The Pace Clock

The pace clock.

The best swimming tool there is. Make it your best friend! Use it for …

• Pacing

• Counting

• Rest intervals

• Repeat times

Pacing

Use it to know what pace you’re swimming each interval. Works particularly well for short distances (50, 100, 200). Anything longer, I tend to have a quick glance at the clock every 100m to check on current pace.

To do this, know what time you start the interval. ‘The red top’ – starting when the ‘red hand’ of the pace clock is pointing towards the 60 (the top of the clock) – is a good place to start. Notice what the clock says when you finish your interval – and then work out how long it took you to swim the rep.

Counting

For a set with lots of reps, use the pace clock to help you count.

I often do sets of 50’s – and it’s very easy to forget where you’re up to. To help with this, I use an interval time that means I can tell how many reps I have done just by knowing what time I need to set off for the next rep.

For example, I might do 12 x 50m off 55”.

For the first rep, I start @ 60 on the clock

Number 2, I leave the wall 55 seconds after the first one, so @ 55 on the clock

The third one is 55 seconds after that, so @ 50 on the clock.

etc

You could use 1.05 and it work exactly the same.

#1 @ 60 on the clock

#2 @ 05 on the clock

#3 @ 10 on the clock

etc

Keeping You Honest

It’s easy to take too much test between reps – or use inconsistent rest intervals. Use the clock to make sure you’re taking appropriate rest times – and not guessing.

Repeat Times

The main reason I use the clock is to swim off consistent repeat times / off times / interval times. This simply means a set of reps ‘off’ a certain time.

For example, a set of 10 x 100m ‘off’ 1.45.

If you swim the 100m in 1.25, you’ll get 20 seconds rest before you start the next rep. If you swim it in 1.40, you’ll get 5 seconds recovery before you need to set off.

I use a Garmin watch on most of my swims too – mainly for data collection and a little analysis later. Whilst I’m in the pool, the pace clock is king!