Swim Start Ironman World Championship view from Kona Inn on Ali'i Drive

If you are preparing for an early season Ironman, this is a great 4000yard/meter workout you can insert into your training plan.  Also, good for swimmers preparing for open water swims and/or the time crunched athlete. Ironman swimming requires the ability to build into swims making early pacing critical to maximizing your performance.

The workout
1 x 600 Free Warm
3 x 400 Faster pace per 100 than 500 this should be easy since 500 was warm up
4 x 300 Faster pace per 100 than 400's
5 x 200 Faster pace per 100 than 300's
2 x 100 Cool down
Total 4000

Intervals
600 on 1:00 rest
400's 300's and 200's on your normal base example 1:30/100M
so 400's on 6:00, 300's on 4:30, 200's on 3:00
100's on :10 sec rest mix strokes as you like

You could repeat this set every 3-4 weeks to measure your improvement as the season progresses and it works well before a bike session as the first part of a swim/bike brick.  You could incorporate the use of paddles and/or swim buoy depending on level of swim experience.  Generally speaking, ironman swimming requires good upper body endurance and mixing various forms of pulling into your training can be very helpful.

Please email me at coacheric8@gmail.com with topics you are interested in learning more about.

Coach Eric