Yesterday answered the first question after eight medically restricted days without training: could I get back into the pool and still swim reasonably well?
Today’s question was a little different: how would I respond to doing it again the next day?
The answer was encouraging. I swam another 2,600 meters in 42:52, almost duplicating yesterday’s overall workload while actually averaging slightly faster in the pool.
There are now 20 days until my first event at the Huntsman World Senior Games.
Today’s Workout
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Distance | 2,600 m |
| Swimming Time | 42:52 |
| Average Pace | 1:39 / 100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:39 / 100 m |
| Average Heart Rate | 126 bpm |
| Maximum Heart Rate | 153 bpm |
| sTSS | 65 |
| Intensity Factor | 0.97 |
| Calories | 627 |
The workout was almost evenly divided between my two competition strokes: 1,275 meters of freestyle and 1,325 meters of breaststroke.
Back-to-Back Return Swims
Yesterday was my first swim after the eight-day medically restricted period. Today’s workout was remarkably similar in overall workload.
| Metric | Sep. 16 | Sep. 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 2,650 m | 2,600 m |
| Time | 43:49 | 42:52 |
| Average Pace | 1:40 | 1:39 |
| Normalized Pace | 1:39 | 1:39 |
| Average HR | 123 | 126 |
| sTSS | 66 | 65 |
| IF | 0.97 | 0.97 |
In two days I’ve now completed 5,250 meters and accumulated 131 swim sTSS. More importantly, the second workout didn’t show an obvious drop in performance after the first.
Freestyle Speed Is Not the Problem
The same pattern that was developing before the break showed up again today: I have plenty of short-distance freestyle speed.
A 6 × 50 freestyle set produced the following times:
| 50 | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 38.09 |
| 2 | 39.74 |
| 3 | 40.90 |
| 4 | 41.24 |
| 5 | 43.49 |
| 6 | 41.95 |
The average was approximately 40.9 seconds per 50 meters.
That is considerably faster than anything I need for either the 800- or 1,500-meter freestyle. But the progression from 38.09 to the slower repetitions also reinforces a lesson that has been following me throughout this training cycle.
Finding more speed isn’t the priority. Learning to distribute the speed I already have is.
Breaststroke Was More Controlled
The corresponding 6 × 50 breaststroke set was more consistent:
| 50 | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 48.14 |
| 2 | 51.55 |
| 3 | 50.65 |
| 4 | 50.72 |
| 5 | 50.58 |
| 6 | 51.68 |
After the faster opening 48.14, the remaining five repetitions stayed in a very narrow range between 50.58 and 51.68.
That’s the kind of repeatability I want to see as I work my way back toward race-specific training.
The 100s Show the Fatigue Curve
The longer repetitions gave me a better look at what happens as the workout progresses.
The freestyle 100s progressed through approximately 1:26.95, 1:28.21, 1:29.29 and 1:31.23. The breaststroke 100s similarly moved through approximately 1:46.89, 1:48.80, 1:49.45 and 1:51.85.
Both strokes gradually slowed as fatigue accumulated, which isn’t particularly surprising on only my second workout after eight days without training.
The encouraging part is that neither stroke suddenly fell apart. There was a gradual decline rather than a dramatic one, and the freestyle times remained considerably faster than the pace I need for my distance races.
TrainingPeaks Is Beginning to Respond
TrainingPeaks now shows Fitness 60, Fatigue 40 and Form +23.
| Date | Fitness | Fatigue | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 7 | 72 | 94 | -25 |
| Sep. 16 | 60 | 36 | +29 |
| Sep. 17 | 60 | 40 | +23 |
The eight days without training reduced the modeled Fitness number, but they also removed a considerable amount of accumulated fatigue. Now that I’m swimming again, Fatigue is beginning to rise and Form is moving back down.
I’m watching those numbers, but I’m not going to let them dictate what I do over the next several days. How I actually feel after each workout is more important right now.
September Training Log
The September 8–15 period remains recorded as Medical Restricted – No Workout. Those weren’t missed workouts to be made up later.
| Date | Training | Swim Total |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | Swim – 1,800 m | 1,800 m |
| Sep. 2 | Swim – 2,500 m | 4,300 m |
| Sep. 3 | Swim – 2,700 m | 7,000 m |
| Sep. 4 | Swim – 2,500 m | 9,500 m |
| Sep. 5 | Swim – 3,400 m | 12,900 m |
| Sep. 6 | Outdoor jog – no swim | 12,900 m |
| Sep. 7 | Swim – 2,500 m | 15,400 m |
| Sep. 8–15 | Medical Restricted – No Workout | 15,400 m |
| Sep. 16 | Swim – 2,650 m | 18,050 m |
| Sep. 17 | Swim – 2,600 m | 20,650 m |
September now stands at 20,650 meters of swimming and 490 swim sTSS.
No Catch-Up Training
One thing I don’t intend to do is try to recover the eight days that disappeared from the original September training schedule.
Those days are gone. Trying to compress them into the remaining three weeks would probably accomplish little other than rebuilding fatigue very quickly.
For now, I’m continuing with the approach I decided on yesterday: play the next few training days by ear.
If I feel good and want to swim, I’ll swim. If I feel like doing less, I’ll do less. If I need a day off, I’ll take one. After a few more workouts, I’ll have a much better picture of how much sustained endurance returned with me and what race-specific work makes sense before tapering.
20 Days to Huntsman
There are now 20 days until the 200-meter breaststroke on October 7, 21 days until the 800-meter freestyle, and 22 days until the 1,500-meter freestyle.
Yesterday showed that I could return to the pool after eight days away and still swim well. Today showed that I could come back the next day and do it again.
That’s probably the most important result from today’s workout.
Two days back. 5,250 meters completed. Twenty days until the first race.
The Road to Huntsman is moving again.
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