Today marks 50 days until my first event at the 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games. Tuesday’s 2,500-meter workout was designed around one specific question: what happens to my 200-meter breaststroke pace when I swim the 200s early in the workout rather than after accumulating a large amount of fatigue?
That made today’s most important set 4 × 200 meters breaststroke, with a target pace of 1:50/100m, or 3:40 for each 200.
Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Distance | 2,500 m |
| Breaststroke | 1,600 m |
| Freestyle | 900 m |
| Moving Time | 43:03 |
| Rest Time | 10:20 |
| Total Session Time | 53:23 |
| Average Pace | 1:44/100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:43/100 m |
| TrainingPeaks sTSS | 58 |
| TrainingPeaks IF | 0.93 |
| Average Heart Rate | 129 bpm |
| Maximum Heart Rate | 153 bpm |
| Calories | 638 |
The Main Test: 4 × 200M Breaststroke
The target was straightforward: 1:50/100m, or 3:40 for each 200. Unlike some of my previous 200-meter efforts, these repetitions were intentionally placed near the beginning of the workout.
| 200 | Target | Actual | Actual Pace | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 3:40.00 | 3:35.67 | 1:47.8/100 | -4.33 sec |
| #2 | 3:40.00 | 3:40.16 | 1:50.1/100 | +0.16 sec |
| #3 | 3:40.00 | 3:48.44 | 1:54.2/100 | +8.44 sec |
| #4 | 3:40.00 | 3:44.15 | 1:52.1/100 | +4.15 sec |
| Average | 3:40.00 | 3:42.11 | 1:51.1/100 | +2.11 sec |
The first two repetitions are particularly encouraging. The opening 200 was 3:35.67, more than four seconds faster than the prescribed pace. The second was 3:40.16, essentially exactly on target.
The third repetition showed the weakness I am trying to address, slipping to 3:48.44. But I was able to bring the fourth back to 3:44.15 rather than continuing to fade.
Across all four, I averaged approximately 3:42.11. That is only about two seconds slower than the 3:40 repeat target.
Planned vs. Actual Interval Pace
The chart below compares the prescribed pace with my actual pace for each of today’s repeated working intervals. Lower is faster.
Planned vs. Actual Pace
Gray = planned | Blue = actual
The 100M Set Told a Different Story
Later in the workout I completed four 100-meter breaststroke repetitions in 1:54.64, 1:52.38, 1:49.13 and 1:54.15.
Those were well behind the planned 1:46/100m pace. Interestingly, the fastest was the third repetition rather than the first. That suggests this was not simply a steady collapse from fatigue, but the set clearly did not have the speed I would need from a 100-meter-specific workout.
The 200 Continues to Look Like the Better Breaststroke Event
This is another data point in the question I raised yesterday about whether my strengths are becoming increasingly clear as the race distance gets longer.
Today’s 200-meter set was not perfect, but the first two repetitions demonstrated that a 3:40-or-better 200 is very realistic when I am relatively fresh. I then recovered from a poor third 200 enough to improve on the fourth.
The later 100-meter set was much less convincing. That doesn’t settle the question about the 100 breaststroke, particularly because those 100s came after 800 meters of 200-meter breaststroke work. Thursday’s workout is specifically designed to reverse that situation by putting the important 100-meter work near the beginning.
Current Huntsman Benchmarks
| 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 |
What Today’s Workout Says
The experiment of moving the 200-meter breaststroke work toward the beginning of the workout was worthwhile.
The first 200 at 3:35.67 was faster than the 2025 silver and bronze finishing times, although a training repeat is obviously not the same thing as an official race. The second 200 at 3:40.16 remained essentially on today’s prescribed target.
The challenge is repeatability. The third 200 showed that I am not yet able to simply lock onto 3:40 and reproduce it indefinitely. But today’s average of about 3:42 for four consecutive 200s is much more encouraging than evaluating the 200 solely from repetitions performed at the end of an exhausting breaststroke workout.
50 Days to Go
I am not making any decisions about dropping the 100-meter breaststroke yet.
Thursday is the important test for that event. The 100-meter breaststroke repetitions will be moved toward the front of the workout, just as today’s 200s were. That should provide a much cleaner comparison of my ability in the two breaststroke distances.
Friday remains a complete rest day. Saturday then provides another benchmark opportunity along with an 800-meter freestyle.
After Saturday, I should have enough information from this entire breaststroke-intensive week to decide whether the 100-meter breaststroke remains part of the Huntsman plan or becomes an event I swim simply for the experience.
Today’s headline: Four early 200-meter breaststroke repeats averaged approximately 3:42, with the first at 3:35.67 and the second essentially exactly on the 3:40 target. The ability to reach the desired 200 pace is clearly there. The next challenge is making that pace more repeatable.
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