In the spirit of group motivation and accountability, let’s share some of our goals so that we can keep each other on track. Comment and share your goals for your 2013 season.

To be eligible to win, you must be a current member of the Redlands Tri Club,
and you must have an account on this forum. You must also be available to race
on Sunday, Oct. 9th so that the prize doesn’t go unused!

To enter to win — comment in this thread in our Forum by Friday at
midnight. You’ll be entered in a drawing to win the entry, and
we’ll announce the winner this weekend.

If you need help getting an account created on this site, please email Kylie.

SPECIAL LOCATION: In Your Best Interested Medical Clinic at Brookside and San Mateo.

Come hear about V02 Max and Lacate threshold testing — great tools for determining your target paces for training.

See full details.

Email Kylie with questions — or log in and write one today

The guest speaker will be one of our own, Andrea Saavedra. In Redlands Tri Club, a lot of members are new to the sport, learning how it all works, and seeing their own progress. Our club is about learning and growing and sharing triathlon knowledge and experiences, progressing through first races to new distances and challenges. Andrea is a great example of really embodying the purpose of the club. She joined as one of the founding members when new to the sport, and at the end of last month she successfully raced Barb’s, a half iron distance race. Andrea will be sharing what she did to get to where she is, including changes in training, nutrition, and mental approach. She’ll also talk about some of the surprises she hit along the way, both in training and on race day. Come hear her experiences and share in her success.

See the full announcement.

The day will include both in and out of water instruction by Mike Donia. Mike was a collegiate swimmer, and has been an assistant coach for his college, a master’s swimming coach, and has also taught private swim lessons for adults. As a triathlete, he raced professionally when younger, and now continues racing as an age grouper. He has done 8 Ironman races, including two in Kona.

Click here to get directions to the U of R pool. It is located on Brockton between University and Grove, right next to the main stadium. Please use the main entrance on the west end of the swim complex (the left side of the pool area as you are facing it from the street).

Please see our post on Swimming Workouts 101 for some basic information about swim workouts and their terminology. We will be there to help you understand the workout at the clinic, but this will give you some time to think about what the structure and lingo mean.

Email Kylie if you have any questions.

Due to insurance reasons, this clinic is for members only. However, we will be accepting new members at registration for the clinic. See Membership Info for pricing information and other details.

But before we even get into the details of the workout that was in the book, or on the board, let’s look at some terminology:

• A length: crossing the pool a single time. You end up on the opposite edge from where you started.
• A lap: crossing the pool twice, returning to the side where you started.

However, understanding “length” and “lap” doesn’t help us with the distance we are going as we swim. To determine the distance you are swimming, you need to know the length of the lane you are swimming in, measured from where you start to the opposite wall of the pool. In Redlands, these are some of the sizes of the main pools available to us:

• Redlands YMCA: Currently has a 20 yard lap pool. The pool coming summer 2012 will be 25 yards.
• Drayson Center: 25 yards in the lap areas.
• University of Redlands: 25 yards in the main pool area. 20 yards in the shallower entrance part of the pool.
• Crafton College: Olympic size pool, so 25 yards if the short direction is used, 50 meters if using the long direction.
• LA Fitness or 24 Hour Fitness (most in the area): 25 yard pool

Some additional pool size details: Olympic pools are 25 yards by 50 meters. If in an Olympic pool and the lanes are set up going the short direction, it is 25 yards per length (50 yards per lap) — this distance is often referred to as “short course” (even if not in an Olympic pool). If instead the Olympic pool is set up with the lanes going the long direction, it is 50 meters per length (100 meters per lap) — this distance is often referred to as “long course” (even if not in an Olympic pool).

Knowing the size of the pool, we can figure out how to swim 100 yards (or meters). In a 25 yard pool, each length is 25 yards, and each lap 50 yards, so 2 laps is a 100 yard swim. That means you would swim down the lane and back twice to swim 100 yards.

If you are at the Redlands YMCA pool, or another 20 yard pool, a 100 will be 5 lengths of the pool, or 2.5 laps.

Now that we know how far our pool is, let’s look at the distances often presented in a swim workout. These will almost always be multiples of 25 since most pools are either 25 yards or 50 meters. So when a workout says to swim a 25, a 50, a 100, or even a 500, the workout is referring to a distance. If you are in a pool that is measured in yards, read it as 25, or 50, or 100, or 500 yards. If you are in a pool that is measured in meters, read it as 25, or 50, or 100, or 500 meters.

In swim workouts, use either yards or meters for the sets given based on the measurement of the pool you are in. The difference between the two is minimal, and using round numbers that fit in your pool will make the sets easier to follow. In this article I will use yards, but if you are at the Crafton pool and it is set up long course, you will be swimming meters.

If you are at the Redlands YMCA pool, or another 20 yard pool, you will want to use 20 or 30 yards when a workout calls for 25, and 40 or 60 yards when the workout calls for a 50. When you swim a 100, it will be 5 lengths of the pool, or 2.5 laps.

Now we are ready to jump in, so to speak, and understand the pieces that makeup a swim workout. Some examples of what a workout might list, along with a translation, are listed below:

In the table above, some new terms were used. Let’s just define those again, with a bit more detail:

• Drill: Instead of using a regular swim stroke, work on a drill that focuses on a particular stroke weakness. Some examples include catch-up, fist swim, and swimming wide. The best way to know what drill to work on is by having a coach watch you swim and then give a recommendation based on your particular stroke. At our swim clinics, Mike or other coaches provide drill suggestions to address your individual stroke.
• Descending: each repeat will be done faster than the one before it. You swim a constant pace within the repeat, increasing your speed/effort level on successive repeats.
• Build: within each repeat you increase your speed/effort level. Your pace is changing during a single repeat, and resetting at the start of the next repeat.

These sets bring us to a tough part of swimming: counting and keeping track, both of time and of distance. Some suggestions on keeping track of time include the following:

• Wear a stop watch, and press the button as you do your laps. Be careful of adjusting your stroke to facilitate hitting the button, or spending time looking at your wrist as this will change your position in the water.
• Learn to use a pace clock. These are especially useful when analog (and there are hands showing seconds). You can use the placement of the seconds hand to help you keep track. For example, if you are swimming 4 x 100 on 2:05, start when the second hand is at the top of the clock, and swim 100. You will need to start again when the seconds hand is on the 5 (since that will be 2:05 since you last started). For your 3rd 100, you will leave when the second hand is on the 10. And for the 4th and final 100, you will leave when the second hand is on the 15. The tricky part of this is when you are swimming repeats on 2:00, as that doesn’t give the same counting help. And at 1:30 again, it is tough since you only get to know if you are on an odd or an even numbered lap (based on if the seconds hand is at the top or bottom of the clock).

To keep track of distance, there are again a couple of approaches:

• Know the distance on each piece of your swim workout, but don’t worry about the total. For example, if you are doing 4 x 100, don’t try to count to 400, but instead focus on counting each 100, and doing so 4 times.
• Use the clock: if you know it takes you 2 minutes to swim a 100, and you have been swimming for 3 minutes, you are at 150 yards.

As you start swimming, don’t worry about the details of building and descending. Your first goal is to get comfortable doing a complete length, then a complete lap, and then a 100. Once you are comfortable with that, then mix in some sets of 25s, 50s, and 100s. From there you can then add more distances. Once you are really comfortable swimming, then it is time to start really working on different paces and effort levels (for example, by incorporating sets with building and descending). Of course, through out, you will be working drills to improve your stroke, and building your endurance. And of course, remember to have fun in the water! Swimming is just another playground for triathletes to explore their fitness and ability.

You’ve been going to the pool, and getting in some laps. But sometimes you wonder… how can you get the most out of your time in the pool? Have you heard about swim sets, but aren’t sure how to structure one? Wonder no longer! Come hear Mike Donia talk about planning that part of your training, and make the most of your swim times instead of just doing laps.

Mike has an Ironman swim personal record of 53 minutes, 70.3 swim PR of 26 minutes, and experience coaching age groupers to improve their swims. He has structured workouts for himself and other athletes. He has raced 8 Ironmans, including 2 at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. He was also previously a pro triathlete at shorter distances. Although not from a swim background, Mike worked hard at improving his swim and understands what the improvement requires, as well as the benefits.

Join us at the Running Center, Redlands for our April meeting with a representative from Brooks Running. The rep will be bringing sample shoes, so come out and try on some of the Brooks shoes and find your sole mate!