Having never swam competitively or trained for a big race, I was wondering if someone could explain to me why guys like Lochte and Kitajima layed big eggs at this meet. They were waaaaay below their world class times. Does it have to do with them not taking it too seriously or does it have to do with where they are in their training regimens at the moment. Maybe it is calculated? I just don't know a lot about this stuff.
Thanks, that makes sense. But does that mean the other swimmers aren't training as hard? Why do they not get as significant a drop off?
All it means is that some swimmers were fully rested, some were partially rested and some were not rested at all. I wouldn't say it means they "aren't training as hard," it means they weren't training as hard in the days preceding the meet. The vast majority of swimmers are going to rest for a meet like Nationals.
Yes, it's calculated. They're focused on swimming fast at the Olympics. Here's a short article from ASCA about what they're doing:
www.teamunify.com/.../Swimming Tired(ASCA).pdf
Thanks, that makes sense. But does that mean the other swimmers aren't training as hard? Why do they not get as significant a drop off?
If doing well at Nationals is important to you,or if you need to make Olympic Trials cuts,or if you want to make a statement,then you will taper for Nationals.
Swimmers like Lochte and Kitijima probably are only thinking of the Olympics and all their training is pointing to that.
They didn't lay eggs, they decided to train through the meet,
it's not a priority. christmas training is
if you watch the vids, Lochte wore a pink brief,
they didn't rest, they didn't shave.
It's part of their plans. They'll light it up for trials.
here's a recent interview with Lochte
tv.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../12482
he hints at what his Christmas training will be like.
Interesting. So when he says he'll do pretty much "nothing" for a month before trials, what does that mean? In other words how does one taper. Doesn't go in the pool at all? Or gradually lightens the workout load until he gets down to nothing.
In a interview at the meet Lochte said he was working harder than he ever had and did not rest for the meet. He said he would continue at that pace and only taper for the Olympics.
Having never swam competitively or trained for a big race, I was wondering if someone could explain to me why guys like Lochte and Kitajima layed big eggs at this meet. They were waaaaay below their world class times. Does it have to do with them not taking it too seriously or does it have to do with where they are in their training regimens at the moment. Maybe it is calculated? I just don't know a lot about this stuff.
They didn't lay eggs, they decided to train through the meet,
it's not a priority. christmas training is
if you watch the vids, Lochte wore a pink brief,
they didn't rest, they didn't shave.
It's part of their plans. They'll light it up for trials.
here's a recent interview with Lochte
tv.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../12482
he hints at what his Christmas training will be like.
Lochte in particular is known for never swimming well in season. Before Worlds this year he really looked like crap, and then suddenly he shows up in Shanghai and breaks a world record. I suspect he's doing workouts between prelims and finals at some of these in season meets. Hopefully he doesn't get sick again before London like he did before Beijing because he's going to be a monster come trials.
One other note: the US team in general is always out-of-phase with the rest of the swimming world as selection meets (usually national championships) are typically much later in the US than most other countries. That's why US swimmers are typically lowly ranked in-season and then "exceed expectations" (for people not paying attention) at the big international meets.
