The general competition season of a swimmer last year-round. It is here that most injuries and cases of over-exhaustion occur. The four to five months that comprise mid-season conditioning are marked by extensive workout time periods and harder interval training.
Coaches place more emphasis on speed, assuming that the swimmer has already achieved the endurance.
Since each swimmer differs in his strength and physical make-up, each has an event or stroke that he swims best. During mid-season training the coach makes an attempt to structure the workouts so that each swimmer is given the training he needs for his specific event. Everyone trains differently, which is an odd concept for those who know little about the sport. For more details of how certain swimmers train see Specificity of Training . And during the taper part of the season, that is exactly what the workouts do.