42 | AustrAliAn triAthlete

/// TransiTion wiTh anna Cleaver

Test Your SwimKiwi born Anna Cleaver trained with top swim coach Jan Cameron. Here, she shares a favourite session from their time working together.

SWIM

anna’s Training session

I was fortunate enough to be coached by

Jan Cameron in my youth, so much of my

swimming knowledge comes from her.

This is similar to a great session that we would

do as a regular test set. Adjust the session

length according to what you can fit into your

day, but make sure you complete the main

set. The repeat times should not be too long

(no more than 20 seconds rest). Try to hold

your times in the 100s. You will finish off the

session with some 50s for speed. This is

important to get into a good position at

the swim start!

Warm up with a 400 swim, 300 pull, 200 drill/swim, 100 kick.

Prep Set:

8 x 50 Bands only @ 60 seconds. Alternating 1 = Build to fast, 2 = Easy 25/Fast 25

Main Set:

2 x 400 swim solid (Ironman Pace) @ 5:30min or 6:00min

4 x 100 FAST @ 1:30min or 1:40min

200 easy

3 x 300 pull 1-3 descending - Keep it long and recover from main set but practice your pacing

by descending in each 400

Speed Work:

8 x 50 @ 60 seconds

1. First 15 strokes fast, cruise to the wall

2. 25 fast, cruise to the wall

3. First and last 15 strokes fast

4. Max effort timed

Cool down – own choice

Total = 4.1 plus cool down

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going

over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t

see from the centre.” Kurt Vonnegut

FasT FaCT!

i TaughT myselF To

swim while waTChing how

The ‘big kids’ in my sisTer’s

squad did iT. i was abouT

5 years old.

ToP TiPs1. Take time to slow down! At least once a week incorporate some drills or specific work with the objective of improving aspects of your technique. This is hard to do when you are racing the clock so take your time and get it right.

2. Try to be consistent with your swimming. When I was a young swimmer, even if I was injured or feeling unwell I would not skip swim sessions so that I wouldn’t lose the feel for the water. If you have to reduce your sessions to be short and aerobic that’s OK, just try to keep the number of sessions per week fairly consistent.

3. Practice wetsuit swimming. Your stroke may change slightly with the assistance of a wetsuit. I don’t recommend leaving it until race day to get used to wetsuit swimming.

AustrAliAn triAthlete | 43

/// TransiTion wiTh anna Cleaver

T his is a great session as it covers endurance and strength with some speed thrown in. The harsh reality is that many triathletes have a minimalist approach to swimming so I have offered shorter versions of Anna’s sets. Personally I like giving repeats of 50m and

100m as I find people swim with better technique stopping and starting. It’s a trade off and I know great swimmers like Anna can do longer swim sets with good technique. I often give longer aerobic swim sets of 400m, 800m reps either in the pool or in open water over longer distances.

Warm Up (all 5–10 seconds rest only):

12-24 x 50m (600m - 1200m total):

Set 1: 4-8 x 50m easy freestyle = count strokes per lap

Set 2: 4-8 x 50m pull and slightly faster than set above

Set 3: 4-8 x 50m bands only or pull bands = 25m fast, 25m easy

Bands and pull bands build strength and power – Bravo, Anna!

Main Set:

This a bit simpler than Anna’s set. Great swimmers like her seem to be able to remember every set, distance, time repeat and intensity from every session. I often see people with programs at the end of the pool spending more time reading their program than swimming. Most average Ironman swimmers don’t need any more excuses to stop swimming – we are lucky to get them there in the first place!

8-16 x 100m freestyle (800m-1600m total) on same time repeat:

Set 1: 2-4 x 100m @ 85 per cent = tapping into anaerobic zone with

5–10 seconds only rest.

Set 2: 2-4 x 100m @ 90 per cent = anaerobic zone with

10–15 seconds rest. You should be hurting!

Set 3: 2-4 x 100m @ 100 per cent with 15 – 25 seconds rest. Ouch!

Set 4: 2-4 x 100m easy @ 10 seconds rest.

Twitter: @annacleaverWeb: www.annacleaver.com

anna’s Training session

I was fortunate enough to be coached by

Jan Cameron in my youth, so much of my

swimming knowledge comes from her.

This is similar to a great session that we would

do as a regular test set. Adjust the session

length according to what you can fit into your

day, but make sure you complete the main

set. The repeat times should not be too long

(no more than 20 seconds rest). Try to hold

your times in the 100s. You will finish off the

session with some 50s for speed. This is

important to get into a good position at

the swim start!

Warm up with a 400 swim, 300 pull, 200 drill/swim, 100 kick.

Prep Set:

8 x 50 Bands only @ 60 seconds. Alternating 1 = Build to fast, 2 = Easy 25/Fast 25

Main Set:

2 x 400 swim solid (Ironman Pace) @ 5:30min or 6:00min

4 x 100 FAST @ 1:30min or 1:40min

200 easy

3 x 300 pull 1-3 descending - Keep it long and recover from main set but practice your pacing

by descending in each 400

Speed Work:

8 x 50 @ 60 seconds

1. First 15 strokes fast, cruise to the wall

2. 25 fast, cruise to the wall

3. First and last 15 strokes fast

4. Max effort timed

Cool down – own choice

Total = 4.1 plus cool down

sPoT andersonSpot began his sporting career on the Australian leg of the World Championship Tour surfing circuit before moving to triathlon (Triathlete of the Year 1989). He is Australia’s longest serving accredited coach with experience coaching athletes from rookie to Olympic level across a range of sports. Spot runs Bondi Fit (www.bondifit.com).

Coaching AnalysisB y S p o t A n d e r S o n

Time repeats – You could do these based on time repeats as well, e.g:

Set 1: 2:00 – 2:05, 2: 1:55 – 2:00 3: 1:45 – 1:55 4: 2:00 – 2:05

3-9 x 100m pull (300m - 900m):

100m @ 70 per cent, 100m @ 75 per cent, 100m @ 80 per cent

Depending on your level, you can repeat this up to three times. This encourages swimmers to build speed over each 3 x 100m whilst staying aerobic concentrating on pacing and controlled swimming. You may be surprised how fast you can swim at 80 per cent with good pacing!

8 x 50m freestyle or pull bands (400m):

50m = 15m fast/35m easy, 50m = 25m fast/25m easy50m = 50m fast, 50m = 50m easy

Repeat the above sets and all on same time repeat –

eg: 1:10 for slower swimmers and 0:50 for faster swimmers

Anna’s on the money – always have some speed work and I’ve added the option to do pull and bands.

Cool Down – 8 x 50m (400m):

8 x 50m flippers = 1 x freestyle and 1 x backstroke x 4 with five

seconds rest

Flippers aid you to develop a proper two beat kick, which is ideal for longer swims.

Total Swim Distance = 2500m - 4500m