At times, coaches are challenged to come up with a plan for Distance Athletes who swim a distance race on the first day of the meet and a distance race on the last day of the meet — with no events in between.
What do we do with these athletes? How can we keep them engaged and fit as they approach their final swim?
I had an experience with an athlete last week who competed in her first Junior Nationals meet. She competed in the 800 Free on Day One, and the 1500 on Day Four. We decided that the three days between the two races would be a “mini season”.
The following “workout” is actually 3 workouts, designed to lead an athlete through a competition without losing the fitness necessary to compete well in a LCM 1500 on the final day.
We talked about the first workout being “the beginning of the season”; the second workout was “the middle of the season”; and the third workout was the “rest portion of the season”.
Workout
Because this “workout” is really a group of 3 practices, I’d like to show you exactly what happened on each day of the competition.
Day 1:
Race 800 Free {including a 2000 warmup and an 800 swim down}
Day 2:
Warmup: 2x: {400 Free, 300 Kick, 200 Drill, 100 Back-Breast (continuous)}
Conditioning Part I: 6×200 Free IM (rest 20) descend final 3
Drills: 400 IM reverse
Conditioning Part II: 4x: {3×50 Free Strong (45) + 1×50 easy (1)}
Swim Down: 6×100 Reverse IM Drill (rest 20)
Day 3:
Warmup Part I: {200 Free, 200 Kick, 200 IM Drill, 200 Pull, 200 Free IM}
Warmup Part II: {100 Free, 100 Kick, 100 IM Drill, 100 Pull, 100 Free IM}
Conditioning: 10×100 Free (130) — Smooth for 5, Descend final 3
Drill: 300 IM reverse
Speed Work: 12×50 (1) — 3 of each; #1 Drill plus #2/#3 — 25 Fast, 25 easy or drill
Swim Down: 10×50 (3 breaths rest) — Reverse IM order Swim or Drill plus two choice
Day 4:
Warmup: 2x: {300 Free, 100 Kick, 100 IM Drill, 100 Pull}
Conditioning: 6×100 (Rest 20) – #1 Free, #2 Free IM, #3 IM ….twice, moderate pace
Pace: 8×50 (50) — descend by pairs….hit mile pace on final 4
Swim Down: 300 mix
Day 5:
Race 1500 {including 2000 warmup and 800 swim down}
Additional Comments:
The athlete who did this work did a great job and was able to go a lifetime best (LTB) on Day 1, as well as a LTB on Day 5.
These free workouts was provided by T2 Aquatics Head Coach Paul Yetter.
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