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Another attempt at this one with a view to finishing it off:

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

And finish it off I did, though with quite a few reps getting into the 49s and 50s. That should mean a change to bring the rest interval down to 20s next time, but it’s half term and getting to the pool isn’t quite as easy due to the holiday clubs held at the sports centre. I’ve also developed a niggling pain in my right shoulder which I don’t attribute to swimming as it’s never painful whilst I’m in the pool and it feels more as though it’s in the upper trapezius rather than any of the muscles around the shoulder joint. Have to see how it goes.

USRPT distance this year: 27,350m
Total distance this year: 56,200m

Ok, so I skipped another day, but the same session as Tuesday:

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

I think it gets harder as the week goes on 🙂 A few 47s, plenty of 48s and 49s and then a few reps drifting out to 50s towards the end…

All done though, so another attempt tomorrow should hopefully finish this one off.

USRPT distance this year: 26,100m
Total distance this year: 54,350m

First session for a new target time:

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

All achieved with little fuss. Same again tomorrow.

USRPT distance this year: 24,850m
Total distance this year: 52,500m

Another attempt at yesterday’s session:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

Not a great performance as there were quite a few 50s times, but I did the entire set nonetheless.

Next time it’s a 55s target and 25s rest.

USRPT distance this year: 23,600m
Total distance this year: 50,650m

Rested yesterday as I’m really struggling to do these sets every day. Today it was back to the set I did on Tuesday:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

It felt much harder than on Tuesday, mostly hitting 47s and 48s with a few 49s thrown in, particularly in the second half of the set. Still, I finished every one, so the target time has to come down once more to 55s with a rest interval of 25s. Hopefully I can do the first of those tomorrow. After three successes at that I’ll be dropping the rest interval by 5s which I think is going to make it much more difficult.

USRPT distance this year: 22,350m
Total distance this year: 48,800m

Same set as yesterday:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

I wasn’t really sure what to expect having struggled a bit yesterday, but in the end surprised myself finishing most of the reps in 47 or 48s with a couple of 46s thrown in for good measure.

USRPT distance this year: 21,100m
Total distance this year: 46,950m

Not thrilled with the idea of swimming today. Still suffering from some pain in my shoulder. I think perhaps down to sleeping in a strange position or perhaps lifting something awkwardly. It doesn’t appear to be swimming related however. In fact other than some stiffness above my collar bone when streamlining, it’s possibly more comfortable when swimming than otherwise at the moment.

Anyhow, despite the lack of enthusiasm I was back to the set I failed to complete on Friday:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

For most of the reps I managed 48s or 49s, with a few 47s and then drifting out to 50s over the last five or so, despite the chap swimming breaststroke next to me who kept drifting over into my path. Managed the entire set this time which is good news, so despite my motivation being on holiday I was happy at the end.

USRPT distance this year: 19,850m
Total distance this year: 45,100m

Attempting a repeat of the last session, but with a shorter warm-up to make sure I had time to complete the set.

300m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

Unfortunately I had some pain in my shoulder (though not from swimming) and had to miss a rep as a result. Otherwise I was doing ok.

USRPT distance this year: 18,600m
Total distance this year: 43,250m

Another reduced target time today:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 56s, rest interval 24s
200m front crawl swim down

Still a tough session today, but I did at least stay in the 48s and 49s until the last eight reps when I started to drift into the low 50s. Same again tomorrow, unless my arms have fallen off.

USRPT distance this year: 17,400m
Total distance this year: 41,550m

Eleven days since my last swim, thanks to a combination of work, the weather (the pool was closed for two days last week because of the snow, though I’d not have been able to get to it anyhow) and domestic disasters. I repeated the last set I swam:

400m front crawl warm-up
25 x 50m front crawl, target time 57s, rest interval 23s
200m front crawl swim down

Eleven days have made for a noticeable change in performance. Whereas the last two times I’ve done this set I was in the high 40s for most of the reps, today I was struggling despite only being in the low 50s. It was such hard work! Normally by the time I’m changed and in the car on the way home my body has pretty much adjusted back to normal, but today I almost steamed up the entire vehicle as soon as I got inside.

Still, I did actually make all the reps on the target time, so next time I have to change the set. I think it has to be 56s target time with 24s rest.

USRPT distance this year: 16,150m
Total distance this year: 39,700m