In a post published last January I expressed surprise that athletes who had completed several triathlons—in which they know, to the second, their split times for each leg, swim/cycle/run—did not know their pace for a 100 yard or meter timed swim.This information emerged from a pre-camp survey of participants in our open water camp in the Virgin Islands.

I thought of this yesterday as I was doing a timed set of 200-meter repeats in the 50-meter Ulster County Pool in New Paltz. My favorite swimming venue is open water. Close behind that is swimming in a 50-meter outdoor pool in the morning. I hope to do one or the other every day from now until Labor Day, Monday Sept 4, when Lake Minnewaska and the county pool will close for the season.

When swimming in the 50-meter county pool I always measure something—SPL (strokes per length), Tempo, or Time. And I often monitor two of those measures at once. Partly because measuring (by time) is a habit formed nearly 50 years ago when I was a freshman on the St. John’s University swim team . But even more, at this moment, because the rigor of a timed swim brings an enhanced sense of purpose and accomplishment to my practices. It also reminds me that I remain a goal-oriented, improvement-minded athlete even while battling a debilitating disease.

My swim times may have slowed far more in the past two years than in the previous 48, yet they represent just as much my best, most exacting effort as any times I did 10 years ago when I reached my lifetime (age-adjusted) performance peak. And thus I  am equally excited by them.

Here’s what I did yesterday. Following an untimed 300-meter warmup/tuneup swim at an average of 42 SPL, I swam 5 x 200 on an interval of 7 minutes. I counted strokes on every length and timed each 200. My intention was to swim progressively faster throughout, while minimizing increase in SPL. I breathed mostly bilaterally, every 3 strokes, throughout the set, as a way of testing my ability to minimize breathlessness due to anemia.

I started with a featherlight touch, lightly dragging my fingertips over the surface on recovery, and kicking as little as possible. I averaged 43 SPL and my time was 5:00.  My TI-RPE (rate of perceived effort) was 1.5 to 2 on the 5-point scale illustrated below. 

TI-RPE-Scale

TI-RPE-Scale

It may have been the slowest 200 meters I’ve ever swum. That didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it measured what I was capable of at that particular moment at that effort level. And I intended to swim faster on each 200 that followed.

On the next 200, I slightly increased the firmness of my catch-and-press. My SPL held at 43. My RPE rose slightly to 2. My time improved to 4:45—which reflected more that I was finding a groove, as any increase in effort.

On the third 200, I maintained the same degree of firmness in catch-and-press, and increased the energy in my hip ‘nudge’ which drives the stroke. My SPL held again at 43 and RPE at 2. My time improved to 4:42.

On the fourth 200, I slightly increased firmness in catch-and-press while keeping the same energy level in my hip action. My SPL increased to 44. RPE rose to 2.5. Time improved to 4:40.

On the fifth 200, I increased stroke rate, while keeping catch-and-press and hip energy as before, but I increased the energy and firmness in my 2BK. On the final 50, I raised everything to max. My SPL increased to 45. My RPE went to 3.5 and my time dropped 10 seconds to 4:30.  Though it was slower than the easiest 200 I could possibly have swum two years ago, I was thrilled to see those digits on my watch.

Start Where You Are

I learned years ago the wisdom of erecting a ‘fire wall’ between times I may have swum years ago, and those I swim today. Or even times I may have swum a month or two ago and those I swim today. Because whatever time I swim today is what I’m capable of at this moment. I can say this because I am never complacent, and always give my best.

I start today’s set where I am today. And then I strive to improve upon it over the rest of practice with all the cunning of which I’m capable.

May your laps be as happy, and purposeful, as mine!

Related: Should You Quantify Performance?

Want to learn more about how to combine multiple measures of capability, efficiency, and performance—like SPL, RPE, Tempo, and Time? Learn from Lesson 4 in our 2.0 Freestyle Mastery Self-Coaching Course.

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