Hardest Pool Event?

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Allen Stark — Fri, 31 May 2024 01:56:02 GMT

So I posted here three days ago in response to some other recent posts, but on the list on the front page of recent post this thread doesn’t show up. Why is that?

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Allen Stark — Tue, 28 May 2024 03:23:25 GMT

I prefer LCM and I think it is in general harder( there is a lot more swimming), but SCY 200s of back, fly, or breast are killers if you work the underwaters. I don’t do long underwater dolphin kicks fly or back, but I salute those who do those who do. 200 SCY BR those last 2 or 3 pullouts are HARD.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Kyle Deery — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:40:55 GMT

Completely agree. LCM adds another level of difficultly!

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Elaine Krugman — Wed, 22 May 2024 18:13:28 GMT

Especially on the 200 Fly! I don't have the opportunity to train LCM, so the 200 LCM fly is brutal. As I get closer to the wall, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet??" runs through my head. If I'm doing well, I will make a slow turn. Otherwise, it's full-stop on those walls!

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

R4KT5 — Wed, 22 May 2024 16:02:05 GMT

I might get in trouble for bumping a super old thread, but this is a fun one. I would say 400 IM, closely followed by the 200 LCM breast and 200 LCM fly. The SCY versions are significantly easier (but still hard) because of all the turns! Thank God for walls.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

HDE47 — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:40:22 GMT

Long course is psychologically bad as you can get lost between the flags.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Y6KK9 — Thu, 04 Jan 2024 22:38:11 GMT

400IM is the hardest pool event

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

__steve__ — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:34:10 GMT

I always reply to similar “hardest events”or “most painful” posts with this because I can’t forget it. 2013 at UGA LCM meet a 50 fr SR for a 100 seeding 1:20.00 (45-49). Took the 50 all-out breathing once touching at 28.4 but didn’t sit at wall long enough before finishing. Swimming back was the most desperate experience, breathing 3-4 times per stroke, trying not to sink. I touched in 1:21 but it even got worse after I crawled out of the pool. I had so much blood acid in my arms, chest and legs that I couldn’t move but had to move because it was getting worse. Took about 5 minutes to buffer out the lactate. It didn’t kill me but I often wonder if I was close. Never again.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

jackback — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 12:30:28 GMT

while not the "hardest" event. back in the early 70's our conference championship of 10 teams had a 2 day championship meet. 1st day i swam the 500 free and 400 IM, twice. 2nd day 1650 free once and the 100 fly in the relay twice. i was glad to see the meet over !

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Unaccomplished Swimmer — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 01:48:24 GMT

Never done one, wouldn't know and never intend to...... : )

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

MEXMV — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 19:11:28 GMT

Agree. 400 IM is the hardest event. A true test of a swimmer.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

3D1ZE — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 20:32:01 GMT

I guess the 200 fly is the hardest

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Kyle Deery — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 01:33:39 GMT

I can relate to the 400 IM. Have t done a lot of 200 backstrokes but my legs hurt the worse of any event after that one for sure.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

habu987 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 15:34:58 GMT

My answers have definitely changed over the years!

When I was an age grouper, we had an annual local meet called the Iron Man meet--it was a one session, timed finals meet and you had to do all the events, which consisted of the 400 IM, 200 free, 200 breast, 200 back, 200 fly, and 500 free. By the end of that session each year, the 500 was a brutal living hell and I'd consistently be well over 30 seconds slower than my typical 500 free. Besides that 500, though, I don't think any of the events I swam (everything up to the 500) was truly a *hard* event, though, whether SCY or LCM.

I know a lot of folks say the LCM 200 fly is one of the hardest, but when I was a teenager, I LOVED that race. I'd get in the zone and have the perfect body rhythm to be able to swim a very well split race and not die by the end...but now I'm certain that race would be a living hell for me.

I've got a jacked up breaststroke kick and correspondingly derive the majority of my power/speed from my upper body, so funnily enough the 200 breast kills my arms and chest but leaves my legs fresh and ready for more. I've certainly gone into fullblown vertical butterdie on the last lap or so of the SCY 200 fly when I've swum it without having trained for it, but when I actually train for it I enjoy the SCY 200 fly (haven't done the LCM one as a Masters swimmer, nor do I ever intend to do it again). I don't think the 200 free is a particularly hard event, nor are the 100s of any strokes. I've definitely died before on every single one of those at least once before, but that's more a problem of poor conditioning and/or poor race strategy than the races being inherently hard.

In my current stage of life, I'd say the 400 IM is the hardest, with the SCY 200 back a close 2nd. The 200 back is the only one where I've had to have help getting out of the pool after, as well as actually blacking out for part of the race (both happened in the same race at Nats in 2013 when I took it out only about 1 second off my 100 Masters PR at the 100 split while crushing the underwaters and then blacked out and have no memory of the race from the 125 turn through the 175 turn), but I'd say the 400 IM is physically close to as difficult while substantially mentally harder.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Badger — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 17:49:49 GMT

Oh, that's a good point - everyone starting off in a group is a big difference and a huge challenge. Definitely been kicked and kicked others. The group start was one of the things I was most nervous about my first open water swim. The Beavertail sounds like an interesting challenge with the combination of offshore and more protected swimming.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Badger — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 17:46:44 GMT

That happened at a swim in Salem, MA - changing winds brought cold water down from the maritimes, so what should've been August-typical 70-75F became 58-59F at the shore and much colder out in the harbor. Lots of folks dropped out. The Great Lakes are a fascinating beast, too be sure - much more like an ocean than a lake in many ways.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Camillevh1 — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 20:34:49 GMT

Open water is such a different animal from the pool. All the variables involved make each swim so different. My hardest swims no matter the distance are always Lake Michigan, or any of the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan has a "wonderful" habit of inverting the day before a race- that is when the warmer water at the top of the lake gets blown out to the middle by strong winds and is back filled by ice cold water from the bottom of the lake. You can go from a practice swim in 71 degree calm water, to a race morning temp of 39-42 degrees! We also get chop and surf unlike the ocean, the frequency and churn of the lake is a beast.

Due to her mood swings and nature, Great Lakes swims are usually my hardest events in the open water.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

ForceDJ — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 17:44:20 GMT

Certainly any “marathon swim” (10k/6.2 miles) is pretty difficult. Obviously there are a lot more factors that go into the difficulty of an open water event. Each event and venue will have its own characteristics. Probably the most challenging part of any open water swim would be the beginning…when swimmers are crowded together, and jockeying for position. Lots of accidental/incidental kicking and collisions then. I’ve done open water swims in fresh, and salt water where the weather and water conditions were as ideal as swimming in a pool. And of course the extreme opposite is possible too. But for me, the most difficult open water swim event I’ve done was The Around Beavertail Swim in Jamestown, RI (https://longswims.com/events/around-beavertail/?fbclid=IwAR0SEqWaGXN_hDh9toFq2YKLBpuSpuRKNq9rxDJmjWKF5kvFlmOQiWueMOo). It’s well supported, but (so far) it’s mostly private and a small group of participants. It’s a 7-mile swim about about half of which is offshore in open ocean. One of the years I did it, we were swimming in 6-8 ft swells at least. There was a navigation buoy about a half-mile offshore that functions as a about the halfway turning point. I never saw the buoy until I was about 25-50 yards from it, and had to rely on my kayaker as my eyes to guide me there. That was some tough swimming. About half the field, some very experienced o/w long-distance swimmers had to drop out of that swim. The year before I swam it in 3 hours, 40 minutes. That year took me more than five hours.

Dan

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Badger — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 22:38:32 GMT

One of the towns that is (or was, at least) in the league I swam in as a kid used to hold their summer-season meets at their pond - based on my recollection the dock they set up for summers could basically be separated into 6 lanes of 25 yards, et voila, a "pool". But it was absolutely interesting to be placed in a lane and find yourself looking eyeball to eyeball with a school of perch or sunfish and there were some startling encounters for sure!

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Kyle Deery — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:48:51 GMT

I agree!

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Kyle Deery — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:47:53 GMT

"Extreme" swimming with an obstacle course and robotic fish. I would watch it!

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Camillevh1 — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:23:34 GMT

400 IM and/or 200 Breaststroke

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Badger — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 17:19:56 GMT

There are definitely more variables out in the wild waves. Of course, with technology these days, meet organizers could always release a school or two of small robotic fish to liven things up. 🤣

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Kyle Deery — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 20:21:42 GMT

Badger that question deserves its own new thread. And the definition of hardest could be hardest to complete because of length, temperature, conditions, or sea life... or, hardest could be the most painful.

RE: Hardest Pool Event?

Badger — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 20:06:30 GMT

Good question, though - what do you think of as the hardest open water event, or what open water events (venues, distances) would you consider most challenging? (or have been most challenging for you)