If you compare your best times for the various events of a stroke, where does the biggest drop-off occure? Is this different for a sprinter compared to a swimmer of a distance persuasion?
I noticed that there was little difference between my speed for the 800 free compared with my best 1500. In fact, my two best 800s are splits from my best 1500s.
So I decided to take a closer look:
Freestyle Masters PB, SCM:
50: 26.87 (100 m= 53.74)
100: 58.06 (58.06), drop-off=8.0 %
200: 2:05.61 (1:02.81), drop-off 8.2 %
400: 4:27.56 (1:06.89) drop-off 6.5 %
800: 9:19.13 (1:09.89) drop-off 4.5 %
1500: 17:31.38 (1:10.09) drop-off 0.3 %
How would you analyze this? I would think that my 200 is sub standard (biggest drop-off), and so is my 800 (no faster than 1500). There's a lot of variables, of course; was I shaved and tapered for all these swims, what kind of suit did I wear, was it early or late in the meet etc.
For the shorter swims, the drop-off is more substancial than for the longer swims. Is this due to my slow-twitch dominance or is it general? Could it have something to do with the different energy systems?
Freestyle with all its events was the most interesting subject, but of course I checked the other strokes too. Not all to my surprise there was a discrepancy between butterfly and backstroke drop-offs, from 100 to 200 my speed dropped by 2.6 % (backstroke :)) and 18.0 % (butterfly :afraid:).
I'll see your number crunching and raise you a chart!
Awesome, Peter, AWESOME! :bow:
Although I'll spare y'all my number crunching and charts, my coach declared me a distance swimmer instead of a sprinter when:
1. I swam 900 yards of continuous butterfly and said I could have kept going, because I felt better at the end of the swim.
And, again:
2. After I negative split my 2,000 fly two weeks later.
And, again:
3. When I returned from a 3K open water swim and happily jumped right back in with the 1K group and negative split that race over my previous 1K segments.
And, again:
4. After I negative split my 400m and 800m free at Greenville.
And, again:
5. After I negative split my 1,000 fly on Wednesday.
Every Tuesday/Thursday when I train with my coach in the next lane, he says the same thing when I get stronger as the session progresses. I think I get it now: I'm not a sprinter, after all. :sad: :cry:
I'm pretty well convinced if you negative split a long swim and feel better after the halfway point than you did during the first half, you are a distance swimmer, rather than a sprinter*. It took awhile for me to own that new "distance swimmer" label, but I am determined to own it. There's no going back now! :ohyeah:
*Exception for me: Breaststroke! But, that's due to medical issues (thoracic outlet syndrome)/ past surgery that makes breaststroke increasingly difficult to swim, as the distance progresses. I am toast at the 150 mark! :afraid:
I'll see your number crunching and raise you a chart!
Awesome, Peter, AWESOME! :bow:
Although I'll spare y'all my number crunching and charts, my coach declared me a distance swimmer instead of a sprinter when:
1. I swam 900 yards of continuous butterfly and said I could have kept going, because I felt better at the end of the swim.
And, again:
2. After I negative split my 2,000 fly two weeks later.
And, again:
3. When I returned from a 3K open water swim and happily jumped right back in with the 1K group and negative split that race over my previous 1K segments.
And, again:
4. After I negative split my 400m and 800m free at Greenville.
And, again:
5. After I negative split my 1,000 fly on Wednesday.
Every Tuesday/Thursday when I train with my coach in the next lane, he says the same thing when I get stronger as the session progresses. I think I get it now: I'm not a sprinter, after all. :sad: :cry:
I'm pretty well convinced if you negative split a long swim and feel better after the halfway point than you did during the first half, you are a distance swimmer, rather than a sprinter*. It took awhile for me to own that new "distance swimmer" label, but I am determined to own it. There's no going back now! :ohyeah:
*Exception for me: Breaststroke! But, that's due to medical issues (thoracic outlet syndrome)/ past surgery that makes breaststroke increasingly difficult to swim, as the distance progresses. I am toast at the 150 mark! :afraid:
