Have you ever said that to yourself after a training set? It started so well, you hit all your times, then in the second half you struggled and missed them by quite a stretch.

The easy conclusion to draw is just that - you weren't quite fit enough and next time will be better. That's it, end of story.

But the truth is otherwise - if you couldn't sustain a pace then you paced the set badly. And as a result you didn't get the same fitness gain from your set as you should have done and what's more, you re-enforced the habit of bad pacing.

If like most of us you've had an enforced break from swimming due to the Covid-19 crisis then you will have lost fitness and you'll find this even more of an issue than normal. 

You might find the temptation to try and hit your times from a few months back - don't do that. Train to the fitness level you have NOW - that's all the matters. Do that and your times will quickly come down again.

Swim Smooth!