Swim Science Step 4/5: Improve Your Pacing Awareness to avoid the '100m hump' with Threshold Training

If you've ever completed a swimming or triathlon race, you'll likely to have experienced what I call the 'hundred hump'. This is when you're ready and pumped at the start line, hear the bang and then go out really hard, thinking 'wow I'm swimming super fast' only to feel your lungs burning and need to 'stop for air' after 50-100m. We see it in our coaching sessions all the time, there's no shame! We've all done it!

Tip 1: When you start exercising your body isn't actually using Oxygen, but it is making a lot of carbon dioxide, so BREATHE OUT THOSE BUBBLES!! This enables the muscles to function properly and avoids the need to stop. If you're stopping to breastroke in a race after 1-2 minutes I'm talking to you!

Tip 2: If you've trained to start your race with a sprint and drafting the lead pack then knock yourself out! However, most of us haven't and would be more satisfied with a race that we could complete in a good time without stopping and good pacing awareness is the key.

Remember in endurance swimming (400m+), the fastest swimmers are the ones with the highest AVERAGE pace. Knowing your race distance and ideal finish time are key:

For example, if you want to finish your Sprint Triathlon in 15 minutes then you'll need to average 2:00 / 100m. You can use the same principle for long distance swim events.

Ask yourself these questions...

- Can you swim continuously for your race distance? (Technique work will only really help with this up to a point, after which you just need to bite the bullet and train smarter and harder)

- Have you ever tested how far you can swim at one continuous speed?

- Do you do any swimming specific fitness training?

Answer yes to these questions and well done, you're already well on your way to significantly improved race speed and performance.

Here's a table that might help you start to understand a bit more about pacing:

Generally, a Sprint or Olympic Distance Triathlon should be swam at a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 7-8 or starting to/breathing hard. As the distance increases, the ability of the body to sustain a high energy output goes down, so you'll need to swim slower the longer you go and crucially START the swim slower to avoid the 'hundred hump'.

Tip 3: Increase your ability to sustain pace with proper Threshold Training in swimming.

Threshold Training involves swimming at a pace that will improve your lactate threshold speed, which will result in significant speed increases in distance swimming (400m plus). Remember the best distance athletes are not the fastest, they're the ones with the fastest AVERAGE speed.

Your Lactate Threshold is the maximum speed your body can sustain at an aerobic intensity, (not balls out, think a 5k run pace, pretty hard, but doable up to a point).

The secret to improving your lactate threshold (or as us swim geeks call it Critical Swim Speed / CSS pace,) is to train at this pace, or just below it (i.e. slightly faster). For most swimmers training using this method involves longer swim sets (200-400m+) with less rest between sets (15-30 seconds maximum).

How to Find your current CSS pace:

After a thorough warm up, swim and time freestyle 400m at your best effort. Then take a good 5-10 minute rest and then time your best 200m swim.

For example, Jenny swims her best 400m in a time of 7 minutes and 50 seconds. Her 200m time is 3 minutes 50 seconds. There are online calculators available, but the simple equation is to half the difference between the two times:

7m50

-3m50

=4mins

Divide by 2

=2mins /100

Her 'CSS pace' per 100m is 2:00. To improve her threshold she should swim at this pace +/- 2 seconds per 100m.

We then divide this time by 4, to equate the time per 25m (assuming a 25m pool) = 00:30 seconds. We enter this into the Tempo Trainer (a very handy little gadget that sits in your swim hat and beeps at you so you can gauge your swim speed accurately without stopping to look at your watch mid set. Think bleep test for swimming).

An example taster set is my Goldilocks set, which combines 100m with slightly longer distances to help you gauge your ability to sustain this pace:

All freestyle full stroke, with a one beep rest interval (RI).

When you're ready to go press the button through your hat to start the interval. You're aiming to be pushing off on the next beep.

Baby Bear

1 x 100m RI 1 beep

1 x 200m RI 1 beep

Mummy Bear

2 x 100m RI 1 beep

1 x 300m RI 1 beep

Daddy Bear

3 x 100m RI 1 beep

1 x 400m RI 1 beep

RI = rest interval. Get ready to set off on the next beep after you finish the set, i.e. after 30 seconds in this example, or your own 25m time interval from your own CSS pace. If you’re really struggling to catch your breath in this period, take an additional beeps rest, but bear in mind that slightly defeats the object of threshold training and you may just need to get used to swimming slightly harder and find your pain cave to improve your fitness!

It might feel too easy at the beginning on the 100s leaving you feeling tempted to put up the pace, but stick with it. See if you feel the same after the 400m at the end and sticking to 1 beep rests!

If you'd like to improve your swimming technique, endurance and speed we run the following expertly coached sessions, click the link to find out more:

Private Video Analysis & Stroke Correction Sessions or 1:1 Swimming Lessons to refine your technique and training with Annie

Weekly Swimming Squad Session with Ali to tune up technique and fitness over winter

5 Week Beginner Freestyle Course starts Sunday 11th January

5 Week Improver Freestyle Course starts Sunday 11th January

Triathlon or Endurance Event Training Plans to help you get race ready with Ali

GIFT VOUCHERS for you or a loved one

Don’t forget to look out for the final step of my Swim Science Series next week!

Happy swimming!!

Annie