I signed up for the 200 fly next Sunday and am wondering if anyone has some advice on how to swim this. My twin brother told me he swam it in college, and by the last length, he felt he was actually moving backwards. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.
To get into shape for this, I've been doing a lot of 25's fly with 10-15 seconds rest. I started doing 8 at a time and have worked my way up to 40. Yesterday, I did 20 x 25s then 10 x 50 on a minute.
Questions:
Pacing--reason would say to go out slow so you have something left for the second hundred, but I wonder if this is right. After all, you get tired either way, so maybe going out reasonably fast means you will end up with a better time (albeit a greater feeling of misery on the last length or two.) I'm not talking a sprint pace, but a reasonably fast clip. Or is this a recipe for disaster?
Stroke mechanics--does the fly need to be modified for a 200--i.e., not pulling all the way through, gliding longer, hand entry a bit wider than usual, etc. I've read that some people can swim a continuous mile butterfly, and I wonder if they are swimming the same stroke I do. It's hard to imagine...
I have only swum the 200 fly once--last year--and got a 2:30 on it. My 100 fly has improved this year (a 59.59 , the first time I've broken a minute since high school 31 years ago), and I am in better overall shape this year, so I am hoping to lower the 2:30 to at least a 2:25 (which would give me the Y age group record in our league.) Any advice from 200 flier veterans would be truly appeciated.
Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom.
Parents
Former Member
oh god, I am not the one to respond, but I will anyway. Take it as a cautionary tale.
Last December I swam a 200 SCM fly. I went out in a 1:05 and came back in a 1:22 . I remember the guy next to me pass me on the last length like I was standing still. So all I seem to know about that event is how much it hurts, and how I can't seem to pace it.
That time I swam it above I tried to have long underwater pushoffs from the wall with lots of kick. The justification was that what quits on me is the arms. They just shut down and won't go around. I was hoping that by minimising their use things would be better at the end, but it did not work. Maybe the (opposite) advice of Bert is better.
What worked for me when I had lots of time in the water was training almost totally in fly. When others did free, I did the sets in fly. I can't do that anymore . . .
Best of luck. I think it is the true 'tough guy' event, despite what the breastrokers and backstrokers and 1650 freestylers say.
oh god, I am not the one to respond, but I will anyway. Take it as a cautionary tale.
Last December I swam a 200 SCM fly. I went out in a 1:05 and came back in a 1:22 . I remember the guy next to me pass me on the last length like I was standing still. So all I seem to know about that event is how much it hurts, and how I can't seem to pace it.
That time I swam it above I tried to have long underwater pushoffs from the wall with lots of kick. The justification was that what quits on me is the arms. They just shut down and won't go around. I was hoping that by minimising their use things would be better at the end, but it did not work. Maybe the (opposite) advice of Bert is better.
What worked for me when I had lots of time in the water was training almost totally in fly. When others did free, I did the sets in fly. I can't do that anymore . . .
Best of luck. I think it is the true 'tough guy' event, despite what the breastrokers and backstrokers and 1650 freestylers say.
