04/01/2026
🍪 SHORTBREAD SHARPENING | Race Pace Quality
Simple ingredients. Baked precisely.
This week at One Swim, we delivered a session built around one core idea:
👉 Race pace is a skill, not just an intensity
👉 Quality > volume
The goal? Front-half control → back-half aggression
All without accumulating unnecessary fatigue, exactly what’s required in quality phases of the season.
🔵 Warm-Up | Aerobic readiness, not fatigue
Long strokes, relaxed breathing, efficient movement.
Progressive builds to prepare the nervous system without disrupting technique.
📚 Progressive warm-ups improve movement economy and readiness for quality work (Bishop; Seiler).
🟠 HVO | Neural sharpness
Short, fast 25s from a push.
Clean breakouts. Speed control. No wasted effort.
📚 Brief maximal efforts enhance neural drive without inducing fatigue (Behm & Sale; Ingham).
🔴 Main Set | Race pace is learned
Repeated exposure to exact race rhythm (150 → 100 → 50).
Stroke count discipline > speed chasing.
📚 Race-pace training improves pacing accuracy and technical consistency (Mauger; Toussaint & Truijens).
🟢 Kick → Swim | Hold shape late
Kick-to-swim transitions to simulate back-end race demands
Fatigue managed. Technique protected.
📚 Maintaining form under fatigue is key in middle-distance racing (Billat; Barbosa).
🟣 Speed Touch | Keep speed alive
Short speed swims for neural exposure, not conditioning.
📚 Speed is best maintained through frequent, low-fatigue exposure (Seiler & Tønnessen).
🔑 Coaching takeaway
✔️ Teach swimmers how race pace feels
✔️ Preserve technique under speed
✔️ Build back-half performance through precision, not exhaustion
Just like good shortbread, simple, deliberate, baked with intent.
