Birthday set: A day late, but not the least bit short

This year I learned about the birthday set, a piece of swimming lore that has the potential to be worse than a birthday spanking. It never came up when I was a high school swimmer, though there was no lack of teammates with birthdays in season.

I've heard two different versions of the birthday set. Pro triathlete Hillary Biscay, who swam collegiately at Southern Cal, described a workout over the summer on the occasion of her 30th, where she did 100x100 — for you non-swimmers, that's 100 swims of 100 yards apiece, separated by a rest interval of some kind — and called it her birthday set.

But on Slowtwitch I read more than once that the birthday set was yearsx100. What to do?

Well, considering I have Ironman Wisconsin in 10 days, I didn't think it would be a good idea to double my longest swim workout of the year with 10,000 yards and thus unravel my rotator cuffs. So I decided on 36x100 on approximately 2 minutes, meaning I start another swim every 2 minutes. That interval was cake as I did the freestyle swims and pulls in 1:20-1:25. I threw some kinks into it with some IM, some kick, a couple of them backstroke, and one of them breaststroke. On some of the freestyle I varied my pace by length and on others I just cruised.

I thought I was going to write something profound for each one, remembering how I changed it up with each 100, but that didn't happen. Not that the workout was drudgery; I love being in the pool. But in a somehow appropriate challenge to the day, the nosepiece for my goggles broke after the first five intervals, so I got my alternate pair of goggles. They too broke. I MacGuyvered a solution by tying together two pieces of the broken nose straps and went on about my business, but it's somewhat symbolic because I don't think I've had to replace chlorine-worn nosepieces since 2004. All good things must come to pass.

I think the 100x100 is from elite high school and college programs, because swimmers at that age can't even challenge themselves with yearsx100. I mean, we did 30x100 during a practice my senior year, and not that it wasn't a challenge because of the steep intervals (1:30, 1:25, 1:20 by 10s), but the average high school kid turning 17 wouldn't be challenged by 17x100, unless he or she did them all butterfly. Or underwater.

My excuse for not challenging myself further today is my A-plus race sitting 10 days away. This is why you don't cram for exams the night before — you only end up hurting yourself. Maybe I'll try 100x100 next year when I'm between Ironmans, or during the "offseason," when I have nothing to lose.

Whoa, 10 days. I'm a single-digit midget as of midnight. Better get some rest...