Today was originally supposed to be a break from structured training. After a week of prescribed breaststroke-intensive workouts, I wanted to get into the pool without chasing a long list of interval targets. The only real plan was to swim approximately 2,500 meters, work by feel, and give myself a mental break from following a tightly structured workout.
That plan changed once I got into the water. I ultimately completed 3,100 meters in 50:57, including a continuous 1,500-meter freestyle that produced a new training best.
August 23 Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Distance | 3,100 m |
| Moving Time | 50:57 |
| Average Pace | 1:39/100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:39/100 m |
| Freestyle | 2,425 m |
| Breaststroke | 675 m |
| Average Heart Rate | 133 bpm |
| Maximum Heart Rate | 151 bpm |
| sTSS | 78 |
| Intensity Factor | 0.97 |
| Calories | 774 kcal |
| Fitness / Fatigue / Form | 58 / 61 / 0 |
Approximately 78 percent of today’s distance was freestyle and 22 percent was breaststroke. After the previous week concentrated heavily on breaststroke, that shift toward freestyle provided a useful change in emphasis.
A New 1500M Freestyle Training Best
The centerpiece of today’s free-form workout became a continuous 1,500-meter freestyle. I completed it in 24:04.84, an average pace of approximately 1:36.32/100 m.
1500M Freestyle: 24:04.84
Previous training best: 24:21.26
Improvement: 16.42 seconds
There is an important qualification to this result. The 1,500 was completed from a water start using open turns. I did not use a competition start or flip turns. That makes the 24:04.84 an especially useful training benchmark because there is still a technical component of my freestyle that can be developed before competition.
1500M Freestyle Splits
| 100M | Split |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1:28.71 |
| 2 | 1:35.04 |
| 3 | 1:37.05 |
| 4 | 1:38.12 |
| 5 | 1:38.33 |
| 6 | 1:35.84 |
| 7 | 1:37.88 |
| 8 | 1:35.81 |
| 9 | 1:37.84 |
| 10 | 1:35.60 |
| 11 | 1:36.44 |
| 12 | 1:36.50 |
| 13 | 1:36.87 |
| 14 | 1:37.35 |
| 15 | 1:37.46 |
The obvious pacing issue was the opening 1:28.71. After that first 100, however, the swim became remarkably consistent. Most of the remaining 100s stayed between approximately 1:35 and 1:38, with very little deterioration during the final 500 meters.
The final five 100s were 1:36.44, 1:36.50, 1:36.87, 1:37.35 and 1:37.46. That late-race stability is particularly encouraging for an endurance event.
Today’s First 800M Compared With Yesterday
Another interesting result appears when comparing the first 800 meters of today’s 1,500 with the standalone 800-meter freestyle I completed yesterday.
| 800M | Time | Pace / 100M |
|---|---|---|
| August 22 Standalone 800 | 13:00.62 | 1:37.58 |
| August 23 First 800 of 1500 | 12:46.78 | 1:35.85 |
The first 800 meters of today’s 1,500 were 13.84 seconds faster than yesterday’s standalone 800. Even more significantly, the 12:46.78 split was only 6.53 seconds slower than my current 800-meter training best of 12:40.25, yet I still had another 700 meters to swim.
Flip Turns Become Part of the Training Plan
I also need to begin incorporating flip turns into freestyle training more consistently. At the moment, flip turns are considerably more tiring for me than open turns. My core strength and turn efficiency are not yet where I want them, and attempting to use flip turns continuously can take energy away from the actual swimming set.
Rather than suddenly requiring flip turns throughout every freestyle workout, I am going to introduce them progressively. Initially that may mean using them during selected portions of a workout and gradually increasing the number as they become more efficient and less taxing.
The objective isn’t simply to perform a flip turn. It is to make the turn inexpensive enough that it improves race performance rather than consuming energy needed for the 800 and 1500.
The Huntsman Training Priorities Are Now Clear
The results of the past week have helped answer an important question about how I should use the remaining training time before the Huntsman World Senior Games.
My three priority competition events are now:
- 1500M Freestyle
- 800M Freestyle
- 200M Breaststroke
All three are endurance-oriented events, and the recent training results increasingly suggest that endurance is where my strengths lie.
I will probably still swim the 100-meter breaststroke at Huntsman. However, I am no longer going to design workouts specifically around improving the 100. It becomes a secondary event that I can swim for the experience rather than a primary training objective.
Short breaststroke intervals will remain in the workouts, but their purpose will be to improve technique, efficiency and sustainable speed for the 200-meter breaststroke rather than developing pure sprint speed for the 100.
Current Training Bests vs. 2025 Huntsman Results
The following table compares my current training bests with the 2025 Huntsman Men’s 60–64 results. The final column compares my training best with the highest finishing position that appears reasonably attainable based on the current numbers. A negative difference means my training best is already faster than the 2025 result; a positive difference shows how much faster I would need to swim to equal it.
| Event | Training Best | 2025 Silver | 2025 Bronze | 2025 4th | Current Target | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 FR | 24:04.84 | 23:39.43 | 25:04.75 | 25:06.88 | Silver | +25.41 sec |
| 800 FR | 12:40.25 | 12:16.56 | 12:32.85 | 12:56.76 | Bronze | +7.40 sec |
| 200 BR | 3:27.54 | 3:38.74 | 3:39.92 | 4:00.27 | Silver | −11.20 sec |
| 100 BR | ~1:42 | 1:28.57 | 1:32.97 | 1:37.95 | 4th | ~+4.05 sec |
The table makes the emerging endurance pattern much easier to see.
My 3:27.54 200-meter breaststroke training best is already 11.20 seconds faster than the 2025 silver-medal time. That doesn’t guarantee a medal in 2026—the field will be different—but it makes the 200 breaststroke an obvious priority event.
The 800 freestyle presents a different opportunity. My 12:40.25 training best is already 16.51 seconds faster than the 2025 fourth-place result and is only 7.40 seconds away from the 2025 bronze time.
The 1500 freestyle may be even more interesting. Today’s 24:04.84 is already 59.91 seconds faster than the 2025 bronze time and 1:02.04 faster than fourth. The next benchmark therefore becomes the 2025 silver time of 23:39.43, a difference of 25.41 seconds.
And today’s 1500 was accomplished from a water start using open turns, leaving room to improve race execution in addition to fitness and pacing.
The 100 breaststroke remains the outlier. My approximately 1:42 training best remains about four seconds slower than the 2025 fourth-place result. I may still race it, but these comparisons reinforce the decision not to build the remaining training program around it.
August Swimming Ledger
I am also tracking total swimming volume for August. After today’s 3,100 meters, I have now completed 52,600 meters this month.
| Date | Distance | August Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| August 2 | 5,000 m | 5,000 m |
| August 3 | 2,500 m | 7,500 m |
| August 4 | 2,500 m | 10,000 m |
| August 5 | 2,500 m | 12,500 m |
| August 6 | 3,000 m | 15,500 m |
| August 7 | 0 m | 15,500 m |
| August 8 | 0 m | 15,500 m |
| August 9 | 6,000 m | 21,500 m |
| August 10 | 2,500 m | 24,000 m |
| August 11 | 2,500 m | 26,500 m |
| August 12 | 2,500 m | 29,000 m |
| August 13 | 2,500 m | 31,500 m |
| August 14 | 0 m – Run/Dryland | 31,500 m |
| August 15 | 2,500 m | 34,000 m |
| August 16 | 2,500 m | 36,500 m |
| August 17 | 2,500 m | 39,000 m |
| August 18 | 2,500 m | 41,500 m |
| August 19 | 2,500 m | 44,000 m |
| August 20 | 2,500 m | 46,500 m |
| August 21 | 0 m – Rest | 46,500 m |
| August 22 | 3,000 m | 49,500 m |
| August 23 | 3,100 m | 52,600 m |
Chasing 75,000 Yards in August
My secondary goal for August is to complete at least 75,000 yards of swimming.
The current 52,600 meters converts to approximately 57,524 yards. Reaching 75,000 yards requires approximately 68,580 meters, leaving about 15,980 meters to complete during the final eight days of August.
That works out to an average of approximately 2,000 meters per day. Seven additional 2,500-meter swims would comfortably put me over the monthly goal while still allowing one complete rest day.
The Plan Moving Forward
The next phase of training will look different from the breaststroke-intensive week that just ended. Rather than trying to improve four events equally, the workouts will be designed around three endurance events.
- 1500 Freestyle: sustainable race pace, pacing discipline, aerobic endurance and progressively more flip turns.
- 800 Freestyle: improving sustainable speed while developing the ability to finish strongly.
- 200 Breaststroke: sustainable breaststroke pace, efficiency under fatigue and maintaining technique through the second 100.
- 100 Breaststroke: likely still part of the Huntsman schedule, but no longer a primary training target.
Short freestyle and breaststroke repetitions will remain in the workouts, but they will support the endurance events rather than becoming objectives by themselves.
Flip turns will also begin appearing more frequently in freestyle workouts. The progression needs to be gradual because they currently require considerably more energy than my open turns. The goal is to make the turns more efficient without allowing turn practice to compromise the quality of the primary endurance sets.
Today’s Takeaway
I entered the pool today intending to take a break from structured training. Instead, the workout helped clarify the structure of the training that comes next.
A 24:04.84 1500-meter freestyle from a water start with open turns, coming one day after a 3:27.54 200-meter breaststroke, provides two very useful benchmarks. Combined with the 12:40.25 800-meter freestyle training best, the results point toward the same conclusion.
I am an endurance swimmer, and the remaining Huntsman training is going to reflect that.
The focus from here is the 1500 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. The 100 breaststroke can still be part of the Huntsman experience, but it no longer needs to dictate how I train.
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