Day two of September training is complete, and today’s workout was a significant step up from yesterday’s recovery session.
I completed the planned 2,500 meters in 41:03, averaging 1:39/100 m. The workout combined aerobic freestyle with controlled breaststroke and was intended to move me back toward normal training after the large workload that finished August.
There are now 35 days remaining until October 7, when I am scheduled to swim my first priority event at the Huntsman World Senior Games: the 200-meter breaststroke. September therefore isn’t about chasing another monthly distance goal. Each workout now has a specific purpose in preparing for the 200 breaststroke, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle.
September 2 Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Distance | 2,500 m |
| Swimming Time | 41:03 |
| Average Pace | 1:39/100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:39/100 m |
| Average HR | 127 bpm |
| Maximum HR | 164 bpm |
| sTSS | 63 |
| Intensity Factor | 0.97 |
| Calories | 571 kcal |
The final stroke distribution was 1,800 meters freestyle and 700 meters breaststroke, exactly matching the intended distribution for the workout.
The 4 × 200 Freestyle Set
The first significant endurance work was 4 × 200 freestyle. These were originally intended to be aerobic repetitions, but I naturally swam considerably faster than the planned aerobic target.
| 200 FR | Time | Pace/100 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:05.42 | 1:32.71 |
| 2 | 3:12.19 | 1:36.10 |
| 3 | 3:14.81 | 1:37.41 |
| 4 | 3:14.65 | 1:37.33 |
The complete 800 meters averaged approximately 1:35.9/100 m.
The first 200 was clearly faster than the rest. After that opening repetition, however, the pacing became remarkably stable. Only 2.62 seconds separated the final three 200-meter repetitions.
That consistency is more important than the fast opening 200. For the 800 and 1500 freestyle, the objective is not simply to demonstrate that I can swim quickly. The challenge is finding a sustainable pace and holding it without a significant fade.
The 4 × 100 Freestyle Set
The next major freestyle set became considerably faster.
| 100 FR | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1:28.08 |
| 2 | 1:33.26 |
| 3 | 1:32.15 |
| 4 | 1:34.39 |
The four repetitions averaged approximately 1:32.0/100 m.
That is particularly interesting when compared with the 2025 Huntsman results. The 2025 men’s 60–64 silver-medal pace for the 800 freestyle was approximately 1:32.07/100 m. Today’s four 100s therefore averaged almost exactly that pace.
This was not an 800-meter race simulation. The repetitions included recovery and occurred as part of a larger workout. It would be inappropriate to extrapolate four separated 100s directly into an 800-meter race time. What the set does demonstrate is that the necessary speed is available. The training challenge is making more of that speed sustainable for the full race distance.
Controlled Breaststroke
The breaststroke portion of the workout remained much closer to its intended intensity.
The first 4 × 50 breaststroke repetitions were:
| 50 BR | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 51.96 |
| 2 | 50.46 |
| 3 | 52.06 |
| 4 | 51.30 |
Those were extremely consistent. The subsequent 4 × 100 breaststroke set showed more fatigue:
| 100 BR | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1:44.58 |
| 2 | 1:48.35 |
| 3 | 1:52.40 |
| 4 | 1:50.00 |
The four 100s averaged approximately 1:48.8/100 m, which is almost exactly where the controlled breaststroke portion of today’s workout was intended to be.
There was some slowing between the first and third repetitions, but by this point I had already completed a substantial amount of freestyle, including the faster 4 × 100 set. Tomorrow’s workout is specifically designed around 200-meter breaststroke endurance, so there was no reason to turn today’s breaststroke into another hard effort.
Freestyle Was Faster Than Planned
The main thing I need to watch from today’s workout is that the freestyle portions were considerably faster than prescribed.
The 4 × 200 set averaged approximately 1:35.9/100 m, and the 4 × 100 set averaged approximately 1:32.0/100 m. TrainingPeaks consequently scored the workout at 63 sTSS with an Intensity Factor of 0.97.
That means today’s workout became something more substantial than a conventional easy aerobic session.
There is nothing wrong with that occasionally, particularly when the swimming feels good. But September training cannot become a series of unplanned race-pace workouts simply because faster swimming is available on a particular day. Recovery and controlled aerobic work are part of the plan for a reason.
Huntsman Freestyle Perspective
Today’s workout doesn’t replace either of my established freestyle race-distance benchmarks, but it provides useful supporting information.
| 800 FR | Time |
|---|---|
| Training Best | 12:40.25 |
| 2025 Silver | 12:16.56 |
| 2025 Bronze | 12:32.85 |
| 2025 4th | 12:56.76 |
My current 800-meter training best remains only 7.40 seconds behind the 2025 bronze-medal time. Today’s ability to repeatedly swim substantially faster than bronze-medal pace reinforces the idea that the limiting factor isn’t raw speed. It is sustaining the appropriate speed for eight consecutive 100 meters.
| 1500 FR | Time |
|---|---|
| Training Best | 24:04.84 |
| 2025 Silver | 23:39.43 |
| 2025 Bronze | 25:04.75 |
| 2025 4th | 25:06.88 |
The current 1500-meter training best remains 25.41 seconds behind the 2025 silver-medal time. That is approximately 1.69 seconds per 100 meters.
Recovery Is Moving in the Right Direction
TrainingPeaks is also showing improvement in the accumulated fatigue carried over from the end of August.
| Date | Fitness | Fatigue | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | 71 | 116 | -57 |
| Sep. 2 | 71 | 108 | -45 |
Despite today’s 63 sTSS workout, the larger recovery trend is moving in the desired direction. Fatigue decreased from 116 to 108 and Form improved from -57 to -45.
September Training Log
| Date | Workout | Meters | sTSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | Recovery | 1,800 | 37 |
| Sep. 2 | Aerobic FR/BR | 2,500 | 63 |
| Total | 4,300 | 100 |
September total: 4,300 meters and 100 sTSS.
Week One Progress
| Date | Plan | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | 1,800 m | Complete |
| Sep. 2 | 2,500 m | Complete |
| Sep. 3 | 2,500 m | 200 BR endurance |
| Sep. 4 | 2,500 m | 800/1500 FR |
| Sep. 5 | 3,000 m | Long aerobic |
| Sep. 6 | OFF | Recovery |
Through the first two days of September I have completed 4,300 meters, exactly matching the planned distance.
35 Days to the 200 Breaststroke
There are now 35 days until the October 7 Huntsman 200-meter breaststroke.
That makes the purpose of September increasingly clear. There is still enough time to improve fitness and race-specific endurance, but every workout also needs to fit into the larger progression toward tapering and arriving at the meet rested.
Tomorrow shifts the emphasis away from today’s freestyle work and toward 200-meter breaststroke endurance. The planned distance remains 2,500 meters.
September 2 Takeaway
Today’s workout was stronger than originally intended for an aerobic training day. The most encouraging result wasn’t simply swimming fast; it was the combination of speed and consistency.
The final three 200-meter freestyle repetitions settled into a narrow range around 1:36–1:37/100 m, and the subsequent 100-meter repetitions averaged approximately 1:32/100 m. Meanwhile, the breaststroke remained appropriately controlled.
The lesson isn’t that every workout should now be faster. Quite the opposite. With only 35 days until my first Huntsman event, the objective is to make each workout serve its intended purpose.
Today showed that the speed is available. The next five weeks are about learning how to use that speed efficiently, sustain it over the required race distances, and arrive in St. George rested enough to put it to work.
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