Were going into the base training period and for most of us we need to be doing the long sessions at an aerobic intensity to build endurance up. Below I have given a couple of sessions for you to use:
Swimming: Work on drills, including; Zipper, catch-up, one arm drills, leg drills, etc and working on building endurance through slower paced long swims.
Cycle: Long slow rides at a pace that is sufficient to have a conversation
Run: Long slow runs at a pace that is sufficient to have a conversation
Strength and conditioning: Emphasis is to build strength and focus on weak areas and any muscle imbalances. Exercises can include; squats, lat pull down, pull ups, press ups and core work.
(Remember only increase distance by 5-10% each week if neccessary)
If you get bored of swimming length after length, I do, then try this session, it can be done in an hour or reduce the sets and make it a 30 minute session. Great session for combining endurance and speed development
warm up 200m easy pace
400m (16 lengths of 25m pool) at endurance pace (eg 2mins/100m), allow 30-1min recovery before next sets
4x100m at race pace speed (eg 1.50/100m) , allow 30 seconds recovery between each set
300m as per
3x100m as per
200m as per
2x100m as per
100m as per
2x 50m as per
Total= 2400m inc w/up and c/down
If this is too much reduce the amount and start with 300 or 200m
Try this session next time you are in the pool, take a waterproof watch with a timer and swim as far as you possibly can in a certain amount of time. This not only teaches you about pace but also enables you to see your progressions with this type of swimming session. I often do a T30, which is 30 minutes, other options are T10, T20. If you are new to swimming start with just 5 minutes and progress from there, remember its better to maintain good form with your stroke.
Top tip:
1. Pace yourself and work at a pace that is manageable for you
2. If you are feeling tired take an easy session instead
3. Have a look on http://www.goswim.tv/ for swimming tips and help
4. This is a great way to see how you are progressing, it can be used weekly, monthly,etc