500 yard free prep

I asked this same question in the old masters forum, where the answers are archived somewhere. I tried to find it but couldn't--if you have some time, you might try rummaging through. I remember someone offering the advice that during the race, you should divide it into fourths--start off the first 125 smooth; pick up the second; start kicking with more power during the third; then give it your all during the final 5 lengths. I have swum the 500 twice this season, the first time "loafing" the first 12 lengths and trying to really go hard the last 8; the second time, trying to pick it up more from the get go. Both races, I finished within less than .2 of a second--5:26.07 and 5:26.24. So much for strategy. I think the main thing is to try to get in as good of distance swimming shape as you can, and there may not be enough time left to make a huge difference between now and early May. Try really working on streamlining your turns, pin your biceps to your ears on the push offs and glide for a two-count (no Superman arm spread), really keep your head down to flatten out your body position. And if you don't have a body suit yet, consider springing $70 or so for an Aquablade or twice this for a kneeskin Fastskin. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

the old discussion board is still there: http://www.usms.org/discus/ Under General Discussions there is a topic STRATEGY FOR SWIMMING 500 FREESTYLE circa 10/6/01 (last post) good luck!!!

Originally posted by GZoltners ... Try to groove in 1:10-1:11 so you can do it anywhere, anyhow, any amount of tired. Know what it feels like. Do some boring old sets of 100s on 1:20-2:00, holding that pace spot on. Try 5x100 on 1:20 or 10x100 on 1:30 or 15x100 on 1:45 Sounds easy, but hold that pace! Your volume here depends on how much you've been doing all along, obviously. You could try 2x4x100 on 1:20 or only 3x100 on 1:20. Just try to peg 1:10 when the lactic acid hits. Make sure you get a rest day or 2 this week, and 2-3 the next 2 weeks. Start doing your meet warmup every day to fine tune it. ... I am amazed at how easy workouts, such as the one I quote above, people are doing, yet come race time these same people are happy with themselves and me I am not. My tendency would have been to prepare the 500 yards free, as a broken 500 of 2 x 200 yards leaving on 2:25, and 100 in 1:10. When this is mastered, then is taper time. I reckon though that with my tendency I feel sorry about myself after races in which I keep producing workout times, no better. For example, Sunday after a mediocre small competition, with a 2:18.93 for 200 free, 28.07 for 50 free and 1:01.83 for 100 free, I did a 6,600 yards workout in which I was challenged at the end by a fresh UCSD varsity swimmer to do 5 x 150 yards leaving in 2:00 followed sthraight through by 10 x 75 yards leaving on 1:00. It might be that I dig myself into the ground as a tired zombie who doesn't achieve very often tapering.

Hi Fast Ion, Much physiological improvement occurs during the rest periods (or the increased speed resulting from the rest) during interval training. If that were not the case, why do intervals at all? With your meet speed I suspect that you are not getting much rest during your interval training - in that case, what you are doing is little different from swimming the total distance straight. You may think you are working hard, but what your body is doing is lowering the intensity so you can last the distance - but that is not what you want to do while you are racing a 50, 100, or 200! Instead, you should train at a speed that you can not maintain for long. Then you recover, and then you try again. If you are training for a 100 I think you should have at least :30 rest between swims, during the early taper phase, more later in the season. But don't try it and decide you are not working hard enough, and reduce your rest! Instead, sprint harder. And remember, the development of your 'fast twitch' muscles may take some time. It sound like yours are somewhat atrophied. The workout you quote is pace training during the taper, not what one would do during the period that you develop your aerobic system. I know you are in excellent shape; you need to work on your speed, and you need to take that brave leap of faith into more rest during your workouts. You've been told this on this forum before. Perhaps you should find a good coach you trust and do what s/he says, no matter what your mind tells you you should be doing. And don't be proud - swim in the lane with other swimmers that do a hundred yards in a minute, rather than those that do it in :50. Those intervals are designed for them, not for you (yet).

Three weeks to go. Time for a little less quantity and a little less quality. Try to groove in 1:10-1:11 so you can do it anywhere, anyhow, any amount of tired. Know what it feels like. Do some boring old sets of 100s on 1:20-2:00, holding that pace spot on. Try 5x100 on 1:20 or 10x100 on 1:30 or 15x100 on 1:45 Sounds easy, but hold that pace! Your volume here depends on how much you've been doing all along, obviously. You could try 2x4x100 on 1:20 or only 3x100 on 1:20. Just try to peg 1:10 when the lactic acid hits. Make sure you get a rest day or 2 this week, and 2-3 the next 2 weeks. Start doing your meet warmup every day to fine tune it. Swim fast, Greg

Fisch: I grew up under the old guard (grinder type) thought process that said, "Whatever you give away up front in your 500...you can never get back... in the back end." Having said that...you cannot go out to fast...but do not give away your conditioning by holding too much back. Swim SMART! During the grinder part of the 500 when you begin to feel the discomfort....keep your mind strong...and remember that you have trained for this event, you are tough, and as soon as this is over the discomfort will go away. I always keep my mind strong by thinking about the things Jim shared with you...streamline off the walls, head down and KEEP YOUR STROKE LENGTH EVEN WHEN TIRED...DO NOT SHORTEN YOUR STROKE or give into that trap. Have a great 500....and remember...... you trained for this! PS: Say bye to 6:00...

Gosh, Phillip and Greg dragged in a dose of reality here....:)

I am analyzing Phil's post, here above. Originally posted by Philip Arcuni ... With your meet speed I suspect that you are not getting much rest during your interval training - in that case, what you are doing is little different from swimming the total distance straight. ... Yes. Originally posted by Philip Arcuni ... You may think you are working hard, but what your body is doing is lowering the intensity so you can last the distance - but that is not what you want to do while you are racing a 50, 100, or 200! ... There are two approaches for events longer than the 200: 1. interval training with quality swims and lots of rest: I reluctantly tried this when in 2000 I went along with how someone was training in Tennessee, rather than training there just by myself; the interval per 100 yards was 1:30, and by doing it I got my most disastrous results in 2000LongCourseNationals, for example a 12:10 in 800 meter freestyle. 2. anaerobic threshold which is so emphasised at UCSD Masters where I train now, mostly under the distance coach of the college team; tonight there were 10 x 75 leaving in :55 among other things, and I was doing touch-and-go; by this method in the 2001LongCourseNationals I swam a 11:20 in 800 meter freestyle, a 50 seconds improvement from 2000; I have other similar examples from past; that's why I think 2 x 200 leaving in 2:25 and 1 x 100 in 1:10 is a good preparation for the 500: it can start as touch-and-go, but with practice one can perfect coming in the 200s at 2:15 and getting 10 seconds rest. Regarding the 50, 100 and 200, they are a mystery to me. Originally posted by Philip Arcuni ... Instead, you should train at a speed that you can not maintain for long. Then you recover, and then you try again. If you are training for a 100 I think you should have at least :30 rest between swims, during the early taper phase, more later in the season. But don't try it and decide you are not working hard enough, and reduce your rest! Instead, sprint harder. And remember, the development of your 'fast twitch' muscles may take some time. It sound like yours are somewhat atrophied. ... This is called at UCSD Masters, a VO2Max workout; there are few of these at UCSD Masters; if I want to train with UCSD Masters, that's how it is; outside UCSD Masters, in San Diego there isn't another comparable competitive program; programs at JCC, Sports Medicine, Coronado, Solana Beach and Carlsbad are not as competitive; when a VO2Max workout happens at UCSD Masters, there is joy in the lanes, and relief that there isn't another gruesome medium-intensity but long set; I found myself defending recently such a VO2Max workout from swimmers in my lane who wanted to hijack the workout into another medium-intensity, long set. Originally posted by Philip Arcuni ... The workout you quote is pace training during the taper, not what one would do during the period that you develop your aerobic system. I know you are in excellent shape; you need to work on your speed, and you need to take that brave leap of faith into more rest during your workouts. You've been told this on this forum before. Perhaps you should find a good coach you trust and do what s/he says, no matter what your mind tells you you should be doing. ... Again, I flow with the UCSD program, I don't get to choose the frequency of the VO2Max workouts here; my mind tells me to do more VO2Max workouts, but I don't get to choose; among hundreds of swimmers here, some who don't compete, some who do open water, triathlons, few who compete, I am a face in the crowd; outside the UCSD program there isn't anything as strong. Originally posted by Philip Arcuni ... And don't be proud - swim in the lane with other swimmers that do a hundred yards in a minute, rather than those that do it in :50. Those intervals are designed for them, not for you (yet). True; the dilemma raises that in a workout I outwork now the :50 per 100 free swimmers, and even more so the 1:00 per 100 free swimmers; their :50 per 100 free comes from another lifetime, the age-group swimming which I didn't do; in a today workout I try to get the most work now available, and tonight I was outworking swimmers of sub 1:50 per 200 yards freesetyle, in my lane. Anyway, not everything is black. The night coach of the UCSD Masters, who is also the distance coach of the UCSD college team, promised today to taper me, and this should include VO2Max workouts.

Originally posted by Philip Arcuni What do you mean, when you say you outwork the other swimmers in your lane? ... If you mean you are the only one that can complete the set, ... ... Yes, more often than not in my lane of 1:15 pace per 100. (I don't say, shame on the coach though, I trust him).

Originally posted by GZoltners Ion, 2x2:25+1:10 = 6:00, not going to happen for a guy that goes 6:01! I'm sure Tom Dolan could have done a similar set in practice and added up to only a few seconds slower than his fast 500, but us mortals need some rest to hit that race pace consistently. Yes, it can be on very low rest, but that is more of a practice set, not for tapering. ... Swim fast, Greg I agree is a practice set, not a taper set. I didn't present it as a taper. I wrote "When this is mastered then is taper time". Taper-wise I am confused: in the early to mid 90s, I would take two weeks of loafing in the pool, doing backstroke and not looking at the clock; eventually I would feel itchy, and come race time I would explode the pool; late 90s and now, it doesn't work for me this way anymore; last year my current coach tapered me well for Santa Clara Short Course Nationals; this year he is tapering me again, and I guess I will memorize his taper program.