OK, Forumites, I need help figuring this out... :help:
I am a breaststroker, for sure; definitely best at the 50. It goes downhill from there, according to how my times fall on the (outdated, I know) 2010 Motivational Times Charts. Since I have always been a speedster in general (definitely a rabbit, rather than a truck), I thought of myself as a sprinter. And, my 50's in all strokes rank higher than my 100's and 200's.
BUT, my coach declared me a true distance swimmer, after I swam my 2,000 fly (and felt better at the end than at the beginning), negative split my back-to-back 3k and 1k open water swims, and negative split my 400m free and 800m free races on my first attempt. He also whips me on the first half of our training sessions, but I get stronger and start negative splitting during the second half of our 4,000 yard workouts.
More evidence: According to the Motivational Times Chart, I rank highest in the 50 and 1650 freestyle and poorest in the 100 and 200.
So, what gives? I'm best at the extremes, but, even when I correctly split my 100's and 200's, they :censor:. Any ideas as to why this is and whether I am truly a sprinter or distance swimmer? :dunno:
One possible thought, when you are at meets, how are your warm-ups designed? Are you focusing more on the 50's in warm-up? This might be a simple fix, get in a bit longer warm-up at the start of the meet. You say you are doing better as your practices go on, so maybe that is what you need at meets.
My typical meet warm-up is 4x100 free (increasing speed on each one), 4x50 *** drill, 2x100 IM, a couple of build breaststroke 25's (build to sprint) and a couple of breaststroke starts off the blocks with a fast breakout. I also warm-up before any race event that is more than 30 minutes after the previous warm-down. I can't sit on the bench too long at all; especially before a breaststroke race.
By the way, 50's and long events are also my best in practices when I practice "race" them.
I don't know that this is really helpful, but I am way better at the 500 and the 50 than I am at the 100 or 200 freestyle. In fact, if I ever swim the 200 free again, it will be too soon. I think I either need to go ALL OUT, or I need to pace myself (for freestyle). I'm not capable of going all out in the 100 or 200 free (apparently), and I wasn't even when I was in tip-top shape in high school. That said, the 200 back is my all time favorite race. I used to classify myself as a sprinter, but now I don't box myself in. I like/am good at some events, I don't like/am not as good at other events. Who cares? I'm a grown up now, I can do what I want! :bliss:
I need a "like" button for your post! :applaud: By the way, I am going to try racing 200 backstroke for the first time next month. As a matter of fact, I am going to race the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke, instead of breaststroke, for the first time as a trio.
One possible thought, when you are at meets, how are your warm-ups designed? Are you focusing more on the 50's in warm-up? This might be a simple fix, get in a bit longer warm-up at the start of the meet. You say you are doing better as your practices go on, so maybe that is what you need at meets.
I don't know that this is really helpful, but I am way better at the 500 and the 50 than I am at the 100 or 200 freestyle. In fact, if I ever swim the 200 free again, it will be too soon. I think I either need to go ALL OUT, or I need to pace myself (for freestyle). I'm not capable of going all out in the 100 or 200 free (apparently), and I wasn't even when I was in tip-top shape in high school. That said, the 200 back is my all time favorite race. I used to classify myself as a sprinter, but now I don't box myself in. I like/am good at some events, I don't like/am not as good at other events. Who cares? I'm a grown up now, I can do what I want! :bliss:
What are your goals as a masters swimmer? To be the best at something? To be a good teammate? To have fun rivalries?
Or are you asking: How do you know if you are mostly flat-twitch, mostly slow-twitch, or evenly split? Because there are fairly good tests for that.
My guess is that you're probably evenly split between slow and fast twitch muscle fibers (most people are if I remember correctly), but that you're better conditioned for the two extremes.
I have some other suspicions based on my running experience... those long-sprint to middle-distance races are extremely difficult to train for: 400, 800, 1600-meter runs (I think of the 200s and 400 IM in this vein, but there are a lot of similarities between the 400-m run and the 100-m swims too); and yet, if you take even a short break or do a week of EZ running, they are the first distances to suffer. Not so with endurance events (your 10K to marathon pace is not going to suffer from a week or two of easier running, if anything your race times might improve as you get that spring back in your step)... or with pure sprints, where muscle memory and sheer turnover matter more.
If I remember correctly from reading about this when I was planning my training for running, the middle distance events require you to push your lactate threshold ever closer to your VO2Max... that requires a lot of physical discomfort (400-m and 800-m repeats at 1600-m pace in running; 400-m repeats are so much nicer at the 10K pace!). Don't know if this makes any sense.
you go both ways, some can do it, most can't
Don't have an identity crisis,
Come out of the closet and accept what you are
Be loud be proud
After all, you are the original Elaine-Iak
you go both ways, some can do it, most can't
Don't have an identity crisis,
Come out of the closet and accept what you are
Be loud be proud
After all, you are the original Elaine-Iak
:ohyeah:
What are your goals as a masters swimmer? To be the best at something? To be a good teammate? To have fun rivalries?
Or are you asking: How do you know if you are mostly flat-twitch, mostly slow-twitch, or evenly split? Because there are fairly good tests for that.
See above!
