SWIM TRAINING

Swim Coach, Anthony Hughes

Swim sessions attended by Midland Tri Members:

¨ Monday – Coached session 9-10pm

¨ Tuesday – Public session 7-8.30am

¨ Wednesday – Coached session 9-10pm

¨ Thursday – Public session 7-8.30am

¨ Friday – Coached session 7-8.30am

¨ Friday – Coached session 9-10pm

¨ Sunday – Public session 6-8pm

Essential points for a successful swim training program in 2010

¨ When writing out your plan you must include warm-up – both for training and racing

¨ Open water swimming will not improve your speed; there is no set distance, conditions will vary hugely from day to day, your course (and subsequently distance covered) can be erratic. Long distance swimmers, those swimming 5-25km, will train heavily in the pool

¨ You can only improve your speed through pool swimming. Pace, pace, pace. Know that you will cover a set distance in a given time and that this is consistent.

¨ Balance is essential – you need to draw up your session taking into account what other sessions you’ve done that day, and either side of the swim day.

¨ A triathlon coach is vital in this regard

¨ Take no prisoners in the lane – swim under, over, through. If you feel the tap on your feet MOVE!

¨ Whatever your session, plan according to YOUR abilities and how YOU feel, not someone else! Monitor how your progress and be flexible in your plan – change & adapt!

¨ Goals – To know where you want to get, you need to know where your starting from. A log is an essential tool in this. Say for example, you can swim 1500m in 30 minutes, and your goal is to take 5 minutes off your swim time. DON’T focus on the 5 minutes, break it out into the lengths,

30 minutes for 1500m = 2 minutes for 100m = 60 seconds for 50m (two lengths)

You want to take 5 minutes (300 seconds) off your time, break it out

300 seconds over 1500m = 20 seconds over 100m = 10 seconds over 50m (two lengths)

¨ Finally, the thing you use most in swimming is your head – you must maintain focus, watch your stroke, and keep your concentration!