Swim Bike Run

1

Include rest time during Interval workouts? (Read 25 times)

    I'm asking this question primarily from the perspective of a swim workout, but it could be applied to running workouts as well.

     

    With both swim and run workouts, if I'm stopped (or slow recovery walking) I will usually use my watch to record that resting split, but in RA I do not include that time when I have it calculate the duration of the workout. The reason for this is because it greatly throws off the pace calculation for the actual swim / run portion of the workout. I will include the time if the split is spent running / swimming at a recovery pace, because I usually find that the average of the speed + recovery paces is often very close to my 'normal' pace.

     

    I'm curious as to how other people record their workouts. I spent an hour in the pool the other night, but was only swimming for 37 minutes, so how long was my workout?

    PRs: 5k - 18:34 (2010 Littleton Road Race) 10k - 41:40 (2010 Livestrong Philly) HM - 1:29:48 (2010 Hartford Half Marathon) M - 3:10:31 (2011 Big Sur International Marathon)

      For me, its 37 minutes. I am like you in thst I want to see what my average pace while SWIMMING was for comparison to earlier workouts and to track improvements.

       

      The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

       

      2014 Goals:

       

      Stay healthy

      Enjoy life

       

        I would also count that workout as 37 minutes, and quite honestly, that's one of the reasons why I don't like doing those very short intervals (25 yard / 50 yard sets).

         

        It seems like in your case, it's a true 1 hour workout.

        If you're looking to do 10 hours in a week, that seems to be more than 37 minutes of the 10 hours.

        Life Goals:

        #1: Do what I can do

        #2: Enjoy life

         

         


        IMKY13 finish!!

          For me, its 37 minutes. I am like you in thst I want to see what my average pace while SWIMMING was for comparison to earlier workouts and to track improvements.

           

          +1  Smile

          Fitness/weight goals for 2014

           

          1) STAY INJURY FREE!!!

          2) Get to 189 lbs by the end of July 2014...and stay there (as of 4-25-14 was at 203 lbs)

          3) Complete Ironman Chattanooga in under 14 hours

          4) Break 4 hours in a stand alone marathon (Goal race=Rocket City 12/13/14)

          5) 4,500 total overall miles for the year:

                   Swim: 100 miles

                   Bike: 3,000 miles

                   Run: 1,400 miles

          stadjak


          Interval Junkie --Nobby

            For me, its 37 minutes. I am like you in thst I want to see what my average pace while SWIMMING was for comparison to earlier workouts and to track improvements.

             

            I'd like to see the items segregated in RA, so workout pace and avg pace for workout were different.  However, I think the avg pace for workout (including rest) is more valuable than the raw pace of the workout (counting only the intervals).  The reason is that the rest time is important in judging the difficulty of the workout.

             

            37minutes of straight swimming/running at X pace is a lot harder than 37mins of that pace during the whole hour.  Similarly, doing the same paces with shorter rest periods is a mark of significant improvement -- also "floating" your rest is different in kind than being stationary.

            2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

              For me, its 37 minutes. I am like you in thst I want to see what my average pace while SWIMMING was for comparison to earlier workouts and to track improvements.

              BT, I understand what you're saying, but I disagree with the underlined text somewhat (especially if you're referring to pace in general rather than similar workout types)....

              (Considering this is the "Swim Bike Run" user group, and not the "Swimming" user group....)

               

              Last week, I have 2 logged 1500 yard workouts

              On 1/23, I did a 500yd x 3 with on 10:00/500.  In essence, I got about 2min rest between sets (7:49 swim, 2:11 rest).  Total time to swim 1500 yards: 24:13 (pace: 1:37 / 100)

              On 1/25, I did a 1500yd straight through swim.  Total time to swim: 25:19 (pace: 1:42 / 100)

               

              I could average better than a 1:30 / 100yd (I think), if I setup a workout with 25yd, 50yd, and 100yd intervals and a lot of rest. (see my January 17 swim workout as a reference where I did 100ydx10 on 1:45/100).

               

              But, my goal is not to swim fast and short intervals.  My goal is to swim a long distance without feeling tired at the end.  In the meantime, though, I believe I get faster and stronger while preparing for the race.

              Life Goals:

              #1: Do what I can do

              #2: Enjoy life

               

               

                Brian, I don't use my swim stats on RA for anything more then just a visual and distance \ hour tracking so yes, the overall pace can get skewed by shorter of longer sets. I use SportTracks for my serious workout analysis and I do categorize my swim sessions (spint, recovery, medium. long) for more in depth comparisons.

                 

                What do you do when Mr Loose lips  inettupts you betwwen sets and you can't take off at the next 10 minute mark or you need to adjust your goggles, stretch out a cramp etc? That also skews your method unless you fudge that extra time at the wall out os its not exactly right anyway.

                 

                As far as set length I differ from you in that I feel that shorter, faster sets help raise your threshold which in turn should allow you to swim your longer sets faster. I personally can not swim a hard 500 plus yard set in a pool as I get way too bored and lose count of where I'm at. I know you gave me a trick about how you keep track but I just can't do it. I'm thinking about my strake, extending my arm fully, rotating, keeping my elbow high etc. I want my 100's to get faster at all out effort and when it does, I know my long swim will be faster at that effort level, whatever that level is for the distance I have to swim.

                 

                All my racing experience thus far have been at sprint tri length of 0.5 miles and I can tell you that my race pace remained the same over the three races last year, but the effort decreaded with each race. I attribute that to how my swim workouts had been progressing. I dropped my 100 average pace between each race. I know the race effort was easier as my bike and run paces inproved with each successive race.

                 

                As my race length increases, I plan on increasing my swim workout lengths only when swimming open water workouts. Then I'll work more on race pace\distance specific efforts.

                 

                The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                 

                2014 Goals:

                 

                Stay healthy

                Enjoy life

                 

                  What do you do when Mr Loose lips  inettupts you betwwen sets and you can't take off at the next 10 minute mark or you need to adjust your goggles, stretch out a cramp etc? That also skews your method unless you fudge that extra time at the wall out os its not exactly right anyway.

                   

                  Regarding Mr. Loose lips.... I go to the pool with a plan (ie. 500x4), but I'm not specific about the rest period until I start (sometimes 30 seconds, sometimes 1 minute, ...).  The pool I go to is empty, and I seldom have a Mr. Loose lips in a lane.  It's happened before, though, and I'm ok with it on occasion.  I'll either note the extra time (ie. 5 minute between set 2 & 3, or I'll ignore it).

                   

                  I seldom have goggle issues, but if I do, I'll finish the set with water in the goggles.  I realized that I get my goggle issues when I have my head in the wrong position when I'm pushing off of the wall.  I figure that I'd need to be able to adapt to challenges on race day.  If it's a total water failure, then I'll fix it, but count my time as it is.

                   

                  Leg cramps usually happen for me after I get over 40 laps (2000 yards), and I'll either be done with the workout or get finish the next lap.  If you see a "500, 500, 500, 350" within my log, it's because I got a cramp during the last 50.  I believe my cramping issues relate to pushing off of the wall, as I don't have calf cramps in open water (yet).

                   

                  My goal is to have similar times at the end of the workout as I do at the beginning of the workout.  I don't want to drift on my 500yd speed as I get further along in the workout.  But, of course I do.  Smile

                   

                  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

                  Cheers,

                  Life Goals:

                  #1: Do what I can do

                  #2: Enjoy life