Hi I do all my swim training using a Finis Tempo
I don’t do intervals or anything like that - (i dont event swim in the off season anymore.)
About may when the lake gets up to temp. I just get in and swim to the beep and as the season progresses I turn the beep speed up. All continuous swim 3k to 8k.
I just record the swim on my 935
Because it’s easy and because it enables my procrastination, the train from Zurich Main Station to Interlaken (Interlaken West) is under 2hrs (1:51 or 1:49 depending, with one change… there’s an option for two changes, but why?). Your travel essential is: http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en
This may seem like an obvious question, but what are you seeking to accomplish with the tempo trainer?
I dont go off to fast so I dont fade towards the end
I do a few 10k swim races and my pace is pretty consistent across each 1k split and because I use the tempo in stoke mode, my stoke rate is also consistent across the swim
Things are going extremely well. I switched back to my road bike on the trainer, because I’m pretty sure I’ll take it over the TT at Mont Blanc and bumped my FTP immediately 13w for just sitting upright. Now at 3.57w/kg and season match tells me I’m roughly 6 weeks ahead of last season. SSB LV feels alright and the suffering is acceptable. Just did Goddard last week and was surprised to see my cadence has shot up about 12 rpm on average. Feeling strong, can’t wait to get out there and haul some!
I’m even happier with my running. After a weird IM Hamburg last year where I biked a 4:55 and ran a 4:09 I decided I need to up my running game. Took two months to fix my feet and and to iron out a few kinks in my running form, then slowly ramped my mileage up to now 55k per week. Reduced speed work to one session per week of moderately hard intervals around 5k RP and am feeling the strongest runner I’ve been so far. I just smashed my Sunday long run 30k in 2:25 without killing myself. I’m beginning to think a BQ might be just within reach in April.
Is it better to buy tickets in advance, or can you just walk into the train station day of and purchase?
Sometimes there is a discount advanced fare. I’d check the SBB website I sent you a) for specials and b) to check the price options. If there’s a discount available for an advanced purchase (usually no less than 2 weeks before), it’ll show the discount option when you go to purchase the tickets. They do have special deals and passes (so you don’t have to buy a ticket for each time you jump on the rails). Check out https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays.html (make sure you scroll to the bottom and check out the “ideas” bit).
And there’s the panorama trains: https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/panoramareisen.html
You may want to checkout Pilatus, too. A mountain near Luzern. Best is to take the ferry from Luzern, which drops off right at the cog train station to go to the top (steepest cog train line in Europe), enjoy the view, do some hiking, eat, then take the cable cars down the other side back to the city. You then take a bus to the main station.
It’s living in a postcard. (And no, I’m not a travel agent 
And by the way, you won’t need to reserve a seat (probably not an option on that line anyway) and you’ll be perfectly fine in 2nd Class. And don’t be late for the train. There was a ad campaign from the train system running here not too long ago about the punctuality. Various forms of the same theme, for example: two jamaicans are riding the train when an announcement is made apologizing that the next stop will be 3min late. The Jamaicans break out laughing. Another is two Italians with the younger (in his 30s) explaining to his father (in his 60s) the announcement, though the father can’t grasp the purpose of the apology. Swiss precision.
Didn’t want to miss my run today despite the weather, went out at 5 and slipped on a patch of black ice and went down hard on my lower back, now going to have to skip the swim today I think. Disappointing first missed session of 2019.
I’m a bit little late to the update party. I am on my last week of SSB so it is a recovery week for me. Next week I start Oly mid volume base for an A race in June. My HIM is in October so I wont start the HIM plan until after the Olympic tri. I am excited for Monday when I do my first ramp test since starting TrainerRoads. I feel faster but we’ll see what the numbers show.
Oh man bad luck!
I’m feeling the strain from yesterday, and decided against running but the back of my mind was the ice risk around these parts. May go for a treadmill session Friday instead.
@mountainrunner just looking to
Help with pacing. Looking back on my swims my 25yd paces ahave drastic differences. For instance, if I swim a 1:45 100 my splits may range from 1:30 pace to 1:50s
I’m doing a swimsmooth plan as well. I’m currently a bambino. But starting to make some progress. It seems like a good system.
Great info, thanks! Are the 1/2 off rail passes worth it? and does each individual have to have one, or can I buy a ticket for myself and someone else on the same pass? I’ve only done rail travel briefly (in Ireland). New concept to me
They are if you’ll be on the rail frequently. Yes, each person needs a ticket and/or pass (the 1/2 fare pass means you can buy the 1/2 fare). Kids can travel free (as can dogs, although sometimes they are supposed to have their ticket). Bikes, though you said you’re not traveling with your bike, are to have their own ticket.
By the way, there are no ticket takers / entry or exit turnstiles. It’s the honor system though they do ticket checks on board, which happens regularly on the longer hauls and one out of 4-6 instances on the shorter hauls.
ok. My suggestion: continue to focus on your form and effort as a way to get a handle on your pace & output level. Continue, assuming you are doing them now, to spend time on short repeats to learn consistency. Use the metronome you have with the aim of dropping it, don’t rely on it, don’t make it a crutch, and don’t try to replace it with a “better” to further rely on a device telling you what you should – and will – eventually know intuitively. It’ll take time and plenty of practice with focus and concentration. It developing an important skill, so think of it like that.
That all seems like a reasonable to me. I agree, it would definitely become a crutch vs skill development. Also saves me some cash. Thanks for the insight!
If it helps, think of it like running. If you’re running your favorite, well trodden route, you get a feel of your pace & effort level. If you’re running on the track, you get the same and (should) start to be consistent with each 400, 800, etc without looking at your watch, or needing pace alerts, throughout.
Doing time-based, not rest-based, intervals will work. And you can program these workouts into your Garmin. For example, do 10x50 on a specific interval, say 1:00 or 1:30 (or :55… etc). Whatever gives you the rest for the target (speed with low recovery, all out with high recovery)… perhaps start with “strong, maintainable effort” so aim for 15s rest. If you know that pace, and this conversation is based on not really knowing it, program the workout into your Garmin as your target plus 15s (or 10s, 20-30s is a bit high for this). You’ll hit start (ignoring/simplifying programming warm up and other parts of the workout etc) and hit lap when you finish the interval (the 50, in this case), and it’ll automatically start the countdown for your send off, at which point you just go (no button press). And repeat. Doing a set interval will help you get your pace. Where you are now, rest-based intervals will not. Having the workout on the watch is immensely helpful IMO. My Fenix5x will vibrate halfway through the last lap to tell me to stop at the wall, which is super helpful on 400’s and 500’s, even 200’s in my case. While I could glance at the watch coming off the flip turn, it is easier not to and to get the vibrate to confirm my count (or more likely to inform me when I completely spaced on the count, which is not uncommon as I am not swimming with a team or anyone else though i am usually in a shared lane with people doing something very different and almost always they are slower).
I hope that helps.
Hey @JoeX
It’s cool to see everyone is still at it!
As for me, I was fighting through that mid volume SSB and failed. Some time in November I got sick, took a week off to get better, as soon as I re-started training I got sick again, so decided to take December off to recover fully. I think mid volume was too much stress for my body, compounded with work, kids and other factors. 31st of December I started to ease myself into low volume 70.3 triathlon base program and managed to stick to it very well minus swimming (currently very difficult to schedule, will probably not be able to swim till March).
Taking my work and family situation into account I consider myself a winner, January is going great so far and it will only get better. In the end it doesn’t matter so much when you’re set back a little, if you keep going afterwards like nothing ever happened.
Best of luck to you all,
Peace!
Boy I am not on it this morning. Expecting to see something better than 1:50, hoping for something near 1:40…
I foresee a retest in my near future…
