Oggi 1500m da solo

Oggi volevo fare il maledetto test dei 400 + 200 ma non ci sono riuscito, troppa gente
in corsia.

Così ho nuotato a caso per mezz'ora facendo dei 100m sciolti che vedo che li faccio in 2'. Se ci
 tiro li faccio in 1'40''.
  
corsia veloce
4 x 100m sciolti a 2'
4 x 25m rana

corsia lenta
10 x 50m pull boy andata stile respirazione ogni con rollio e badando a respirare sul rollio senza   
girare troppo la testa, ritorno dorso con il braccio molto teso verso il soffitto
8 x 25m braccia in avanti gambe a delfino

corsia veloce
6 x 50m con un minimo di subacquea a delfino, virata e ritorno, respirazione ogni 3

Vale la regola come dice Valerio di respirare sempre ogni 3 e di lasciare andare l'andatura dalla respirazione e non viceversa.

TOT: 1500m

Spiegazioni desunte dal sito http://www.swimsmooth.com/ :

Nuotare sulla soglia aerobica e non oltre. Valerio dice che si può nuotare anche per
mezz'ora sulla soglia. Questo dovrebbe aumentare la velocità in definitiva.
Dopo la soglia, dice sempre Valerio, c'è la tolleranza al lattato, cioè all'acido lattico che
si forma, si può nuotare anche in tolleranza al lattato ma non so cosa serva.
Nuotare sulla soglia per un certo periodo di tempo e fare esercizi sulla soglia significa
proprio alzare la soglia di produzione di acido lattico e quindi intervenire sulla velocità.

The CSS test involves two timetrial swims - a 400m and a 200m. Before attempting these swims perform a thorough warmup and a small build set to get you used to swimming fast.

Do the 400m timetrial first, it's less likely to effect the 200m than the other way around. Recover completely between each timetrial with some easy swimming. Perform both timetrials from a push off from the wall, not a dive.

Try and pace the trials as evenly as possible, don't start too fast and slow down. If you're not sure get someone to take your 100m splits - they can be very revealing.

If you're good at maths and want to know the CSS calculation, it is:

CSS (m/sec) = (400 - 200) / (T400 - T200)

Where T400 and T200 are your 400 and 200m times in seconds. We then convert your speed from m/sec into time per 100m.

Now you know your CSS speed / 100m you can use it to set a pace for your quality swim sets. Remember, target CSS speed to develop your lactate threshold and become faster.

Here are some examples - these are challenging sets you might do once a week for the main set in your quality swim.

You swim 7:30 or slower for 400m: 6x200m with 20sec recovery or 3x400m with 45sec recovery or 4x(200m then 100m) with 10sec recovery or 12x100m with 10sec recovery	You swim 5:45-7:30 for 400m: 8x200m with 20sec recovery or 4x400m with 40sec recovery or 5x(200m then 100m) with 10sec recovery or 15x100m with 10sec recovery	You swim sub 5:45 for 400m: 10x200m with 20sec recovery or 5x400m with 40sec recovery or 18x100m with 10sec recovery or 3x600m with 60sec recovery
These are tough sets with each of the repetitions targeting your CSS pace. You can shorten them if you want a slightly easier session.

The key point with all these sets is sustained speed with short recoveries. These are just examples, make up your own sessions to keep things interesting.

Compared to how you normally train you might find the pace slightly slower but the recoveries much shorter. It's a different sort of challenge.

CSS feels easy for the first few hundred metres but creeps up on you as the sets go on. The word 'relentless' probably describes it best!

Learn to use the pace clock at your pool to keep an eye on your splits and to time your recoveries.

the importance of pacing

When you swim CSS sets it's important to pace things well. If you start too fast and then slow down you won't get the same training benefit.

Try and swim each repetition at the same pace. Very often this will mean the first few hundred metres feels fairly steady - good pacing technique is an important skill to learn and is one of the key differences between amateur and elite swimmers.

the mental side

If you are used to doing swim sets with more recovery, a CSS session can look pretty nasty when you write it down! You've got to sustain a fast pace for quite a while and you don't get much recovery time between swims.

Most of this is just a mental thing because you're not used to swimming like that. 4x400 fast sounds tough but the running equivalent is approx 4x1 mile, in terms of time. Runners, doesn't sound so tough?

We recommend you don't think too much, just do it! It sounds much harder than it is.

We'd normally suggest repeating the 400+200m CSS test every 4 to 6 weeks. If things are going well then test every 4 weeks because your fitness can improve quite fast and you'll need to increase the pace of your CSS sets.