I have been getting a lot of questions lately about how to get better at swimming. Let me say this right up front.
- YES technique IS important.
- Yes I agree swimming on your side helps
- Yes I think you need to maximize stroke length (more on this in a min)
- Yes I think doing drills are important
If you look back at Memphis in May from the earliest results, you will see I was definitely not that great of a swimmer. Trying to get down to a 20 min 1500k took YEARS for me, and was a huge goal. I think I started about 25-27 min, eventually 23, etc.
I wanted to break 20 min, I also wanted to swim with a lead group when possible.
Look, I worked very hard on my “Stroke” but at the end of the day the sets that helped me the most were not Masters Classes, were not the really fancy sets, etc. They were the roll up your sleeves and do the sets nobody else likes to do. You want to do 10 x 100 on the 1:20??? Great, then try to do them. If you only make 3, then add 5 seconds and finish the set. Keep trying them week after week until you get your goal. Not literally, but you get the idea I hope.
It has to be a realistic goal. If you are swimming 2:00/100 now, then make 1:55 the goal. If you do it on 10 seconds rest, and even 5 seconds, it gets to be too long. This is the problem with masters, the interval is made for the group so if you are getting 5+ sec rest on anything shorter than 200 it’s TOO MUCH REST for trying to identify your pacing strategy for your 1500.
Build endurance. Swim a straight 4-5k every week and vary your freestyle stroke. So for example I will do 500 bilat, 500 weakside, 500 bilat, 500 strong side. And just keep rotating through. Boring? Yep! But if you don’t do these types of sets, you are not going to get faster.
PACE! I do a swim where I see how far can I swim at my goal pace without any breaks. I look during a breath cycle each time I come into the wall if I am on pace or not. If I am teetering by a second, FIGHT FOR ANOTHER 100. It may be 700 meters, it maybe 1200. You don’t know. This is one of the reasons why groups do not work all the time. It would have to be way more structured, or you would catch a draft, or swim too hard, too much rest, etc.
Now I think Masters groups are very beneficial, just not for ALL YOUR swims. Use them to push speed and some breakthrough swims, and technique work, but your blue collar sets need to be solo or with one buddy close to your speed.
Keep things very simple too, if you get too fancy, you can get more fit, but not building specificity.
- 40x50 on 2 sec rest.
- 10x200 @ goal pace on an interval with 5 sec rest.
- 500 at goal pace, then 5 x 100 on goal pace interval, then right into 400 @ gp... all the way down.
- Etc.
- If you start to fall off, use paddles for help.
Open water? Sure practice for a lot of swimmers it isn’t going to help as much UNLESS YOU HAVE A GROUP. This would be a time a group will help to keep you honest. By yourself I think you look around too much, the clock is a non-issue, and you just do not get the same work in.
I hope this helps. It isn’t always the sexiest answer but I promise it will be effective.
We will also go over this on our podcast this month. You can look for that on Itunes “training bible coaching” as search.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The Dark Ages
Wow, it must be serious Base season now as my blog has seemed
to go silent. The days are just flying by and it doesn’t help that the sunset
is still before 6pm.
We had an amazing Death Valley camp in the past month and
all the athletes seemed to really enjoy the time we spent climbing, swimming, socializing,and eating. I think we are all looking forward to the trip next year again. It didn’t hurt most of the campers were
upgraded to a 2000sq ft. suite in Vegas!
This time of the year is always the hardest for me. It seems
like the races are getting pretty close so you better take your training
seriously, but the days are still cold, and wet, and like I said earlier SHORT.
So you are still doing all your workouts in snowsuits, rain gear and with
headlights, or in the basement with the same shows you have had on your DVR
since last winter. Not only that but it feels like while fitness is within
reach, you just are not there yet and you start to wonder how the hell you are
going to ever feel like you can cover your distance again, let alone fast. All
I can tell you is we have all been there before and in most cases, it all comes
good. Just be patient and do not doubt yourself or think you are alone in these
feelings. If you can grab any time away in a new training environment it can
help so much.
When I was in high school I used to go to Missouri Military
Academy. We lived at the school and would come home on the major holidays.
There is usually always something to look forward to in the fall between:
Parents day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. After winter break. NOTHING of any
significance until Spring Break. So we used to call this time “The Dark Ages”.
At least now I get to see women during that time.
Train safe!
to go silent. The days are just flying by and it doesn’t help that the sunset
is still before 6pm.
We had an amazing Death Valley camp in the past month and
all the athletes seemed to really enjoy the time we spent climbing, swimming, socializing,and eating. I think we are all looking forward to the trip next year again. It didn’t hurt most of the campers were
upgraded to a 2000sq ft. suite in Vegas!
This time of the year is always the hardest for me. It seems
like the races are getting pretty close so you better take your training
seriously, but the days are still cold, and wet, and like I said earlier SHORT.
So you are still doing all your workouts in snowsuits, rain gear and with
headlights, or in the basement with the same shows you have had on your DVR
since last winter. Not only that but it feels like while fitness is within
reach, you just are not there yet and you start to wonder how the hell you are
going to ever feel like you can cover your distance again, let alone fast. All
I can tell you is we have all been there before and in most cases, it all comes
good. Just be patient and do not doubt yourself or think you are alone in these
feelings. If you can grab any time away in a new training environment it can
help so much.
When I was in high school I used to go to Missouri Military
Academy. We lived at the school and would come home on the major holidays.
There is usually always something to look forward to in the fall between:
Parents day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. After winter break. NOTHING of any
significance until Spring Break. So we used to call this time “The Dark Ages”.
At least now I get to see women during that time.
Train safe!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Triathlon Training Schedule, THANK YOU!
Triathlon Training Schedule top 125
Thank you for throwing me in the mix guys: I cant believe you read 125 blogs! Well done: http://www.triathlontrainingschedule.org/top-125-triathlon-blogs
Thank you for throwing me in the mix guys: I cant believe you read 125 blogs! Well done: http://www.triathlontrainingschedule.org/top-125-triathlon-blogs
Monday, January 23, 2012
TBC Annual meeting
We just had our annual meeting with TBC. Every year we have
this I am reenergized. I can’t believe how many great coaches we have in that
room and it causes me to wonder how many other coaches or even groups of
coaches have those resources available to them. Some of the topics we discussed
as a group:
-
Stress and diet and the effect is has on the
immune system, your adrenals, and OTS (over training
syndrome)
-
Biomechanics and injury recovery from athletes
suffering from injuries requiring medical assistance
-
Marathon build and workout structures from Ryan
Bolton who currently runs an elite Kenyan running squad
-
Functional strength and specific exercises for a
variety of endurance needs
-
New training methods to include Block periodzaton
techniques from Joe Friel and Jim Vance
These are just to name some of the corner stone
presentations. In addition to that, all of the round table discussions, talk
over dinners, etc. were incredible.
this I am reenergized. I can’t believe how many great coaches we have in that
room and it causes me to wonder how many other coaches or even groups of
coaches have those resources available to them. Some of the topics we discussed
as a group:
-
Stress and diet and the effect is has on the
immune system, your adrenals, and OTS (over training
syndrome)
-
Biomechanics and injury recovery from athletes
suffering from injuries requiring medical assistance
-
Marathon build and workout structures from Ryan
Bolton who currently runs an elite Kenyan running squad
-
Functional strength and specific exercises for a
variety of endurance needs
-
New training methods to include Block periodzaton
techniques from Joe Friel and Jim Vance
These are just to name some of the corner stone
presentations. In addition to that, all of the round table discussions, talk
over dinners, etc. were incredible.
Friday, January 13, 2012
An answer about VO2
I have had a lot of people ask me about VO2. I have owned an analyzer before so know enough to answer most questions. What I try to do is boil things down to usable terms. Anyway, thought some of you might appreciate the answer I gave one of our athletes Rob Kelley is coaching:
Gentleman,
Rob says a lot of things extremely spot on! If VO2 was the
end al, then we could save people a lot of time and not even hold races, just
hand out medals to the guys with the best numbers. Couple things to consider:
-
It would be interesting to see the raw data. If your numbers
were still climbing as you hit your VO2 that would indicate you did not
actually achieve max and you are peripherally limited right now. In other words
you don’t have the muscles yet to push as hard as you are genetically able too.
You probably know this feeling when the legs give out even though your
breathing could keep going? This is what I am talking about.
-
A lot comes down to motivation. To say you are at max, and
cannot do anymore but to all of a sudden find out you HAVE TO DO MORE to save
someone in your family, you would probably be a little more motivated and
actually go harder.
-
Most important is your thresholds RELATIVE to VO2 max. Imagine
for a min a paper cup with a hole in the bottom. The size of the cup is your
“Genetic potential” or your Max. if we introduce water into the cup at a rate
that the water completely drains, you are under your LT. as soon as we start to
pour water in faster than it can drain, we are over LT and you are on a time
table until the cup fills and you have to stop. The SIZE OF THE CUP is hard to
change. The SIZE OF THE HOLE is VERY TRAINABLE. So if you have someone with a
large cup and a small hole at the bottom, he will lose every time to a guy who
has a smaller cup but a huge hole.
I usually do not let my athletes go to max anymore in these
tests as they are not always that accurate, and it seems to only have a
downside. Unless they tell you that you have a superstar VO2, you will only
feel limited. BTW, 62 is not too bad at all. Especially for a cycling VO2.
Gentleman,
Rob says a lot of things extremely spot on! If VO2 was the
end al, then we could save people a lot of time and not even hold races, just
hand out medals to the guys with the best numbers. Couple things to consider:
-
It would be interesting to see the raw data. If your numbers
were still climbing as you hit your VO2 that would indicate you did not
actually achieve max and you are peripherally limited right now. In other words
you don’t have the muscles yet to push as hard as you are genetically able too.
You probably know this feeling when the legs give out even though your
breathing could keep going? This is what I am talking about.
-
A lot comes down to motivation. To say you are at max, and
cannot do anymore but to all of a sudden find out you HAVE TO DO MORE to save
someone in your family, you would probably be a little more motivated and
actually go harder.
-
Most important is your thresholds RELATIVE to VO2 max. Imagine
for a min a paper cup with a hole in the bottom. The size of the cup is your
“Genetic potential” or your Max. if we introduce water into the cup at a rate
that the water completely drains, you are under your LT. as soon as we start to
pour water in faster than it can drain, we are over LT and you are on a time
table until the cup fills and you have to stop. The SIZE OF THE CUP is hard to
change. The SIZE OF THE HOLE is VERY TRAINABLE. So if you have someone with a
large cup and a small hole at the bottom, he will lose every time to a guy who
has a smaller cup but a huge hole.
I usually do not let my athletes go to max anymore in these
tests as they are not always that accurate, and it seems to only have a
downside. Unless they tell you that you have a superstar VO2, you will only
feel limited. BTW, 62 is not too bad at all. Especially for a cycling VO2.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
first decide: CAN you PR...
I was just writing an athlete and it inspired me to tell her
a story about progression I thought I would share. First a little background as
to my thought process.
One of the best and most impactful changes to triathlon in
the last decade has to be quality coaching, both online and in person. 10 years
ago, there were just not too many options, and 10 years before that there was
my partner Joe Friel, and maybe one other guy. You had to combine what you
could learn from various sources and come up with the best “stew” you could.
Now with the coaching coming along people are able to take YEARS off the
timelines we used to have to progress at.
I used to always race Memphis in May. It was usually the
same weather, same course for many years till after 9/11 where we could no
longer use the Naval Base, but it was my measuring stick, and before the
Ironman races in every state, it was one of the most competitive and focused on
races of the year. I worked for years to break 2:30 – that’s right, years. I
used to think 2:15 was the holy grail of my abilities. I started training with
friends rather seriously and eventually got down to 2:07!!! I was so pumped and
ready to take the sport even more seriously.
OK, at this point I know I was on a path many of you have
experienced or are currently experiencing. I bought a book, made an excel
spreadsheet laid out the training for a year and even put it all in a binder
for me to follow! This was a big move for someone who has a hard time keeping
their desk tidy. The binder even went on
my first honeymoon so I wouldn’t miss a day of training. At this point my wife
at the time and I was living in Atlanta so she could train more seriously as
she was quite competitive. One of the places we trained for swimming was
Dynamo. I mean there wasn’t a thing we didn’t do to include relocating to get
better.
The next Memphis came, and I went 2:11 or something like that.
SLOWER!!! I was more dejected then I can even describe. I remember saying to
myself “That’s it, I am at my genetic potential. I will always flirt around
2:10 and if that is what I can do, then I am not going to care so much about
this sport.” I even remember telling my swim coach at the time I just wasn’t meant
to be competitive at this and he just looked at me with a face I didn’t understand
till years later.
Obviously I refocused. To try to make this shorter I came
back a few years later, broke, 2 hours, and then a year or so later almost won
if not for an athlete named TJ Tolakson and went 1:54.
Here is the point – RELAX! What I eventually decided was
first just because it didn’t work out didn’t mean I was doing the wrong things.
That is the tricky thing about the sport, it needs time to show what you are
actually doing. You can be in better shape and still have bad days.
Most importantly, I knew in my heart I could change things
to at least get 1 min faster. Yup, I took it 1 min at a time. I tried to just
make small changes and that’s when things started to get really good.
Same thing goes for my IM races now. I used to never break
11:30, then was stuck with DNF’s for a long time, and finally hovered at the
10:00 mark for again, years. Finally-9:16 in Kona!! It was the first time I
wondered if I could find another min. It is a conversation I am still trying to
have with myself, so I will let you know.
I pride myself on experience. I think it is one of the
things that makes me a good coach. I know what it is like to a 12 hour
finisher, 3 hour Olympic racer, and I know what it is like to be in the top 100
OVERALL at Kona and lead an Ironman race for 7 hours. I have been where just
about all of you have. Tune out everyone else, all the noise and ask yourself, “Do
I have a min to gain, that I have left on the table?” If so, go get it! Don’t worry about the rest
of the stuff – yet.
a story about progression I thought I would share. First a little background as
to my thought process.
One of the best and most impactful changes to triathlon in
the last decade has to be quality coaching, both online and in person. 10 years
ago, there were just not too many options, and 10 years before that there was
my partner Joe Friel, and maybe one other guy. You had to combine what you
could learn from various sources and come up with the best “stew” you could.
Now with the coaching coming along people are able to take YEARS off the
timelines we used to have to progress at.
I used to always race Memphis in May. It was usually the
same weather, same course for many years till after 9/11 where we could no
longer use the Naval Base, but it was my measuring stick, and before the
Ironman races in every state, it was one of the most competitive and focused on
races of the year. I worked for years to break 2:30 – that’s right, years. I
used to think 2:15 was the holy grail of my abilities. I started training with
friends rather seriously and eventually got down to 2:07!!! I was so pumped and
ready to take the sport even more seriously.
OK, at this point I know I was on a path many of you have
experienced or are currently experiencing. I bought a book, made an excel
spreadsheet laid out the training for a year and even put it all in a binder
for me to follow! This was a big move for someone who has a hard time keeping
their desk tidy. The binder even went on
my first honeymoon so I wouldn’t miss a day of training. At this point my wife
at the time and I was living in Atlanta so she could train more seriously as
she was quite competitive. One of the places we trained for swimming was
Dynamo. I mean there wasn’t a thing we didn’t do to include relocating to get
better.
The next Memphis came, and I went 2:11 or something like that.
SLOWER!!! I was more dejected then I can even describe. I remember saying to
myself “That’s it, I am at my genetic potential. I will always flirt around
2:10 and if that is what I can do, then I am not going to care so much about
this sport.” I even remember telling my swim coach at the time I just wasn’t meant
to be competitive at this and he just looked at me with a face I didn’t understand
till years later.
Obviously I refocused. To try to make this shorter I came
back a few years later, broke, 2 hours, and then a year or so later almost won
if not for an athlete named TJ Tolakson and went 1:54.
Here is the point – RELAX! What I eventually decided was
first just because it didn’t work out didn’t mean I was doing the wrong things.
That is the tricky thing about the sport, it needs time to show what you are
actually doing. You can be in better shape and still have bad days.
Most importantly, I knew in my heart I could change things
to at least get 1 min faster. Yup, I took it 1 min at a time. I tried to just
make small changes and that’s when things started to get really good.
Same thing goes for my IM races now. I used to never break
11:30, then was stuck with DNF’s for a long time, and finally hovered at the
10:00 mark for again, years. Finally-9:16 in Kona!! It was the first time I
wondered if I could find another min. It is a conversation I am still trying to
have with myself, so I will let you know.
I pride myself on experience. I think it is one of the
things that makes me a good coach. I know what it is like to a 12 hour
finisher, 3 hour Olympic racer, and I know what it is like to be in the top 100
OVERALL at Kona and lead an Ironman race for 7 hours. I have been where just
about all of you have. Tune out everyone else, all the noise and ask yourself, “Do
I have a min to gain, that I have left on the table?” If so, go get it! Don’t worry about the rest
of the stuff – yet.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Welcome 2012
I had thought seriously about the idea of turning pro for the upcoming season. While I know I will never be running side by side with Crowie on the Queen K, at least not going the same direction on game day, I still came up with several reasons why I could justify the move. They included:
Cost, I just love hearing pros complain about having to pay 750.00 to do all the races on the circuit. My single entry fee for 2012 Kona was 750.00 alone. So the idea for a single entry fee I could race all season was pretty appealing to me.
- Flexibility, while I was pleasantly surprised to qualify at IMFLA last summer, I had already signed up for 3 other qualifying races for the upcoming season. So I could still go do those, but of course all involve travel, scheduling, etc. So being able to decide later and get into races that are full, etc. would be pretty cool.
- Competition, I have some great AG competition. So I do not mean to sound as if I can’t find that in my current ranks, bit I hardly ever get to SEE them. To be able to race head to head with people to help make you better would be great. I think I have a solid 70.3 swim bike but I always start last and with my name being a “z” I am not even always against the best in my AG.
Having weighed all that out though, as well as already qualifying for Kona, I am going to stay AG’r. It is going to allow me to do Kona as well as Vegas which would probably not happen as a pro, and I think being a top AG athlete Is pretty impressive as well. Additionally my father has done 14 Ironman races and is trying to get into Kona Legacy program so this would be an awesome thing to do with him I hope this year.
My focus for now is going to be Vegas 70.3 followed closely by Kona, a bit of a reversal from years past. I am doing this as I think Vegas is tough enough I will get solid build up anyway, but I think I have a shot to podium in Vegas more so then Kona and so that is my overall goal I believe for 2012
Cost, I just love hearing pros complain about having to pay 750.00 to do all the races on the circuit. My single entry fee for 2012 Kona was 750.00 alone. So the idea for a single entry fee I could race all season was pretty appealing to me.
- Flexibility, while I was pleasantly surprised to qualify at IMFLA last summer, I had already signed up for 3 other qualifying races for the upcoming season. So I could still go do those, but of course all involve travel, scheduling, etc. So being able to decide later and get into races that are full, etc. would be pretty cool.
- Competition, I have some great AG competition. So I do not mean to sound as if I can’t find that in my current ranks, bit I hardly ever get to SEE them. To be able to race head to head with people to help make you better would be great. I think I have a solid 70.3 swim bike but I always start last and with my name being a “z” I am not even always against the best in my AG.
Having weighed all that out though, as well as already qualifying for Kona, I am going to stay AG’r. It is going to allow me to do Kona as well as Vegas which would probably not happen as a pro, and I think being a top AG athlete Is pretty impressive as well. Additionally my father has done 14 Ironman races and is trying to get into Kona Legacy program so this would be an awesome thing to do with him I hope this year.
My focus for now is going to be Vegas 70.3 followed closely by Kona, a bit of a reversal from years past. I am doing this as I think Vegas is tough enough I will get solid build up anyway, but I think I have a shot to podium in Vegas more so then Kona and so that is my overall goal I believe for 2012
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