I was "forced" to swim faster this morning

This is why I always tell people to train in groups and get out of their comfort zone. You will only push yourself so hard on your own. Most people are capable of more then they think they are but never put them in the right environment to do so. Athletes are so focused on being in the right zone, intensity level, etc all the time they lose focus of RPE and really what hard effort is. Get out of your comfort zone, it is a security blanket that holds you back.

Great job, looks like you are headed in the right direction.

This is why I always tell people to train in groups and get out of their comfort zone. You will only push yourself so hard on your own. Most people are capable of more then they think they are but never put them in the right environment to do so. Athletes are so focused on being in the right zone, intensity level, etc all the time they lose focus of RPE and really what hard effort is. Get out of your comfort zone, it is a security blanket that holds you back.

Great job, looks like you are headed in the right direction.

Hmmm....For some reason I tend to go faster when I swim by myself. I have an odd training situation and most days I'm swimming with not just the lane but the entire pool to myself. Plus my vision's too poor to see the pace clock during the swim, so I'm doing it all by feel.There are days when I'm feeling good and think I'm not working a repeat hard enough, so I step up the effort and it ends up being way faster than I'd planned. Maybe helps to have a swim background--I do know what "really hard" is supposed to feel like at various distances.

I think at masters the lanes tend to be crowded and I'm not able to swim the pace I want on some sets; or I get in a faster lane and then am getting hardly any rest and my form falls apart after a while. Depends on the crowd that day and the kind of workout. Or maybe it's just that my "security blanket" is training with me, myself, and I.

200s on 3:00 ... an example of a fixed send off interval...

You should try 20x50 on 1:00 & hold 40 or better.

Sounds like 3:00 is a short rest interval for you. Try 3:15 & keep the pace a tad higher next time.

For myself short /shortish on a 200 is usually 2:30 holding around 2:15 - 2:20. On 2:40 I can hit under 2:15s most days. At 3:00 I am doing 2:10-11 for at least 3 200s.

Kind of related : recent article from USMS on "Fastest Sendoff You Can Hold (FSYCH)"

http://www.usms.org/articles/articledisplay.php?aid=3194

Doesn't this mean that his form/technique is sound enough that the increased effort resulted in faster times? He either pulled harder or stroked faster or both with quality enough form that his times were faster. I don't lack the push, I still lack the higher quality form where simply pushing myself makes me faster, when, at some point, in fact, all extra effort push makes me equal or slower but with higher heart rate. I'm curious how the OP's heart rate and RPE felt when this new push took place compared to his usual

Edited by TJHammer 2016-02-27 11:51 AM

I agree with Ben that a group environment tends to push you more.

I am not saying this is the case for the OP, but also in group swims, drafting makes a big difference. 5s/100m is easy to find with a bigger guy ahead of you. But having someone to chase or someone on your toes does push you. Having a faster lane next to you pushes you. So between the draft and the motivation I find 10s/100m

An on deck coach should challenge you with sets. If there aren't moments of "how the .... am I gonna do that", chances are your workout isn't hard enough. For me, making up workouts, the day of the workout usually leads to easier workouts. If I am writing my own workouts I do it well in advance. Me, I am much more optimistic and willing further from the workout. I rarely change a workout the day of. It's hard not to, but it usually turns out ok.

If you don't have that environment, the clock is as big a motivator. Simply find the pace that you can do 10x100m on a fixed interval. Then up it to 12 the next week and 14 the week after, the drop 5s on the interval. Challenge yourself.

Play beat the clock. Do a 100 on 2min, one on 1:55, one on 1:50...keep on dropping say you make it to 1:20. Next week, try to go one further. You might miss it by 3sec. Do it the following week, you might miss it by 1....

Edited by marcag 2016-02-27 12:29 PM

Try this: http://www.paceclock.net

Cool product! Actually I can see the clock when I stop and stand up (unless goggles are really fogged), I just can't focus fast enough when I come into the wall to see it to get splits (on longer repeats) before I flip. That would be great for workouts when there's no pace clock (occasionally ours disappear for maintenance or something, or I have to swim at the gym pool instead, which doesn't have them) though.

I'm good at pacing longer stuff (500m and up) and okay at pacing 100's (since workouts involve a lot of them), but I have a tendency to start too fast (or occasionally too slow) with middle-distance repeats like 200 and 400m, especially if I'm doing a time trial--always start too fast! What I really need is a talking swim watch that tells me the split every time I turn. Plus a talking power meter so I don't have to look down when riding! Inventors, are you listening?

Thats awesome. Sometimes just gaining the confidence from others that you can hold new paces gives you wnat you need internally to keep it up on your own. In otherwods, you won't always swim faster just b/c your with faster people...but that experience proved to yourself you CAN swim faster. Now you've got another tool for your toolbox of swim sets.