Road to Huntsman: 52 Days Out — Breaststroke Intensive Begins

Today marks 52 days until my first swimming event at the 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games, and today’s workout begins a new phase of my training: Breaststroke Intensive.

Last week was deliberately easier. I reduced my swimming volume, included a dryland running day, and gave my body an opportunity to recover from two very large weekends of training.

Now the emphasis changes.

My freestyle training has progressed very well, while my breaststroke results suggest there is still speed available that I’m not consistently converting into my 100-meter and 200-meter performances. For the next several workouts, I want to concentrate specifically on that problem.

Today’s workout was the first step: 2,500 meters, including 1,800 meters of breaststroke, with separate blocks devoted to breaststroke technique, speed, repeated 100s, repeated 200s, and finishing speed.

August 16 Workout Summary

Metric	Result
Total Distance	2,500 m
Breaststroke Distance	1,800 m (72%)
Freestyle Distance	700 m
Moving Time	42:09
Rest Time	22:32
Total Session Time	1:04:42
Overall Moving Pace	1:41.2 /100 m
Average Breaststroke Pace	1:44.3 /100 m
Average Freestyle Pace	1:33.1 /100 m
TrainingPeaks sTSS	60
TrainingPeaks IF	0.95

The 22½ minutes of rest is important context. This wasn’t intended to be a continuous endurance workout. The longer recoveries were deliberately built into the workout so that the breaststroke portions could emphasize speed and quality rather than simply accumulating distance.

Workout Structure

Block	Workout	Actual Performance	Purpose
Warm-up	200 FR	3:14.53	Easy warm-up
Warm-up	100 BR	1:51.50	Easy breaststroke
Technique / Speed	6 × 50 BR	47.64–54.38	Controlled stroke and timing
Speed	12 × 25 BR	20.62–23.25	Fast, technically clean breaststroke
Recovery	2 × 100 FR	1:24.23 / 1:35.92	Reset before 100s
100M Focus	4 × 100 BR	1:45.89 / 1:44.11 / 1:45.55 / 1:45.34	Repeatable 100M pace
Recovery	200 FR	3:03.36	Reset before 200s
200M Focus	3 × 200 BR	3:46.68 / 3:50.97 / 3:54.58	Breaststroke endurance
Speed Finish	4 × 25 BR	21.25 / 22.10 / 21.87 / 21.97	Produce speed while fatigued
Cool-down	100 FR	1:33.77	Easy finish

The Most Important Set: 4 × 100M Breaststroke

The first major test was 4 × 100 meters breaststroke.

The planned target was approximately 1:45–1:47. The purpose wasn’t to swim one all-out 100 and then struggle through the remaining three. I wanted to see whether I could repeatedly produce something close to my faster breaststroke pace.

100M	Time	Target	Difference From 1:42.55 Best
1	1:45.89	1:45–1:47	+3.34
2	1:44.11	1:45–1:47	+1.56
3	1:45.55	1:45–1:47	+3.00
4	1:45.34	1:45–1:47	+2.79
Average	1:45.22	1:45–1:47	+2.67

This was the strongest result of the workout.

All four 100s were tightly grouped. The difference between the fastest and slowest was only 1.78 seconds, and there was no progressive slowdown across the set.

In fact, the second repeat was the fastest at 1:44.11, and the final repeat was still 1:45.34.

My current training best remains 1:42.55, but today’s set demonstrates something different: approximately 1:45 breaststroke is becoming repeatable rather than being an isolated effort.

The 200s Tell a Different Story

The second major test was 3 × 200 meters breaststroke.

The planned target was 3:35–3:40. Today I didn’t reach it.

200M	Time	Pace /100	Change
1	3:46.68	1:53.34	—
2	3:50.97	1:55.49	+4.29
3	3:54.58	1:57.29	+3.61
Average	3:50.74	1:55.37	—

The times themselves need some context. The first 200 didn’t begin until I had already completed 1,600 meters, including substantial breaststroke speed work and the four strong 100s.

What matters more is the pattern: 3:46.68 → 3:50.97 → 3:54.58.

Unlike the 100-meter set, there was a clear progressive slowdown.

That gives me something very specific to work on during this breaststroke-intensive phase. The issue doesn’t appear to be simply producing enough breaststroke speed. The challenge is sustaining efficient breaststroke as the duration and accumulated workload increase.

The 25s Reveal Something Important

The short breaststroke repeats provide another piece of the puzzle.

Early in the workout, I completed 12 × 25 meters breaststroke. The fastest was 20.62 seconds, and the set averaged approximately 21.62 seconds per 25.

Then, after the 100s, the 200s and almost the entire 2,500-meter workout, I finished with another four fast breaststroke 25s:

25M	Time
1	21.25
2	22.10
3	21.87
4	21.97
Average	21.80

The average was only about 0.18 second slower per 25 meters than the earlier speed set.

That’s probably the most interesting finding from today’s workout.

After almost 2,400 meters, the short-distance breaststroke speed was still there.

What deteriorated wasn’t my ability to swim a fast 25. It was my ability to sustain that speed and technique over repeated 200-meter efforts.

Current Huntsman Benchmarks

Beginning with today’s training entry, I’m adding the 2025 silver-medal results to the benchmarks I have been tracking. That gives me another useful reference point as the October races get closer.

Event	My Best Training	2025 Silver	2025 Bronze	2025 4th
1500M Freestyle	24:21.26	23:39.43	25:04.75	25:06.88
800M Freestyle	12:40.25	12:16.56	12:32.85	12:56.76
200M Breaststroke	3:31.71	3:38.74	3:39.92	4:00.27
100M Breaststroke	1:42.55	1:28.57	1:32.97	1:37.95

Gap to the 2025 Standards

Event	My Best	Gap to Silver	Gap to Bronze	Gap to 4th
1500M Freestyle	24:21.26	41.83 sec behind	43.49 sec faster	45.62 sec faster
800M Freestyle	12:40.25	23.69 sec behind	7.40 sec behind	16.51 sec faster
200M Breaststroke	3:31.71	7.03 sec faster	8.21 sec faster	28.56 sec faster
100M Breaststroke	1:42.55	13.98 sec behind	9.58 sec behind	4.60 sec behind

Two Very Different Breaststroke Events

The updated benchmark table highlights something interesting about my two breaststroke events.

My 200-meter training best of 3:31.71 is already 7.03 seconds faster than the 2025 silver-medal time.

The 100 is very different. My 1:42.55 training best remains 4.60 seconds behind the 2025 fourth-place time, 9.58 seconds behind bronze, and 13.98 seconds behind silver.

That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m simply an endurance breaststroker. Today’s 25-meter repeats show that I can still produce considerably more speed over short distances.

The challenge is figuring out how to convert more of that speed into the 100 and then sustain enough of it through the 200.

What Today’s Workout Taught Me

Today’s workout gave me a much clearer picture of what I need from this breaststroke-intensive training phase.

• Short-distance speed: Good. I can repeatedly swim approximately 21–22 second 25s.
• Repeatable 100M pace: Improving. Four 100s averaged 1:45.22 with very little variation.
• 200M durability: Needs work. The three 200s progressively slowed from 3:46.68 to 3:54.58.
• Late-workout speed: Very encouraging. The final four 25s were nearly as fast as the early speed set.

That gives this training block a much more specific objective than simply swimming more breaststroke.

I need to connect the pieces.

I have the speed to swim a fast 25. I’m developing the ability to repeatedly swim around 1:45 for 100 meters. Now I need to improve how much of that speed I can carry through an entire 100 and how efficiently I can maintain the stroke through 200 meters.

52 Days to Go

Today’s 2,500 meters wasn’t about setting another training personal best.

It was about diagnosing the problem.

The 4 × 100 set showed that my breaststroke pace is becoming more repeatable. The 3 × 200 set showed where accumulated fatigue begins to affect performance. And the final 4 × 25 demonstrated that even after the 200s, the underlying speed hadn’t disappeared.

That’s useful information for deciding what comes next.

The goal over the next several days isn’t simply to make every workout harder. It is to use different breaststroke-focused workouts to address the specific weaknesses today’s session exposed.

Today’s headline: Breaststroke Intensive began with 1,800 meters of breaststroke inside a 2,500-meter workout. Four 100s averaged 1:45.22 with excellent consistency, while the repeated 200s exposed the next target: turning good short-distance speed into breaststroke speed that lasts.