10,000 yards completed in a pool. A really small pool.

I completed my hell set. Or animal set. Or monster set. Whatever you call it. Some folks' ideas about animal sets are actually killer sets, as in, if I tried them, it'd killer me. You know, things like

2x500 @ 7:15
1x100 @ 1:30
2x500 @ 7:00
1x100 @ 1:30
2x500 @ 6:45
1x100 @ 1:30
2x500 @ 6:30
1x100 @ 1:30
2x500 @ 6:15
1x100 @ 1:30

Or,

1000
10x100
1000
5x200
1500
5x300
1500
3x500
2000
4x500
2000
5x400
1500
5x300
1000
5x200
1000
10x100

My arms hurt just thinking about them. At least the first one has the decency to be only 5500 (thanks Mallory). The intervals, however, are impossible for me right now. The 100 interval is okay a couple maybe three times, but that descending 500 interval. Yikes!  The second one is 25km. In a pool (insane, Evan). Yes, that's 25,000 whatevers. Whether it's yards or meters, it's too much. For now!

Mine was much more down to earth. Alert reader(s) will recognize this from once or twice last year when I tried to do it, but only got so far.

400
4×100
400
2×200
600
2×300
600
3×200
800
4×200
800
2×400
600
2×300
400
2×200
400
4×100

I aimed for 1:38-1:40 per 100, although I didn't keep tabs on that. I tried to base my pace on how I was feeling. And take no more than :10 rest. I think for a couple of the feedings I might have gone beyond :10, but for some rests I went :07-:08. I am actually doing the math while composing this post, so I have no idea how my 100s went. For feeds, I took a gulp of my half-water/half-apple juice (with a dash of salt) drink. I fed at 30 and 60, then every 20 minutes after that.

I did the whole workout, including all breaks, in 2:53.56. Above, there are a total of 34 sets, so :10 rest for 33 times equals 330 seconds, or 5:30.  So, roughly, the total time for 10,000 yards (actually 10,067 yards in my weird pool), was 2:48.26.  Not so bad.

So, total minutes using my total swim time was 173.9 minutes. My 100 average time using that same number of minutes was 1:44. Using the adjusted time of 168.45 minutes is 1:41. So, not exactly what I was aiming for, but close.

More importantly is how I felt. The last time or two I tried it, I hit the wall at around 8400. I just lost interest, felt sluggish, even melancholy. I just got out and left the pool. This time, I felt great. Physically and psychologically. Shoulders and legs and back and everything, really, felt super. I seriously thought about throwing in a few more 100s just for good measure. But I knew I shouldn't, this being my first pool 10K (well, actually, 10,067 yards, or 9205 meters, or 5.72 miles, or 300 laps). Anyway, I felt as good at the end of this as I did at the end of the Dart 10K. All but my eye sockets. (No matter what I do, my eye sockets will start to hurt after a few hours. But I'm willing to take that if it means no water creeping into the goggles.)

So, I was able to add a 10K to my flog, to bring my monthly miles up past 36. Which, again, is good for me.

Comments

[evan]

Nice work, dude! A legit animal set.