Today’s Road to Huntsman workout was supposed to be a 3,000-meter long mixed aerobic session, but I had already decided that the actual structure would depend on how I felt once I got into the pool. The result was an unexpectedly useful endurance workout: 3,400 meters, including a continuous 1,500-meter freestyle to start the main work.
There are now 32 days until the October 7 Huntsman World Senior Games 200-meter breaststroke, with the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle following on October 8 and 9. At this point, the stopwatch continues to provide useful information, but managing training load and staying healthy are becoming equally important parts of preparing to race.
September 5 Workout Summary
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Planned Distance | 3,000 m |
| Completed Distance | 3,400 m |
| Swimming Time | 56:22 |
| Average Pace | 1:40/100 m |
| Normalized Pace | 1:39/100 m |
| Average HR | 126 bpm |
| Maximum HR | 155 bpm |
| sTSS | 84 |
| Intensity Factor | 0.97 |
| Calories | 808 kcal |
| How I Felt | Normal |
The final stroke distribution was approximately 2,450 meters freestyle and 950 meters breaststroke. Despite being labeled a mixed aerobic workout, it ultimately became a predominantly freestyle endurance session.
An Unexpected Continuous 1500 Freestyle
The most important result of today’s workout came early. Instead of following the original collection of 200-meter repetitions, I swam a continuous 1,500-meter freestyle in 24:26.35.
That works out to approximately 1:37.76/100 m.
My current training best remains the 24:04.84 I swam on August 23, which averaged approximately 1:36.32/100 m. Today’s swim was only 21.51 seconds slower over the complete 1,500 meters, or approximately 1.43 seconds per 100 meters slower.
I am not replacing the August 23 swim as my 1,500-meter training benchmark. Today’s effort wasn’t set up as a formal race simulation or time trial. Instead, I see 24:26.35 as a valuable secondary endurance benchmark because it came naturally within a larger training workout.
1500 Freestyle Huntsman Perspective
| 1500 FR | Time |
|---|---|
| 2025 Silver | 23:39.43 |
| Training Best | 24:04.84 |
| September 5 | 24:26.35 |
| 2025 Bronze | 25:04.75 |
| 2025 4th | 25:06.88 |
Today’s 24:26.35 was 46.92 seconds behind the 2025 silver-medal time, but it was also 38.40 seconds faster than the 2025 bronze-medal time.
That comparison needs to be kept in context. Training times don’t predict exactly what will happen at Huntsman, and today’s swim wasn’t a race simulation. What it does demonstrate is that a continuous 1,500 meters at a pace comfortably inside last year’s bronze-medal result is currently available during normal training.
The Pacing Lesson Continues
Today’s 1,500 also reinforced something that has become increasingly apparent during the first week of September: I have more than enough opening speed.
The first 100 meters of today’s 1,500 was approximately 1:28.8. That is far faster than the pace I need to sustain for the complete race.
My 24:04.84 training best averages about 1:36.3/100 m, while the 2025 Huntsman silver-medal time represents approximately 1:34.6/100 m. Going out in the 1:28 range isn’t necessary to reach either target.
The opportunity is becoming increasingly obvious: rather than trying to make the opening 100 faster, I need to distribute my existing speed more efficiently across the entire 1,500.
Speed After the 1500
What happened after the continuous 1,500 was just as interesting.
During an alternating breaststroke and freestyle 5 × 100 set, the two freestyle repetitions were:
| 100 FR | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1:32.18 |
| 2 | 1:30.50 |
Those times came after already completing the continuous 1,500. Once again, the ability to produce considerably faster freestyle remained available even after the primary endurance work.
10 × 50 Freestyle
The later 10 × 50 freestyle set provided another useful look at the difference between available speed and sustainable speed.
| Rep | 50 FR |
|---|---|
| 1 | 40.73 |
| 2 | 42.98 |
| 3 | 44.66 |
| 4 | 43.93 |
| 5 | 43.90 |
| 6 | 45.45 |
| 7 | 45.95 |
| 8 | 45.64 |
| 9 | 46.79 |
| 10 | 46.02 |
The aggregate moving pace for these 500 meters was approximately 1:29.2/100 m, particularly impressive considering the set came after more than 2,000 meters of swimming.
But once again, the pacing pattern is more useful than the fastest repetition. The set began with a 40.73 and eventually moved into the 45–46 second range.
For the 800 and 1500, making the first 50 faster isn’t particularly useful. Producing more repetitions clustered around a repeatable pace without the later slowdown would be much more valuable.
10 × 50 Breaststroke
The breaststroke portion later in the workout remained reasonably controlled through most of the set.
| Rep | 50 BR |
|---|---|
| 1 | 53.64 |
| 2 | 53.07 |
| 3 | 52.39 |
| 4 | 54.76 |
| 5 | 53.57 |
| 6 | 55.27 |
| 7 | 55.23 |
| 8 | 56.12 |
| 9 | 54.42 |
| 10 | 1:01.21 |
The first nine repetitions remained relatively consistent before a clear slowdown on the final 50. Considering the amount of breaststroke completed earlier this week and the accumulated swimming over five consecutive days, I don’t consider one slow final repetition particularly significant.
Watching the Shoulders
I entered today’s workout paying close attention to some shoulder strain that had begun developing during the week. That was one reason I had already decided not to be rigid about the planned sets.
I ultimately completed 3,400 meters and rated how I felt overall as Normal. That’s encouraging, but completing the workout doesn’t mean the shoulder concern should simply be ignored.
The objective remains preventing strain from progressing into pain. That is more important than completing a particular workout exactly as written or accumulating a few hundred additional meters.
Training Load
Today’s 84 sTSS was the largest single training load of September so far.
| Date | Distance | sTSS |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | 1,800 m | 37 |
| Sep. 2 | 2,500 m | 63 |
| Sep. 3 | 2,700 m | 59 |
| Sep. 4 | 2,500 m | 61 |
| Sep. 5 | 3,400 m | 84 |
That gives me 12,900 meters and 304 sTSS across five consecutive swimming days.
Recovery Trend
Despite continuing to train, the TrainingPeaks fatigue indicators are still moving toward a more favorable range.
| Date | Fitness | Fatigue | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | 71 | 116 | -57 |
| Sep. 2 | 71 | 108 | -45 |
| Sep. 3 | 70 | 101 | -38 |
| Sep. 4 | 70 | 96 | -31 |
| Sep. 5 | 70 | 94 | -25 |
Since September 1, Fatigue has declined from 116 to 94 while Form has improved from -57 to -25. That is a substantial improvement even while continuing to accumulate useful training.
September Training Log
| Date | Workout | Meters | sTSS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep. 1 | Recovery | 1,800 | 37 |
| Sep. 2 | Aerobic FR/BR | 2,500 | 63 |
| Sep. 3 | BR Endurance | 2,700 | 59 |
| Sep. 4 | FR Endurance | 2,500 | 61 |
| Sep. 5 | Long Mixed / 1500 FR | 3,400 | 84 |
| Total | 12,900 | 304 |
September total: 12,900 meters and 304 sTSS.
Week One Distance
The original swimming plan through Saturday called for 12,300 meters. I have completed 12,900 meters, putting the first five days 600 meters above that preliminary schedule.
That additional distance isn’t something I need to compensate for later. It simply represents how the first training block actually developed.
Sunday Will Be Flexible
Sunday was originally scheduled as the week’s complete no-swim day. I may move that rest day and instead do a short, easy recovery swim tomorrow.
If I swim, it will not be another training workout like today’s. The objective will simply be easy movement and maintaining feel for the water. There will be no race-pace requirement, no CSS work and no reason to chase a distance number.
Shoulder comfort will determine what I actually do. If everything feels good, I may swim easily for a short period. If the strain increases or begins affecting my stroke, getting out of the pool early will be the correct training decision.
32 Days to the 200 Breaststroke
There are now 32 days until the October 7 Huntsman 200-meter breaststroke.
Today’s 1,500-meter freestyle wasn’t the primary race focus of the day when I entered the pool, but it provided an encouraging endurance benchmark. Swimming 24:26.35 during normal training, followed by considerably faster freestyle later in the workout, reinforces that the speed required for the distance events is already available.
September 5 Takeaway
The biggest result from today was the unexpected 24:26.35 continuous 1,500 freestyle. It was only 21.51 seconds slower than my August 23 training best and remained comfortably faster than the 2025 Huntsman bronze-medal result.
But what happened afterward may be just as important. I still produced freestyle 100s of 1:32.18 and 1:30.50 and later completed 500 meters of 50s at an aggregate moving pace around 1:29/100 m.
That continues to point toward the same conclusion: I don’t need significantly more raw freestyle speed. I need to distribute the speed I already have more efficiently across 800 and 1500 meters.
At the same time, five consecutive days have now produced 12,900 meters of swimming and 304 sTSS. The developing shoulder strain deserves at least as much attention as today’s stopwatch results.
With 32 days remaining until Huntsman, today’s 1,500 showed that the endurance and speed are there. The next challenge is using them efficiently while making sure I stay healthy enough to bring them to the starting block.
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