Introducing the Swim Pace Calculator

by Justin Chester
Swim Pace Intensity:
One of the biggest issues I see today with Triathlon Swimming is one of intensity. It’s no secret that if you want to go faster in the swim portion of a triathlon, it’s going to take some focused higher-intensity swimming while training. As a Masters Swim Coach for the last 7 years, I find that when it comes to intensity, everyone has a different definition of “moderate” or “fast” and this leads folks to swimming every set at the same relative pace. I also see many folks who come to the wall after what was supposed to be a “fast” set who did indeed give it their everything (i.e. they’re definitely breathing hard) only to see their times only a small fraction faster than what their “moderate” set was. Furthermore, I’ve seen athletes who are fatigued, sick, or otherwise not recovered from previous days’ workouts who perform sets that are significantly slower than what is normal for them (which is completely understandable) but are disappointed that their times do not match their effort levels.
Issues like these led me to develop The Swim Pace Calculator (http://www.swimpacecalculator.com). This revolutionary tool serves to remove some of the ambiguity from swim pacing terminology (terms like “fast”, “moderate”, “threshold”, etc.) and assigns specific times to specific intensities so that swimmers can understand, not only race-day paces, but also to understand their growth as a swimmer and their fatigue levels.

Removing Ambiguity:
The Swim Pace Calculator assigns a specific pacing time to the common swim terminology given in swim workouts by using an athlete’s test data to develop a matrix of times for various distances. The test is performed over two separate swim days with recovery in between and includes swimming at max effort, a 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 (I’ll explain later about why this is the testing protocol). As you can imagine, these times are the “fast” times for each of the distances listed, but what is the split time for a “fast” 150, or even a “fast” 500? This calculator extrapolates all of those times for you in all of the common distance you’ll see in swim set. Next, this calculator takes a percentage of all of those max-times and assigns various zones. For example, if a max 100 is 1:25, then an “easy” 100 should be 1:40-ish. This calculator breaks the test data down into 5-zones.
Determining what type of swimmer you are:
The Swim Pace Calculator takes the test data from the 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 and develops a regression curve. What does this regression curve tell you? By understanding how much your pace falls off for each doubling of distance, we can determine what type of athlete you are – a sprinter type athlete or an endurance type athlete. A sprinter athletic type has a relatively high regression rate (>10%) which means their pace will fall sharply as the distance increase (a regression rate of 10% means that an athletes’ pace will drop by 10% each time we double the distance), whereas an endurance athlete will have regression rates at or below 5%. For pure swimmers whose specialty is the 50m or 100m in swim meets, having a high regression rate does not hurt race performance. But put that same swimmer into a 750m sprint triathlon swim, and their endurance friends may finish minutes ahead.

The Swim Pace Calculator allows you to understand what type of athlete you are, and then apply specific training to get you where you want to be. Are you training for an Ironman but have a sprinter regression rate? Then you need more swim sets that focus on maintaining that speed later in the set, like performing sprint sets at the end of long workouts. Or, if you’re a swimmer that can already go forever, then it’s more beneficial for you to work on pure speed while maintaining that endurance athlete type. Mix in very high intensity sprint sets with relatively short rest intervals to increase overall speed.
Multi-Dimensional Performance Prediction:
The Swim Pace Calculator ultimately is used to understand the relationship between intensity (perceived effort) and the expected time for that intensity level for a given distance. Since we cannot monitor HR or other physiological markers during the swim portion of a triathlon, all we have is our perceived effort level. Learning what various intensities feel like in training will allow us to race at a specific intensity and have a reasonable idea of what time that will yield us.
The Swim Pace Calculator takes the regression curve from the test data and extrapolates out to the half-Ironman and Ironman swim distances for the various zones.   Are you planning on going easy in your half-Ironman swim? If so then you can see what Zone 2 will mean with respect to time. Are you planning to crush that Ironman swim? Then you’ll be able to predict what the clock will say when you pop out of the water.

We can also easily identify when athletes are fatigued or otherwise not feeling well. Say for example I assign a set to one of my athletes that includes 5×200 at Zone4 with a Rest Interval of 20-seconds. In the past, she was able to maintain the 3:15 split for each of those, but on this particular day she reports that she had to work exceptionally hard to maintain those times (or she’s not even able to maintain those times), I know that she’s either fatigued or she may even be starting to get sick. I’ll likely prescribe lighter workouts for the next few days and then reassess.
 
Begin using the Swim Pace Calculator today by visiting http://www.swimpacecalculator.com For specific Swim Training Tips and Tricks, contact Coach Justin at http://www.tricoachcolorado.com/contact