Cruise Intervals

Cruise intervals lets you work out at a pace that is just above what is comfortable, but not so fast that you can't make the set. It's that "Ugh! I hate this" pace. That doesn't sound very fun, but it is actually the pace you need to keep up in order to see improvement in your times.

Here's what you do:
Time yourself in a 600 yard swim. Keep a steady pace, but don't go too slow. Take your total time, convert it to 'total seconds', then divide by 6 (that's how many 100's you just swam) - then lastly convert that time back to minutes and seconds.

So here's the math example:
Dennis swam his 600 in 8:12. Converting that time into seconds = 492 seconds. Then you divide:
492/6 = 82
82 seconds = 1:22
That's the average time for each 100.

Are you with me so far? :-)

To creat a cruise interval (CI) for Dennis I added 10 secs to his average 100 time = 1:32 and then rounded up to 1:35. So his cruise interval is 1:35.

You can use cruise intervals for anything...
example:
warm up with 6 x 100's on CI + 10 secs
In this example, Dennis would do his 100's on 1:45 for his warm up

You can also challenge yourself and use CI -5 secs(or even -10 secs)! That would really get your heart pounding!

In a "main set" I use CI intervals with sets of 100's:
4 x 4 x 100's on your CI, 1 min rest between sets (1MRBS)
In this set the swimmer is swimming one set of 4 x 100's, then resting 1 min, then swimming another set of 4 x 100's, etc...

The goal is to get about 10 secs rest between 100's. If you are getting more than 10 secs rest, then you should probably decrease your CI.

You can double the CI for 200's or even longer sets (300's, 400's, etc). Once you find your CI you can really use the pace clock to your advantage. You will be in great shape!!!

You should re-time your 600 every so often to see how much you have improved. If you swim everyday, you can re-time after 2 months of training. If you only swim a couple of days a week then you might have to wait longer to re-time.

Here is a set we did Oct 29, 2003
6x100's CI +15 600 yds
6x50's breast 10 sec rest 300 yds
5x100's CI +10 500 yds
6x50's breast 10 sec rest 300 yds
4x100's CI +5 400 yds
6x50's breast 10 sec rest 300 yds
3x100's CI 300 yds
Total yards 2700