Didn't survive this set! "This is I"
Lately, I have been swimming a couple times a week. New this year, I am taking a stab at writing workouts for the Tuesday Master's swim at OZ North.
I can definitely say there is quite a difference in writing the workout and actually doing them because you know that you are going to have put yourself through it. So for the last few seasons I have just shown up and did what ever was on the board. If it said to swim ten 100's on the 2:00 then that is what I did. I never really thought about what was going on but now I am really enjoying the process that goes into understanding how to layer a workout from beginning to end.
Pictures with Jessi's awesome underwater camera
Finding the balance between warm ups, to drills and main sets can be a challenge. You really want to make sure the structure the workout so that each and every effort is focused. I have noticed that some things look great on paper and then when you look at the entire workout, nothing makes sense. I guess you could consider it like writing a paper.
You need to have the introduction, warm up and drills. You never want to go into a hard set without a warm up and the drills just help you prepare for a good “body” of the paper. These help you focus on position and the feel in the water.
Next you move on to the body of your workout, the main set. These can be long endurance building sets or anaerobic/speed building sets. This is where the majority of your distance will come from. This can be in the form of a pyramid (short-long-short) or a constant set where you focus on keeping similar paces as your muscles begin to fail.
Swimming during the Main Set
You finally move on to the conclusion or cool down. This is what many swimmers will just skip and trust me as I am as guilty as the next. This provides a chance for you muscles to cool down and once again focus on form and feel in the water. I look at it more as muscle memory. I am so focused and trying to survive during the main set, having a chance to just feel the water and work on my position and balance.
Well the last few weeks have been really exciting and I am already looking to the rest of the winter trying to get faster and faster. So if you feel the urge to swim come join me at the OZ North pool.
