The opening leg of an Ironman 70.3 is an important part of the event. If you swim well you can set yourself up for a good bike and run. Being able to swim efficiently and smoothly will enable you to stay fresh and get onto the bike in a good position. This series of workouts will set you up for success.
Normally each Saturday I will post a Swim Session, and most weeks I will load three options up for you to do. Option A is for swimmers who are after a workout between 1,000 & 2,000 metres. Option B is for swimmers who are after a workout between 2,000 & 3,000m and Option C will be greater than 3,000m. This series of workouts, the sessions are all targeting athletes looking to improve their Ironman 70.3 swim with limited time. There are three sessions, and I encourage you to do two to three of them each week.
Read this article here for an explanation of Swim Intensity.
Session 10
- 500 WU;
- 8x 50 Drill/Swim;
- 16x 100 Build 1-4 10RI;
- 200 CD (2,700)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering of 500m. During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Next up is a drill set. There are eight 50m repetitions made up of 25m Drill, then straight into 25m normal swimming. Feel free to use fins whilst doing this set. Do the drills below twice through:
The main set is made up of sixteen, 100m reps. Every four reps build your pace. Swim at a moderate pace for the first rep (and fifth, ninth and thirteenth). Swim at a fast pace for the second (and sixth, tenth and fourteenth) rep. Swim at a faster pace for the third (and seventh, eleventh and fifteenth) rep, and then at your fastest pace for the fourth (and eighth, twelfth and sixteenth) reps. Take a ten second Rest Interval (RI) after each rep.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 200m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the Cool Down (CD) (like the Warm Up (WU)) can be any stroke you wish to swim. You can also stop and rest after any length. I encourage you to stop and stretch during the cool-down
Session 11
- 400 WU;
- 12x 25 Drills;
- 5x
- 200 20RI;
- 4x 50 10RI;
- 200 CD (2,900)
For the Warm Up (WU) start with a 400m swim. During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Next up is a drill set. There are twelve, 25m drill repetitions. Feel free to use fins whilst doing this set. Do the drills below twice through:
The main set is made up of a set of five Broken 200’s. Broken 200’s are done as two sub-sets. The first sub-set is made up is 200m of continuous swimming with a twenty second Rest Interval (RI) prior to the second sub-set. Next up is a further 200m of swimming, this time it is broken into four, 50m reps with a ten second Rest Interval (RI) after each rep.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 200m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the Cool Down (CD) (like the Warm Up (WU)) can be any stroke you wish to swim. You can also stop and rest after any length. I encourage you to stop and stretch during the cool-down
Session 12
- 400 WU;
- 100 10RI;
- 200 20RI;
- 300 20RI;
- 400 30RI;
- 500 30RI;
- 400 30RI;
- 300 20RI;
- 200 20RI;
- 100
- 200 CD (3,100)
For the Warm Up (WU) start with a 400m swim. During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
The main set is a pyramid style starting with 100m and increasing in distance by 100m each rep through to 500m and then decreasing in distance back down to 100m. Take a ten second Rest Interval (RI) after the first rep. Then after each 200m or 300m rep take a twenty second Rest Interval (RI), and after the 400m and 500m reps take a 30 second Rest Interval (RI).
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 200m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the Cool Down (CD) (like the Warm Up (WU)) can be any stroke you wish to swim. You can also stop and rest after any length. I encourage you to stop and stretch during the cool-down.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi Coaching.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
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