Today’s swim completed the breaststroke-intensive portion of my current Huntsman Senior Games training block. After taking Friday completely off, the objective was to return to the pool relatively fresh and use several portions of the workout as benchmarks rather than simply accumulating more training volume.
The workout was originally planned for 2,500 meters, with particular attention given to a 200-meter breaststroke effort and a controlled 800-meter freestyle. I ultimately continued for another 500 meters, finishing with 3,000 meters in 50:30.
Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Planned Distance | 2,500 m |
| Completed Distance | 3,000 m |
| Duration | 50:30 |
| Average Pace | 1:42/100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:41/100 m |
| Average Heart Rate | 131 bpm |
| Maximum Heart Rate | 155 bpm |
| sTSS | 72 |
| Intensity Factor | 0.95 |
| Calories | 780 kcal |
TrainingPeaks showed Fitness 57, Fatigue 57 and Form +3 before the workout. That was a substantial improvement in freshness compared with Thursday, when Fitness was 58, Fatigue 63 and Form -6. The complete rest day on Friday appears to have accomplished exactly what was intended.
The 200M Breaststroke Benchmark
The most important result of the workout came relatively early. The planned target for the 200-meter breaststroke was 3:32, equivalent to approximately 1:46/100 m.
Actual 200M Breaststroke: 3:27.54
That works out to approximately 1:43.77/100 m and improves on my previous training best of 3:31.71 by 4.17 seconds.
| 200M Breaststroke Benchmark | Time | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| August 22 Training Result | 3:27.54 | — |
| Previous Training Best | 3:31.71 | 4.17 sec faster |
| 2025 Huntsman Silver | 3:38.74 | 11.20 sec faster |
| 2025 Huntsman Bronze | 3:39.92 | 12.38 sec faster |
| 2025 Huntsman 4th | 4:00.27 | 32.73 sec faster |
This was probably the most significant result of the entire breaststroke-intensive training week. It also supports the idea that some of my slower breaststroke performances during previous workouts were the result of where those efforts occurred within the workout rather than simply reflecting my current breaststroke ability.
A training time cannot be directly converted into a Huntsman race result. Race conditions, pacing, starts, turns, fatigue and the competitive environment all matter. Nevertheless, a 3:27.54 training swim provides a very encouraging benchmark when compared with the 2025 Huntsman 60–64 age-group results.
Controlled 800M Freestyle
The 800-meter freestyle had a different purpose. This was specifically not intended to be another attempt at my 800-meter training best. The target was approximately 1:38/100 m, producing an expected time of about 13:04.
Actual 800M Freestyle: approximately 13:00.62
That is approximately 1:37.58/100 m, only a few seconds faster than the planned target. My current 800-meter training best is 12:40.25, so today’s swim was roughly 20 seconds slower than my best while remaining almost exactly where the workout prescribed it.
That makes the 800 a successful effort. The goal was controlled endurance rather than racing the distance, and the result shows that I was able to settle into a strong sustainable freestyle pace in the middle of a breaststroke-oriented workout.
The 100M Breaststroke Told a Different Story
Later in the workout I completed a 100-meter breaststroke in 1:50.29. The planned target had been 1:40, making this substantially slower than expected.
The placement of the swim is important, however. By that point I had already completed the warm-up and breaststroke preparation, the 3:27.54 200-meter breaststroke, a 200-meter freestyle recovery, the 800-meter freestyle and another 200 meters of breaststroke work.
For evaluating my actual 100-meter breaststroke ability, Thursday’s earlier 100-meter repetitions are therefore probably more useful. The first of those was 1:41.86, with the six 100s averaging approximately 1:44.34.
The combined results from the week suggest that my breaststroke speed deteriorates considerably as fatigue accumulates. That is useful information because it helps separate basic swimming ability from fatigue resistance.
Breaststroke 50s and Short-Distance Speed
The four breaststroke 50s immediately preceding the 100 were 51.84, 54.65, 50.37 and 52.26. That produces an average of approximately 52.28 seconds, or the equivalent of about 1:44.6/100 m.
A later controlled set of four 50s produced 50.26, 53.16, 54.68 and 52.33. My fastest late-workout 25-meter breaststroke was 22.79 seconds.
The shorter repetitions show that speed is available, but maintaining that speed through a complete 100 meters remains more difficult. This is consistent with the pattern that has emerged throughout the week.
An Extra 500 Meters
After completing the planned 2,500-meter workout, I continued for another 500 meters. The additional five 100-meter swims mixed freestyle and breaststroke in different combinations.
The extra distance included approximately 275 meters of breaststroke and 225 meters of freestyle, bringing the final workout total to 3,000 meters.
Being able to comfortably extend the workout was encouraging, particularly following Friday’s rest day. However, it does not change the current training strategy. The weekday workouts were intentionally reduced toward 2,500 meters so that swimming quality can take priority over simply accumulating distance.
What This Week Says About My Huntsman Events
The breaststroke-intensive week has provided considerably better information about how my four planned Huntsman events currently compare.
| Event | Current Training Evidence | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 1500M Freestyle | 24:21.26 training best | Strong endurance event |
| 800M Freestyle | 12:40.25 best; controlled 13:00.62 today | Strong event |
| 200M Breaststroke | 3:27.54 new training best | Very strong relative to 2025 results |
| 100M Breaststroke | Approximately 1:42 best; 1:41.86 this week | Currently the weakest relative event |
The 200M Breaststroke Is Emerging as a Priority Event
One purpose of this week was to determine whether the slower breaststroke times I had been seeing were partly caused by attempting important breaststroke efforts after substantial accumulated fatigue. Today provided fairly convincing evidence that they were.
After a complete rest day, placing the 200-meter breaststroke early enough in the workout produced a 3:27.54 performance and a new training best by more than four seconds.
That makes the 200-meter breaststroke increasingly important as I decide how to prioritize the remaining training before the Huntsman Senior Games.
Where Does That Leave the 100M Breaststroke?
The results do not necessarily suggest that I should scratch the 100-meter breaststroke from Huntsman. They do suggest that I probably should not organize the remaining weeks of training around it as a primary medal-target event.
My current best is approximately 1:42, while fourth place in the 2025 Huntsman 60–64 age group was 1:37.95. That leaves a meaningful performance gap. In contrast, the new 200-meter training benchmark of 3:27.54 is already substantially faster than the 2025 silver and bronze medal times.
For now, the most logical approach appears to be keeping the 100-meter breaststroke on the Huntsman schedule as a secondary event while concentrating training on the 200-meter breaststroke, 800-meter freestyle and 1500-meter freestyle.
Overall Evaluation
Today was an excellent conclusion to the breaststroke-intensive week. The 800-meter freestyle demonstrated that my aerobic freestyle pace remains strong even during a breaststroke-focused training block, while the 200-meter breaststroke produced the clearest evidence yet that this may be one of my strongest Huntsman events.
The most important number from the workout is 3:27.54.
That performance changes how I view the 200-meter breaststroke heading into the final weeks before Huntsman. Rather than simply trying to become competitive in the event, the training results now suggest that maintaining and refining the endurance, pacing and technique that produced today’s swim should be one of the primary objectives of the remaining training block.
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