500m Swim Test Set

The UBC Triathlon Club has started it's new spring race series which means there should be some good smack talk coming up.

Today I did the 500m swim test set.  The team did this a couple of weeks ago but because of my San Francisco trip I missed it and had to make it up today.  I wasn't really sure what to expect going into it as I'm a little unsure of my swimming abilities.  When I joined the club back in September of '08 my best 500m swim time was about 10:38 or something like that which is about 2:07 per 100m.

The swim is usually my least concern with my triathlon training since it's the shortest distance and the least time is usually lost in a race and I have focused more on running and cycling.  This year has been a little different though.  I decided that I wanted to pick up my swim time a little bit for the '10 race season.  In January I was comfortably swimming at a 1:50/100m pace and my goal is to be able to hold a 1:40/100m for a half Ironman swim of 1900m this summer.  I know I'm not quite ready to hold that pace and was expecting somewhere around 8:45 for this test set.

I did my warm up and was not feeling particularly well and considered putting this off until Thursday but decided to go for it anyway.  I started my set and was feeling great.  I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, but more like I was holding a strong steady pace.  I ended up completing it in 8:29 which is a new pb for me.  Yeah!  I know it's no stellar time when compared to some of the other people I swim with but it's good for me and I'm happy about it.  It's fun to train towards goals and see them become realized.  That's one of the things I love about triathlons - your progress is easily measured and you can see benefits to the work you put in - it's a very rewarding sport.

I would like to pay a little tribute to my buddy Winstorm.  We have been bugging him for the last year or two about how slow he is at swimming.  He has now in his 5th year with the club and it seems like as long as I've been there his swim time has remained constant and he has watched newbies come in at a slower lane, later to join his, and then to pass him.  Well, he is proving that he has that fighter's spirit and has seen drastic changes in all events, but lately with a big jump in his swimming.  Good job Winstonian, looks like you might be a threat this summer after all.

On a side note, I just realized that the Subaru West Coast Triathlon Series starts in 3 months and I don't feel anywhere near ready.  It's amazing how fast the off-season went by.  It's time to get hardcore again.  Hourrah!