I guess some background information may help you in answering my question. Hello, my name is Alex and I am quickly approaching my last year of high school swimming. Last high school season I finished my 200 yard free with my best time of 2:12.17 (not that stellar I know :cry: ) However I did end up getting second place overall. Now next high school season I'm ranked first in the 200 yard free, but there's always room for improvement. I would LOVE to get the school record (1:55.45) by may 2012 but that's pushing it I think. So how do you swim a 200 free?
Last 200 yard free I swam I got a time of 2:17.09 I tried breathing every 4 the whole race and it really tired me out.
I believe my next strategy is going to be
1st 25 - go 99% breathing every 4
75 - 500 pace breathing every 2
50 - going 100% breathing every 6
50 - anything I got left
How do you swim a 200 yard free?
Honestly...it's basically an all out adventure. BUT this is more of a controlled sprint. You HAVE TO BREATHE!!! Don't try to go without air on this race or it will bite you hard!!! I go fast but start breathing every stroke (always to the right) after the initial 25 (which I breathe every 4 or 2 strokes). 3rd 50 is where you've got to give it everything...that's the 50 that will win the race, when most people want to give in to the pain and back off a little. Continue breathing though all the way to the end...it's okay to put your head down for those final 4-5 strokes to the finish.
Your training background is key though. You can't just do a bunch of shorter stuff with lots of rest. You need to train for pain, with shorter rest between your reps of 50s, 100s, etc. I like doing lots of 125s and 150s as well, because I can put more speed into them and get a little more yardage per rep, but I still try to set an interval that gives me ~10-15 seconds of rest or so (depending on the distance being covered).
For example, yesterday I did 10 x 150s @ 2:00 (holding between 1:45-1:50s on each one). Find an interval that works well for you and try doing multiple fast paced (80-85%) repeats while having about :10-:15 seconds rest. This will build your endurance a lot more for the 200 Free.
It's gonna take hard work, but you'll be happy with yourself, even with a 10-15 second drop will be great!!! Depending on how much you can train...Go get that record!!
How do you swim a 200 yard free?
Honestly...it's basically an all out adventure. BUT this is more of a controlled sprint. You HAVE TO BREATHE!!! Don't try to go without air on this race or it will bite you hard!!! I go fast but start breathing every stroke (always to the right) after the initial 25 (which I breathe every 4 or 2 strokes). 3rd 50 is where you've got to give it everything...that's the 50 that will win the race, when most people want to give in to the pain and back off a little. Continue breathing though all the way to the end...it's okay to put your head down for those final 4-5 strokes to the finish.
Your training background is key though. You can't just do a bunch of shorter stuff with lots of rest. You need to train for pain, with shorter rest between your reps of 50s, 100s, etc. I like doing lots of 125s and 150s as well, because I can put more speed into them and get a little more yardage per rep, but I still try to set an interval that gives me ~10-15 seconds of rest or so (depending on the distance being covered).
For example, yesterday I did 10 x 150s @ 2:00 (holding between 1:45-1:50s on each one). Find an interval that works well for you and try doing multiple fast paced (80-85%) repeats while having about :10-:15 seconds rest. This will build your endurance a lot more for the 200 Free.
It's gonna take hard work, but you'll be happy with yourself, even with a 10-15 second drop will be great!!! Depending on how much you can train...Go get that record!!
