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 It goes downhill from there, according to how my times fall on the (outdated, I know) 2010 Motivational Times Charts.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.
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.
