Olympic distance training plan concerns

While you should be careful when increasing your run volume, feel free to swim as much as you want. The plan looks ok, it is geared toward a first timer so the volume starts low and gradually increases. If you have some prior fitness you can start at week 4 or 5.

That looks to be the "Main Sets" of the workout, no warm-up or cool-down included. The yardage could easily be doubled by including a warm-up & cool down if you are so inclined. And as also posted a beginner workout so it is going to be on the short end of the spectrum.

When you're talking about 50m repeats they should be very hard efforts. That being said you should be able to get two 10x50 sets in an hour and still have time for the drills. Realistically though if you're not a strong swimmer I don't know that there's much of a point in pull sets, you'll likely give your arms all the workout they need from your 50m repeats - that's my opinion though and I'm not an authority by any stretch.

For example, this should fit quite easily into an hour, and if you're not feeling it by the end you weren't swimming those 50s hard enough.
200 easy
2x50 kick
10x50 hard
50 easy
10x50 hard
100 easy

personally I would add a long swim per week..perhaps on the weekend.

maybe start with 400 m, gradually work up the distance each week to 1500 m without stopping.

Unless this race is a pool swim, you should get in some OWS (Open Water Swims) periodically as well.

If this race is a wetsuit swim, I'd advise swimming in the wetsuit more than once, as the plan has the week prior.
Wetsuit swimming is quite a bit different than without.

Not sure what your swim level is but you could either add more yardage as warmup and warm down, or maybe use the swim workouts from a slightly more advanced plan. I've been doing this lately with HIM training, because I felt the workouts on the plan I was using (for the run) were not challenging or interesting enough to make them worth my while Or try a site like [email protected]. The "C" level workouts on that site are suitable for advanced beginners and in the 2000-2400m range.

I'm by no mean an expert so take this all with a grain of salt. In my own training I don't gain much from a long continuous swim other than the psycological edge from knowing I can do the distance. What I find is that when doing one of these workouts, after about 1000 yards I settle into a breathing pattern that I could carry on seemingly forever and at that point the goal of the continuous swim has pretty much been achieved. Doing repeats gives me a better workout. This topic has been discussed on every tri board I've ever read and the general consensus seems to agree that is the best way to become a better swimmer. But yea, I like to do one time trial equal to the race distance at some point leading up to an event for the psycological edge. I'm pretty new at all this though and I'm finding with each race I do I feel less and less attached to that psycological grab. If you consider yourself a weak swimmer though I would not downplay the importance of getting comfortable in open water conditions. However many times it takes, find time for open water workouts so you feel more at home out there.

x2

I personally am not a fan of swim intervals, nor pool swimming. But I do believe in the long swim, as in the long bike / long run concept.
I've trained this way for years now and it works for me. Perhaps I'd be faster if I did more conventional swim training (which I have done in the past).

Aside from what I do, I feel it's important for new or weak swimmers to get in a long swim weekly to gain confidence, and comfort in the water.
Anxiety while OWS in a race can be quite high and having a good base of long distance swims helps a lot IMO.

Because OLY swims are close to that of a HIM, it's certainly a long time in the water for a new / weak swimmer. I'd add that wetsuit swims are also a contributor to anxiety and the reason to practice long swims well in advance of the race.

Again MO, and not a coach.

Thank you for all the insite, one more question in the program is says 4x25m that means swim 25m the stop, reset, and continue?

Also any tips on bilateral breathing, right now I'm taking a breath every 2 strokes. When I do breath bilaterally i feel out of breath. Is it just something I have to adapt to?

Thanks again

Yes, that means stop after each 25m. Don't worry about bilateral breathing, you'll be fine without it. Learn to swim for now, you can go through your entire triathlon career without bilaterally breathing once.

I'm glad I read through this post because as a newer swimmer I thought to just keep up the long swims (every time hehe). I've not really looked at a plan and that's definitely my fault. No wonder my swimming has taken a hit these past few months! I've been taking a break from swimming and focusing on my running and biking for other reasons but thanks for the comments folks!

To add to my earlier comment, while I'm relatively new to tri I had been swimming for fitness for a while before that. When I started swimming I was not strong at all. I was not concerned at all with training for an event, rather working on building my swim fitness and improving my technique. So what that entailed (for me) was working on things like breathing patterns, positioning, rotation, the catch and pull, etc. All the while I was slowly building my longest distance so that I could eventually swim a mile. By the time I entertained the though of doing a tri the whole "can I do the distance" question had long since been answered so it was only then that my focus shifted to a program with sets of various distance intervals and intensities.

So if someone feels that the swim is a weakness and just wants to get through it I'd probably say proving to yourself you can do the distance and getting to where you feel at home in the open water would be the primary objectives.

Side story: My approach to the swim is very calm. Yes, I'll do a proper warmup to prepare myself for the race but I avoid the typcial "pump yourself up" pre race stuff in favor of putting myself into a calm psycological state. At the start of a race I did last month they had all this hyper music going and a lot of people were all jacked up ready to sprint into the water. Total opposite of my approach. Whatever works for you!

I haven't done a tri in many years, as my profile says, I'm trying to return to the sport at age 63. I have completed many races, all sprints....and, I was never a competitive swimmer. My most important piece of advice I could give a new competitor is not to skimp on the swim training. The best thing I ever did as a part of my training was to join a masters swim class with a coach. I had Donna as a coach, respectfully nicknamed the "Vince Lombardi of Masters Swim Coaching" I remember hanging on to the wall in between sets, pleading for 25's or 50's rather than 150's or 200's. The result of this training was that I didn't lose my fear of the swim, but I did develop a confidence that I could at least survive and overcome any of the challenges an open water swim can present. Examples are the 1/2 mile bay swim that was with the current...oh, last race day announcement was that the swim, today, was against the current.....when I paused, the current pushed me backwards...or the orange buoy in an ocean swim that I did a great job in sighting... I was told by the lifeguard on the exhaust belching jet ski ..."Where are you going? The buoy broke free after the first wave!!" When I paused, I was probably 50 - 75 yards further out in the ocean, all by myself, on what supposed to be a nice and short ocean swim with the current... My point is that an open water swim, even lake swims, can always present an unexpected event that makes a safe completion harder than anticipated. Unexpected events on the bike (rain) or run (heat) can cause issues, but at least you're not in the water. One of the thing I always noticed at the start of every race was the general consensus of a lack of training on this or that and how competitors always seem to lament being in the race....I paid my money, haven't trained, I'll do the best that I can....that's fine, except that I would never want to short my swim training. I didn't plan to get so long winded, but it is my best advice.

 IMHO, there's nothing magical about canned workouts with shorter intervals. Often going shorter people think means going faster so the point of breakdown is still achieved and without proper rest the poor form creeps in sooner and sooner...  The key is proper pacing established via a test (e.g. CSS test) , proper resting, and monitoring strokes per length or using a tempo trainer.

I like the long swims, mental monotony is not exclusive to long swims, one can still work on form going long.