Set the bar

I've only been back in the pool for a few weeks, but this morning it was time for the first real test of the swimming year. Instead of having a couple of 750m test sets, or the occassional 8x100 workout, our calendar now includes a monthly 400m TT. I like this, because I'm big on regular feedback, and it's short enough that it doesn't become its own A level race. After a solid warm-up, we were split into two heats, with about three people per lane, leaving 30 seconds apart. Those not swimming were timing. I had a rough idea of how fast I'd like to go, and set out to make that goal.

Have you ever accomplished a goal, and you should be happy, but you're a little disappointed because you could have done better if you hadn't screwed something up? That's where I am right now. I figured I'd be happy with anything better than 7:20 (averaging 1:50/100), and as long as I beat 7:30, all was well. And I pulled that off, hitting 7:13, but the effort was brutal. I went way too fast early, and was barely staying afloat in the last stretch. My 200m splits were 3:30/3:43. Not even pacing at all. Even worse, my first 100m was in 1:35, so my splits broke down as 1:35/1:55/(1:51.5 average x2). If I paced the first stretch better, went 1:45/1:45, I would have been at the halfway mark at the same time, but I probably could have been 1:48-1:50x2 coming home.

But this is why we do the tests: to learn. I've learned two things. First, my pacing sucks. I need to start slower on an effort like this. The fatigue catches up with you quick and what felt fine for a while suddenly becomes very hard. Second, I need to work on my stamina. But we kind of knew that going in. It's still the off-season, I haven't done any hard work since Clearwater, so things aren't in form yet. I'll be much better when we do the test again in January.

Swim: w/u - 200m free, 4x50 drill, 4x25 kick, 100 non-free
8x50 on 1:10, as 1) 25 hard/25 ez, 2) 25 ez/25 build, 3) non-free, 4) moderate
400m TT (100-1:35, 200-3:30, 400-7:13)
100 ez free
300 ez pull, 20"
4x50 non-free, kick or drill, 20"
200 pull, 20"
4x25 non-free, 20"
Total: 2300m

Oh, and one other thing I learned: fast people are fast. They're not like normal people. I had the pleasure of sharing the lane with Wolfgang who was training with us this morning. I spotted him 30 seconds, and he lapped me at the 200m mark (300 for him). I thought about catching his draft for a second, but in that second he pulled so far away that there wasn't a draft anymore. I think he finished in 5:20. He must've been taking it easy.