Category: Huntsman Senior Games 2026

  • 79 Days – Short Sets Today

    79 Days – Short Sets Today

    Slightly different workout today. I concentrated on shorter sets rather than distance. I don’t do well with short sets as it is just too many stop and starts and my times are never that great. Anyways the workout summary for today:

    MetricValue
    Total Distance2,525 m
    Timer Time54:45.3
    Elapsed Time56:55.4
    Average HR120 bpm
    Maximum HR161 bpm
    Aerobic Training Effect3.7
    Anaerobic Training Effect1.7

    And my workout looked something like this:

    SegmentTimeEstimated pace /100 m
    100 m Freestyle1:32.61:32.6
    Rest0:15
    200 m Mixed3:35.11:47.5
    Rest0:12
    100 m Breaststroke1:57.31:57.3
    Rest0:25
    100 m Freestyle1:38.91:38.9
    Rest1:03
    100 m Breaststroke1:55.01:55.0
    Rest0:32
    200 m Mixed3:41.61:50.8
    Rest0:30
    100 m Freestyle1:40.31:40.3
    Rest0:14
    100 m Breaststroke1:55.91:55.9
    Rest0:26
    150 m Freestyle2:25.81:37.2
    Rest0:16
    150 m Breaststroke2:57.91:58.6
    Rest0:36
    150 m Freestyle2:33.21:42.1
    Rest0:26
    150 m Breaststroke3:00.82:00.5
    Rest0:30
    325 m Mixed5:57.91:50.1
    Rest0:54
    150 m Freestyle2:30.91:40.6
    Rest0:24
    150 m Mixed2:47.71:51.8
    Rest0:33
    50 m Breaststroke0:56.71:53.4
    Rest0:21
    50 m Freestyle0:49.91:39.8
    Rest0:16
    50 m Breaststroke0:58.81:57.6
    Rest0:16
    50 m Freestyle0:50.31:40.6
    Rest0:37
    50 m Breaststroke1:03.62:07.2
    Rest0:10
    50 m Freestyle0:51.31:42.6

    My watch miscounted on that 325 one, somehow it added a 25m lap, have no idea why. I never do any 25meter lengths.

    I am OK with my freestyle times. I need start and turn practice with those. My breaststroke times suck. I really need to work on those, I am about 20 seconds too slow. I really think this has a lot to do with turns, and maybe some old habits that have never gone away.

  • 80 Days – Get it in Gear

    80 Days – Get it in Gear

    I decided that today’s swim would be a 3000 Meter workout that included all of the events that I will be swimming in October. I know this in no way is a true reflection of race pace, but I wanted to prove to myself that I can do this.

    My workout is below and the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and 4th Place columns are from the 2025 results in the same pool for the 60-64 year old age group.

    Workout Segment / Event7/19/2026 TimeGold (2025)Silver (2025)Bronze (2025)4th Place (2025)
    Warm-up — 200 m Freestyle3:40.9
    Rest0:26.4
    1500 m Freestyle26:09.423:34.6623:39.4325:04.7525:06.88
    Rest1:50.8
    200 m Breaststroke3:59.53:01.023:38.743:39.924:00.27
    Rest1:29.8
    100 m Breaststroke1:58.31:19.221:28.571:32.971:37.95
    Rest1:57.0
    800 m Freestyle14:29.112:00.1012:16.5612:32.8512:56.76
    Rest1:09.5
    Cool-down — 200 m Mixed3:59.1

    Now is the time to start working on technique as I have gotten sloppy over the years. I also need to work on my turns. That is where I can shave 10 seconds off of each length, and it is enough to make a difference in the pool. Next week will probably be a series of shorter workouts, but more focused on breaststroke and turns. I think I am also going to start wearing a swim cap again with the hopes that will help me stop loosing core temperature as much as I do.

    Today’s workout from Garmin Connect for anyone that is interested:

  • 40 Years Since Last Pool Swim Meet……

    Well… I might have done something really stupid, but I broke down and registered for the Huntsman World Senior Games being held in St. George, Utah from October 6-10th (The games are more days than that, but that is the swimming portion).

    I’m going to swim the 100M Breaststroke, the 200M Breaststroke, the 800M Freestyle, and the 1500M Freestyle. These are all endurance events, which has been the basis of my swim training for years.

    I was looking at last years times and was thinking, “hey… I could actually place!” Nice part about getting older, the competition thins out.

    The maybe “stupid” part? I have not competed in a pool event since college swimming….. when was that? Oh, 1986……. And what year is this? Oh, 2026….. that is about 40 years. I have been strictly open water since then. I really had decided I would never compete in a pool again, but there are some health concerns that I have been worried about and right now Open Water events do not make sense from a safety perspective.

    I went back and looked at some of my swim stats for the last six months with regard to the events I plan on swimming and compared them to the 2025 Huntsman World Senior Games results and found

    EventMy Current Training Time🥇 Gold (2025)🥈 Silver (2025)🥉 Bronze (2025)4th Place (2025)
    1500 m Freestyle26:09.423:34.6623:39.4325:04.7525:06.88
    800 m Freestyle14:29.112:00.1012:16.5612:32.8512:56.76
    200 m Breaststroke3:59.53:01.023:38.743:39.924:00.27
    100 m Breaststroke1:58.31:19.221:28.571:32.971:37.95

    Training times are strange to compare to race results as they do not always line up. In a race event you are only swimming that event. My training times are part of a longer workout. Also, no block start for training, less adrenaline, and I have a tendency not to do flip turns in training (got to fix that). All of this has the potential to shave about 10-15 seconds off per 50 meters.

    I have 11 weeks to the games. I will probably be posting more on my swimming to stay accountable to myself and show progress.