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.
The 200 Fly is like a loaded weapon... respect it and treat it with care, or you are liable to get hurt.
I came out of college as a sprint butterflyer, and thought I would remain that way forever. As I got older, I found that a lot of other people in my age group had the same idea, so I went looking for a replacement event to keep me competitive in Nationals. The 200 Fly was a natural, since I already knew the stroke (a definite plus). All I had to do was figure out how to swim it without ending the last length with a piano on my back.
In the 1970's Steve Tallman was an aquaintance of mine, and I had the opportunity to watch him swim the 200 fly at Cleveland state during the NCAA championships in 1975. At the 150 in the championship heat, he was 2 full body lengths behind the entire heat, and ended up placing 3rd overall (some leads just can't be overcome). Remembering that, I decided to try the "coming on late" tactic, and figured that at worst, I don't go any faster, and I don't really get hurt swimming the event.
The first time I had an opportunity to try out my "new" tactic was, of course, at Long Course Nationals. There were only 8 people in my age group swimming the event, so if I didn't do anything crazy, I would still score points.
The first 50, I consciously tried to go slow. I reeled in the impulse and urge to let the stroke flow and stretch out, as I always did in the 50 and 100. But I resisted the temptation, and took measured, highly restrained strokes, and kept with an easy breathing pattern, two strokes, breathe.
That didn't feel too bad, so I tried it again on the next 50, letting the stroke develop a little bit, still keeping the breathing pattern. Meanwhile, the rest of the heat was at least two lengths ahead of me, and I was a little concerned about the possibility of being lapped. But only a little, I had a race to finish.
On the third 50, I finally swam long and relaxed, just like one would feel on the first length, usually. And the rest of the heat was no longer pulling away from me, in fact, I was keeping apace easily, even thoough I was still behind everyone.
The last turn, I decided to find out what was left in the gas tank, and let her rip. I swam by the guy next to me as if he were sculling backwards. I felt terrific, albeit tired, but definitely not out of gas, and still in control of my stroke (rather than praying the whole last lengh that I would still have feeling in my arms and legs after the race). The last stroke before I hit the wall, I could hardly get my arms out of the water, and I knew that I had given it everything, so was satisfied.
I ended up getting third in that race (some leads just can't be overcome), and was converted to swimming the 200 fly from then on.
The routine is simple, hold back on the first 50, slowly build the rest. You can't go wrong, and if you do it well, you look like a hero. Good luck.
I yam what I yam
The 200 Fly is like a loaded weapon... respect it and treat it with care, or you are liable to get hurt.
I came out of college as a sprint butterflyer, and thought I would remain that way forever. As I got older, I found that a lot of other people in my age group had the same idea, so I went looking for a replacement event to keep me competitive in Nationals. The 200 Fly was a natural, since I already knew the stroke (a definite plus). All I had to do was figure out how to swim it without ending the last length with a piano on my back.
In the 1970's Steve Tallman was an aquaintance of mine, and I had the opportunity to watch him swim the 200 fly at Cleveland state during the NCAA championships in 1975. At the 150 in the championship heat, he was 2 full body lengths behind the entire heat, and ended up placing 3rd overall (some leads just can't be overcome). Remembering that, I decided to try the "coming on late" tactic, and figured that at worst, I don't go any faster, and I don't really get hurt swimming the event.
The first time I had an opportunity to try out my "new" tactic was, of course, at Long Course Nationals. There were only 8 people in my age group swimming the event, so if I didn't do anything crazy, I would still score points.
The first 50, I consciously tried to go slow. I reeled in the impulse and urge to let the stroke flow and stretch out, as I always did in the 50 and 100. But I resisted the temptation, and took measured, highly restrained strokes, and kept with an easy breathing pattern, two strokes, breathe.
That didn't feel too bad, so I tried it again on the next 50, letting the stroke develop a little bit, still keeping the breathing pattern. Meanwhile, the rest of the heat was at least two lengths ahead of me, and I was a little concerned about the possibility of being lapped. But only a little, I had a race to finish.
On the third 50, I finally swam long and relaxed, just like one would feel on the first length, usually. And the rest of the heat was no longer pulling away from me, in fact, I was keeping apace easily, even thoough I was still behind everyone.
The last turn, I decided to find out what was left in the gas tank, and let her rip. I swam by the guy next to me as if he were sculling backwards. I felt terrific, albeit tired, but definitely not out of gas, and still in control of my stroke (rather than praying the whole last lengh that I would still have feeling in my arms and legs after the race). The last stroke before I hit the wall, I could hardly get my arms out of the water, and I knew that I had given it everything, so was satisfied.
I ended up getting third in that race (some leads just can't be overcome), and was converted to swimming the 200 fly from then on.
The routine is simple, hold back on the first 50, slowly build the rest. You can't go wrong, and if you do it well, you look like a hero. Good luck.
I yam what I yam
