s but still under 53s, most of the rest being 50s or 51s.

Same again next time.

USRPT distance this year: 64,450m
Total distance this year: 157,050m

Arrived poolside to find the pool empty today and so it remained for most of my set which was a repeat of last Thursday:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 54s, rest interval 21s
200m front crawl swim down

Today this felt much easier — first few reps in the high 40s, then mostly 50s and 51s for the rest of the set. I think I was over 52s once.

So, tomorrow… Target time 53s, rest interval 22s. We’ll see how it goes, but given today’s performance hopefully it shouldn’t be too bad at all.

USRPT distance this year: 62,300m
Total distance this year: 155,200m

Tough day today. A new, faster set and my upper arms were feeling tired even before I’d finished the warm-up:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 54s, rest interval 21s
200m front crawl swim down

Like last time however, the first half-dozen reps were in the 47s and 48s, but then I got settled down and was hitting 50 or 51 pretty much every rep. I had one rep drop into the 52s about halfway through, but then got things back on track, had another 52
on rep 23 and then did a 51 and 50 for my last two reps, completing the set. I was surprised to have got through the entire set, I have to admit. I was expecting some difficulty on the first attempt given my recent performances on slower target times, but despite the tiredness I think I actually did better today than previously.

I don’t think I can attempt to repeat this one tomorrow however. I think I really will be too tired to manage that. I’ll think of some technique work to do instead.

USRPT distance this year: 61,050m
Total distance this year: 153,000m

Wasn’t sure what to expect today, having completed my current set yesterday and still feeling a bit of tiredness in my arms and shoulders. Things didn’t start well when I discovered that the goggles I’d removed from my bag to clean were still at home and I had to wear a spare pair 🙁 My plan was to attempt the same set as yesterday:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 55s, rest interval 20s
200m front crawl swim down

The first five or six reps were around 47 or 48 seconds and after that I settled into a reasonable pace at around 51s with a few reps dropping into the 52s, but I was making them all. I had a minor scare at rep 23 when I was over 54s, but got it back together for the last two reps and successfully completed the set. Then my spare goggles broke with 50m to go of my swim down 🙂

So, next time a new set with a target time of 54s and rest interval of 21s. Given that I’ve gone over 54s for at least one rep every time recently, that might be a bit more challenging.

USRPT distance this year: 59,800m
Total distance this year: 151,150m

Back to the pool today for a repeat of last Friday’s session when I didn’t feel that I’d done very well at all:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 55s, rest interval 20s
200m front crawl swim down

Today went much better. The first half dozen reps were down in the 47s and 48s which is still getting a bit too aggressive at the moment if I want to feel confident of finishing the set, but after that I managed to keep them all in the 51s and 52s apart from a slip down to 54s for rep 24. So, all 25 reps made today and I felt very pleased with my performance.

USRPT distance this year: 58,550m
Total distance this year: 149,300m