Good morning Gill

Things are going swimmingly in the pool and in the lake, and I wanted to take a min. to pat myself on the back for what has turned out to be a great swimming plan. Its been less then 2 hours a week but somehow ive gotten there, both reaching my goals and gaining great technique.

Today I did a few intervals rather then building upon my base anymore (bc frankly there isnt much difference between 1500m and 1800m).

Front crawl hypoxia/glide x 300
Butterfly x100m
Side stroke x100m
Front crawl fast/powerful 100m


Other Possible Swim workouts:
(active.com)
Death Sprint: This method couldn't be simpler. In your main set, start swimming at all-out sprint speed, as though you are competing in a 25-yard race. Continue swimming until you are totally exhausted.

It doesn't matter how far you go or how soon you start to slow down. (I usually start slowing after 40 yards and make it about 300 yards before crying uncle.) The point is just to prepare your body and mind to the experience of a protracted sprint.

Push-Up-Sprint Superset: Get out on the deck and do a set of push-ups (or modified push-ups with your knees on the deck). Complete as many as you can, minus one or two. After doing your last push-up, immediately dive into the pool and perform a 50-yard sprint.

This little exercise will prepare you to begin a maximum-intensity swim effort when fatigued from prior non-swimming activity (similar to fighting through the surf and beating away fellow triathletes).

Sprint Plus Time Trial: After warming up thoroughly, swim a 50-yard sprint, rest 15 seconds at the wall, and then swim an evenly paced, maximum-effort time trial at your race distance. This is a good workout to do in the peak phase of training, within a few weeks of your race, because it is especially race-specific.

No-Stop Intervals: Complete a normal main set but without ever stopping. Instead of resting at the wall after completing an interval or set, push off and swim a slow freestyle stroke for half the designated rest period, then turn around and go back to the wall. Begin the next interval or set as soon as you reach the wall. There's no wall to hold onto during the race, so sometimes it's good to pretend there's no wall to hold onto in your workouts.

Long-Entry Swim Start: If possible, do at least one or two open-water swim workouts before each race. While you're there, replace your normal swim-start practice with a long-entry swim start. Position yourself approximately 100 yards from the water. Run as quickly as you can across the beach and into the water. Plunge forward and swim as hard as you can for one minute.

Hypoxic Sets: Complete a normal main set, but begin each interval with a hypoxic start—that is, by not breathing in the first six to 10 strokes. This will challenge you to regain control of your breathing during a high-intensity effort without slowing down. A triathlon swim usually begins in a state of oxygen deficit due to the anaerobic nature of sprinting into the water and fighting off fellow triathletes, and also due to sympathetic nervous system arousal.

Optimal race performance depends on preparing your body and mind as specifically as possible for the demands of racing. When you train for the triathlon swim as a straight time trial, you are not training as specifically as you ought to. But by adding the above methods into your training regimen, you will be.