Friday, April 6, 2007

Estimating - The Swim

Don't know where the time has gone, but I have two events coming up next month, a sprint and an oly. YIKES!! I'm getting really nervous about the oly; I'm still not sure I'm going to be ready for that. For some reason, trying to break it down and start estimating times seems like it will calm me down. My goal is to finish with a smile, and preferably before all the volunteers go home. I expect to be pretty slow, but the longer I'm out there, the more likely I'll be grimacing at the end rather than smiling...

This week, I worked on estimating the swim. Being the slow-n-steady water turtle that I am, I expect the swim to be the best leg of the three for me.

The sprint has a 400M swim, and for that distance, I will swim 'hard'. On Thursday, I included 2x200 'hard' and my times were 4:10 & 3:51. I think 00:08:20 +/- 30 seconds for a 400M swim is a reasonable estimate for the sprint.

I believe the oly swim is 1500M, and for that distance, I will swim 'easy'. This morning, I included 1x1000 'easy' and my time was 24minutes and I felt like I could have kept on going at the same speed no problem, so 36min +/- 3min seems like a reasonable estimate for the oly.

9 comments:

  1. Those look like good times to me. If you can get 2x1000 in before the Oly, it will be a piece of cake. Slow and steady, just the way I like it myself ;-) They say the swim is where you spend the least amount of time in a race, but like you, I think I enjoy that part of my training the most. Hopefully, it will be the best part of my race too.

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  2. Sounds like a reasonable approach to the estimation. I've never been able to push hard in the swim, since I end up panicking and not being able to catch my breath. The positive side of this is that it's almost relaxing for me and puts me in a good frame of mind for the biking.

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  3. Congrats on your first Oly! Which one is it? My first Oly is this Sept. Good luck, especially with a Sprint right before it...not to scare you or anything. lol

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  4. I'm sure that you'll be more prepared for that Oly than you're giving yourself credit for. I think your time estimates sound good. Enjoy that swim- it's my favorite part, too.

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  5. I know you will do great. If you get a chance to do the distance in the 3 events one time before the oly, you will be fine. It will put you at ease. If not, It will all come together for you..

    Just smile for the cameras when you pass them by..

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  6. An Olympic swim time is always a variable to the less than experienced, I have found. At the beginning of the season, if your estimate times are accurate and you are confident, that is likely to be a decent time. A couple of things that might throw things off: how well you navigate and the size of the field. I'm assuming you will wear a wetsuit, so that will definitely help with your timing, however. I always have a hard time putting all three events together on an oly and getting done without either being last or close to it. Just remember, you paid your money the same as everyone else, so take all the time you need! If they want you to stop, they'll have to tell you and/or give you a ride to the finish.

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  7. You will do fine! Can hardly wait for the reports!

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  8. If you come through Phoenix - give me swimming lessons - PLEASE!

    Seriously - sounds like you are doing really well in the water.

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  9. I think your estimates sound reasonable too. This is so cool to be on this journey with you. :)

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