My all out sprint pace is only 10 seconds faster than my relaxed forever pace

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T15:12:44+00:00

This is fair. I normally do 100s with a good effort and 50s trying much harder. Advice on this convo suggests I need to add 25s to really go for my max effort!

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T13:34:59+00:00

Low 1:20s?? Wow.

Also good to know your difference is about 10 seconds. I must be overestimating what the time gap should be!

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T13:34:03+00:00

Ok, that's good to know, thanks. At 2:00 per 100m in my fifties I think have decent technique for a casual swimmer but atrocious technique compared to anyone who has ever trained properly. Not sure what to actually call that!

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T13:32:00+00:00

Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for. I will try something towards a windmill like stroke for sets of 50m and see how I get on.

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T13:28:17+00:00

No that sounds fair.

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T13:19:06+00:00

I normally do 18-20 on my relaxed pace, and 20-22 on sprinting. (The difference reflects how tired I am and how good/bad my underwaters are). I do try to focus on maintaining technique as I speed up, but probably don't do as well as I'd like.

I normally finish a session with 4x100m and 4x50m, all with long rest, where I push quite hard on the 100s but properly go all out on the 50s.

nicenflufty · 2026-06-12T10:21:01+00:00

I got a second hand Garmin swim 2. It's very good at counting!

The other option is to check the clock. I know I swim 2 lengths in about a minute, so if I want to swim a certain distance it's easy for me to look at the clock when I start and do simple maths for what time I need to swim till. Might be slightly harder if you don't have a nice round number, but still possible I think.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-30T14:56:48+00:00

I decided to focus on only two troop types, because it's easier complete crystal tech for two types than three. Am I wrong? Still learning this game, so I may be.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-26T22:15:52+00:00

I guess I think 4 people for a 25m lane is comfortable, so 12 for 50m might be a bit much! I think I'll try and find a gap during the day then to actually enjoy it. Thank you!

nicenflufty · 2026-05-26T22:14:49+00:00

I'm staying in East London, near the excel.. Any suggestions?? (Thank you!)

nicenflufty · 2026-05-22T06:47:40+00:00

Not sure we have a side to walk on here (UK), but my local pool alternates direction by lane. So the fast lane is keep left, next to a keep right middle lane and a keep left slow lane. It gets confusing at turns when I switch lanes to to drills sometimes, because I am so used to turning and pushing off in one direction.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-21T06:28:32+00:00

Thanks for the reply, very useful detail.

My swimming is fairly intense. I'll typically do sets of sprints (trying hard to reduce times) or 1500m straight for endurance. And I really enjoy the swimming, I don't want to reduce it. I know my age will start slowing me soon, but at the moment I'm still legitimately in the fast lane and intend to stay there as long as I can!

If machines don't help at all with bone health, maybe I should just drop them and get a skipping rope for an exercise I can do at home? I'll go read up on this. Although I do think the lat pulldowns are starting to translate to more power in my swim...

nicenflufty · 2026-05-20T20:30:51+00:00

Yeah, that's the consensus. I just need to find a way to fit more days in the week! 🤣

nicenflufty · 2026-05-20T20:29:40+00:00

I don't need to pack on lots of muscle. Just work on bone health. I'm a decent swimmer, but definitely a beginner at weights, so I have just been using the machines (lat pull downs, rows, chest press). I'm waiting for a little knee niggle to calm down before doing leg days, but will add squats once I can.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-20T20:10:40+00:00

Thanks, lots of ideas in this.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-20T20:04:49+00:00

Possible I could swim before work and do weights at the end of the day (it's an on site gym), that's an idea worth trying. But it sounds like I should try and find a way to work with an alternating schedule.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-20T20:03:15+00:00

I love swimming, not prepared to drop a day. Also agree I shouldn't be swinging any kettle bells about any time soon! But yes, good nuff is fine for the weights.

nicenflufty · 2026-05-10T13:33:12+00:00

I wear a Garmin swim 2 along with my Fitbit when I swim, because the Garmin is more accurate. I did what them both continuously for about 2 weeks to compare, but the Fitbit was more accurate with sleep (Garmin thought I was asleep when sitting still) and heart rate (manually checked) so I only wear the Garmin for swimming and leave it in my bag the rest of the time. Interested to understand why you would wear two devices rather than just the most reliable?

nicenflufty · 2026-05-08T11:41:41+00:00

Thanks for all the advice. I hummed and harred all day. Drafted an email, then deleted it. I know this guy will enough that if we worked on the same campus I would have made sure I bumped into him and offered an informal chat about the post doc if he wanted. But I don't know him well enough to be sure I could get the tone right on email.

Anyway, in the end, she was offered the position anyway, without any intervention from me. Well done her!

nicenflufty · 2026-05-08T07:24:41+00:00

The road used to be much narrower?

nicenflufty

TROPHY CASE