I was reading some Bob Bowman commentary on Michael Phelp's training in on of the ASCA journals and he had more than a few moments where he said something to the effect of: this probably doesn't make them stronger, help their endurance or help their speed but I think this set helps them mentally.
In turn I decided that this was the new approach I need to take with my 200 ***. The conventional advice I've always heard for *** and the approach my coaches took with me was "less is more". More drills, less full stroke and never any straight 200s. But my 200 *** has become a total head case this whole year.
So after reading this article, I decided, you know what, I need to do more 200's *** in practice at a pace that's not easy (nor overly hard).
Monday: set the tempo trainer to a 25 pace I thought would be reasonable & went out trying to match the beep. Panicked at the 150 and quit. Set it for .25 per 25 slower and made the 200 & beat it but felt a bit panicky, still.
Tuesday: set the tempo trainer for the same slower pace as Monday. Was about 2 seconds slower overall but I made it and less panicky. Decided it felt good and did it again.
Wednesday: I had some hard 75s *** planned so I skipped the 200.
Thursday (today): Dropped the pace by .25 and just barely made it. I finally felt good building speed through the end and I didn't feel panicky at all.
I think I'm going to keep throwing in one tempo 200 *** for a while on non-hard *** days to keep working on this mental game. It may not be the best way to train for the 200 *** but for me it seems like the only way to get rid of the panic.
It has me wondering what things other people do in the pool that goes against conventional wisdom but helps their mental game.
I know I had my team do an IM pyramid last month that totaled 2000 yards on something ridiculous, like ten seconds rest. 100, 200, 300, 400, 400, 300, 200, 100. The lane lines were purposely a bit loose and the pool was a horribly choppy mess, hard to stay out of the way with the fly. The entire set, including rest was finished in just under 30 minutes. Many of them do their half-iron swims in 30. When they were finished and they were looking me like angry zombies, I said, "So now, when you go out for your half iron mans this summer, and it's 7am, it's choppy, there's arms in the way, it's cold, and you've got a ton of work left to do after your swim, you're going to get in there and crank out that swim in under 30 because you know you can. Because you all just did it IM in under 30. So you can definitely do it free and jump on your bike." And then they realized what they had all just done and the whole team smiled. And they loved it.
So, what kinds of "pointless" sets do you do to make your mind stronger?
